^>^ .^ LIBRARY OF THE University of California. GIKT OK Jy-.O. JSt>6^^^^ /h^^rxJ^UM^ &ct^ Received /QJbl^iJSr > ^9^0. • Accession No. / (d Q . Class No. ,3 '^ PHILOSOPHY OF THE Plan of Salvation. S Book foi^ tl)e ¥iii\e^. PV REV. JAMES B. WALKER, D. D., AUTHOR OF "GOD REVEALED IN CREATION AND IN CHRIST," "LIVING QUESTION," ETC. CI NCINN ATI: HITCHCOCK AND WALDEN. NEW YORK: PHILLIPS AND HUNT. I f S'S'rt^ U>^*^* Entered according to Acvoi v^uiigress, in the year 1855, by GOULD ANi. LINCOLN, ID the Clerk's Office of the District Court for Jhe District of MassacDusetts. "6/0 66 PUBLISUERS' ADVERTISEMENT TO THE NEW AND ENLARGED EDITION. It is now more than twelve years since this work was first published. From the outset it met with a degree of public favor which the lapse of time has served only to confirm and extend. Year by year the sale has been large, constant, and increasing, and already twenty thousand copies have been disjwsed of in this country alone. Besides this general popularity, it has attained the rare distinction of bemg adopted as a text book in some of our higher seminaries of learning. Seldom indeed has a treatise writ- ten only for the pubUc at large been exalted to that peculiar preeminence. In Europe its success has been even more signal, if possible, than in this country. It has been honored with a place as a text book in the Theological Seminaries of the Free Church of Scotland, and in other literary institutions abroad. It has been translated into the Welsh, French, German, and Italian languages in Europe, and is now being translated into Hindoostanee in Asia ; thus achieving a position in the literature of Christendom which perhaps no other American work upon theological subjects has gained. All this it has accomplished without a name and -without vouchers, except those given vcluntarily by reviewers and !jy readers interested in the work. ■ • • ill IV PUBLISHERS ADTERTISEMENT. A new and greatly improved edition js now offered to the pub- lic. The distinguishing feature of this edition is the addition of a Supplementary Chapteb. The original work was designed tc meet the form of error prevalent at the period of its publication. But in the interval of years that has elapsed since, the form of error has somewhat changed. The necessity of a *♦ book-revelation " is now denied. Infidels, disguised in the garb of Christian ministers, have stolen into the pulpit, and with much show of philosophy, have taught the people that man needs no revelation from without, inasmuch as the light within himself is all-sufficient for his gui- dance. The Bible is thus set at nought, and deprived of its divine authority. It is this *♦ latest form of infidelity" which the new chapter is designed to meet. By a strictly philosophical method, the author undertakes to demonstrate the necessity of a Written Revelation, His line of argument is entirely original, and while it leads to the same general conclusion, differs essentially from that BO ingeniously developed in the •* Eclipse of Faith." It will thus be perceived that the contents of this chapter make a distinct and important addition to the book. For young men who are in danger of being misled by the sophistries of the New Infidelity, it will prove highly salutary ; and for that reason it is adapted to awaken fresh interest in those whose beneficence has heretofore been enlisted in promoting the circulation of the book. PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION This book is anaiymous. With the exception of a few gentlemen, who kindly assisted in revising the sheets, and reviewing the authorities and notes, it is not probable that any individual out of the writer's family will be able to conjecture, with the least degree of probability, who is the author of the book. Even the personal friends of the author would not be likely to suspect him of writing this volume. The book will, therefore, stand upon its own merits before the public ; and the author will be indulged in making some expressions which a becoming degree of modesty would forbid, were his name upon the title-page. OCCASION OF THE WORK. During some of the first years of the writer's active life he was a skeptic ; he had a friend who has since been well known as a lawyer and a legislator, who was also skeptical in his opinions. We were both conversant with the common evidences of Christianity. None of them convinced our minds of the Divine origin of the Christian religion although we both thought ourselves willing to be V yj PREFACE. convinced by sufficient evidence. Circumstances which need not to be named led the writer to examine the Bible, and to search for other evidence than that which had been commended to his attention by a much esteemed clerical friend, who presided in one of our colleges. The result of the examination was a thorough conviction in the author*s mind of the truth and Divine authority of Christianity. He supposed at that time, that in his inquiries, he had adopted the only true method to settle the question, in the minds of all intelligent inquirers, in relation to the Divine origin of the Christian religion. Subsequent reflectior has confirmed this opinion. Convinced himself of the Divine origin of the religior of the Bible, the author commenced a series of letters to convey to his friend the evidence which had satisfied his own mind beyond the possibility of do.ibt. The corre- spondence was, by the pressure of business engagements, interrupted. The investigation was continued, however^ when leisure would permit, for a number of years The results of this investigation are contained in the following chapters. The epistolary form in which a portion of the book was first written will account for some repetition, and some varieties in the style, which otherwise might not have been introduced. REASONS FOR PRESENTING THE WORK TO THE PUBLIC. Book-making is not the author's profession. But aftei examining his own private library, and one of the best PREFACE. VII public libraries in the country, he could find no treatise in which the course of reasoning was pursued which will be found in the following pages. Dr. Chalmers, in closing his Bridgewater Treatise, seems to have had an apprehen- sion of the plan and importance of such an argument ; and had he devoted himself to the development of the argument suggested, the effort would have been worth more to the world than all the Bridgewater Treatises put together, including his own work. Coleridge has somewhere said, that the Levitical econ- omy is an enigma yet to be solved. To thousands of in- telligent minds it is not only an enigma, but it is an absolute barrier to their belief in the Divine origin of the Bible. The solution of the enigma was the clew which aided the writer to escape from the labyrinth of doubt; and now, standing upon the rock of unshaken faith, lie offers the clew that guided him to others. A work of this kind is called for by the spirit of the age. Although the signs of the times are said to be pro- pitious, yet there are constant developments of undisci- olined and unsanctified mind both in Europe and America, which furnishes matter of regret to the philanthropist and the Christian. A struggle has commenced — is going on at present — and the heat of the contest is constantly in- creasing, in which the vital interests of man, temporal and spiritual, are involved. In relation to man's spiritual interests, the central point of controversy is the *' cross of Christy In New England some of those who have Vin PREFACE. diverged from the doctrine of the fathers, have wandered into a wildness of speculation which, were it not foi the evil experienc3d by themselves and others, ouglt, per- haps, to be pi Jed as the erratic aberrations of an unset- tled reason, rather than blanxed as the manifestation of minds determinately wicked. The most painful indication connected with this subject is, that these guilty dreamers are not waked from their reveries by the rebuke of men whose positions and relations in society demand it at theii hands. The West, likewise, is overrun by sects whose teachers, under the name of Reformers, or some other inviting appellation, are using every effort to seduce men from the spiritual doctrines and duties of the gospel, or to organize them into absolute hostility against Christ. These men are not wanting in intellect, nor in acquired knowledge, and their labors have prejudiced the minds of great num- bers against the spiritual truths of the gospel — and ren- dered their hearts callous to religious influei,ce. These facts, in the author's opinion, render such a volume as he has endeavored to write necessary in order to meet the exigercies of the times. AUTHOR'S PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. The increasing demand for the " Philosophy of the Plan of Salvation," and the general and very favorable notices which it received from the secular and religious presses of the country, as well as from distinguished individuals, had produced in the mind of the author the desire to make some additions to the volume, with the hope of rendering it more worthy of the favor with which the first edition was received. A second edition, however, being called for so soon, and the copyright being transferred to a pub- lisher who desires to stereotype the work immediately, leisure has not been obtained to make the designed addi- tions ; and furthermore, it has been doubted whether any enlargement of the volume, at the present time, would add much to its value, or to its circulation. It is issued, therefore, in its original form, with only a few verbal emendations. It is a fact grateful to the feelings of the author, and one which perhaps ought to be mentioned, that copies of the first edition were put into the hands of several intelli- gent skeptics: m all but a single case the individuals expressed a favorable change in their views, either in relation to the truth and authority of the dispensations proper of Moses and Christ, or of the exclusive adapted- ness of the Christian dispensation to meet all the spiritual wants of men. IX X AUTHOB'S PREFACE. » In the reviews of the book the final conclusion derived synthetically, by combining the results produced by an analysis of the different propositions examined, is not noticed so fully as some other features of the work. The book is a series of independent demonstrations, the iesults of which accumulate to the final conclusion, that the Christian religion is necessarily the only religion possible to meet the spiritual wants of mankind. In arriving at this conclusion, the different parts and processes of revealed religion are examined, and their adaptedness to perform their several functions in elevating, purifying, and actuating the human soul to benevolent effort, is determined, and, finally, the practical operation of the system is shown, as a matter of undeniable expe- rience, to produce the complete and necessary result required. By this method the conclusion is brought out with a degree of accuracy approaching, if it does not reach, mathematical demonstration, that the truths and manifes- tations of the Christian religion are adapted to carry for- ward man's moral powers to their ultimate development ; that the power applied fills the capacity of the human soul. As four is contained in twelve three times, and as twelve is the only number in which four is three times contained ; so the capacities and susceptibilities of the human soul being given, and the power and adaptations of revelation being ascertained, the result is obtained (may it not be said with mathematical certainty?) that Christianity, as taught by the interpretation and experience of evangelical Christians, is the true religion^ and the only religion possible for human nature. CONTENTS CHAPTER I. FACE Man will worship — He will become assimilated to the char- acter of the object that he worships — Character of heathen deities defective and earthly — From this corrupting wor- ship man has no power to extricate himself, 50 CHAPTER 11. Concerning the design and necessity of the bondage in Egypt. 5S CHAPTER III. Concerning Miracles — particularly the miracles which accom- panied the deliverance of the Israelites from bondage in Egypt, 60 CHAPTER IV, Concerning what was necessary as the tirst step in the process of Revelation, 72 XI Xn CONTENTS. CHAPTER V. Concerning the necessity of affectionate obedience to Qod, and the manner of producing that obedibncM; in tne hearts of the Israelites 76 CHAPTER VI. Concerning the design and necessity of the Moral Law, 84 CHAPTER VII Concerning the development of the idea of holiness, and its teansfer to Jehovah as on attribute, 90 CHAPTER VIII. j i Concerning the origin of the ideas of justice and mercy, and J their transfer to the character of Jehovah, 101 CHAPTER IX. Concerning the transition from the material system, by which religious ideas were conveyed through the senses to the spiritual system, in which abstract ideas were conveyed by words and parables, 114 CONTENTS. xui CHAPTER X. Conoemlng the medium of conveying to men perfect instruc- tion in doctrine and duty, 132 CHAPTER XI. Conceming^ some of the peculiar proofs of the Messiahship of Christ 128 CHAPTER XII. Concerning the condition in life which it was necessary th© Messiah should assume, in order to benefit the human fam- ily in the greatest degree, by his example and instructions, 1^ CHAPTER XIII. Concerning the essential principles which must, according t& the natxiro of things, lie at the foundation of the instruc- tion of Christ, M2 CHAPTER XIV. CJonceming Faith, as the exercise through which truth reaches sud Affects the eoiil, 14% XIV CONTENTS. CHAPTER XV. i Concerning the manifestations of God which would be neces- I sary, under the new and Spiritual dispensation, to produce ' in the soul of man affectionate obedience, 1.55 ■ CHAPTER XVI. Concerning the influence of faith in Christ upon the moral disposition and moral powers of the soul, 197 CHAPTER XVII. Concerning the design and importance of the Means of Grace — Prayer — Praise — Preaching, 221 CHAPTER XVIII. Concerning the agency of God in carrying on the work of Redemption, and the manner in which that agency is ex- erted, * 240 CHAPTER XIX. Concerning the practical effects of the system as exemplined In individual cases 2 16 SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER. An Objective Revelation necessary, as a means of the Mcral Culture of Mankind, 259 OF THl: UNIVEI *- ^califov. INTRODUCTION. We ask not that a man should come to an investiga- tion of the evidences of the Christian revelation with a pre-judgment in its favor; we ask only that there be no prejudice in the soul against it. It is only when a man looks through a glass which is perfectly clear and pure, that he sees things as they are ; if the glass be m the least degree distorted or discolored, every object seen through it will necessarily partake of the distortion and discoloration. So cur Saviour teaches us, Matth. V. 22, 23. This is said expressly in regard to the blinding power of avarice in perverting the religious judgments, (compare vs. 19, 20 ;) and the same is true of every other forbidden state of mind and affection. When there is no mental or moral preoccupation averse to the Chris- tian system, the surprising adaptations of this system to meet and relieve the wants and sorrows of man, consti- tute a species of evidence which is real and most con- vincing ; some traits, which on a superficial view seemed unfavorable, on closer scrutmy are found to be among the strongest links in the chain of demonstration. Again, the mind may be in such a state that the clearest evi- dence of this kind will produce upon it no effect what- ever. There is a voluntary and perfect unsusceptibility to any impression from it. The idea which I wish to convey cun probably be best 26 INTRODUCTION. illustrated by an example. We will suppose a shipwreck in which every soul perishes except two passengers, whom we will name Benignus ant3 Contumax. With nothing saved but their lives, they are cast upon the rocky shore of a desert island, where there is no pros- pect to cheer the eye, and neither vegetable nor animal nor human habitation to give them hope of aid or suste- nance. The first emotions of Benignus, after struggling through the waves, are admiring gratitude lo God for giving him his life, and a cheerful confidence that he wno had aided him thus far, would not then leave him to perish. The first emotions of Contumax are mur- muring regret that he has lost his voyage and lost his money, and is thrown upon a desolate coast with no immediate prospect of getting away. He wonders why such ill luck should always happen to him; he is indig- nant that he was ever such a fool as to trust himself to the sea ; he wonders he could not have had sense enough to remain at home. Presently Benignus discovers in the rock, far above the reach of the waves, a spacious cavern, the entrance to which is protected by an artificial wall, and its sides pierced, evidently by a human hand, for the admissior. of light and air. Benignus is delighted; he immediately concludes that some benevolent individuals, or some paternal government, had provided this shelter on pur- pose for unfortunate mariners who might be shipwrecked on the inhospitable shore. Contumax scorns any such inference ; ho ctnnot see why benevolent people should wish to drive poor slup- wrecked wretches into such a dismal hole in the rock, INTROI trCI ION. 2/ mslead o( providing ihern with a comfortable and pleas- ant home. Benignus reminds him that a house with windows and doors could not endure the storms of such a coast ; and as no one would live there to take care of it, it would be continually out of repair, and far less comfortable than the cavern ; and therefore the very nature of the shelter provided should be regarded as a striking proof not only of the benevolence, but also of the wisdom of the provider. But Contumax is thinking of a handsome house in a green yard, filled wath the shrub- bery of a fine climate, and cannot see a particle of either wisdom or benevolence in the rocky grotto. He, how ever, avails himself of the shelter for want of a better. Benignus soon finds, carefully stored away beyond the reach of damp, a tinder-box with all the necessary fur- nishing, and a quantity of dry fuel for making a fire. " See," says he joyfully to his companion, " another proof of the benevolent care o^" the provider of the cav- ern ; here are all the materials for making a quick fire, of which we are so much in need." " How do you know," replies Contumax, " that these things came here in that way ? They probably belong to some pooi wretch who has been shipwrecked before us, and found a chance to get away again, as I wish from my heart 1 could do." Benignus thinks that the great care with which they were put away out of the reach of injury is a sufficient indication that they were not left by one joy- ously hastening away, intent only on his own selfish interest, but must have been deposited there by some benevolent hand, for the express purpose of relieving the suflTering ; but Contumax cherishes no such roniantio ideas. 28 INT R Db 3TION. Benignus, greatly delighted with what he has already discovered, makes further search in the cave, and finds plain and wholesome provisions, such as would not soon be injured, together with medicines and cordials ; and also a supply of coarse, but clean and warm clothing, carefully cased up so as to preserve them from all injury of wet or moth. " Now," says Benignus to his com- panion, "you certainly will be convinced that this place was provided by some benevolent hand on purpose for the shipwrecked. Here is evidence whicn cannot be gainsaid." ' We have more reason to apprehend," growls Contumax, " that we have fallen upK>n the haunts of pirates ; who are now absent on their depredations, but will soon return to murder us." " Nay," replies Benignus, " these are not the spoils of pirates; here are neither jewels nor silks, here is no gold or silver — here are neither costly vi.^nds nor rich wines nor intoxicating orandies ; and besides, the things are laid away with much more care and scrupulous nicety than suits the wasteful and licentious habits of pirates." " Well, at any rate," replies Contumax, " the donor must be a vulgar, stingy fellow, to put us off with such coarse food and raiment." " But you do not consider," says Benignus, " that these things must not be so costly as to tempt cupidity, since they cannot be kept under lock and Key, — and besides, they are healthful and comfortable, and far belter adapted to the condition of those most likely tc need them, than if they had been of fine material ; foi twenty sailors suffer shipwreck, where one gentleman is suoject to such a misfortune." The only reply which Oontumax has t& this is, to keep the thought well up ic his own mind, " I am a gentleman ar d not a sailor." INTRODUCTION. 29 Coi tunmx, however, does not hesitate to warm him- self by the fire which Benignus has made of the mate- rials found in the cave ; he partakes largely and with great zest of the provisions and cordials, simple as they are ; gladly lays aside his own wet and torn clothing, for the coarse but comfortable and dry raiment provided for him ; and fixing himself in the most easy position he can devise, and as near the various comforts of the grotto as he can get, he is quite ready to enter upon an argu ment to any extent. He is a great reasoner, Contumax is. He can prove most philosophically that Benignus canvot prove that there was any benevolent intention at all in anybody m providing and furnishing that cavern — he can prove to a dead certainty that, for all which can be proved to the contrary, it might have been a mere accident, a blunder, a selfish enterprise ; that nobody knows anything about it — and he can account for it in twenty ways, without the least supposition of wisdom or benevolence, or anything of the kind. The only thing he is certain of is, that he is in a miserable place — he thinks somebody is greatly to blame for putting him '.here — and is under decided obligation to get him safely iway again. What kind of reasoning can you apply to such a mind ? What sort of evidence can such a man perceive or appre- ciate ? What can he see in a pure light while his eyes are suffused with jaundice ? This character represents, and not unfairly, by far the largest class of skeptics, which exist in Christian lands. There is in them all a tinge of disaflfection, of misan- thropy, or rather, of theomisey — if we may be allowed to coin a word, to express an idea which is often a reality, 3'> IN'/RODUCTl ON bui whi:h in our proper English toHgue as yet has no name. This giver a dark shade to all their views of' evidence, ard prevents their seeing any decided proof in trains of reasoning which, in other states of mind, would have all the force of absolute demonstration. The man who has long held raw brandy in his mouih cannot immediately distinguish the taste of delicate wines; and he who has accustomed his soul to the un- feeling roughness of a godless style of thought, loses the delicacy of moral perception, which to the experienced Christian is the very organ by which he receives anti appropriates evidence on moral and religious subjects. All reflecving men, when they seriously contemplate their moral condition in this world, feel very much like shipwrecked sailors. In regard to this single point there is very little difference between the believer and the un- believer — between Benignus and Contumax. But there is a great difference in their feelings in reference to their condition after it has been surveyed. The believer feels that he yet has much to thank God for ; he feels real gratitude that his position is not still worse than it proves to be. The unbeliever, on the other hand, when he knows Gody glorifies him 7iot as God, neither is he thankful; and as a necessary consequence, he becomes vain in hU imagination, and his foolish heart is darkened. He feels under no particular obligation to God ; on the contrary, he rather thinks that God is under decided obligation to him, to treat him very well, and bring him easily and safe.y through the bad place into which he has thrown him. In this state of mind he looks upon the divine arrange- ments actually made for his spiriturl good, and almost INTRODUCTION. 3] as a matter of course, he is dissatisfied. Such being the different state of mind of the two classes of persons, the fa:ts of the Christian revelation, although substantially the same as they present themselves to both, yet produce very diverse and even opposite effects ; to the believer establishing his faith, to the unbeliever confirming his skepticism ; to the one a savor of life unto life, to the ether a savor of death unto death. Meanwhile, the most scornful unbeliever quietly avails himself of all the incidental advantages which the Chris- tian system brmgs, makes himself very comfortable with all the social improvements which it originates, and em- ploys the mental culture which he himself owes to it, m strenuous exertions to disprove its intelligent and benev- olent origin. We will endeavor to show, in a few particulars, the different effects which the same aspects of revelation pro- duce on the two different classes of mind under consid- eration. To both, revelation presents itself as, in the main, very plain and homely in its garb. To the unbeliever, this is offensive, unworthy of God. He would have some- thing more in accordance with the ambitious style of the little greatness of this vvorld, for he has never learned that the foolishTiess of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. The believer understands that the greater part of God's children, toi whom revelation is designed, are plain and homely peo- ple, that their souls are as precious as the souls of the proud and mighty, and in eternity may be altogether more elevated ; and he knows if one cannot perceive the real dignitj nrd refinement of Scripture, it must be 32 I N T R D U J T 1 N . because his. ideas of dignity and refinement are fac- titious, and not natural. Both the believer and the unbeliever see things in the Bible that are severe and rough. The destruction of Sodom, :he stoning of the Sabbath-breaker, the extirpa- tion of the Canaanites, are matters of fact in the eyes of both. But in this atmosphere, the philosophic infidel fee's as uncomfortably as Contumax in the cave. The believer, however, reflects that since God does not choose to purify men by physical omnipotence, but by moral means and influences only, he must of course address each age by means adapted to the condition of each, and rough generations must be met with severe measures,* just as Benignus sees that a cavern with loop-holes and guard-walls, instead of a house with doors and windows, is admirably fitted to a desolate and stormy coast. Both understand that the vicious, the indolent and the careless cannot attain to correct views of revealed truth ; for the truth is so revealed that labor, effort, care and even energetic strugglings are essential to the acqui- sition of religious knowledge in its purity. To the un- believer, this is all distasteful. He feels as if God were ander obligations to make the way of salvation such that men would walk in it as a matter of course, without either effort or thought of their own ; that ah he means of salvation should not only be such that they can be used, but such that they cannot be abused ; that men should not only be able to find the way of life, but abso- lutely unable to lose it. The believer perceives at once the total unreasonableness of these demands, and their entire inconsistency with all the arrangements of nature, il would be as onsv for G^d to cover the earth with rail- INTRODUCTION. *6'd roads a? with i lountains, with canals as with rivers — to cause houses, ail finished and furnished, to spring out of the ground as weL as trees, and make the wheat-stalk bear a well-baked loaf of bread just as easily as the grain af wheat — and thus save men all the hard labor of toil- some travelling, of digging and building, of ploughinp, and plant ng, of harvesting and grinding and baking. Bui has God done this? And what would man be goC'l for if he had ? So in religion, what would a free agent be who had nothing to do ? In all nature, that which can be used is susceptible also of abuse; that which can do good can be perverted also to evil. Why does not the infidel require, as proof of the wisdom and goodness of the God of nature, a kind of v/ater that can quench his thirst and clean his skin and float his ships, but which will never on any occasion drown anybody or make an inundation ; a kind of rain that will refresh his grass, but never wet his hay ; a kind of axe that will cut wood, but never penetrate the flesh of the wood-cutter; a kind of fire that will cook his food and warm him when he is cold, but can never burn him or reduce his dwelling to ashes ? These demands are all quite as reasonable as those which the infidel makes as conditions of his ideal levelalion , and the objections which are urged wih so much confidence against the Bible, and gain so easy a reception among men, proceed on a principle which would be scouted and scorned by all the world as un- s[)eakably ridiculous i: applied to nature. The believer recognizes the God of the Bible and the God of nature as. the same ; and when he sees the same kind of analo- gies running through l)oth, it confirms his faith, instead cf shaking it 34 INTRODUCTION. Tliese illustrations might be pursued to almost any extent, at least till ihey had made a book much larger than the unpretending little volume which they are de- signed to introduce to the reader. Ha"!ng known something of this work from its incep- tion to its completion, having witnessed with pleasure its remarkable success with the public, being confident that its influence must be good and only good in these times when philosophical skepticism and superstitious credu- lity are equally abundant and equally mischievous, 1 would gladly do whatever may be in my power to in- crease its circulation. The argument itself, if not entirely original, is devel oped with a care, a consistency, and a thoroughness which can nowhere else be found, certainly in the same compass; and the whole style of thought from beginning to end shows it to be the author's own work and not a thing which he has borrowed from others. Such books add just so much to our stock of real intel- lectual wealth. They are like introducing into a com- munity the gold and silver coins in full weight, instead of setting up a new bank on paper capital and issuing paper. The argument will always be entirely satisfactory to Benignus ; and though Contumax may still continue to cavil, every one will see that cavilling and refuting are two very diflerent matters. C. E Stowk. Walnut Hills, Cincinnati, Ohio, May 22d, 1845. OK PHILOSOPHY OF THE PLAN OF SALVATION, CHAPTER L INTJiODUCTORY. MAN WILL WORSHIP — HE WILL BECOME ASSIMI- LATED TO THE CHARACTER OF THE OBJECT THAT £1E WORSHIPS CHARACTER OF HEATHEN DEITIES DEFECTIVE AND UNHOLY — FROM THId CORRUPTING WORSHIP MAN HAS NO POWER TO EXTRICATE HIMSELF. There are three facts, each of them fully devel- oped in the experience of the human family, a con- sideration of which will prepare the mind for the investigation which follows. When considered in their relation to each other, and in their beaiing upon the moral interests of mankind, they will be seen to be of exceeding importance. We will ad- duce these facts, in connection with the statements and piinciples upon which they rest, and show how vital are the interests which de}>end upon them. t^6 I- 11 I L S O IMl Y t) F T H K THE FIRST FACT STATEU. Thert is in the nature of man, or in the circum- scanccs in which he is conditioned, something' which leads liinito recognize and worship a superior hcin^r. What that soniethhig is, is not important in our present inquiry : — whether it be a constitutional in- stinct inwrought by the Maker - wlicther it be a de- duction of universal reason, inferring a first cause from the things that are made — whether it be the eifect of tradition, descending from the first worship- pers, tlirough all the tribes of the human family — whether any or all of tiiese be the cause, the fact is the same — Man Is a religious being — he wii-l WORSHIP in view of this propension of human nature, pni- losophers, in seeking a generic appellation for man have denominated him a " religions atiimal.^^ The characteristic is true of him in whatever part of tlie world he may be found, and in whatever condition ; and it has l^een true of him in all ages of which wl have any record either fabulous or authentic. Navigators have, in a few instances, reported that isolated tribes of men, whom they visited, recognized the existence of no superior being : subsequent re- searches, however, have generally corrected the erroi — and, in all cases, when it has been supposed that a tribe of men was found believing in no god, the fact has been staled as an evidence of their degrada- tion below the mass o( their sjiecies, ard of their PLAN OF SALVATION. 37 approximation to the confines of brute nature. Of the whole family of man, existing in all ages, and scattered over the four Quarters of the globe, and in the isles of the sea, there s scarcely one well authen- ticated, exception to the fact, that moved by an im- pulse of nature, or the force of circumstances, nan worships something v/hich he believes to be endowed with the attributes of a superior being. THE SECOND FACT STATED. The second fact, connected as it is, by the nature of things, with the preceding, assumes the highest degree of importance. It may be stated in the fol- lowing terms i—Mati^ by worshipping, becomes as- similated to the moral character of the object which he worships. This is an invariable princi- ple, operating with the certainty of cause and effect. The worshipper looks upon the character of the object which he worships as the standard of per- fection. He therefore condemns every thing in himself which is unlike, and approves of every thing which is like that character. The tendency of this is to lead him to abandon every thing in himself, and in his course of life, which is condemn- ed by the character and precepts of his god, and to conform himself to that standard which is approved by the same criterion. The worshipper desires the favor of the object worshipped, and this, reason dic- tates, can bo obtained only by conformity tc the will and the character of that object To becom^j as 'SS PHILOSOPHY OP THE similated to tlie image of the object worshipped must be the end of desire with the worshipper. His aspiiations, tfierefore, every time he worships. do, from the nature of the case, assimilate his char- acter more and more to the model of the object that receives his homage. To this fact the whole history of the idolatrous world bears testimony. Without an exception, the character of every nation and tribe of the human family has been formed and modified, in a great degree, by the character attributed to their gods. From the history of idolatrous nations we will cite a number of familiar cases, confirmatory of the foregoing statement, that man becomes like the ob- ject of his worship. A most striking instance is that of the Scythians, and other tribes of the Northmen, who subdued and finally annihilated the Roman pov/er. Odin, Thor, and others of their supposed deities, were ideas of hero-kings, blood-thirsty and cruel, clothed with the attributes of deity, and worshipped. Their worship turned the milk of human kindness into gall in the bosoms of their votaries, and they seem- ed, like blood-hounds, to be possessed of a horrid delight when they were revelling in scenes of blood and slauo^hter. It being- believed that one of their hero-gods, after destroying great numbers of the human race, destroyed himself, it hence became dis- reputable to die in bed, and those who did not meet death in '>attU. frequently committed Filicide, sup- FLAN OP SALVATION 39 pooing tliiit to die a natural death might exckide them from favor in the hall of Valhalla. Amooir the ofods of the Greeks and Romans there were some names, in the early ages of their history, to which some virtuous attributes were attached ; but the conduct and character generally attributed to their gods were marked deeply with such traits as heroism, vengeance, caprice and lust. In the later history of these nations, their idjlatry degen- erated in character, and became a system of mosi debasing tendency. The heroism fostered by idolatry was its least injurious influence. Popes couplet, had he thrown a ray or two of light across the back ground of the dark picture, would have been a correct delineation of the character of Pagan idols — Gods partial, changeful, passionate, unjust ; Whose attributes were rage, revenge and lust. In some cases the most corrupt attributes of hu- man nature, and even of brute nature, were attri- buted to objects of v'orship, and while men bowed down to them, they sunk themselves to the lowest depths of vice. The Egyptians might be named as an instance. The first patrons of the arts and sciences were brute-worshippers ; and it is testified of them that bestiality, the lowest vice to which human nature can descend, was common amongst them. The paintings and sculpture of their divini- tks, in the mummy catacombs, are for the most 40 PHILOSOPHY OF THE part, clusters of beasts, birds, reptiles and flies, grouped together in the most disgusting and un* natural relations ; a true indication that the minds of the worshippers were filled with ideas the mosi vile and unnatural. The ancient Venus, as worshipped by almost all the elder nations of antiquity, was a personification of lust. The deeds required to be done at her pol- lutin2^ fane, as acts of homage, ought not to be named. In the best days of Corinth — " Corinth, the ey 3 of Greece" — the most sacred persons in the city were prostitutes, consecrated to the worship of Venus. From this source she derived a large por- tion of her revenues. The consequence was that her inhabitants became proverbial for dissoluteness and treachery. To the heathen divinities, especially those placed at the head of the catalogue as the superior gods, what theologians have called the physical attributes of deity — omnipotent and omnipresent power — were generally ascribed ; but their moral character was always defective, and generally criminal. As one of the best instances in the whole mythology of the ancients, the Roman Jupiter might be cited. Had a medal been struck delineating the character of this best of the gods, on one side might have lieen engraved Almightiness^ Omnipneseiice^ Justice ; and on the reverse. Caprice, Vengeance, Lust, Thus men clothed depraved or bestial deities with PLAN OF SALVATION 41 almighty power, and they became cruel, or corrupt, or bestial in their affections, by the reaction of the character worshipped upon the character of the wor shipper. In the strong language of a recent writer, '^ihey clothed beasts and depraved beings with the attribute of Almightiness, and in effect they wor- shipped almighty beasts and devils." And the* more they worshipped the more they resembled them. These testimonies concerning the influence of idolatrous worship, and the character of the idols worshipped, are maintained by authorities which render doubt in relation to their credibility impossi- ble. Upon this subject the wiser men among the Greeks and Romans have borne unequivocal testi- mony. Plato, in the second book of the Republic, speaks of the pernicious influence of the conduct attributed to the gods, and suggests that such his- tories should not be rehearsed in public, lest they should influence the youth to the commission ot crimes. Aristotle advises that statues and paintings of the gods should exhibit no indecent scenes, ex- cept in the temples of such divinities^ as, accord- ing" to common opinion^ preside over sensuality,* What an affecting testimony of the most discrim^ nating mind among the heathen } asserting not only the turpitude of the prevailing idolatry, but sano lioning the sensuality of their debauched worship. As Rome and Greece grew older, the infection • Aristoi. Politica vii. 18. ed Schneider. 42 PHILOSOPHY OF THE of id)latry festered, until the body politic became one mass of moral disease. The state of things, in the later ages of these nations, is well stated by a iate writer of the first authority.* " We should naturally suppose, (says this writer,) that among so great a variety of gods, of religious actions, of sacred vows ; at least some better feeling of the heart must have been excited ; that at least some truly pious sentiment would have been awakened. But when we consider the character of this superstition, and the testimony of cotemporaneous writers, such does not appear to have been the fact. Petronius'a history of that period furnishes evidence that tem- ples were frequented, altars crowned, and prayers offered to the gods, in order that they might render aights of unnatural lust agreeable ; that they might favor acts of poisoning ; that they might cause rob' beries and other crimes to prosper." In view of the abominations prevailing at this period, the moral Seneca exclaimed — ^^How great now is the mad- ness of men ! They lisp the most abominabh^ prayers ; and if a man is found listening they are silent. What a man ought not to hear, they do not blush to relate to the gods." Again says he, "li any one considers what things they do^ and to what tilings they subject themselves ; instead of decency, he will find indecency ; instead of the honoraole, die Jiiworthy ; instead of the rational, the insane !*' Siich was heathenism and its influence, in the most * Tliokck o« Uie influence of Healheaism. PLAN OP SALVATION. 43 enlightened ages, according to the testimony of the best men of those times. » In relation to modern idolatry, the world is fall of living witnesses of its corrupting tendency. We wiJ cite in illustration, a single case or two. " The following is extracted from a public document, laid before Parliament, by H. Oakley, Esq., a magistrate in lower Bengal. Speaking of the influence of idola- try in India, he says of the worship of Kal6, one of the most popular idols, " the murderer, the robber and the prostitute, all aim to propitiate a being whose worship is obscenity, and who delights in the blood of man and beast ; and, without impior- ing whose aid, no act of wickedness is committed. The worship of Kale must harden the hearts of hei followers ; and to them scenes of blood and crime must become familiar." In China, according to Medhurst, the priests of Buddah understand and teach the doctrine of the assimilation of the worshipper to the object wor- shipped. They say — " Think of Buddah and you will be transformed into Buddah. If men pray to Buddah and do not become Buddah, it is because the mouth prays, and not the mind."* Two facts, then, are philosophically and histori- cally true : First, Man is a religious animal, and will worship something, as a superior being. Sec- • For a succinct statement of the universal prevalence of false reliffions, and their corrupting influence, see Ryan on the Effect of Rel'^ion upon Mankind paaainu a 44 PHILOSOPHY OF THE end, By worshipping he becomes assimilated to the moral character of the object which he wor- ships. And (the God of the Bible out of view for ;lie presen*) those objects have always had a defec- tive and unholy character. Here, then, is one great source which has devel- oped the corruption of the family of man. We inquire not in this place concerning the origin of idolatry : whatever, or wherever was its origin, its influence has been uniformly the same. As no object of idolatrous worship was ever conceived to be perfectly just and benevolent, but most of them no better than the apotheosis of heroes, or the dei- fication of the imperfect faculties and impure pas- sions of human or brute nature, the result followed, with a certainty as unerring as cause and effect, that man, by following his instinct to worship, would becloud his intellect and corrupt his heart. Notice how inevitable, from the circumstances of the case, was the corruption of man's powers: — He was led to worship by an instinct over which he had no control : — The objects of his worship were, whether he originated them or not, all of ihem cf a character that corrupted his heart; thus the gratification of his instinctive propensities inev- itably strengthened the corruption of his nature. Now, it is not our design to inquire wliether, o/ how far, man was guilty in producing this evil con- dition of things. In t iew of the facts in the case., the inquiry which forces itsflf upon the mind *s- PLAK OF SALVATIO]^. 45 Were there any resources in human nature ; or anj means of any kind, of which man could avail him- self, by which he might save himself from the de- basing influence of idolatrous worship ? In reply, THE THIRD FACT IS STATED. There tvere no means within the reach of human poiver or wisdom, ly which man could extricate himself from the evil of idolatry, either iy an im- mediate, or by a progressive series of efforts. This fact is maintained from the history of idola- try, the testimony of the heathen philosophers, and the nature of man. 1. Instead of man acquiring the power or the dispo- sition, as tne race became older, to destroy idolatry — idolatry, from its first inception in the world, gained power to destroy him. Amid all the mutations of society, from barbarous to civilized; and amid all the conflicts of nations, and the changes of dynas- ties and forms of government, from the first historic notices which we have of the human family down to the era of Christ, idolatry constantly became more evil in its character and more extended in its influ- ence. It is well ascertained that the first objects of idolatrous homage were few and simple, and the worship of the earliest ages comparatively pure. Man fell into this moral debasement but one step at a time. The sun, moon, stars, and other con- spicuous objects of creative power and wisdom, re- ceived the first idolatrous homage. Afterwards a 46 PIIILOSOPHYOFTHE divinit} was supposed to reside in other ODJccU^ especially in those men, and beasts, and things, which were instrumental in conferring particular benefits on tribes or nations of men. And, finally, images of those objects were formed and worship- ped. Images, which subsequently became innu- merable, were not so in the earliest historic ages. In some nations they were not allowed until after the era of the foundation of Rome.* As the nations grew older, images, which were at the first but few and clothed with drapery, became more numerous, and were presented before the worshippers in a state of nudity, and in the most obscene attitudes. And, as has been before stated, their character, from being comparatively innoxious, became, without excep- tion, demoralizing in the extreme. 2. During the Augustan age of Rome, and the age of Pericles and Alcibiades in Greece — those periods when the mind had attained the highest elevation ever known among heathen nations — the mass of the people were more idolatrous in their habits, and consequently more corrupt in their hearts, than ever before. The abominations oi idol-worship, of the mysteries, and of lewdness, in forms too vile to name, were rife throughout the country and the villages, and had their foci in the Capitols of Greece and Rome. Jahn says, in rela- tion to this period. " deities increased in number, • Plutarch sa) • that Numa ibrbade the Romans to make statues of tlieir gods. PLAN OP SALVATION. 47 and the apotheosis of vicious emperors was not un- frequent. Their philosophers, indeed, disputed with much subtlety respecting the architect of the universe, but they knew nothing about the Creator, ihe holy and almighty judge of men." Some of the more intelligent of the philosophers, perceiving the evil of the prevailing idolatry, de- sired to refine the grossness of the popular faith. They taught that the facts believed concerning the gods were allegories. Some endeavored to iden- tify the character of some of their deities with the natural virtues ; while many of them became skep- tical concerning the existence of the gods and of a future state. Those were, however, but isolated exceptions to the mass of mankind. And, had their views been adopted by olriiers, they would only have modified, not remedied the evil. But a contempo- rary writer shows how entirely i:navailing even lo modify the evil, was the teaching of the philosophers. Dionysius of Hallicarnassus says, " there are only a few who have become masters of this philosophy. On the other hand, the great and unphilosophic maiis are accustomed to receive these narratives rather in their worst sense, and to learn one of these two things, either to despise the gods as beings who wallow Lt the grossest licentiousness, or not to re- strain themselves even from what is most abomina- ble and abandoned, when they see that the gods do the same." Cicero, in one sentence, as given by Tholuck, notices both the evil and its cause ; con- 48 PHILOSOPHY OF THE firming, in direct language, the preceding views. "Instead," says l.e, ''of the transfer to man of that which is divine, they transferred human sins to the gods, and then experienced again the necessary re- action." Such, then, is the testimony of the philo- sophers in relation to the idolatry of their times. A ^ew gifted individuals obtained sufficient light to see the moral evil in which men were involved, but they had neither wisdom to devise a remedy, nor power to arrest the progress of the moral pestilence that was corrupting the noble faculties of the hu- man soul. 3. It was impossible, from the nature of man, that he should extricate himself from the corrupt- ing influence of idolatry. In this place we wish to state a principle which should be kept in view throughout the following discussion : — If man were ever redeemed from, idolatrous worship^ his redem^ption loould have to be accomplished by means and instrumentalities adapted to his na- ture and the circumstances iti which he existed. If the faculties of lis nature were changed, he would not be man. If his temporal condition were chang- ed, different means would be necessary — If, there- fore, man, as maji, in his present condition, were to be recovered, the means of recovery, whether insti- tuted by God or man, must be adapted to his nature and his circumstances. The only way, then, in which relief was possi- ble for man was that an object of worshio should PLAN OF SALVATION. 49 be placed before the mind directly opposite in moral character to those he had before adored. L[ his heart was ever purified, it must be by tearing his affections from his gods, and fixing them upon a righteous and holy being as the proper object of his homage. But, for man to form such an object was plainly impossible. He could not transfer a bettei character to his gods than he himself jiossessed Man could not "bring a pure thing out of an im- pure." The effect could not rise higher in moral purity than the cause. Human nature, in the ma- turity of its faculties, all agree, is imperfect and self ish ; and, for an imperfect and selfish being to ori- ginate a perfect and holy character, deify it, and worship it, is to suppose what is contrary to the nature of things. The thought of the eloquent and philosophic Cicero expresses all that man could do. He could transfer his own imperfect attributes to the gods, and, by worshipping a being characterized by these imperfections, he would receive in himself thf. reaction of his own depravity. But, if some men had had the power and the disposition to form for the world a perfectly holy object of worship, still the great difficulty, as we have seen in the case of the philosophers, would have remained, that is, a want of the necessary power, to arrest the progress of idolatry and suh stitute the better worship. To doubt the truth ol the prevailing idolatry was all that men, at the highest intellectual attainment ever acquired in 50 PHILOSOPHY OF THE heathen countries, could do. And, if they had had power to convey their doubts to all minds in all the world, it would only have been to place mankind in the chaoi:c darkness of atheism, and leave them to be led again by their instincts into the abomina tions of imperfect and impure worship. The testimony, then, is conclusive, from the his- tory of idolatry, that the evil became greater every age — from the statements of the wisest of the hea- then, that they had no power to arrest its progress — and from the nature of man, that it was not possi- ble for him to relieve himself from the corrupting influence of idolatry, in which he had become in- volved. Prom the foregoing facts and reasonings, it is plain, that the high born faculties of the human soul must have been blighted forever, by a corrupt- ing worship, unless two things were accomplished ; neither of which it was in the power of human na- ture to effect : and, yet, both of which were essen- tially necessary to accomplish the elevation of man from the pit into which he had fallen. The first thing necessary to be accomplished was that a jrnre object of worship should be placed before the eye of the soid. Purity of heart and con- science would be necessary in the object of worship, otherwise, the heart and conscience of the worship- per would not be purified. But, if an object were presented, whose nature was infinitely opposed tc sin — to all defilement, both physical and spiritual — PLAN OF SALVATION. 51 and who revealed, in his example, and by his pre- cepts, a perfect standard to govern ihe life of man under the circumstances in which he was placed, then mans mind would be enlightened, his con- science rectified, and the hard and corrupt feelings of his heart softened and purified, by assimilation to the object of his worship : — As, according to the nature of things, an unholy object of worship would necessarily degrade and corrupt the human soul ; so on the contrary, a holy object worshipped, would necessarily elevate and purify the nature of man. The second necessary thing in order to man's re- demption was, that when a holy object of worship was revealed, the revelation should be accompanied with sufficient power to influence men to forsake their former worship, and to worship the holy ob- ject m^ade known to them,. The presentation of a new and pure object, would not cause men to turn from their former opinions and practices, and be- come directly opposed in heart to what they had formerly loved. A display of power would be necessary, sufiicient to overcome their former faith, and their present fears, and to detach their affections from idols, and fix them upon the proper object of human homage. It follows, then, that man must remain a corrupt idolater forever, unless God interpose in his behalf The question whether he would thus interpose, in the only way possible, to save the race from moral death^ depends entirely upon the benevolence of 52 PHILOSOPHY OP THE his nature. The question whether he has done so, may be answered by enquiring, whether any sys tern of means has been instituted in the world, char- acterized by sufficient power to destroy idolatry — revealing at the same time a holy object of worship — and this revelation being accompanied by means and influences so adapted to man's nature as to se- cure the result. To this inquiry the future pages of this volume will be devoted. The inquiry is not primarily con- cerning the truth of the Bible ; but concerning the only religion possible for mankind, and the only means by which such religion could be given con- sistently with man's nature and circumstances. PLAN OF SALVATION. 53 CHAPTER II. CONCERNING THE DESIGN AND NECESSITY OF THE BONDAGE IN EGYPT. There are certain bonds of union, and sources of sympathy, by which the minds of a whole peo- ple may be united into one common mind : so much so, that all hearts in the nation will be affected by the same subjects, and all minds moved by the same motives. Any cause which creates a common interest and a common feeling, common biasses and common hopes, in the individual minds which com- pose a nation, has a tendency to unite them in this manner. Some of the causes which have more power than any others to bind men, as it were into a common being, are the following : - The natural tie of con- sanguinity, or a common parentage, is a strong bond of affiliation among men. And there are otheis, which, in some cases, seem to be even stronger than this : among these may be named a common inter- est ; a common religion ; and a common fellow- ship in suffering and daliverance. Any circum- stance, which educes the susceptibilities of the mind and twines them together, or around a common ob- ject—any event in which the interest, the feelings, 54 PHILOSOPHir OP THE the safety, or the reputation of any people is invol- ved, causes- them to be more closely allied to each other in social and civil compact. The more firmly a people are bound together by these ties of union, the more strength they will pos- sess to resist opposing interests and opinions from without ; while, at the same time, every thing na- tional, or peculiar to them as a people, will be cher- ished with warmer and more tenacious attachment. From the operation of this principle originates the maxim " Union is strength ;" and whether the conflict be mental or physical, the people who are united together by the most numerous and powerful sympathies, will oppose the strongest and the long- est resistance to the innovations of external forces. On the contrary, if the bonds of moral union are few and easily sundered, the strength of the nation is soon broken, and the fragments easily repelled from each other. According to this principle, in all cases in which a whole nation are to be instructed ; or prepared for offence and defence ; or in any wise fitted to be acted upon, or to act as a nation, it would be neces- sary that the bonds of national union should be numerous and strong ; and that as far as possible a perfect oneness of interest and feeling should pervade the nation. S: long as the human mind and human circum stances continue what they are, no power in heaven or on earth could rnite a people together, except by PLAN OP SALVATION. 55 the same or similar means as have been stated. If, therefore, God designed to form a nation, either to be act 3d upon or to act as a nation, he would put in operation those agencies which would bind them firmly and permanently into one mass. Now, mark the application of these deductions to the case of the Isra( lites. About the period when the corruptions of idolatry were becoming generally prevalent, Abraham, the Bible record states, was extricated by divine interposition. He was assured that his descendants should suffer a long bondage, and afterwards become a numerous nation. Abra- ham was their common ancestor, one whom they remembered with reverence and pride ; and each individual felt himself honored by the fact that the blood of the " Father of the faithful" circled in his veins. The tie of consanguinity in their case was bound in the strongest manner, and encircled the whole nation. In Egypt their circumstances and employments were the same ; and in the endurance of a protracted and most galling bondage they had a common lot. Their liberation was likewise a national deliverance, which affected alike the whole people ; the anniversary of which was celebrated by distant posteritjr with strong and peculiar national enthusiasm. Now, it has been said, that the events of our colo- nial servitude, and the achievement of American independence, are points in our history which will ever operate upon our national character, impress- 56 PHILOSOPHY OF THE ing Clear views of the groat principles of Republi- canism, and uniting all hearts in support of those principles : —how much more affecting and indeli- ble, then, was the impress made upon the national neart of the Israelites by their bondage and deliver- ance ! They were bound by blood, by interest feeling, hopes, fears, by bondage and by faith. And how firmly did these providences weave into one web the sympathies and views of the Jewish people. It is a fact which is the miracle of history, and the wonder of the world, that the ties which unite this people seem to be indissoluble. While otiier nations have risen and reigned and fallen ; while the ties which united them have been sun dered, and their fragments lost amid earth's teeming population, the stock of Abraham endures, like an incorruptible monument of gold, undestroyed by the attrition of the waves of time, which have dashed in pieces and washed away other nations, whose origin was but yesterday, compared with this ancient and wonderful people. In this manner was this nation prepared for pecu- liar duties, and to discharge those duties under peculiar circumstances. Many of the nations by which they were surrounded were more powerful than themselves ; all were warlike ; and each had its peculiar system of idolatry, which corrupted all hearts that came within its influence. Hence the necessity that this people should be so united to- gethei* as to resiyt the power and contagious exam- PLAN OF SALVATION. 57 pie 3f surrounding nations, while they were fitted tc receive and preserve a peculiar national character, civil polity, and religious doctrines ; of all which thev were to be the conservators amid surrounding nna opposing heathenism, for many ages. Other items might be added to the induction which would make the design, if possible, more aj>- parent. If the Jews were to be the recipients of new instruction — to obey new laws, and to sustain new institutions, it would be desirable that their minds, so far as possible, should be in the condition of new material, occupied by little previous know- ledge, and by no national prejudices against or in favor of govermental forms and systems. Now, in the case of the Jev/s, the habit of obedience had been acquired. They had no national predilections or prejudices arising from past experience. In rela- tion to knowledge of any kind, their mind was almost a tabula rasa. They were as new mate- rial prepared to receive the moulding of a master hand, and the impress of a governing mind. Now, as this discipline of the descendants oi Abraham, was the result of a long concatenation of events, and could not have been designed by tliemselves to accomplish the necessary end ; and as the whole chain of events was connected toofethei and perfectly adapted, in accordance Avith the na- ture of things, to produce the specific purpose which was accomplished by them, it follows as the only rational conclusion, first, that the overruling intel- 58 PHILOSOPHY OP THE ligeiice of God was employed in thus preparing material for a purer religious worship than the world then enjoyed ; and, Second, that a nation could have been so prepared by no other agent, and in no other way. PLAN OF SALVATION. 59 CHAPTER III. CONCKRNIXG MIRACLES PARTICULARLY THE MIRACLES WHICH ACCOMPANIED THE DELIV- ERANCE OF THE ISRAELITES FROM BONDAGE IN EGYPT. There has been so much false philosopliy writ ten concerning the subject of miracles, that it is diffi- cult for those conversant with the speculations of writers upon this subject, to divest their minds suf- ficiently of preformed biasses, to examine candidly the simple and natural principles upon which is based tlie evidence and necessity of miraculous interposition. The following statement is true beyond controver- sy — Man cannot^ in the ]>resent constitution of his mind, believe that religion has a divine orisrin, unless it he accompanied with miracles. The necessary inference of the mind is, that if an In- finite Being acts, his acts will be superhuman in their character ; because the effect, reason dictates, will be characterized by the nature of its cause. Man has the same reason to expect that God will perform acts above human power and knowledge^ that he lias to suppose the infericr orders of animals will in their nations, sink below the n^iwer and 60 PHILOSOPHY OP THE wisdom which characterizes human nature. For, as it is 7intural for man to perform acts superior to the power and knowledge of the animals beneath iiim, so, reason affirms, that it is natural for God to devel ipe his power by means, and in ways, above the skiL and ability of mortals. Hence, if God manifest himself at all — unless, in accommodation to the capacities of men, he should constrain his manifestations within the compass of human ability — every act of God's immediate power would, to human capacity, be a miracle. But, if God were to constrain all his acts within the limits of human .neans and agencies, it would be impossible for man to discriminate between the acts of the Godhead and the acts of the manhood. And man, if he consid- ered acts of a divine origin, which were phnnly within the compass of human ability, would violate his own reason. Suppose, for illustration, that God desired to reveal a religion to men, and wished them to re- coofuize his character and his benevolence in oivinor tliat revelation. Suppose, further, that God should give such a revelation, and that every appearance and every act connected with its introduction, was characterized by nothing superior to human power : Could any rational mind on earth believe that such a system of religion came from God ? Impossible ! A man could as easily be made to believe that his own child, who possessed his own lineaments, and his own nature, belonged to s(^me other world, an(J PLAN OF SALVATION. 61 some other order of the creation. It would not be possible for God to convince men, that a religion vv^'ls from heaven, unless it was accompanied with the marks of divine power. Suppose again, that some individual were to ap pear either in the heathen or Christian world — he claimed to be a teacher sent from God, yet aspired to the performance of no miracles. He assumed to do nothing superior to the wisdom and ability of other men. Such an individual, although he might succeed in gaining proselytes to some particular view of a religion already believed, yet he could never make men believe that he had a special com- mission from God to establish a new religion, for the simple reason that he had no grounds more than his fellows, to support his claims as an agent of the Almighty. But if he could convince a single individual that he had wrought a miracle, or that he had power to do so, that moment his claims would be established, in that mind, as a commis- sioned agent from heaven. So certainly, and so in- tuitively, do the minds of men revere and expect miracles as the credentials of the Divine presence. This demand of the mind for miracles, as testi- mony of the divine presence and power, is intuitive with all men : and those very individuals who have doubted the existence or necessity of miracles, should they examine their own convictions on this subject, would see that by an absolute necessity, il they desired to give the wo-'d a system of religion. 62 PHILOSOPHY OF THK whether truth or imposture, in order to make men receive it as of divine authority, they must work miracles to attest its truth, or make men believe thai they did so. Men can produce doubt of a revelation in no way until they have destroyed the evidence of its miracles ; nor can faith be produced in the Divine origin of a religion until the evidence cf miracles is supplied. The conviction that miracles are the true attesta- tion of immediate Divine agency, is so constitu- tional (allow tl:e expression) with the reason, that so soon as men persuade themselves they are the special agents of God, in propagating some particu- lar truth in the world, they adopt likewise the belief that they have ability to work miracles. There have been many sincere enthusiasts, who believed that they were special agents of heaven, and in such cases the conviction of their own miraculous pow- ers arises as a necessary concomitant of the other opinion. Among such, in modern times, may be instanced Immanuel Swedenbourg, and Irvine, the Scotch preacher. Imposters also, perceiving that miracles were necessary in order that the human mind should receive a religion as divine, have in- variably claimed miraculous powers. Such in- stances recur constantly from the days of Elymas down to the Mormon, Joseph Smith. All the multitude of false religions that have been believed since the world began, have been intro- iuced by the power of this principle. Miracles PLAN OP SALVATION. ^^ BELIEVED, lie at the foundation of all religions which men have ever received as of Divine origin, No matter how degrading or repulsive to reason in other respects, the fact of its establishment and pro- [)agation grows out of the belief of men that miracu- lous agency lies at the bottom. This belief will give currency to any system however absurd, and without it, no system can be established in the minds of men, however high and holy may be its origin and its design. Such, then, is the constitution which the Maker has given to the mind. Whether the conviction be an intuition or an induction of the reason, God is the primary cause of its existence ; and its existence puts it out of the power of man to receive a revela- tion from God himself, unless accompanied with miraculous manifestations. If, therefore, God ever gave a revelation to man, it was necessarily accom- jianied with miracles, and with miracles of such a nature as would clearly distinguish the Divine char- acter and the Divine authority of the dispensation. The whole fullness and force of these deductions apply to the case of the Israelites. The laws of their mind not only demanded miracles as an attes- tation of Divine interposition ; but at that time, the l/clief existed in their minds, that miracles were constantly performed. Although they remembered the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, yet they likewise, as subsequent facts clearly attested, be- lieved that the ido^s of Egypt possessed the attri- 64 PHILOSOPHY OP THE (y-ites of divinity. Tlie belief in a plural'ty of gods was then common to all nations. And although this error was corrected, and perhaps entirely re- moved, by succeeding providences and instructions, from the minds of the Jev/s ; yet, before the mira- cles in Egypt, while the God of Abraham was, per- haps, in most cases acknowledged as their God, the idols of Egypt were acknowledged as the gods of the Egyptians, and probably worshipped as the di vinities who had power to dispense good and evil to all the inhabitants of that land. And in common with all Egypt, they, no doubt, believed that the acts of jugglery, in which the magicians, or priests of Egypt had made astonishing proficiency, were actual miracles, exhibiting the power of their idols, and the authority of the priests to act in their name. In view, therefore of existing circumstances, two things were necessary, on the part of God,* in order to give any revelation to the Israelites : — First, that He should manifest himself by miracles, and — Second, that those miracles should be of such a character, as evidently to distinguish them from the jugglery of the magicians, and to convince all observers of the existence and omnipotence of the true God, in contradistinction from the objects of idolatrous worship. Unless these two things were done, it would have been impossible for the Israel- * When we speak of a thing as necessary on the part of God, It IS said, not in view of God's attributes, but in view of man's oature and cirTuaistances. PLAN OF SALVATION. 65 ites to have recognized Jehovah as the o)dt/lulng and tnie God. It follovvSj then, that by the miracles which God wrought, by the hand of Moses, he pursued the only way that was possible to give a revelation in which ais presence and power would be recognized. The only point of inquiry remaining is. Were the mira- cles of such a character, and performed in such a manner, as to remove false views from the minds of the Israelites, and introduce right views concern- ing the true God, and the non-existence of factitious objects of worship ? With this point in view, the design in the man- agement and character of the miracles in Egypt is interesting and obvious. Notice, first, the whole strength of the magicians' skill was brought out and measured with that of the miraculous power exerted through Moses. If this had not been done, tlie idea would have remained in the minds of the peo- ple, that although Moses wielded a mighty miracu- lous power, it might be derived from the Egyptian gods, or if it was not thus derived, they might have supposed, that if the priests of those idols were summoned, they could contravene or arrest the power vested in Moses by Jehovah. But now, the Magicians appearing in the name of their gods, the power of Moses was seen to be not only superior to their sorceries, but hostile to them and their idcla- Irous worship. Notice second, the design and adaptedness of 66 PHILOSOPHY OF THE the miracles, not only to distinguish the power of the trne God, but to destroy the confidence placea ill the protection and power of the idols. The first miracle, while it authenticated the mis- sion of Moses, destroyed the serpents, which among the Egyptians were objects of worship. Thus evin- ring-, in the outset, that their gods could neither help the people, nor save themselves. The second miracle was directed against the rivei Nile, another object which they regarded with re- ligious reverence. This river they held sacred, as the Hindoos do the Ganges; and even the fish in its waters they revered as objects of worship. They drank the wa^'er with reverence and delight; and supposed that a divine efficacy dwelt in its waves to heal diseases of the body. The water of this their cherished object of idolatrous homage was transmuted to blood; and its finny idols became a mass of putridity. The third miracle was directed to the accom- plishment of the same end — the destruction of faith in the river as an object of worship. The waters of the Nile were caused to send forth legions of frogs, which infested the whole land, and became a nuisance and a torment to the people. Thus tiieir idol, by the power of the true God was pollu- ted, and turned into a source of pollution to its worshippers. By the fourth miracle of a series constantly in- creasing in power and severity, lice came upon mai) PLAN OP SALVATION. t?7 and oeast throughout the land. " Now if :t be lef menihered," says Glieg, "that no one could approach the altars of Egypt upon whom so impure an insect harbored ; and that the priests, to guard against the slightest risk of contamination, wore only linen gar- ments, and shaved their heads and bodies every day,* the severity of this miracle, as a judgment upon Egyptian idolatry may be imagined. Whilst it lasted, no act of worship could be performed, and so keenly was this felt that the very magicians ex- claimed, — " this is the linger of God." The fifth miracle was designed to destroy the trust of the people in Beelzebub, or the Fly-god, who was reverenced as their protector from visitations of swarms of ravenous flies, which infested the xand, generally about the time of the dog days, and removed only, as they supposed, at the will of this idol. The miracle now wrought by Moses, evinced the impotence of Beelzebub, and caused the people to look elsewhere for relief from the fearful visita- tion under which they were suffering. The sixth miracle which destroyed the cattle, excepting those of the Israelites, was aimed at the destruction of the entire system of brute worship. This system, degrading and bestial as it was, had become a monster of many heads in Egypt. They had their sacred bull, and ram, and heifer, and goat, and many others, all of which were destroyed by • Every third day according to HerodotUh. 68 PHILOSOPHY OF THE the agency of the God of Moses. Thus by one act of power, Jehovah mciiifested his own supremacy, and destroyed the very existence of their brute idols. Of the peculiar fitness of the sixth plague (the seventh miracle) says the writer before quoted, the reader will receive a better impression, when he is reminded that in Egypt there were several altars upon which human sacrifices were occasionally of- fered, when they desired to propitiate Typhon, or the Evil Principle. These victims being burned alive, their ashes were gathered together by.the offi- ciating priests, and thrown up into the air, in order that evil might be averted from every place to which an atom of the ashes was wafted. By the di- rection of Jehovah, Moses took a handful of ashes from the furnace, (which very probably, the Egyp- tians at this time had frequently used to turn aside the plagues with which they were smitten) and lie cast it into the air, as they were accustomed to do ; and instead of averting evil, boils and blains fell upon all the people of the land. Neither king, nor priest, nor people, escaped. Thus the bloody rites of Typhon became a curse to the idolaters —the su- premacy of Jehovah was affirmed ; and the deliver- ance of the Israelites insisted upon. The ninth miracle was directed against the wor- ship of S3rapis, whose peculiar office was supposed to be to protect the country from locusts. At pe- riods* these destructive insects came in clouds upon the land, and like an overshadowing curse they PLAN OF SALVATION. 69 blighted the fraits of t?ie field and the verdure of the forest. At the command of Moses these terri- ble insects came — and they retired only at his bid- ding. Thus was the impotence of Serapis made manifest, and the idolaters taught the folly of trust- ing in any other protection, than that of Jehovah, the God of Israel. The eighth and tenth miracles were directed against the worship of Isis and Osiris, to whom and the river Nile, they awarded the first place* in the long catalogue of their idolatry. These idols were originally the representatives of the sun and moon ; Ihey were believed to control the light and the ele- ments ; and their worship prevailed in some form among all the early nations. The miracles direct- ed against the worship of Isis and Osiris must have made a deep impression on the minds both of the Israelites and the Egyptians. In a country where rain seldom falls — where the atmosphere is always calm, and the light of the heavenly bodies always continued, what was the horror pervading all minds during the elemental war described in the Hebrew record ! — during the long period of three days and three nights, while the gloom of thick darkness sotlled. like the out-spread pall of death over the * Against the worship of the Nile, two miracles were directed, and two likewise against Isis and Osiris, because they were sup- posed to be the supreme gods. Many placed the Nile first, as they said it had power to water Egypt independently of the ac- tion of the elements 70 PHILOSOPHY OF THE whole laiid ! Jehovah of Hosts siinimonecl Nature to proclaim him the true God — the God of Israel asserted his supremacy, and exerted his power to degrade the idols — destroy idolatry, and liberate the descendants of Abraham from the land of then bondage. The Almighty having thus revealed himself aa the true God, by miraculous agency, and pursued those measures, in the exercise of his power, which were directly adapted to destroy the various forms of idolatry which existed in Egypt, the eleventh and last miracle was a judgment, in order to mani- fest to all minds, that Jehovah was the God who executed judgment in the earth. The Egytians had, for a long time, cruelly op- pressed the Israelites, and to put the finishing hor- ror to their atrocities, they had finally slain at their birth, the offspring of their victims : and now God, in the exercise of infinite justice, visited them witli righteous retribution. In the mid-watches of the night, the ' Angel of the Pestilence' was sent to the dwellinofs of Egypt, and he 'breathed in the face' of all the firstborn in the land. In the morning, the hope of every family, from the palace to the cot- tage, was a corpse. What mind can imagine the awful consternation of that scene, when an agoni zing wail rose from the stricken hearts of all the pa- rents in the nation ! The cruel task-masters were taught, by means which entered their sou^s, that the true God, was a God not only of power but of judij- PLAN OP SALVATION. 71 ment, ana as such, to be feared by evil-Q».ors, and reverenced by those that do well. The demonstration, therefore, is conclusive, that in view of the idolatrous state of the world, and especially in view of the charactei and circumstan- ces of the Israelites, the true God could have made a revelation of Himself in no other way than by the inears and in the manner ij( the miracles of Egypt; and none but the true God could have revealed him.^elf in this way.* • In accordance with the foregoing are the intimations given in the Bible of the design of the miracles of Egypt. By these exhibitions of Divine power God said — « Ye,*' the Israelites, « and Pliaraoh shall know that I am Jehovah." Miracles, moreover, was the ev dence that Pharaoh required Ex. 7 : 9, God said to Moses, that when he should present him- self as the Divine legate, and Pharaoh should require a miracle, to perform it accordingly. In relation to the destruction of idolatry, the design of Jehovah is expressly announced Ex. 12:12, « Agai ast all the Gods of Ei^ypt will I execute jutgcent -I am Jehovah." See also, Ex. 18: 11. i'2i PHILOSOPHY OF THK CHAPTER IV. CONCERNING WHAT WAS NECESSARY AS THE FIRST STEP IN THE PROCESS OF REVELATION. By the miracles of Egypt, the false views and corrupt habits of the Israelites were, for the time being, in a great measure removed. Previously they had believed in a plurality of Gods ; and al- though they remembered the God of Abraham, yet they had, as is evident from notices in the Bible, as- sociated with his attribute of almighty power (the only attribute well understood by the Patriarchs) many of the corrupt attributes of the Egyptian idols. Thus the idea of God was debased by hav- ing grovelling and corrupt attributes superinduced upon it. By miraculous agency these dishonorable views of the Divine character were removed — their minds were emptied of false impressions in order that they might be furnished with the true idea and the true attributes of the Supreme Being. But how could minds in the infancy of know* ledge respecting God and human duty ; having all they had previously learned removed, and being now about to take the first step in their progress — how could the first principles of Divine knowledge be conveyed to such minds? FLAN OP SALVATION. 73 One thing in the outset would evidently be neces- sary : knowledge, as the mind is constituted, can be communicated in no other way than progressively, it would be necessary, therefore, that they should begin with the elementary principles, and proceed throuofh all the staofes of their education. The mind cannot receive at once all the parts of a sys- tem in religion, science, or any other department of human Knowledge. One fact or idea must be predi- cated upon another, just as one stone rests upon an- other, from the foundation to the top of the building There are successive steps in the acquisition of knowledge, and every step in the mind's progress must be taken from advances already made. God has inwrought the law of progression into the nature of things, and observes it in his own works. From the springing of a blade to the formation of the mind, or of a world, every thing goes forward by consecutive steps. It was necessary, therefore, in view of the estab- lished laws of the mind, that the knowledge of God and human duty should be imparted to the Israel*- ites by successive communications — necessary thai there should be a first step, or primary principle, for a starting point, and then a progression onward and upw^ard to perfection. In accordance with these principles, God, in the introduction of the Mosaic dispensation, revealed only his essential existence to the Israelites. In Exodus 3: 13, 14, it is stated that Moses enquired 74 PHILOSOPHY GF THE of God, ' Beliold when I come unto the children of Israel and say unto them — The God of your fathers liath sent me unto you, and they shall say unto me, What is his name? What shall I say unto them? And God said, I am the I AM : and he said, thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel. I AM hath sent me unto you." In the Hebrew text; the simple form of the verb is used, corresponding with the first person present, indicative, of the English verb to be. Simply ' I am,' conveying no idea but that of personality and existence. What He was, oesides his existence thus revealed, was afterwards to be learned. This was a revelation oi^ Divine be- fi^JG— a nucleus of essential deity, as a foundation fact of the tlien new disj^ensation, upon which God, by future manifestations, might engraft the attri- butes of his natur<'. Thus, at the outset of the dispensation, there was thrown into tlieir minds a first truth. God revealed his Divine existence ; and tJie idea of God, thus revealed, was in their minds, without any other at- tribute being connected with it than that of infinite fX)wer -an attribute of tlie Godhead which all men derive from the works of nature — wliich was known to the Patriarchs as belonging to the true God, and which was now, by the miracles manifesting su- preme power, appropriated to I am— Jehovah~tho God of the Israelites. Thus were this peculiar people carried back to the first principles of natural religion—their mind dis- PLAN OF SALVATION. 75 embarrassed from false notions previously enteriain- edj and the true idea of the supreme God and Judge of men revealed. By these providences they were prepared, in a manner consistent with the nature of things and the nature of mind, to receive a further revelation of the moral attributes of Jehovah, whom they now recognised as the Supreme God. 6 76 P H I r. O S O P H Y OF T H B OHAPTKR V. CONCERNING THE NECESSITY OP AFFECTICNATli OBEDIENCE TO GOD ; AND THE MANNER OP PRDDUCING THAT OBEDIENCE IN THE HEARTS OF THE ISRAELITES. The following principles in relation to the affec- tions will be recognised by consciousness as true in the experience of every man. As they lie at the foundation of the moral exercises of the soul, and as they relate to the sources and central principles of all true religion, it will be necessary for the reader to notice them, in order that he may see their appli- cation m subsequent pages. 1. The affections of the soul move in view of certain objects, or in view of certain qualities be- lieved to exist in those objects. The affections never move — in familiar words — the heart never loves, unless love be produced by seeing, or by believing that we see some lovely and excellent qualities in the object. When the soul believes those good qualities to be possessed by another, and especially, when they are exercised towards us, the affections^ like a magnetized needle, tremble with life, and turn towards tlieir object. PLAN OF SALVATION. 7? 2. The alfections are not subject tc the will ;* nei- ther our own will nor any other will can directly control them. I cannot will to love a beins: who does not appear to me lovely, and who does not exhibit the qualities adapted to move the affections •, nor can I, by command, or by any other effort of will, cause another being to love me. The affections are not subject to command. You cannot force an- other to love, or respect, or even, from the heart, to obey. Such an attitude assumed to produce love, wouid invariably produce disaffection rather than affection. No one, (as a matter or fact) thinks the affections subject to the will, and, therefore, men never endeavor to obtain the affections of others solely by command, but by exhibiting such a char- acter and conferring such favors as they know are adapted to move the heart. An effect could as easily exist without a cause, as affection in the bo- som of any human being, which was not produced by goodness or excellencies seen, or believed to exist, in some other being. 3. The affections, although not governed by the will, do themselves greatly influence the will. All acts of will produced entirely by pure affection foi another are disinterested. Cases of the affections influencing the will are common in the experience of every one. There is probably no one living who • We stale the facts in the case, of which every man is con- scious in his own experience, without regard to the theories of sects in religion or philosophy. 78 PHILOSOPHY OP THE has not, at some period of his life, had affection for another, so that it gave more pleasure to please the object of his love than to please himself. Love for^ another always influences the will to act in such a way 05 will please the object loved. The individ- ual loving acts in view of the desires of tlie loved object, and such acts are disinterested^ not being done with any selfish end in view, but for the sake of another. So soon as the affections move towards an object, the will is proportionably influenced to please and benefit that object ; or, if a superior being, to obey his will and secure his favor. 4. All happy obedience must arise from affeciion. Affectionate obedience blesses the spirit which yields it, if the conscience approve the object loved and obeyed : while, on the contrary, no happiness can be experienced from obedience to any being that we do not love. To obey externally either God, or a parent, from no other than interested motives, would be sin. The devil might be obeyed for the same reasons. Love must, therefore, constitute an essen- tial element in all proper obedience to God. 5. When the affections of two beings are recipro- cally fixed upon each other, they constitute a bond of union and sympathy peculiarly strong and ten- aer : — (hose things that affect the one affecting the other, in proportion to the strength of affection exist- inor between them. One conforms to the will of the other, not from a sense of obligation merely, but from choice ; and the constitution of the soul PLAN OF SALVATION. 79 lis such that the sweetest enjoyment of which it is capable arises /rem the exercise of reciprocal affec- tion. 6. When the circumstances of an individual are such that he is exposed to constant suffering and great danger ; the more afliicti^ j his situation the more grateful love will he feel for affection and benefits received under such circumstances. If his circumstances were such that he could not relieve himself, and such that he must suffer greatly or perish ; and, while in this condition, if another, moved by benevolent regard for him, should come to aid and save him, his affection for his deliverer would be increased by a sense of the danger from which he was rescued. 7. It is an admitted principle that protracted and close attention always fixes the fact attended to deeply in the memory ; and the longer and more intensely the mind attends to any subject, other subjects proportionably lose their power to interest. The same is true in relation to the affections. The longer and more intensely we contemplate an object in that relation which is adapted to draw out the affections, the more deeply will the impression be made upon the heart, as well as upon the memory. The most favorable circumstances possible to fix an impression deeply upon the heart and memory are, First, that there should be protracted and earnest attention; and Second, that at the same time that Uic impression is made, the emotions of the soul 80 PHILOSOPHY OP THE should bo alive with excitement. Without these; an impression made upon the heart and the memory would be slight and easily etfaced ; while, on the contrary-j an imi)ression made during intense atten- tion and excited feeling, will be engraved, as with a pen of steel, upon the tablets of the soul. Now, with these principles in mind, mark the means used to fix the attention and to excite the susceptibilities of the Israelites, and while in that state of attention and excitement, to draw their af- fections to God. The children of Israel were suifering the most grievous bondage, which had arrived at almost an intolerable degree of cruelty and injustice. Just at this crisis, the God of theii fathers appears as their deliverer, and Moses is commissioned as His prophet. When the people are convened and their minds aroused by the hopes of deliverance, their attention is turned to two parties: one Pliaraoh their oppressor and the slayer of their first born, and the other the God of Abraham, who now ap- peared as their deliverer, espousing their cause and condescending personally to oppose Himself to their oppressor. Then a scene ensues adapted in all its • ircumstances to make a deep and enduring im- pression upon their memory and their heart. — The God of Abraham seems, by his judgments, to have forced the oppressor lO relent, and to let the people go. At this point, hope and encouragement pre- dominate in their minds. Now their oppressors » PLAN OP SALVATION. 8l heart is hardened, and he renews his cruelty ; but while their hopes are sinking, they are again re- vived ana strengthened, by finding that God con- tinues to use means to induce Pharaoh to release tiie captives. Thus, for a considerable length of time, all the powers of excitability in their nature are aroused to activity. Towards that Being who had so graciously interposed in their behalf, they felt emotions of hope, gratitude, love, and admira tion. Towards their oppressor, feelings of an oj> posite character must have been engendered ; and this state of excited suspense — the emotions vascil- lating between love and hatred, hope and fear — was continued until the impression became fixed deep in cheir souls. Keeping in mind the fact, that the more we need a benefactor and feel that need, the stronger will be our feelings of gratitude and love for the being who interposes in our behalf^notice further : When through the interposition of the Almighty, the Isra- elites were delivered, and had advanced as far as the Red Sea, another appeal was made to their aifec- tions which was most thrilling, and adapted to call, by one grand interposition, all their powers of grati- tude and love into immediate and full exercise. The army of the Israelites lay encamped on the margin of the Red Sea, when, suddenly, they were surprised by the approaching host of Pharaoh. — Before them was the sea, and behind them an ad- vancing hostile army If they went forward, they 82 PHILOSOPHY OP THE would find death in the waves ; if they returned backward, it would be to meet the swords of their pursuers. A rescue, by earthly means, from death, or bondage more severe than they had ever borne, was impossible. Just at this crisis of extremity Jehovah appears as their deliverer. The bosom of the pathless sea is cleft by the power of God. The stricken waters recoil upon themselves on either side. The Israelites pass over in safety. The Egyp- tian host enter and are overwhelmed in the waters. Now, it may be affirmed without qualification, that, in view of the nature and circumstances of the Israelites, no combination of means, not including the self-sacrifice of the benefactor himself, could be so well adapted to elicit and absorb all the affections of the soul, as this wonderful series of events. That this result was accomplished by these means, is au- thenticated by the history given in the Bible. When the people were thus delivered, they stood upon the other side of the sea, and their affections, in answer to the call which God had made upon them, gushed forth in thanksgiving and praise. Hear the the re- sponse of their hearts, and their allusion to the cause wiiich produced that response — " O sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously : The horse and his rider he hath thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation. He is my God 'j PLAN OP SALVATION. 83 and I will prepare him a habitation ; my father's God, and 1 will exalt him." Ex. 15: 1, 2, &,c. Thus was the attention of the whole nation turned to the true God. An impression of his goodness was fixed deeply in their memory, and tlieir affections were drawn out and fastened upon the true object of worship. Now this, as was shown in the commencement of the chapter, was necessa- ry, before they could offer worship either honora- ble or acceptable to God. The end was accomplish- ed by means adapted to the nature of the human soul and to the circumstances of the Israelites ; and by means which no being in the Universe but the Maker of the soul could use. The demonstration is therefore perfect, that the Scripture narrative is true, and that no other narrative, differing materi- ally from this in its principles, could be true. 84 PHILOSOPHY OP THE CHAPTER VT. CONCERNING THE DESIGN AND NECESSITY OF THE MORAL LAW. At this stage of our progress it will be useful bo recapitulate the conclusions at which we have arrived, and thus make a point of rest from which to extend our observation further into the plan of God for redeeming the world. This review is the more appropriate as we have arrived at a period in the history of God's providence with Israel, whicli presents them as a people prepared (so far as im- perfect material could be prepared) to receive that model which God might desire to impress upor the nation. 1. They were bound to each other by all the ties of which human nature is susceptible, and thus rendered compact and united, so that every thing national, whether in sentiment or practice, would be received and cherished with unanimous, and fervent, and lasting attachment : and furthermore, by a long and rigorous bondage, they had been ren- dered, for the time being at least, humble and de- pendent. Th'is they were disciplined by a course of providences adapted to fit them to receive in- PLAN OP SALVATION. 85 struction from tlieir benefactor with a teachable and grateful s] irit. 2. Their minds were shaken off from idols ; and Jehovah, by a revelation made to them, setting forth his name and nature, had revealed himself as a DIVINE BEING, and by his works, had manifested his almighty power : so that when their minds were disabused of wrong views of the Godhead, an idea of the first, true, and essential nature of God was revealed to them ; and they were thus prepared to receive a knowledge of the attributes of that divine essence. 3. They had been brought to contemplate God as their Protector and Savior. Appeals the most affectinof and thrilling^ had been addressed to their affections ; and they were thus attached to God as their Almighty temporal Savior, by the ties of grati- tude and love for the favor which he had manifest- ed to them. 4. When they had arrived on the farther shore of the Red Sea, thus prepared to obey God and wor- ship him with the heart, they were without laws either civil or moral. As yet, they had never pos- sessed any national or social organization. They were therefore prepared to receive, without predi- lection or prejudice, that system of moral instruc tion and civil polity, which God might reveal, as best adapted to promote the moral interests of the nation. From these conclusions we may extend our vis 86 PHILOSOPHY OP THE ion forward into the system of revelation. This series of preparations would certainly lead the mind to the expectation that what was still wanting, and what they had been thus miraculously prepared to receive, would be granted — which was a knowledge of the moral character of God, and a moral law prescribing their duty to God and to men. With- out this, the plan that had been maturing for gene- rations, and had been carried forward thus far by wonderful exhibitions of Divine wisdom and power, would be left unfinished, just at the point where the finishing process was necessary. But, besides the strong probability which the pre-, vious preparation would produce, that there would be a revelation of moral law, there are distinct and conclusive reasons, evincing its necessity. The whole experience of the world has confirm- ed the fact, beyond the possibility of skepticism, that man cannot discover and establish a perfect rule of human duty. Whatever may be said of the many excellent maxims expressed by different in- dividuals in different ages and nations, yet it is true liiat no system of duty to God and man, in any wise consistent with enlightened reason, has ever been established by human wisdom, and sustained by human sanctions ; and for reasons already sta- ted,* such a fact never can occur. But, it may be supposed that each man has. within himself, sufilcient light from reason, and suf- * See chap. i. p. 23, et seq. PLAN OP SALVATION, 87 f»cient admonition from conscience, to gnide him- self, as an individual, in the path of truth and hap- piness A single fact will correct such a supposi- tion. Conscience, the great arbiter of the merit and demerit of human conduct, has little intuitive senr'e of right, and is not guided entirely by rea- son, but is governed in a great measure by what men believe. Indeed, Faith is the legitimate regu- lator of the conscience. If a man has correct views of duty to God and men, he will have a correct conscience, but if he can, by a wrong view of mor- als and of the character of God, be induced to be- lieve that theft, or murder, or any vice, is right, his conscience will be corrupted by his faith. When men are brought to believe, as they frequently do believe in heathen countries, that it is right to com- mit suicide, or infanticide, as a religious duty, their conscience condemns them if they do not perfonn the act. Thus, that power in the soul which pro- nounces upon the moral character of human con- duct, is itself dependent upon, and regulated by the faith of the individual. It is apparent, therefore, that the reception and belief of a true rule of duty, accompanied with proper sanctions, will alone form in man a proper conscience. God has so constitu- ted the soul that it is necessary, in order to the regu- lation of its moral powers, thf t it should have a rule of duty, revealed under the sanction of its Maker's authority ; otherwise its high moral powers would lie in dark and perpetual disorder. 88 PHILOSOPHY OF THE Further ; unless the human soul be an exceptioii, God governs all things by laws adapted to theii proper nature The laws which govern the mate- rial world are sketched in the books on natural science ; such are gravitation, affinity, mathematical motion. Those laws by which the irrational ani- mal creation iscontroled are usually called instincts. Their operation and design are sketched, to some extent, in treatises upon the instincts of animals. Such is the law which leads the beaver to build his dam, and all other animals to pursue some particu- lar habits instead of others. All beavers from the first one created to the present time, have been in- stinctively led to build a dam in the same manner, and so their instinct will lead them to build till the end of time. The law which drives them to tht act is as necessitating as the law which causes tho smoke to rise upwards. Nothing in the universe of God, animate or inanimate, is left without the government of appropriate law, unless that thino be the noblest creature of God — the human spirit. To suppose, therefore, that the human soul is thus left unguided by a revealed rule of conduct, is to sup pose that God cares for the less and not the greater — to sup]X)se that He would constitute the moral powers of the soul so that a law was necessary for their guidance, and then reveal none — to suppose, especially in the case of the Israelites, that He would prepare a people to receive, and obey with a proper spirit, this necessary rule of duty, and yet PLAN OP ScvLVATION. N^^ r:8y give no rule. But, to suppose these things would be absurd ; it follows, therefore that God would reveal to the Israelites a law for vhe regulation of their conduct in morals and religion. But, physical law or necessitating instinct would not be adapted in its nature to the government of a rational and moral being. The application of either to the soul would destroy its free agency God has made man intelligent, and thereby adapted his nature to a rule which he understands, — Man has a will and a conscience : but he must under- stand the rule in order to will obedience, and he must believe the sanction by which the law is main- tained, before he can feel the obligation upon his conscience. A law, therefore, adapted to man's na- ture, must be addressed to the understanding — sanctioned by suitable authority ; and enforced by adequate penalties. In accordance with these legitimate deductions, God gave the Israelites a rule of life — the Moral Law — succinctly comprehended in the Ten Com- mandments. And as affectionate obedience is the only proper obedience, He coupled the facts which were fitted to produce affection with the command to obey; saying, " I am Jehovah, thy God, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and out of the -house bondage" — therefore^ love me and KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS.* * Deut. b : passim. 90 PHILOSOPHY OF THE CHAPTER VII. CONCERNING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE IDEA OF HOLI- NESS, AND ITS TRANSFER TO JEHOVAH AS AN ATTRI- BUTE. As yet the Israelites were little acquainted with any attribute of the i am — Jehovah — except his infinite power and goodness ; and his goodness was known to them only as manifested in kindness and mercy towards themselves, as a peculiar people, distinguished from other nations, as the special objects of the Divine favor. They had a disposi- tion to worship Jehovah, and to regard the rights of each other according to his commandments ; but they knew as yet little of his moral attributes. Of the attribute of holiness — purity from sin, and opposition of nature to all moral and physical defilement — they knew comparatively nothing. After the law had been given, they knew that God required worship and obedience for himself, and just conduct towards others, but tliey did not know that his nature was hostije to all moral defilement of heart and life. And to this knowledgCj as we have seen in the introduction, they cou.d not, of themselves, attain. At the period of the deliverance from Egypt^ PLAN OP SALVATION. 9l every nation by which they were surrounded, wor- shipped unholy beings. Now, how were the Jews to be extricated from this difficulty, and made to understand, and feel tlie influence of the holy char- acter of God. The Egyptian idolatry in which they had mingled, was beastly and lustful ; and one of their first acts of disobedience after their deliver ance, showed that their n.inds were still dark, and their propensities corrupt. The golden calf which they desired should be erected for them, was not designed as an act of apostacy from Jehovah, who liad delivered them from Egyptian servitude. Wlien the image was made, it was proclaimed to be that God which brought them up out of the land of Egypt ; and when the proclamation of a feast, or idolatrous debauch, was issued by Aaron, it was de- nominated a feast, not to Isis or Osiris, but a feast to Jehovah ; and as such they held it.* But they offered to the holy Jehovah the unholy worship of the idols of Egypt. Thus they manifested their ignorance of the holiness of his nature, as well as the corruption of their own hearts. It was necessary, therefore, in order to promote right exercises of heart in religious worship, that the Israelites should be made acquainted with the Holiness of God. The precise question, then, for solution is. How could the idea of God's holiness be conveyed to the minds of the Israelites ? If it should be found that there is but one way in which • Ex. 32 : 4, 5. 6 92 PHILOSOPHY OP THE it could be originated, according to the nature of mindj then it would follow, necessarily, that God would pursue that way, or he would have to alter the human constitution, in order to communicate a knowledge of his attribute of holiness. But, as it is matter of fact that the constitution of the mind has not been altered, it follows that that method would be pursued which is in accordance with the nature of mind, to convey the necessary knowledge. Now all practical knowledge is conveyed to the understanding through the medium of the senses. Whatever may be said about innate ideas by specu- lative philosophers, still all agree that all acquired knowledge must reach the mind through the medi- um of one of the five senses, or upon the occasion of their exercise. Through the senses the know- ledge of external objects is conveyed to the mind, and these simple ideas serve as material for reflec- tion, comparison and abstraction. The etymology of the Hebrew language, as writ- ten by Moses, and spoken by the Isralites, furnishes an interesting illustration of the or 'gin of the few abstract terms with which their minds were familiar. The abstract ideas of the Hebrew tongue may even now, in most instances, be traced to the object or circumstance whence they originated. Thus the idea of power, among the Hebrews, was derived from the horn of an animal ; and the same word in Hebrew which signifies horn likewise signifies power, and may be translated in either way to suit PLAN OF SALVATION. 93 the sense. The idea was originally conveyed through the eye, by noticing that the strength of the animal was exerted through its horn. The force thus exerted, especially when the animal was enraged, was the greatest which fell under their observation ; and sometimes, in its effects, it was disastrous and overwhelming. Hence, the horn soon became a figure to denote power, and when the idea was once originated and defined in theii minds, they could apply it to any object which pro- duced a strong effect either upon the bodies or the minds of men. An idea of power likewise origin- ated from the human hand, because through it man exerted his strength. The same word in Hebrew still expresses both the object and the idea derived from it — " Life and death are in the power of the tongue," reads literally — " Life and death are in the hand of the tongue." Sunshine, in Hebrew is synonymous with happiness : The idea being origi- nated by experiencing the pleasant feelings produced by the effects of a sunny day ; and when thus ori- ginated, it was applied to the same and similar feel- ings produced by other causes. The abstract idea of judgment or justice is derived from a word which signifies to cut or divide ; it being originated by the circumstance that when the primitive hunters had killed a stag, or other prey, one divided the flesh with a knife, among those who assisted in the pur- suitj distributing a just portion to each. Thus, the ^i of cutting and dividing their prey, which was J^4 PHILOSOFHY OF THE the first circumstance that called into exercise and placed before their senses the principle of justice, was the circumstance from which they derived this most important abstract idea. Other instances might be mentioned. These are sufficient to show the manner in which the. abstract ideas of the Hebrews were originated. And so, every new idea which found a place in their under- standing, had to be originated, primarily, by an im- pression made oy external objects upon the senses. Further, all ideas which admit of the significa- tion of more or most perfect, can be originated only by a comparison of one object with another. More lovely, or more pure, can only be predicated of one thing by comparison with another which it excels in one of these respects. By a series of compari- sons, each one exceeding the last in beauty or purity, an idea of the highest degree of perfection may be produced. Thus one flower may be called lovely, another more lovely, and the rose the most lovely j and the idea of the superior beauty of the rose would be originated by the comparison or con- trast between it and other flowers of less beauty. It is not said that the rose would not appear lovely without comparison, tut the idea of its superior loveliness is originated by comparison, and it could be derived in no other way. With these principles in mind, we return to the in quiry, How could the idea of God's holiness^ or mo- ral jmrity^ he conveyed to the miuds of the Jeics 1 PLAN OP SALVATION. 96 First, mark the principles — (1.) There was not an object in the material world which would con- vey to the mind the idea of God's holiness. — {2,) The idea, therefore, would have to be originated, and thrown into their mind, through the senses, by a process instituted for that express purpose. (3.) The plan to originate the idea, in order to meet the constitution of the mind, must consist of a series of comparisons. Now. mark the correspondency between these principles, founded upon the laws of the mind^ and that system devised to instruct the Israelites in the Knowledge of God. In the outset, the animals common to Palestine were divided, by command of Jehovah, into clean and unclean ; in this way a distinction was made, and the one class in comparison with the other was deemed to be of a purer and better kind. From the class thus distinguished, as more pure than the other, one was selected to offer as a sacrifice. It was not only to be chosen from the clean beasts, but, as an individual, it was to be without spot or blemish. Thus it was, in their eyes, purer than the other class, and purer than other individuals of its own class. This sacrifice, the people were not deemed worthy, in their own persons, to offer unto Jehovah ; but it was to be offered by a class of men who were distinguished from their brethren, puri- fied, and set apart for the service of the priest's *>ffirc Tims the idea of purity, originated from 96 PHILOSOPHY OP THE two sources ; the purified priest and the pure ani- mal purified^ were united in the offering of the sa- crifice But before the sacrifice could be offered, it was washed with clean water— and the priest had, in some cases, to wash himself, and officiate without his sandals. Thus, when one process oi comparison after another had attached the idea of superlative purity to the sacrifice — in offering it to Jehovah, in order that the contrast between the pu- rity of God and the highest degrees of earthly pu- rity might be seen, neither priest, people, nor sacri- fice was deemed sufficiently pure to come into his presence ; but the offering was made in the court without the holy of holies. In this manner, by a process of comparison, the character of God, in point of purity, was placed indefinitely above them- selves and their sacrifices.* And not only in the sacrifices, but throughout the whole Levitical economy, the idea of purity per- vaded all its ceremonies and observances. The camp was purified — the people were purified — every thing was purified and re-purified ; and each process of the ordinances was designed to reflect • It is not argued that no other end was designed and accom- plished by the arbitrary separation of animals into classes of clean and unclean. By this means the Jews were undoubtedly exclu- ded from partaking in the feasts of the heathen around, who ate tliose animals which were forbidden to them. An excellent wri- ter ob-^erves that it is characteristic of the wisdom of God to ac- complish many ends by a pingle act ol Providence. PLAN OP SALVATION. 97 jinrity upon the others; until, finally that idea of purity formed in the mind and rendered intense by the convergence of so many rays, was by com- parison, referred to the idea of God — and the idea of God in their minds, being that of an infinitely powerful and good Spirit, hence, purity, as a cliar- acteristic or attribute of such a nature, would ne- cessarily assume a moral aspect, because it apper- tained to a moral being — it would become moral pii- Titij, or holiness. Thus they learned, in the senti- ment of Scripture, that God was of too pure eyes to look upon iniquity. That the idea of moral purity ir. the minds of the Israelites was thus originated by the machinery of the Levitical dispensation, is supported, not only by the philosophy of the thing, but by many allu- sions in the scriptures. Such allusions are frequent both in the writers of the Old and of the New dis- pensations ; evidencing that, in their minds, the idea of moral purity was still symbolized by physical parity. The rite of Baptism is founded upon this symbolical analogy. The external washing with water being significant of the purifying influence of the Holy Spirit. St. John saw in vision the un- defined in heart clothed with linen pure and white ; evincing, that to the mind of the Jew, such vest- ments as the high priest wore, wher he entered the holy of holies, were still emblematical of moral pu- rity. In the Epistle to the Hebrews, which is an apostolic exposition of the spirit lal import of the 98 PHILOSOPHY OP THE Levitical institntiorij so far as that institution particu- larly concerns believers under the New Testament dispensation, we have the foregoing view of the design of ceremonial purification expressly con- firmed. " It was therefore necessary," says Paul to the Hebrews, " that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these, (i. e. with these purifying processes addressed to the senses) but the heavenly things themselves with better sac- rifices than these." The plain instruction of which is, that the parts and processes of the Levitical economy were patterns addressed to the senses of unseen things in heaven, and that the purifying of those patterns indicated the spiritual purity of the spiritual things which they represented. There is, finally, demonstrative evidence of the fiict, that the idea of perfect moral purity, as connect- ed with the idea of God, is noio^ and always has been the same which was originated and conveyed to the minds of the Jews by the machinery of the Levitical dispensation. The Hebrew word ^np quadhosh, was used to express the idea of purity as originated by the tabernacle service. The literal definition is, piire^ to be pure, to be piirijicd for sacred uses. The word thus originated and con- veying this meaning is employed in the Scriptures to express the moral purity or holiness of God.* In the New Testament this word is translated by the Greek term Ayio^, agios, but the Hebrew idea is con- • "^aTp GO my holy name. Lev. 20 : 3. PLAN OP SALVATION. 99 nected with the Greek word. In King Jameses version this Greek word is rendered by the Saxon term holy — the Saxon word losing its original im- port, {whole, wholly,) and taking that of the Hebrew derived through the Greek. So that our idea of the holiness of God is the same which was originated by the Levitical ceremonies ; and there is nc other word, so far as I have been able to examine, in any language, which conveys this idea. Nor is there any idea among any people that approximates closely to the Scripture idea of holiness, unless, the words received some shades of its signification from the Bible.* Here, then, the idea of God^s moral purity was conveyed by the Mosaic economy in a manner in accordance with the constitution and the condition of the Jewish mind. This same idea has descend- ed from the Hebrew, through the Greek to our own language, and there is, so far as known, no othei vord in the world, which conveys to the mind the * One of the principal difficulties which the Missionary meets with, according to letters in the Missionar)' reports, is, that of conveying to the mind of the heathen, the idea of the holiness of God. They find no such idea in their minds, and they can use no words in their language by which to convey the full and true force of the thought. The true idea, therefore, if communicated at all, must be conveyed by a periphrasis, and by labored illus- tration. This obstacle will be one of the most difficult to sur- mount in all languages ; and it cannot be perfectly overcome, till the christian teacher becomes perfectly familiar with the lan- g-ja??? of those whom he wishes to instruct. iOO THILOaOPHY OF THE true idea of God's moral piiilty, but that originated by the institution which God prescribed to Moses upon the Mount.* The demonstration then is conclusive, both from philosophy and fact, that the true and necessary' idea of God's attribute of holiness was originated by the '* patterns" of the Levitical economy, and that it could have been communicated to mankind, at the first, in no other way.f ♦ Ex. 25 : 9. t The foundation principle of that school of skepticism, at the head of wliich are the atheistical materialists, is, that all know- ledge is derived through the medium of the senses, and that aj God is not an object of sense, men can have no knowledge of his being or attributes. Now these deductions show that the truth of revealed religion may be finnly established upon their own proposition. PLAN OF SALVATION. 101 CHAPTER VIII. CONCERNING THE ORIGIN OP THE IDEAS OP JUSTICE AND MERCY, AND THEIR TRANSFER ro THE CHARACTER OP JEHOVAH. - Holiness and justice, although they convey to the mind ideas somewhat distinct from each other, yet the import of the one is shaded into that of the other. Holiness signifies the purity of the Divine nature from moral defilement ; while justice signi- fies the relation which holiness causes God to sus- tain to men, as the subjects of the Divine govern- ment. In relation to God, one is subjective, declar- ing his freeedom from sin ; the other objective, de daring his opposition to sin, as the transgression of the divine law. The Israelites might know that God was holy, and that he required of them clean hands and a clean heart in worship, and yet not un- derstand the full demerit of transffressii or the will of God, or the intensity of the Divine opposition to sin. God had given them the moral law, and they knew that he required them to obey it ; but what, in the mind of God, was the proper desert of diso- beying it they did not know. They had been ac- '^ustomed, j'k? ail idolaters, to consider tlie desert 102 PHILOSOPHY OF THE of moral transgression uncertain and unequal. Now they had to learn the immutable justice of the Su- preme Being — that his holiness was not a passive quality, but an active attribute of his nature, and not only the opposite, but the antagonist principle to sin. In what manner, then, cou^d a knowledge of the Divine Justice, or of the demerit of sin in the sight of God, he conveyed to the minds of the Jews ? There is but one way in which any being can manifest to other minds the opposition of his nature to sin. A lawgiver can manifest his views of the demerit of transgression in no other way than by the penalty which he inflicts upon the transgressor. In all beings who have authority to make law for the obedience of others, the conscience is the stand ard which regulates the amount of punishment that should be inflicted upon the disobedient; and the measure of punishment which conscience dictates is just in proportion to the opposition which the law- giver feels to the transgression of his law; i. e. the amount of regard which he has for his own law will graduate the amount of opposition which he Avill feel to its transgression. The amount of oppo- sition which any being feels to sin is in proportion to the holiness of that being, and conscience will sanction penalty up to the amount of opposition which he feels to crime. If the father of a family felt no regard for the law of the Sabbath, his conscience would not allow PLAN OP SALVATION. 103 him to punish his children for violating, by folly or labor, a law which he did not himself respect. But a father who felt a sacred regard for the Divine law, would be required by his conscience to cause nis children to respect the Sabbath, and to punish them if they disobeyed. The penalty which one felt to be wrong the other would feel to be right, because the disposition of the one towards the law was different from the other. The principle then is manifest, that the more holy and just any being is, the more he is opposed to sin, and the higher penalty will his conscience sanction as the desert of transgressing the Divine law. Now, God being infinitely holy, he is, there- fore, infinitely opposed to sin, and the Divine con- science will enforce penalty accordingly. This is the foundation of penalty in the Divine mind. The particular point of inquiry is. How could the desert of sin, as it existed in the mind of God, he revealed to the Israelites l If the penalty inflicted is sanctioned by the con- science of the lawgiver, it follows, as has been shown, that the opposition of his nature to the crime is in exact proportion to the penalty which he inflicts upon the criminal. Penalty, therefore, inflicted up- •)n the transgressor is the only way by which the standard of justice, as it exists in tlie mind of God, could be revealed to men. The truth of this principle may be made appa- rent by illustration. Si ppose a father were to ex- 104 PHILOSOPHY OF THE press his will in relation to the government of his family, and the regulations were no sooner made, than some of his children should resist his authority, and disobey his commands. Now, suppose the fa- ther should not punish the offenders, but treat them as he did his obedient children. By so doing he would encourage the disobedient — discourage the obedient— destroy his own authority, and make the impression upon the minds of all his children that he had no regard for the regulations which he had himself made. And further, if these regulation? were for the general good of the family, by noi maintaining them, he wonld convince the obedient that he did not regard their best interests, but wa& the friend of the rebellious. And if he were to punish for the transgression but lightly, they would suppose that he estimated but lightly a breach of his commands, and they could not, from the consti- tution of their minds, suppose otherwise. But if the father, when one of the children transgressed, should punish him and exclude him from favor till he submitted to his authority, and acknowledged with a penitent spirit his offence, then the house- hold would be convinced that the father's will was imperative, and that the only alternative presented to them was affectionate submission, or exclusion from the society of their father and his obedient children. Thus the amount of the father's regard for his law, his interest in the well-being of his obodient children and the opposition of his nature PLAN OP SAL/ATlOM. 10b to disobedience, would be graduated in every child's mind by the penalty which he inflicted for the transgression of his commands. So in the case of an absolute lawgivei : his hos- tility to crime could be known only by the penalty which he inflicted upon the criminal. If, for the crime of theft, he were to punish the oflender only by the imposition of a trifling fine, the impression would be made upon every mind that he did not, at heart, feel much hostility to the crime of lar ceny. If he had the power, and did not punish crime at all, he would thus reveal to the whole na- tion that he was in league with criminals, and him- self a criminal at heart. So in relation to murder, if he were to let the culprit go free, or inflict upon him but a slight penalty, he would thus show that his heart was tainted with guilt, and that there was no safety for good men under his government. But should he fix a penalty to transgression — declare it to all his subjects, and visit every criminal with punishment in proportion to his guilt, he would show to the world that he regarded the law, and was opposed directly and forever to its transgression. In like manner, and in no other way, could God manifest to men his infinite justice and his regard for the laws of his kingdom. Did he punish for sin with but a slight penalty, the whole universe of mind would have good reason to believe that the God of heaven was but little ooposed to sin. Did 106 PHILCSOPHY OP THE he ])unish it with the highest degree of peridlty, it would be evidence to the universe that his nature was ir the highilies of the human soul. Miracles under the new PLAN OP SALVATION. 1H> 3. The new and spiritual system should he first propagated among those who understood both the spiritual import of the Hebrew language, and like- wise the langruaofe of the other nations to whom the gospel was to be pleached. It was necessary that the new dispensation should be committed, first to the Jews, who were scattered in the surrounding nntions, because, as we have seen, they were the only individuals immediately prepared to commnni- cate it to others. Now the foUowinor facts are matters of authentic history. 1. By instruction and discipline the Jews were entirely cured of the propensity to idolatry — so much so that their souls abhorred idols. 2. They were, and had been for many genera tions, dispersed among all nations of the Roman world ; but still, in their dispersion they retained their peculiar ideas, and multitudes of this peculiar people assembled out of all countries, at least once a year, at the city of Jerusalem, to worship Jehovah ; and it was while the multitudes were thus assembled, that the gospel was first preached to them ; and preached, as was proper it should be, by power and miracle, in order that those present might know as- suredly that the dispensation wc5 frcm Heaven. dispensation hacl scarcely ceased — the apostolic fathers were scarcely cold in their graves, before idoiatrous forms were again superinduced upon the pure spirituality of the holy gospel, and in the Papal c'iurch the curse continues till this ho'ir. \2'> PHILOSOPHY OF THE 3. The new dispensation was likewise introduced in the first place among the Jews who continued to - reside in Palestine, and when a sufficient number of them were fully initiated, persecutions were caused to arise which scattered them abroad among the nations ; and the Gentile languages not being known to th^^m, they were miraculously endowed with the gift of tongues, that they might communi- cate to others the treasures of Divine knowledge committed to them. Thus, when the old dispensation had fulfilled its design in disciplining the Jews, in imparting first ideas, and thus, as a ' schoolmaster,' preparing the people for the higher instruction of Christ; and when the fulness of the times had come, that the means and the material were prepared to propagate the spiritual truth of the new dispensation, then the Mosaic cycle would appropriately close — it would not be consistent that it should remain longer, for the plain reason given by Jesus himself, that new wine should not be put into old bottles, nor the old and imperfect forms be incorporated with the new and spiritual system. Therefore it was, that so soon as the new dis- pensation had been introduced, and its foundations , firmly laid, Jerusalem, the centre of the old econo- my, with the temple and all things pertaining to the ritual service, was at once and completely de- stroyed, and the old system vanished away forever. It would not have been expedient for GoJ to de- PLAN OF SALVATION. \2\ siroy tlie old system sooner, because it was neces- sary to engraft the new system upon the old ; and it ought not to have remained longer, for the rea- sons above stated.* * It was necessary that the old system should be destroyed at Ihis time, in order to throw the Jews upon Christ, as the sacrificfi Cor their sins. Under the old dispensation, the sacrifices tor sin were allowed to continue to the end. From this sacrifice they were taught to hope for pardon. An idea had been, by the pro- cess which God himself instituted, originated in their mind, that death must ensue for sin ; but by transferring their sins to the head of the sacrifice, it died as a vicarious expiation, and they Hved. It had become a part, almost, of the Jewish mind, that they could not hope for pardon, unless the sacrifice was offered. They felt that their life was forfeited by sin, and they were un- pardoned until the sacrifice was made, and it could be made no where else but at Jerusalem. Now God destroyed Jerusalem, jind caused the offering for sin to cease, and entirely annihilated the possibility of their ever again expiating their sins by the bloody sacrifices ; they were, therefore, shut up to the doctrine of Christ's sacrifice for sin. By the destruction ot Jerusalem, the alternative was presented to the Jews — Accept of Christ's sacrifice, or yon have no propitiation for your sins. 122 PHILOSOPHY OF THE CHAPTER X. CONCERNING THE MEDIUM OP CONVEYING TO MEN, PERFECT INSTRUCTION IN DOCTRINE AND DUTY. The knowledge whicli the old dispensation was designed to generate, had been transmitted into the minds of the Jews ; and the Jews had been prepa- red to transmit the abstract import of those spiritual ideas into other languages. Tlie Mosaic institution, having accomplished its design, was about to ' van ish away,' and give place to the new dispensatioUj which would end the series of God's revealed in structions, by giving men a perfect system of reli- gion, accompanied by those aids and influences, which would be adapted to develope and perfect man's moral powers, and render him, in his present condition, as perfect as his nature and his circum- stances would allow. At this point of our progress the inquiry presents itself — What can ive Icarn^from the present con- stitution of things^ concerning the ^nedium or in- strumentality that God would adopt in giving manlxind a perfect system, of religion ? When the ideas that conveyed the knowledge of God were understood by the people, human Ian- PLAN OP 8AL\ATICN. 123 ^uage would then become the proper medium of communication. The very fact that the ideas were generated and thrown mto language, evinces that language was designed, eventually, to be the me. dium through which they should be transmitted to the world. When the ideas were prepared, as has been stated, then all that would be necessary, in order to the further and more perfect communi- cation of knowledge, would be, that men should have a teacher to use this language — to expand, illustrate and apply these ideas ; and by these, give definitions, and illustrate and spiritualize other ideas when necessary. Further; man's senses are constituted with an adaptation to the external world ; and his intellec- tual constitution is adapted to intercourse with his fellow man. The delicate bony structure of the ear, which conveys sounds from the tympanum to the sensorium, is nicely adjusted by the Maker to appreciate and convey the tones and modulations of the human voice. Human gesture, likewise, and the expression of the countenance and the eye, are auxiliary to human language in conveying instruc- tion. The nature of man, therefore, is adapted, both physically and intellectually, to receive knowl- edge by communicatioLS from one of his own spe- cies If God desiorned that an antjel should instmct tile human family, one of two things would have to be done— either the human constitution would have to be elevated and adapted to intercourse with 8 124 i'HILOSOPHY OP THE a bciiiJf uf a higher order in the scale of creatioi , or that beinof would have to let down hi? nature to human capacity, and thus adapt himself to inter- course with human natures. And, it would even be requisite that the teacher should not assume thp hicrhest condition of humanity in order that his in- structions should accomplish the greatest genera] good ; nor should his communications be made in the most cultivated and elevated style of language. If he would instruct the common mind in the best manner, he must use common language and com- mon illustrations — and if God (blessed be his name) were himself to instruct human nature, as it is, the same means would be necessary. Another step — Man is so constituted that he teams by example better than precept. Theory without practice, or precept Avithout example does not constitute a perfect system of instruction. The theory of surveying, however perfect it may be taught in college, never makes a practical surveyor. An artist may give a most perfect theory of his art, to his apprentices, or those whom he wishes to in- struct in a knowledge of his business, but if he would have them become practical artists them- selves, he must, with tools in hand, practise his own instructions before the eyes of the learner. In the languafi^e of the trades, he must " show how it's done." Such, then, is the nature of man, that in order to a perfect system of instniction, there irust he both precept and practice. PLAN OF SALVATION. 125 Now, there can be but one perfect model of human nature. And man could not be removed to some other planet, nor out of his present circumstances, to be instructed. If tlie Almighty, therefore, designed ever to give a perfect and final system of instruction to mankind, it could be done only by placing in this world a perfect human nature — a being who would not only give perfect precepts, but who would prac- tise those precepts before the eyes of men. If such a being were placed among men, who, amid all the perplexities, difiiculties, and trials which aifect men in their present condition, would exhibit perfect ac- tion of body, heart, and mind, in all his relations of life, and in all his duties to God and man — that would be a model character, practising the precepts of the Divine law in man's present circumstances. The example of an angel, or of any being of a dif- ferent order from man, would be of no benefit to the human family. Man must see his duties, as man, exemplified in his own nature. Human nature could be perfected only by following a perfect mo- del of hum,an nature. But, with the rule of duty in his hand, and a model character before him, man would have a system of instruction perfectly adapted to his nature: and adapted to perfect his nature. If God, therefore, designed to give man a final and jxirfect system of instruction, he would adopt the method thus adapted to the constitution which he has given his creatures. — Now, Jesus Christ is THAT MODE! CHARACTER. He assumcd human 1:26 PHILOSOPHY OF THE nature -came to the earth, man's residence — ex- pounded and illustrated the Law in human lan- guage ; ^ave it its spiritual import, and applied it to the different circumstances and conditions of human life. He removed the false glosses which the igno- rance and the prejudices of men had attached to it — Ho modified or rescinded those permissions oi clauses which were accommodated to the darkness of former times, and the imperfections of the Jewish system, and then, by applications the most striking and definite, he shewed the bearing of the rule of duty upon all varieties of human action. And further ; the law being thus defined and ap^ plied, in order that the world might have a model character, he conformed himself to all its require- ments. And in order that that model might be a guide in all the varied circumstances in which some of the family of man might be placed, Jesus placed himself in all those circumstances, and acted in them, Is man surrounded by a sinful and suffering world ? So was Jesus. Does he desire to know how to act in such circumstances ? Jesus ministered occasion- ally to the temporal wants of men, and labored con- tinually to promote their spiritual good. Is man popular ? So was Jesus ; and he used his influence to purify his Father's house. Is man forsaken by his last friend ? So was Jesus ; and he upbraided and murmured not, but sought a^.nsolation in com- munion with the Father. Does man visit and dine With the learned, and the religious formalists of the PLAN OP SALVATION. 1^7 a^e? So did Jesus; and in his conversation he maintained the claims of spiritual religion, and re- proved man's hypocrisy and formality. Does man sit down in the cottage ot the poor ? So did Jesus : and he encouraged and comforted the inmates with spiritual instruction. Is man present when a group of friends are assembled on an occasion which war- rants innocent enjoyment ? So was Jesus ; and he approved their social pleasures. Is man called to sympathize with those in affliction 1 So was Jesus • and Jestis wept! Thus by land and by sea, in all places and under all circumstances, wherever any of earth's children are called to act, Jesus — the mo- del man — is seen living and moving before them ; and his voice falls upon their ear with the mingled cadence of authority and encouragement — " FOL- LOW ME !" The demonstration then is manifest, that through the medium of Jesus Christ, man has received a per- fect system of instruction ; and a final and perfect revelation of duty to God and man could be given in no other way. 128 PHTLOSOPHY OF THE CHAPTER XL CONCERNING SOME OP THE PECVLIAR PROOFS OF THi: MESSIAHSHIP OF CHRIST. We have now arrived at a point in our subject wliere the light of history will aid in our investiga- tions. Tie facts which history furnishes, and which will elucidate the present point of inquiry, ire the following : First, the Jewish prophets lived and wrote centuries before the period in which Jesus appeared in Judea. This fact is as certain as any other item of human knowledge. A second fact is — The Jews, about the time of Christ's appearance, expected with more earnest- ness and desire than usual, the appearance of their Messiah, who, they supposed, would deliver them from subjection to Gentile nations, and place the Jewish power in the ascendant among the nations of the earth. They generally supposed that as a king he would reign with great dignity and power ; and as a priest, preside over, not abrogate, the cere- monial law. Although some of the common peo- ple may have had some understanding of the true nature of the Messiah's kingdom, yet the prom- 'nent men of the nation, and the great body of the PLAN OF SALVATION. 129 people of all classes, were not expecting tliat the kingdom of Christ would be purely spiritual, but that it would be mainly temporal. And, indeed, it was necessary that they should not have a cleai conception of the worth and spirituality of the Mes- siah's dispensation, previously to his coming; be- cause if they had had such a conception, the imper- fections and darkness of their own dispensation would not have been borne. It is contrary to the nature of mind when it is enlightened, to delight in, and employ itself longer about, the preparatory steps that led it to the light. The facts in the case, then, were, first, The pro- phets lived and wrote centuries before the era of Christ ; and, second. On account of intimations, or supposed intimations in their prophecies, the Jews were expecting the Messiah about the time that Jesus appeared in Judea. "VA ith the question con- cerning the inspiration of the prophets we have nothing to do. Whether they were inspired or not, their books contained the matter upon which the Jews founded their expectation of the appearance of the Messiah. With the question how the Jews could mistake the character of the Messiah, we have- nothing to do ; although the solution of the ques- tion would not be difficult. The simple facts which require attention are— The prophecies existed ; and in those prophecies a Ruler was spoken of, of most exalted character, whose dominion would be tri- umphant, imiver>al, and endless— whose doctrines 130 PHILOSOPHY OF THE woulc be ])ure and spiritual ; and whose adminis- tration would be a blessing, not only to the Jews, out also to the Gentiles — and yet, his life would be humble, and not suited to the feeling of the Jews — his sufferings extreme ; and that he would termi- nate the old dispensation, and die for the sins of the people.* Now, in view of these ^acts, In what character would the true Messiah appear^ when he assumed his duties as the Instructor of mankind 7 If he had appeared and conformed to the views which the Jews entertained of a temporal Messiah, it would have been direct evidence that he was an impostor ; because tlie Jewish views of his charac- ter and reign, as all can now see, were selfish, am- bitious, imperfect and partial. Now, a teacher sent from God to give the world a perfect religion, could not conform to such views ; but an impostor, from Hie nature of the case, could have conformed to no other standard than the views of the people. If an impostor wished to pass himself upon the Jews as their Messiah, he must assume that character and conform to that conduct, which lie knew they ex- pected in their Messiah. For an impostor to assume a different charactei from that which lie knew the nation expected their Messiah would bear, wou'd have been to use means to frustrate his own plans, which would be impossible ; because man cannot • Is. ch. 53. Dan. 9: 24—27 xMicaU 5: I, 2. Mai. 3: 1—3. Zcch. 9: 9, 10. Is 9: 1—7 PLAN OF SALVATION. l31 Iiave a governing desire for the attainment of an end, and at the same time use means which he knows will frustrate tlie accomplishment of his own object. An impostor, therefore, in the state of ex- pectancy which existed at that time in Judea, could not do otherwise than conform himself to the char- acter which the nation were expecting their Messiah would possess. "• Mark the two points. The Prophets gave a de« hneation of the character, life, and death of the Messiah. This delineation the Jews misinterpret- ed, or aoplied to several individuals ; so that they were expecting in their Messiah a character entirely diiferent from that described by the prophets. Now, mark the application of these points. If Christ had conformed to the views of the Jews, there would have been three direct testimonies that he was not from God. (1.) Because their views were partial, prejudiced, wicked. (2.) He could not have conformed to their views, and sustain at the same time the character of a perfect instructor.* (3.) He would not have fulfilled the predictions of the prophets concerning him. But, on the other hand, if he conformed to the prophets, and assumed the character of a perfect teacher, his rejection by the Jews was absolute^' certain.! It follows, therefore, * See chap. x. t The fact that Jesus conformed to the prophets, established the truth of the proplecies; because, by conforming to them, he •"iFcred death ; w lile by his death, in accordance with the proph- >tJ» PHILOSOPHY OF 1HE legitimately and conclusively, that Jesus Christ was the Messiah of God, because he pursued that course which would, from the nature of the case, result in his rejection by the nation ; which conduct, in an impostor, would be impossible- but in the true Messiah it was the necessary course. But further : It was necessary that Jesus should establish his claim as the Messiah, by miraculous agency.* But owing to the peculiar state of the Jewish nation at that time, there would be great difficulty in doing this, for the following reasons — If he, as Moses did, had come publicly before ihe nation at Jerusalem, and by miracles of great pow- er, frequently repeated, and extending their influ- ence throughout all the land, had forced conviction upon tho minds of all the Jews that he was the true Messiah, the immediate and inevitable result would have been, that they would have raised one univer- sal revolt against the Roman power, and would have hurried the Savior of sinners into the office of King of the Jews ; and then bowed down to him as the temporal sovereign of the Jewish nation. But, notwithstanding this error of the Jews, and the results to which it would directly tend, still it would be necessary in order to meet the constitution of things, that Christ should manifest, by exhibitions ets, the world gained the evidence that he was the true Messiah. To give life, as a testimony to falsehood, is impossible either in A good or in an evil being. * See chap. iii. On Miiaclea. PLAN OP SALVATION. 133 of miraculous power, the credentials attesting the divinity of his mission. The inquiry, then, arises, How could Jesus perform miracles^ and at the same time prevent revolt in the nation ? The circumstances of the case would render it necessary that his mu'acles should not be attended by that publicity and power which would lead those who had the influence of the nation in their hands, and who were blind to the true design of his mission, into revolt and destruction. It was likewise necessary, on the other hand, that they should be sufficiently frequent, and of sufficient power, to convince the candid who witnessed them, that they were the seal of heaven to the mission of Jesus. When Christ wrought miracles, therefore, lie would have to aim at one end, and endeavox' to prevent another — the end aimed at, that the im- pression might be made on horest minds, that he was the true Messiah ; the end av >ided, that the rulers of the nation might not, on account of his mighty miracles, rally round him as their temporal king, and thus hurry themselves and their nation to premature destruction. Now, the character and conduct of Jesus accords entirely with the foregoing deductions, made out from undoubted historical facts, that he performed many miracles and yet suppressed their extensive publicity, is frequently noticed in the New Testa- ment : Jesus, therefore, had the peculiar marks of tlic true Messiah ; and, in view of the peculiar con- 134 PHILOSOPHY OP THE dition of the Jewish nation at thit time, the true Messiah could have assumed no other character, and pursued no other course of conduct than that exhibited in the life of Christ.* * Another item might be added to this demonstration, showing that in order to the ultimation of the Plan of Salvation, it was ;= 1 necessary that Jesus should so manifest himself and manage his ] ministry, that a part of the Jews should receive him as the Mes- Eisii, and a part reject him. PLAN OF SALVATION. 135 CHAPTER XII. C0NCERNIN3 THE CONDITION IN LIFE WHICH IT "WAS NECESSARY THE MESSIAH SHOULD AS- SUME, IN ORDER TO BENEFIT THE HUMAN FAM- ILY IN THE GREATEST DEGREE, BY HIS EX- AMPLE AND INSTRUCTIONS. Selfishness is a fundamental evil of human na- ture, the existence of which is acknowledged by all men. It is noi an evil which belongs to any one class of human society. It is generic ; and moves all ranks ; only each individual looks upon those who stand next or near him in society, and desires equality with, or superiority over them in wealth, or popularity, or power. The law of reason and of God requires that men should endeavor to elevate those below them up to their own condition — self- ishness is the opposite principle, which urges men to elevate themselves over others. If the militia captain could follow the desires of his nature, and ascend fiom one condition to another until he stood upon the floor of the senate chamber, he would find tliat the desire which led him to take the first step, had only increased its power by gratification, and 136 PHILOSOPHY OP THE was still goading him on to rise higher: and he would stop nowhere, while life lasted, until ho per- ceived farther efforts useless or dangerous. This selfish pride, and desire for self-aggrandizement, is detrimental both to the individual and the social interests of men. Wherever selfish ambition exists in any degree of strength, it generates misery to the individual and to others about him. There are not, perhaps, more miserable men in the world than are some of those who have gained to some extent the object of their ambition, and are seated in the halls of legislation. Their minds are constantly anxious in making some eflbrt, or devising some plan, by which they may promote the schemes in which they are engaged. And every time the hopes of one is realized, the stings of envy, and jealousy, and concealed hate, rankle in the bosoms of some others. In the humbler walks of life the evil ex- ists, perhaps in a less degree, but still it exists ; and its existence is the bane of human happiness, and the cause of human guilt. Now, this wicked desire of human nature to as- pire after elevated worldly condition, rather than after usefulness of life and goodness of heart, would be either fostered or checked by the condition in life which the Messiah assumed among men. In proportion as his condition was elevated, pride and the desire of elevation would be fostered in the hearts of his followers. In proportion as his ccndi- liDn was humble and depressed, pride of hearl PLAN OF SALVATION. 131 would 1 e checked in all those who received and honored him as their master and teacher.* Suppose that the Messiah had presented himself in the condition anticipated by the Jews : surround- ed by the pomp and parade of a powerful temporal prince ; sustaining the earthly dignity and splendor of the ancient monarchs of the dynasty of David. Now, had such a Messiah appeared in Judea, it is perfectly certain from the character of human na- ture, that his earthly circumstances would have a tendency to cherish in the people, as a nation, and as individuals, the bad principles of pride and am- bition. Worldly pomp and circumstance would have had the sanction of the highest authority in the person of their Messiah ; and it would have in- duced the desire in all hearts to elevate themselves as nearly as possible to his temporal condition. The pride of the human heart would have been fostered and not humbled. Instead of causing the middle walks of life to be grateful and contented in their condition, it would have produced in them an anxi- ety to stretch themselves upwards. And instead of causing those already elevated to fellowship and benefit the worthy poor, it would have caused them to have no sympathy for any of the human family in low estate ; because theirs was a condition the opposite of that assumed by the great model which they loved and admired. And instead of causing the poor to feel a greater degree of contentment, * See chap v. p. 57, par. 6. VSS PHILOSOPHY OF THE and to avoid repining at their lot, the circumstances of the Messiah would have deepened their dejection, and rendered them less happy in their depressed coLidition ; because their condition would hinder them from approach to, or fellowship with, the Heav- en-sent Instructor. A teacher, therefore, believed to be from heaven, who should assume an elevated condition in the world, instead of being a spiritual blessing to the whole family of man, by promoting in their bosoms humility and sympathy for each Other, would have been a spiritual curse, by produc- ing haughtiness and hardness of heart in the richj ambition in the middle classes, and hopeless dejec- tion in the poor. Suppose tlie Messiah had come in the charactei which the Greeks admired — that, assuming the seat of the philosophers, he had startled the learned world by disclosing to them new and sublime truths. Suppose he had, by the power of far-reaching intel- lect, answered all the questions and solved all the difficulties which perplexed the minds of the disci- ples of the Porch and the Academy. In such a case his instructions would have been adapted to satisfy the minds of a few gifted individuals, but they would not have been adapted to benefit the minds of many, nor the heart of any of the great mass of mankind. Vain of their wisdom already, the cliaracier of the Messiah would have been adapted to make the philosophers more so ; and in- stead of blessing them, by humbling their pride, PLAK OF SALVATION. 139 and giving them a sympathy with their fellow men, it would have led them and their admirers to look upon those who were not endowed with superior mental qualities as an inferior class of men. But, if the Messiah could not have appeared in the condition desired by the Jews, nor in that ad- mired by the Gentiles, the inquiry arises — What condition in life would it be necessary that the Mes- siah should assume, in order to benefit the human family in the highest degree by the influence of that condition ? In view of the foregoing deduc- tions, the solution is obvious: — In that condition wliicli would have the most direct influence to de- stroy selfishness and pride in the human heart, and to foster, in their stead, hurwility, contentment, and benevole?ice. Now, in view of this result, deduced directly from the acknowledged character of human nature, turn your attention to the earthly circumstances of Jesus, and see how directly he brought the whole weight of his condition in life to bear against selfishness and pride of heart. — He was born in the lowest pos- sible circumstances. His life was a constant rebuke to every ambitious and proud feeling of the human heart; and his death was one esteemed by men the most ignominious. No one who openly acknowl- edged and had fellowship with Jesus of Nazareth, as his Teacher and Master, could do so until the natural pride of his nature was subdued. It was impossible for a man to find fellowship with Jesus unless he humbled himself, because in no other no PHILOSOPHY OF THE State could his feelings meet those of Christ. " Take my yoke upon ) on," said Jesns, " and learn of me, for 1 am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall lind rest for your souls." Thus did Jesuf? place himself in a condition which rendered humility absolutely necessary in order to sympathy with liim — in the condition di- rectly opposed 10 pride of heart, one of the most m- sidious enemies of man's happiness and usefulness. And as it is an acknowledged and experimental fact, that the soul finds rest only m meekness, and never in selfishness and pride of mind, therefore, the de- monstration is perfect, that Christ assumed the only condition which it was possible for him to assume, and thereby destroy pride and misery, and produce humility and peace, in human bosoms. Profane history and the New Testament scrip- tures confirm the foregoing views. Tacitus, speak- ing of the primitive Christians, alludes to them with marked contempt, as the followers of one who had been crucified. His manner evinces clearly not only his own feelings, but it is a good index to the feelings of a majority of the people of that proud and idolatrous age; and it establishes beyond all controversy the fact, that no one could declare him- self a follower of Christ, until, for truth and for Christ's sake, he was willing to be considered base m the estimation of the world. The elegant Pliny liliewise bears direct testimony to the humility and integrity of life which characterized the eariy dis- ciples of Christ. PLAN OF SALVATION. 141 A great number of passages in the New Testa- ment confirm the preceding views. It is only ne- cessary CO say, that the Apostles understood not only the effect of their Lord's circumstances, in life and death, upon the minds of men, but they under- stood likewise the philosophy, and the necessity ol the case. Says Paul— "It became (or was expe- dient for) Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through suffering ; for both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one, for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren."— That is, the humljle and self-denying life and death of Jesus was necessary, because it would have a sanctifying etfect in counteracting the evils in the hearts of men. It was necessary for him to become their brother man, and assume a certain character and condition, in order that by their becoming one with him, they might be sanctified and made hap- py and useful. Thus, while the Jews required a sign, and the Greeks sought after wisdom, the Apostles preached Christ crucified ; understanding the philosophy, the efficiency, and the necessity of their doctrme. And so* long as the world lasts, every man who reads the New Testament, whether saint or sinner, will be penetratecl with the conviction that a vain, aspi- ring, selfish spirit, is incompatible with the religion of Jesus. M2 PHILOSOPHY OF TiiB CHAPTER XIII. CONCERNING THE ESSENTIAL PRINCIPLES WHICH MUST, ACCORDING TO THE NATURE OF THINGS, LIE AT THE FOUNDATION OF THE INSTRUC- TION OF CHRIST. The Messiah having come in the proper char- acter ; displayed the proper credentials, and assum- ed the necessary condition, the question arises. What may we learn from the character of God and the nature of man concerning the fundamental prin- ciples which would govern the teaching of Jesus ? God is righteous and benevolent ; it therefore fol- lows, that he would connect happiness with right- eousness and goodness in his creatures. Were he to do otherwise, it would be causing the happiness of men to arise from a character different from his own, which, as God is good, would be impossible, because it would be wicked. Further, man is so constituted, that, as a matter of fact, his true happiness depends upon righteous- ness of life and benevolence of heart. When his will accords with his knowledge of duty ; or, waen he acts as he knows is right, towards God and his fellow men. there is peace and even complacency PLAN OF SALVATION. 113 of conscience. Peace and complacency of conscience is the happiness which, according to man's moral constitution, arises from righteousness, or right act- mg, in life. And when man exercises benevolent feeling — has love in his heart to God and men, this exercise of benevolent affection produces happiness. Now, there can be no such thing as happiness of spirit, except it arises from these sources. And when these sources are full and flowing, and thus Unite together — when there is perfect love and a perfect life, the soul is rendered happy. A single unrighteous act of will or malevolent feeling of heart will destroy this happiness — a single emotion of hatred or ill will, or a single evil act, known to be such, toward's any of God's creatures, will de- stroy the peace of the soul. Even hatred to aw enemy, or the desire of revenge, or any emotion but eood will, injures the soul's happiness. Thus, in constituting the human soul, God, in ac- cordance with his own character, has caused its hap- j)iness to depend upon righteousness and goodnej?s. Now, then, a teacher sent from God must recog- nise these fundamental principles, and give his in- struction in view of them. The happiness of the human soul, which is its life — its first, and best, and only good, could be produced in no other way. The whole force, therefore, of Divhie instruction, would be designed and adapted to accomplish this necessary end. The legitimate developement of God's natire, exercised towards man, would pro- J 44 PHILOSOPHY OF THE d Lice such iustrnctions and such an example; and the best good of the human soul rendered it neces- sary that they should be given. It is not said, that, as in the scliools of philoso- phy, the constant inquiry and search should be foi the ' greatest good.' The very effort to obtain hap- piness in this way would destroy its existence.— Happiness is not objective but subjective ; no di- rect effort could gain it ; it is the result of the right action of the moral powers. It would not be neces- sary, therefore, that those instructed should even understand the principles which governed their in- structor. It would be sufficient if the instruction v^as designed and adapted to promote righteousness and goodness : then happiness of the soul would follow as a result, whether or not the recipient of the instruction understood the principles which governed his teacher. Now, tne whole power of Christ's instruction was directed to this pomt. It was distinguished in this respect from all other instruction ever given to man- kind. I say unto you, love your enemies. Do good to them that despiteful ly use you. Be anxious about no worldly good. The weightier matters of the law are righteousness and the love of God. Love and obey God ; and love and do good to your neighbor, Ihis is the Law and the Prophets. Seek first the kingdom of heaven and its righteousness ; and all other things will be added to you. That is, seek ower. This being true, it follows that faith would be the method best adapted to bring the sublime truths of the new dispensation to bear upon the souls of men. And further, as tlie dispensation is spirit- ual, and has relation to unseen and eternal things, faith l)Ocomes the only medium through which they can be conveyed to the soul. Furthermore, mai is so constituted that his faith^ 148 PHILOSOPHY OF THE 01 belief, has an influence not only over liis conduct in life, but, likewise, over the character and action of the moral powers of the soul. Faith governs the Conscience. We have said, in anoither place, tliat a true con- science depends upon a true faith. No proposition in morals is more plain. It is not our design to in- quire what leads, or has led, men to a wrong faith. Whatever may be the cause of any particular belief, it is incontrovertible that if a man believes a thing to be right, conscience cannot condemn an act per- formed in view of that belief. Conscience is so mod- ified and guided by a man's faith, that it will sanc- tion and command an act in one man which it will forbid and condemn in another. A Catholic be- lieves that he ought to pray to the Virgin Mary to intercede for him with God ; and if a good Catho- lic were to neglect his diilia to the saints his con- i5cience would smite him, until, in some instances, he confesses his sin with tears. Now, if a good Protestant were to pray to saints, or to any othei being but God, his conscience would smite him for doing that which the conscience of the Cathclic smote him for not doing. So the heathen mother will conscientiously throw lier infant into the Gan- ges, or under the wheels of Juggernaut, while tiie conscience of a christian mother would convict her of murder were she to do the same act. Conscience Beldom convicts those that christians call impeni- tent persons for neglecting to pray, while tlie mo- PLAN OF SALVATION. I4l» ment a man becomes a true believer, he will he convicted of guilt if he neglects tiie duty. So cer- tainly and so clearly is it true, that a man's con- science is governed by his faith. Faith governs the AffectioJis. As man is constituted, no power in the universe can move his affections to an object, until he be- lieves that the object possesses some lovliness or excellency of character. The heart is affected just as much by the goodness of another if we believe that gooihiess to exist, as it would be if we kneit) that it existed. No matter, in the case of the affec- tions, whether the object in reality possesses the good qualities or not, if they are fully believed to exist, the affections will act just as certainly as though they really did exist. The affections are constituted to be governed by faith. And they act most powerfully, as was demonstrated in a previous chapter, in view of good qualities existing in anoth- er, who under certain circumstances exercises those qualities towards us. The fact then is apparent, that the conduct of man's life is influenced by what he believes ; and especially that the character and action of the moral powers of his nature are govern- ed by the principle of faith. Another most important fact in connection witli this subject is, that a man's interests, temporal and spiritual, depend upon what lie believes. The nature of man and the nature of things are so constituted, that the belio^ of falsehood always destroys man's 150 PHILOSOPHY OF THE interests, temporal or spiritual, and the belief of truth ni variably guides man right, and secures his best and highest good. Perhaps the most absurd and injurious adage that has ever gained currency among mankind, is, that " jl is no difTerence what a man believes, if he only be sincere." Now, tlie truth is, that the more sin- cerely a man believes falsehood, the more destruc- tive it is to all his interests, for time and eternity. This statement can be confirmed in jvery mind be- yond the reach of doubt. First J the injlaencc of believing falsehood on temporal and social interests. We will state some cases of common and con- stant occurrence, in order that the principle may be made obvious : — A gentleman of property and the liighest respec- tability, in the course of his business transactions, became acquainted with an individual, who, as the event showed, was a man destitute in a great de- gree of a conscientious regard for truth. The per- suasions and false representations of this man led the gentleman referred to, to embark almost his en- tire fortune with him in speculations in whicli he was at that time engaged. While tiiis matter wa? in progress, the friends of the gentleman called upon him, and stated their doubts of the individual's in- tegrity v\^ho solicited his confidence, and likewise of the success of the enterprises in which he was solicited to eniTfaire. The a i vice of Jiis friends was PLAN OF SALVATION. 151 rejected — he placed confidence in the false state- ments of the individual referred to — he acted upon those statements, and was consequently involved in pecuniary distress. In this case the gentleman not only sincerely believed the falsehood to be the truth, but he had good motives in relation to the object which he desired to ciccomplish. He was a benev- olent man. He had expended considerable sums for charitable and religious uses, and his desire was by the increase of his property, to be enabled to ac- complish greater good. In this case he was injured likewise by believing what others did not believe. The individual who seduced him into the specula- tion, had endeavored to lead others to take the same views and to act in the same way ; they did not be- lieve the falsehood and were, consequently, saved ; he believed, and was, consequently, ruined. When the English army under Harold, and tlie Norman under William the Coiiqueror, were set in array for that fearful conflict which decided the fate of the two armies and the political destinies of Great Britain, William, perceiving that he could not, by a fair attack, move the solid columns of the English ranks, had recourse to a false movement, in order to gain the victory. He gave orders that one flank of his army should fain to be flying from the field in disorder. The ofllcers of tiie English army be- lieved the filsehood, pursued them, and were cut olF. A second time, a folse movement was made in another part of the field. The EnL^li'^h nccain Vo- 152 PHILOSOPHY OF THE lievedj piirsiied, and were cut off. By these move- ments the fortunes of the day were determined. Although the English had the evidence of theii senses, yet they were led to believe a falsehood — tliey acted in view of it ; the consequence was, the destrnction of a great part of their army, and the establishment of the Norman power in England. How often does it occur that the young female, possessing warm affections and being inexperien» ced in the wiles of villians, is led to believe false- hood which destroys her prospects and her hap- piness while life lasts. Under other circumstances she might have been virtuous, useful, happy. By false indications of affection her Pieart is won — by false promises of faithfulness and future good, her assent to marry is gained — and then, when too late, she discovers that her husband is a villain, and she is forsaken, with a broken heart, to the cold sym- pathies of a selfish world. No matter how many hearts, besides her own, are broken by her error! No matter how sincere, or how guileless, or how young: she sincerely believed the falsehood and is thereby ruined. Nothing in heaven or on earth will avert the consequences. If she had doubted, she would have been saved. She believed, and is consigned to sorrow till she sinks into her grave. Second^ the belief of falsehood in relation to spir- itual tilings J destroys 7nan''s spiritnal interests. It is an incontrovertible fact thai the whole hea« dien world, ancient and modern, have believed in PLAN OF SALVATION. 153 find worshipped unholy beings as gods. Now, from thp necessities of the case, as demonstrated in the introductory chapter, the worshipper becomes assim- ilated to tlie character of the object worshipped. In rons6|uence of believing falsehood concerning the character of God, all lieathendom, at the present hour, is filled with ignorance, impurity and crime. As a mass of corruption spreads contagion and death among all those who approach it, so certainly does the worship of unholy beings attaint the soul, and spread moral corruption through the world. " Can a man take coals into his bosom and not be burn- ed ?" — neither can the soul hold communion with beings believed to be unholy and not itself become corrupt. The fact is so plain that it is not necessa- ry to detail again the impurities, the vices, the tor- tnres, the self murders, and the unnatural affections of the heathen v/orld, in order to show the deadly evils, both to the body and soul, which arise from the belief of falsehood in relation to spiritual things. ft must be obvious to every one, that if the heatheij believed in one holy and benevolent God, their abom- inable and cruel rites would cease. It follows, there- fore, that it is the belief of falsehood that causes their ignorance and corruption. Thus it is invariably and eternally true, thd^ the belief of truth will lead a man right, and secure his temporal, spiritual, and eternal interests — and on the contrary, the belief of falsehood will lead a mun U''ro:ig, and destroy his interex^ts in relation to what- 134 PHILOSOPHY OF T Jlfc ever tho falsehood pertains, whether it be tempord! or eternal. The precedii^ig premises being established, the following conclusions result : 1. The entire man, in his body and soul, his ac- tions and moral feelings, is governed by what he believes: and that, in relation to things that should have a constantly increasing influence over the spirit, faith is a more powerful actuating cause than sight, because the one gains, while the other loses power over the soul by repetition. 2. That the belief of falsehood, concerning any human interest, is fatally injurious ; while the be- lief of truth is eternally beneficial. And, that the more sincerely any one believes error, the more certainly he destroys his interests, whether tempo- ral or spiritual ; while, on the contrary, the more sincerely a man believes truth, the more certainly and powerfnlly are his interests advanced. The i^ivinof God has connected evil with the belief of falseliood, and good with the belief of truth ; it is a part of the constitutional law of the moral universe ; and there is no power in existence, that will stop the consequence ftoni following the antecedent. 3. Mark it — That doctrine which rectifies the conscience, purifies the heart, and produces love to God and men, is necessarily true, because, as it has been demonstrated that righteousness and benevo- U^nce is tlie g-rea(est good of the soul ; and lilct^wise PLAN OF SALx/'ATION. 155 that tlie greatest good must depend on the heiief of truth; therefore, the conchision is inevitable, tliai that doctrhie which, being believed, destroys sin in the heart and hfe of man, and produces righteous- ness and henevoleuce, is tlie truth of God. No matter whether men caii comprehend all its depths and relations or not ; if it destroys sin wherever it takes effect by faith, and makes happiness grow out of right living and riglit loving^ from the consti- tution of thinofs — from the cfiaracter of God — from the nature of man — tliat doctrine is tlie tritii of God. And that doctrine which hinders (his resuit, or produces a contrary result, is the falsehood of the devil.* 4. Therefore Christ laid, at the foundation of the Christian System, this vital and necessary principle, " He that believeth and isi baptized sliall be saved, and he that believeth not shall l)e damned" saved in accordance with the moral constitution of the universe, and damned from the absolute necessities (jxisting in the nature of things. • Jf hn 3 44. 10 ICify miLOSt>PHY €>F TBS CHAPTER XV. CONCERNING THE MANIFESTATIONS OF GOD WHICH WOULD BE NECESSAilY, UNDER THE NEW AND SPIRITUAL DISPENSATION, TO PRODUCE IN THE SOUL OF MAN AFFECTIONATE OBEDIENCE. Man's mental and moral constitution was the same under the New as under the Old Testament dispensation. The same methods, therefore, whic?i were adapted to move man's nature under the one, would be adapted to do so under the other. The difference between the two dispensations was, the first was a preparatory dispensation, its manifesta- tions, for the most part, being seen, and temporal : the second, a perfect system of truth, spiritual in its chnracter, and in the method of its communication. But, whether the truths were temporal or spiritual, and whether they were brought to view by faith oi sight, in order to produce a given effect upon the soul, or any of its powers, the same methods under all dispensations would be necessary, varied only to suit the advancement of the mind in knowledge, llie differences existing in the habits and circum- stances of men, and the character of the dispensa- PLAN OF SALVATION. 157 tion to be introduced. For instance : under one dispensation — it being in a great measure temporal, preparatory, and imperfect — love might be produced by making men feel temporal want, and by God granting temporal benefits : while under a spiritual and universal system, men must likewise feel the want, and receive the benefit, in order to love ; but the want felt and the benefit conferred must be of a spiritual character. Under all dispensations, an essential requisite after tlie way for its introduction was prepared, would be such manifestations of God to men as would pro- duce love in the human heart for the object of wor- ship and obedience. " Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart" — is the first great law of the universe; and God cannot be honored, nor man made happy, unless his obedience be actuated by love to the ob- ject of obedience.* Now, the manifestations of mercy, under the old dispensation, were mainly temporal in their character, and limited in their application to the Jews. But God's special good- ness to them, could not produce love in the hearts of the Gentiles. The manifestations in Egypt were, therefore, neither adapted in their character, nor in the extent of their design^ to the spiritual and uni- versal religion of Jesus Christ. But one part of the Mosaic economy was universal and immutable in its character. The moral law is the same forever in its applicati:)n to all intelligent beings in the uni- * See C-ap. iv. on Artectionale Obetlienc*. 158 PHILOSOPIIV OF THE verse. It is plain to reason, that whatever means may be adopted to bring men to rectitude of con- duct, or to pardon them for f ITences, the rule of right itself, founded upon the justice and holiness, and sustained by the conscience, of the Eternal, must be immutable and eternal as its author ; and the means, manifestations, and influences, under the different dispensations, are expedients of mercy, de- signed and adapted to bring men to act in conform- ity with its requirements. How, then, under the new dispensation, and in conformity with its spiritual and universal charac- ter, could love for God be produced in the human lieart ? We will here, again, as the subject in hand is most important, notice some of the conditions upon which affection for an object may be produced in the heart. The will is influenced by motives and by alTec- tion ; and all acts of will produced entirely by pure alfoction, are disinterested acts. There is, probably, nu one living, who has attained to maturity of years, but has, at some period of life, felt affection for an- other, so that it was more gratifying to please the object of his affection than to please himself Love for another always influences the will to do those things which please the object loved ; and the acts v/hich proceed from affection are disinterested, not being done with any selfish end in view, but to con- form to the will and meet the desires of another. PLAN OP SALVATION 159 The moment the aflections are fixed upon an object^ the will is drawn into union with the will of the object loved ; and if that object be regarded as su- perior, in proportion as he rises above us in the scale of being, to obey his will and secure his regard be- comes a spontaneous volition of the soul ; and the pleasure that arises from affectionate compliance with the will of a worthy and loved object, does not arise because it is souglit for, but from the con- stitution the Maker has given to the human soul; it is the result of its activity, produced in accordance with the law of love. All happy obedience must arise from affection, exercised towards the object obeyed. Obedience which arises from affection blesses the spirit which yields it, if the conscience approve of the object obeyed. While, on the contrary, no being can be happy in obeying one whom he does not love. To obey a parent, or to obey God, from interested mo- tives, would be sin. The devil might be obeyed for the same reasons. All enlightened minds agree to what the Bible confirms, and what reason can clearly perceive, without argument, that love for God is essential to every act of religious duty. To tender obedience or homage to God, while we had no love for him in our hearts, would be dishonora- ble to the Maker, and doing violence to our own nature. When an object presents itself to the attcntioPj whose clia'ucter eno-ajjes the heart, then the aiilic- 160 PHILOSOPHY OP THE tioiis flow out, and the soul acts sweetly in this new relation. There is a bond of sympathy between the heaits of the two beings, and those thin*^s which affect the one affect the other, in proportion to the strenofth of the cherished affection. One meets the desires and conforms to the will of the other, not from a sense of obligation merely, but from choice. And in thus giving and receiving affection, the soul experiences its highest enjoyment, its greatest good ; and when the understanding perceives in the object loved, perfections of the highest character, and af- fection of the purest kind for those that love him, the conscience sanctions the action of the heart and the obedience of the v/i!!, and all the moral powers of the soul unite in happy and harmonious ac- tion. We return, now, to the problem — Under the spiritual dispensation of Christ, how could the af fections of the soul be awakened by faith, and fixed rtpon God, their proper object ? The principle has been stated, which every one will recognize as true in his own experience, that the more we feel the want of a benefector, temporal or spiritual, and the more we feel our inability to rescue ourselves from existing difficulties and im- pending dangers, the more grateful love will the heart feel for the being, who, moved by kindness, and in despite of personal sacrifices, interposes to assist and save us. Under the Old Testament dispensation the aflec- PLAN ^F SALVATION. 161 ti'ons of llic Israelites were educed and fixed lipon God in accordance with this law of the sonl. Thev were placed in circnmstances of abject need ; and, from this condition of suffering and sorrow, God ilelivered them, and thus drew their iiearts to him- self Now the Jews, as has been noticed, supposed that tjie Messiah would appear and again confer upon them similar favors, by delivering them from their state of dependence and subjection as a nation. But a temporal deliverance of this kind, as lias been shown, was not consistent with thedesifrn of Ciirist's perfect and spiritual dispensation, whicli was de- signed to save men from sin and spiritual bondage, and restore them to spiritnal happiness by restoring them to affectionate obedience to the only living and true God. The inquiry then presents itself, as a feeling of want was necessary, in order that the soul might love the being that supplied that want — and as Jesus came to bestow spiritual mercies upon man- kind — Hoiv could men be broiigJtt to feci the want of a splrilual Benefactor and Savior ? Allow the thought to be repeated again — Accord- ing to the constitution which God has given the soul, it must feel the want of spiritual mercies be- fore it can feel love for the giver of those mercies ; and just in proportion as the soul feelc its lost, guil- ty, a'ld dangerous condition, in the same proportion will it exercise love to the being who grants spiritu- al favor and salvation. How, then, could the spirit- It32 PHILOSOPHY OF THE ualwaiit be produced in the soiild of men, in ordei that they might love the spiritual beneflictor? Not by temporal bondage and temporal sulFering, bccairse these would lead men to desire a temporal dtilivcrance. The only possible way by which man could be made to hope for and appreciate spiritual mercies, and to love a spiritnal deliverer, would be to produce a conviction in the soul itself of its evil condition, its danger as a spiritual being, and its inability, unaided, to satisfy the requirements of a spiritual law^ or to escape its just and spiritual penalty. If man could be made to perceive that he was gnilty and needy ; that his soul was under the condemnation of tlie holy law of a holy God, he would then, necessarily, feel the need of a deliver- ance from sin and its consequences; and in this way only could the soul of man be led to appre- ciate spiritual mercies, or love a spiritual bene- factor. Mark another fact, in connection with the forego- ing, which is to be especially noticed, and which will be developed fully in subse(}ucnt pages — The t^reater the kindness and self-denial of a benefactor manifested in our behalf, the warmer and the stronger will be the alfection wiiich his goodness will produce in the human heart. Here, then, are two facts growing out of the con- stitution of human nature — First, the soul jiiusl feel its evil and lost estate, as the pre-requisite con* dition, upon which alone it can lo\nr) a deliverer— PLAN OF SALVAl laN. I(}3 Second, the degree of kindness and self-denial in a benefactor, temporal or spiritual, graduates the de- gree of affection and gratitude that will be awaken^ ed for him. Now, in view of these necessary conditions, mark the nieans which God has used, and the manifesta- tions which he has made of Himself, in order to secure the supreme love o( the human soul. In the first place the soifl is brought to see and feel its evil and lost condition^ and its need of de- liverance. At the advent of Jesus, the Roman world was in precisely the condition, which was necessary to prepare it for his doctrines. The Jews had the moral law written in their scriptures, and recogni- sed it as the will of Jehovah ; and the Gentiles had its requirements, concerning their duty to each other, and their duty to worship, written upon their hearts. Both the doctors among the Jews, and the schools of philosophy among the Gentiles, especial- ly those of the Stoics, taught the obligatory nature of many of the important moral duties which man owes to man. No period in the history of the hea- then mind ever existed before or since, when man's relations to man were so clearly perceived.* The Jews, however, had these advantages, that while the few intelligent Gentiles received the instruction * For the views of the dliferent. schools of Grecian and Roman philosophy at this period, and the amount of their indebtedness to the JeAvish Scriptures, see Enfield's Hist Phil. £64 PHILOSOPHY OP THE of the philosophers in relation to morals, as truth, it was truth without any higher sanction than that ' of havino^ been spoken by wise men, and therefore it contained in itself no authority or weight of ob- ligation to bind the conscience ; while they had the Moral Law, as a rule of duty, sanctioned by the authority and infinite justice of Jehovah. Thus the moral virtues assumed the sanction of religious duties ; and they had not only the moral precepts thus sanctioned, but having been taught the true character of God, their relio:ious duties were like- wise imited in the same sacred decalogue. There was, however, in the application of the Iaw one most important and vital mistake, in rela- tion to what constituted human oruilt. The moral law was generally applied as the civil law, not to the acts of the spirit, but to the acts of the body. It was applied to the external conduct of men, not to the internal life. If there was conformity to the letter of the law in external mnnners, tliere was a fulfilment, in the eves of the Jew and the Gentile, of the highest claims that God or man held upon the s])irit. No matter how dark or damning were the exercises of the soul ; if it only kept its sni in its own habitation, and did not devolope it in action, (ne penalty of the law was not laid to its charge. The character of the spirit itself might be criminal, and all its exercises of thought and feeling sensual and selfish, yet if it added hj-pocrisj to its guilt, and maintained an outward conformity, to the law PLAN OP SALVATION. 165 — a coiifoi-mity itself produced by selfishness, man judged himself, and others adjudged him, guiltless. Man could not, therefore, understand his own guilt, as a spiritual being, nor feel his condemned and lost condition, until the requirements of the holy law were applied to the exercises of his soul. Now, Jesus applied the Divine law directly to the soul, and laid its obligation upon the move- ments of the will, and the desires. He taught that all wronof thong-hts and feelinofs were acts of trans- o:ression asfainst God, and as such would be visited with the penalty of the Divine law. Thus he m^ade the law spiritual and its penalty spiritual, and ap- pealing to the authority of the supreme God, he laid its claims upon the naked soul — he entered the se- cret recesses of the spirit's tabernacle- he flashed the light of the Divine law upon the awful secrets known only to the soul itself; and, with the voice of a God, he spoke to the "I" of the mind — Thou shalt not will^ nor desire^ nor feel wickedly ! When he had thus shown that all the wronor exercises of the soul were sin against God, and that the soul was in a guilty condition, under the con- demnation of the Divine law, he then directs the attention to the spiritual consequences of this guili. These he declared to be exclusion from the king- dom and presence of God, and penalty which in- volved either endless spiritual suffering, or destruc- tion of the soul itself. The punishment whirh he declared to be impending over the unbelieving and 166 PHILOSOPHY OF THE impenitent spirit, he portrayed by using all those figures which would lead men tc apprehend the most fearful and unmitigated spiritual misery. Before the impenitent and unpardoned sinner there was the destrnction of the soul and body in hell — consignment to a state of darkness where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched — cursed and banished from God into everlasting fire *;repared for the devil and his angels — agonizing in flame, and refused a drop of water to mitigate the agony. Now, these figures, to the minds both of Jews and Gentiles, must have conveyed a most ap- palling impression of the misery that was impend- ing over the soul, unless it was relieved from sin, and the consequent curse of the law — Jesus knew that the Jews, especially, would understand these figures as implying fearful future punishment ; he therefore designed to do, wliat was undoubtedly ac- complished, in the miud of every one that believed his instruction, which was, to produce a conviction of sin in the soul, by applying to it the require- ments of the spiritual law of God, and by showing that the penalty consequent upon sin was fearful and everlasting destruction. We say, then, what every one who has followed these thoughts must perceive to be true, that the instruction of Jesus would, necessarily, produce in the mind of every- one thai believed^ a conviction that he was a guilty and condemned creature, and that an awful doom PLAN OF SALVATION. 167 awaited his soul, unless he received pardon and spn-itual deliverance. Thus, laen, by the instruction of Jesus Christ, showing the spirituality and holiness of the divine law, and applying it, with its infinite sanctions, to the exercises of the soul, that condition of mind was produced which alone could prepare man to love a spiritual deliverer ; and there is no other way in which the soul could have been prepared in accordance with truth and the constitution of its own nature, to appreciate the spiritual mercies of God, and love him as a spiritual Savior. The Law and the Truth being exhibited by Christ in the manner adapted to produce the con- dition of soul prerequisite to the exercise of affec- tion for spiritual deliverance — now, as God was the author of the law, and as he is the only proper ob- ject both of supreme love and obedience ; and, as man could not be happy in obeying the law with- out loving its author ; it follows, that the thing now necessary in order that man's affections might bo fixed upon the proper object of love and obedience was, that the supreme God should, by self-denying kindness, manifest spiritual mercy to those who felt their spiritual wants, and thus draw to Himself the love and worship of mankind. If any other being bhould supply the need^ that being would receive the love ; it was therefore necessary that God him- self should do it, in order that the affection of believers might centre upon the proper object. ISS PHILOSOPHY OF THE But, notice, that in order to the accomplishmeni of this end, without violating the moral constitution of the universe, it would be essentially necessary, that the holiness of God's law should be maintain- ed. Tliis w.3uld be neccessary, because the law is, in itself, the will of the Godhead, and God himself must be unholy before his will can be. And what- ever God may overlook in those who know not their duty, yet, when he reveals his perfect law, that law cannot, from the nature of its Author, allow the commission of a single sin. But, besides, if its ho- liness were not maintained, man is so constituted that he could never become holy. Every change to a better course in man's life, must be preceded by a cojiviction of error - man cannot repent and turn from sin till he is convicted of sin in himself Now. if the holiness of the law, as a standard of duty, was maintained, man might thus be enlight- ened and convicted of sin, until he has seen and felt the last sin in his soul ; and if the law allowed one sin, there would be no way of convicting man of that sin, or of converting him from it ; he would llierefore, remain, in some degree, a sinner forever. But, finally and conclusively, if the holiness of the law was not maintained, that sense of guilt and danger could not be produced which is necessary in order that man may love a spiritual Savior. Jesus produced that condition by applying to the soul the authority, the claims, and the sanctions of thft holv law. It is impossible, therefore, in the PLAN OF SALVATION. I6S nature of tilings, for a sinful being to appreciate God's mercy, unless he first feel his justice as maiv ifested in the holy law. Love in the soul is pro- duced by the joint influence of the justice and mercy of God. The hitegrity of the eternal law, therefore, must l>e forever maintained.* * The preceeding views are confirmed, boih by the character tf the moral law, and by its design and expedition, as given by the Apostles of Christ. The moral kiw, or the rule and obliga- tion of moral rectitude in the sight of God, which is revealed ia the scriptures, aad interpreted by Clirist, as obligatory upon th« thoughts and feelings of the soul, is not only in its nature, of per- petual anxl universal obligation, and adapted to produce convLc- lion of sin in every soul that is sensible of transgressing its re- quirements ; but the scriptures expressly declare, that it was de- signed to produce conviction of sia ia the st>ul, in order to prepar* It to receive the gos.pel. The moral law is set forth in the scriptures as holy, just, anci good, in its character ; and whatever may be its eliecls upon the 8oul itself, that its character is such no intelUgeni being in the nniverse can doubt, because it requires of every one perfect holv- uess, justice, and goodness: It requires that the soul should be perfectly free from sin In the sight of Goed, and all the wotld become gMi7/y before God; therefore by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified ; for by the law is the knowlegc of sin." The argument of the Apostle in vindicating the lioliness of the law, while it, at the same time, produced conviction and con^ demoalioa, is cojiclusive. " What shall we say then / Is tJie law PLAN OF SALVATION. ^^j^^OS^ would be produced, while His infinite holiness and . ustije would be obtained I Wo answer, in no way possible but by some ex- pedient, by which his justice and mercy would both be exalted. If, in the wisdom of the Godhead, such a way could be devised, by which God himself could save the soul from the consequences of its guill — by which He himself could in some way suffer and make self-denials for its good ; and, by his own interposition, open a way for the soul to recover from its lost and condemned condition, then the result'would follow inevitably, that every one of tlie human family who had been led to see and sin ? God forbid ! Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law; for I had not known lust, except tlie law had said Tliou shalt not covet ; (i. e. I would not have felt covetousness to be sin, except the law had condemned it as such :) For I was alive, (i. e. not consciously condemned) without the law once, but when the law came, sin revived and I died ; and the commandment which was ordained to life, i. e. which required the soul to be holy and there- fore alive to God) I found to be unto death. For sin, taking oc- casion by the commandment, (or acts shown to be sin by the commandment,) deceived me, and by it slew me. Wherefore the law is iioly, and the commandment is holy, just and good. Was then that wliich is good made death unto me ? God forbid. But 9in, that it might appear sin, (i. e. sin which did exist in the soul, was made to appear in its true evil character) working death in me by that which is good, (i. e. the holiness of the law showed the evil of sin,) that sin by the commandment mighi become es- ceedingly sinful. For we know that the law is spiritual, but 1 am camal, sold under sin." And then, for deliverance from this hundasf, he luoks to Christ — " For the law of the spvrif of 'ife 11 172 PHILOSOPHY OP THE feel his guilty condition before God, and who be- lieved in God thus manifesting Himself to rescue liis soul from spiritual death - every one, thus be- lieving, would, from the necessities of his natr.re, be led to love God his Savior ; and — mark — the greater the self-denial and the sufiering on the part of the Savior, in ransoming the soul, the strongei would be the affection felt for Him. This is the central and vital doctrine of the Plan of Salvation. We will now, by throwing light and accumulating strength upon this doctrine from dif- ferent points, illustrate and establish it beyond the possibility of rational doubt. in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death," &,c. And mark again — « Is the law then against the promises, of God ? God forbid ; for if there had been a law given that could have given life, verily righteousness would have been of the law (i. e. while the law showed the soul to be unholy and condemned to spiritual death, it provided no means for the relief of the sin- ner; no influence by which love and holiness could be produced in the heart.) But the scriptures (that is, the revelation of law in the scriptures) hath concluded all under sin, tluxt the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto Ihp faith which should afterwards be revealed ; wherefore the law was our school-master to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith." Now, from the above scriptures, it is evident that the Apostle ondcrsiood the law not only to be adapted, but designed by ils author, to show the soul its guilty and lost condition, its inability to free itself from the condemnation to which it was liable, and to prepare i.', at the proper time, to trust in and love Christ for salvation from sin, and spiritual death, the consequou 'c of sin. PLAN OP SALVATION. 17H 1. The testimony of je-sus that it was necces- sary man should feel the want, in order tg exercise the love. Jesus uniformly speaks of it as being necessary, that previously to accepting him as a Savior, the soul should feel the need of salvation. He does not even invite the thoughtless sinner, or the godless worldling, who has no sense of the evil or the guilt of sin, to come to him. Said Jesus, " I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." " The whole need not a physian, but they who are sick." " Come unto me, all ye who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." " Jf any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink." " Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled." Thus tiie points which have been shown to be necessary, from the constitution of things, hi order to the soul's loving God, are presented in the same light by Jesus himself; and upon the principle which they involve, he acted during his ministry. 2. The testimony of the scriptures thai god did thus manifest himself as suffering and making self-denials for the spirit- ual ^.ood of men. God way in Christ, says the Apostle, reconciling 174 PHILOSOPHY OP THE the world to Himself : that is, God was in Christ doinor those thing^s that would restore to Himself the obedience and affection of every one that believed. Christ represents himself as a ransom for the soul ; as laying down his life for believers. He is repre- sented as descending from an estate of the highest felicity ; taking upon him the nature of man, and lunnbling himself even to the death of the cross : a death of the most excruciating torture ; and thus bearing the sins of men in liis own body on the tree, that through his death God might be just, and the justifier of every one that believeth in Jesus. It was thus, by a self-denial surpassing descrij)- tion — by a life of labor for human good, accom- plished by constant personal sacrifices, and tending, at every step, towards the centre of the vortex, He went on until, finally, life closed to a crisis, by the passion in the garden — the rebuke, and the bufl!et, and the cruel mockery of the .Tews and the Romans — and then, bearing his cross, faint with former agony of spirit, and his flesh quivering with recent scourging, he goes to Calvary, where the agonized sufl^erer for human shi, cried " it is finished," and gave up the ghost. Such is the testimony of the Scriptures ; and it may be afllrmcd, without hesitancy, that it would be impossible for the human soul to excrc.se full faith in the testimony, that it was a guilty and needy creature, condemned by the holy law of a holy God; and that from this con'htion of spiritual cruill PLAN OF SALVATION. 175 and danger, Jesus Christ suffered and died to ac- complish its ransom — we say a human being could not exercise full faith in these truths and not love the Savior. 3. TliE ATONEMENT OP CHRIST PRODUCES THE NE- CESSARY EFFECT UPON THE HUMAN SOUL, IN RESTORING IT TO AFFCTIONATE OBEDIENCE, WHICH NElTilER PHILOSOPHY, LAW, NOR PRE- CEPTIVE TRUTH, COULD ACCOMPLISH. The wisdom of Divine Providence was conspic- uous in the fact, that previously to the introduction of Christianity, all the resources of human wisdom had been exhausted in efforts to confer upon man true knowledge and true happiness. Although most of the great names of antiquity, were con- spicuous rather for those properties which rendered them a terror and a scourge to mankind ; and, al- though society, among the ancients, in its best es- tate, was little better than semi-barbarism ; yet. there was a class in society during the Augustan and Periclean age, and even at some periods before that time, that was cultivated in mind and manners. I'rom this class, individuals at times arose who were truly great — men distinguished alike for the strength, compass, and discrimination of their in- tellect. In all the efforts of these men, with the exception of those who applied themselves exclu- sively to the stu'iy of physical phenomena the 176 PHILOSOPHY OP THE ^eat end soi ght was the means or secret of hiimau happiness. All admitted that human nature, as they found it, was in an imperfect or depraved con- dition, and not in the enjoyment of its cliief good: and the plans which they proposed, by which to obtain that happiness, of which they believed the soul sdsctptible, were as various, and diverse from each other, as can be imagfined. No one of theso plans ever accomplished, in any degree, the end de- sired And no one of them was ever adapted to, or embraced by the common people. The philoso- phers themselves, after wrangling for the honor of having discovered truth, and making themselves miserable in the };ursuit of happiness, died ; and man was left unsatisfied and unhappy, philosophy having shed only sufficient light upon his mind to disclose more fully the guilty and wretched state of his heart. There are, perhaps, two exceptions to these re- marks as applied to the great minds of antiquity, those are Socrates and his pupil Plato. These men, with a far-penetrating insight into the constitutional wants of man, contemplating tlie disordered and unhappy condition of human nature, and inquiring for a remedy adequate to enlighten the mind, and give the heart a satisfying good, perceived that there was not in the resources of philosophy, nor within the compass of human means, any power that could reach the source of the difficulty, and rectify thf e'il of human nature, which consisted PLAN OF SALVATION. 177 in a want of benevolent afTection.* Inferring from the nature of man what would be necessary, and trusting in the goodness of the Deity to grant the requisite aid, they expressed their behef that a di- 'vine teacher would come from heaven, wlio would restore truth and happiness to the human soul.f * That Plato had so[iie idea of the want, and none of what was necessary to supply it, may be seen in the fact that in order to make men love as brethren, which he saw to be neccessary, he recommended a community of wives to the members of his ideal Republic. t In Plato's dialogue upon the duties of religious worship, a passage occurs, the design of which appears to be, to show thai man could not, of himself, learn either the nature of tlie gods, or the proper manner of worshipping them, unless an instructor should come from heaven. The following remarkable passage occurs between Socrates and Alcibiades : — Socrates To me it appears best to be patient. It is necessa- ry to wait till you learn how you ought to act towards the gods, and towards men. Mcibiades When, Socrates, shall that time be ? and who will instruct me ? for most willingly would I see this person, who he is. Socrates. — He is one who cares for yoii ; but, as Homer repre sents Minerva, as taking away darkness from the eyes of Dio- medes, that he might distinguisk a God from a man : so it is ne- cessary that he should first take away the darknes.' from your mind; and then bring near those things by which yousliallknow good and evil. jSlcibtades — Let him take away the darkness, or any other tning, if he will ; f r whoever this man is, I am prei)ared to re- fuse none of the things which he conamands, if I shaU be made belter. — Plaionu Jllcibiad. ix. I j 178 PHILOSOPHY OF THE i It is strange that among pilosophers of succeed- ing ages there has not been wisdom snflicient to discover, from the constitutional necessities uf the liuman spirit, that demand for the instruction and aid of the Messiah, which Socrates and Plato dis- covered, even in a comparatively dark age. There are two insuperable difficulties, wliich would forever hinder the restoration of mankind to truth and happiness from being accomplished by lumian means. The first, which has been already alluded to, is, tliat human instruction, as such, has no power to bind the conscience. Even if man were competent to discover all the truth necessary for a perfect rule of conduct, yet that truth would have no reformatory power, because men could never feel that trutli was obligatory, wliich proceed- ed from merely human sources. It is an obvious principle of our nature, that the conscience will not charge guilt on the soul for disobedience, when the command proceeds from a fellow man, wlio is not recognised as having the prerogative and the right to require submission. And, besides, as men's minds are variously constituted, and of variou3 ca- pacities, there could he no agreement in such a case concerning the question, ^' W/iai is iruthl^^ As well might we expect two school-boys to reform each other's manners in school, without the aid of the teacher's authority, as ihat men can reform their fellows, without the sanction of that authority wliich will quicken and bind the conscience. The PLAN OP SALVATION. 179 hiiinan conscience was made to recognise and en- force the aiithorily of God, and unless there is be- lief in the Divine obligration of truth, conscience refuses to perforin its office. But the grand difficulty is this : — Truth, whether sanctioned by conscience or not, has no power, as has been shown, to produce love in the heart. The law may convict and guide the mind, but W has nc power to soften or to change the affections. This was the precise thing necessary, and this ne- cessary end the wisdom of the world could not ac- complish. All the wisdom of all the philosophers in all ages, could never cause the aflections of the soul to rise to the holy blessed God. To destroy selfish pride, and produce humility — to eradicate the evil passions, and produce in the soul desires for the universal good, and love for the universa) Parent, was beyond the reach of earthly wisdom aiid jX)wer. The wisdom of the world in their ef- forts to give truth and happiness to the human soul, was foolishness with God ; and the wisdom of God —CHRIST CRUCIFIED— was foolishness with the philosophers, in relation to the same subject:* • From an observation of one of the Fathers, it would seem I hat after the Gospel had been preached among the Greeks, many of them perceived its adaptedness to accomplish the end for which they tad sought in vaTn. « Philosophy,'' «»ys Clemens of Alex nndria, « led the Greeks to Christ, as the law did the Jews." Concluding paragraph of the apology of M. Minucius Felix in defence of Christianity : A. D. 250. *' To conclude-, the sam '>f our boasting is, tnat we are goi 180 PHILOSOPHY OF THE yet, it was Divine Philosophy : an adapted means. and the only adequate means, to accomplish the necessary end. Said an apostle in speaking upon this subject, " The Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom, but toe preach Christ crucijiedj unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness, but to them who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the ivisdo7ii of GodP The Jews, while they required a sign, did not perceive that miracles, in themselves, were not adapted to produce affection - And the Greeks, while they sought after wisdom, did not perceive that all the wisdom of the Gentiles would never work love in the heart. But the apos- tle preached CHRIST CRUCIFIED, an exhibition of self-denial, of suffering, and of self-sacrificing love and mercy, endured in behalf of men; which, when received by faith, became the power of God and the wisdom of God to produce love and obedi- ence in the human soul. Paul understood the effi- cacy of the cross. He looked to Calvary and be- held Christ crucified as the sun of the gospel sys- tem. Not as the moon, reflecting cold and borrow- ed rays ; but as the Sun of Righteousness, glowing into possession of what the Philosophers have been always in quest of; and what, with ah their application, they could never find. Why then, so much ill-will stirring against us ? If divine Truth is come to perfection m our time, let us make a good use of ftie blessing; let us govern our knowledge with discretion; let superstition and imniety be no more ; and let true religion tri oiDph in their stead.'* PLAN OF SALVATION. \^l With radiant mercy, and pouring warm beams of life and love into the open bosom of the believer. 4. ANALOGY BETWEEN THE ftJORAL AND PHYfiTCAL LAWS OF THE UNIVERSE. The laws which govern physical nature are analogous to those which the gospel introduces into the spiritual world. The earth is held to the sun by the power of attraction, and performs regularly its circuit around the central, suytainmg luminary; maintaining, at the same time, its equal relations with its sister planets. But the moral system upon the earth is a chaos of derangement. The attrac- tion of affection wh"ch holds the soul to God, has been broken, and the soul of man, actuated by self- ishness — revolving upon its own centre only — ^jars in its course with its fellow spirits, and crosses their orbits ; and the whole system of the spiritual world upon earth, revolves in disorder, the orbs wandering and rolling away from that centre of moral life and power which alone could hold them in harmonious and happy motion. Into the midst of this chaos of disordered spirits, God, the Sun of the spiritual world, came down. He shed light upon the moral darkness, and by coming near, like the approaches of a mighty magnet, the attraction of his mercy, as manifested in Christ crucified, became so pow- erful, tliat many spirits, rolling away into darkness and destruction, felt tlie efficacy, and were drawn 182 PHILOSOPHY OF THE back, and caused to move again, in their regular orbits, around the ' Light' and ' LilV and ' Love' of the spiritual system. If free agency could be predicated of the bodies of the solar system, the great law whicli governs their movements might be expressed thus — Thou shalt attract the Sun iclth all thy mi^htj and thy sister planets as thyself. The same expression gives the great law of the spiritual world. 'Thou shalt love the Lord with all thy soul, and thy neigh- bor as thyself.' Now, if a planet had broken away from its orbit, it would have a tendency to fly off forever, and it never could be restored, unless the sun, the great centre of attraction, could, in some v/ay, follow it in its wanderings, and thus by the increased power of his attraction, as lie approached nearer to the fallen planet, attach it to himself, and then draw it back agfahi to its oriiJ-inal oiMt. So with the human spirit; its alTections were alienated from God, the centre of spiritual attraction, and they could nevei '^ave been restored, unless God had ap- proached, and by the increased power of liis mercy, as manifested in the self-denial, sufferings, and death of Christ, united man again to himself, by the pow- er of affection, tliat he might thus draw him up from his misery and sin, to revolve around him, in har- mony and love, forever. If this earth had, by some means, broken away from the sun, there would be no way possible of re- covering it again to its place in the systrm, but that FLAN OF SALVATI3N. 183 which has been mentioned — that the sun should leave his central position, and approach the wander- ing orb, and thus, by the increased power of his at- traction, draw back the earth to its original position. But the sun could not thus leave tiie centre of the system, without drawing all the other planets from tiieir orbits by the movement to recover the lost one. The relations of the system would be broken up, and the whole solar economy sacrificed, If the universal and equal law of gravitation was infrin- ged by the sun changing his position and his rela- tions in the system. Further, the establihed laws of the physical uni- verse would render it impossible that any other plan- et should be the instrument of recovering the earth to the sun. If another planet should approach the earth while thus wandering, the increased jJower of attraction would cause the two globes to revolve around each other ; or if the approaching planet was of greater magnitude, the earth would revolve, as a satellite, around it. But, this would not be to restore the earth to its place in the system, nor to its movement around the cjuu, but to fix it in a wrong position and a wrong movement, and thus alienate it forever from the central source of liii^ht and heat. It follows, therefore, that in accordance with the es- tablished laws of tlu solar system, the earth cculd never be recovered, but would fly off forever, or be broken into asteroides. There would, therefore, be no way possible for IS4 PHILOSOPHY OF THE the recovery of the earth, unless God should adopt an expedient unknown to the physical laws of thti universe. (This, all who believe that God is Al- mighty, and Himself the author of those laws, will allow that he niicrht do.) That expedient must not destroy the great laws of the system, upon which the safety of all its parts depend, but an augmented force of attraction nuist be thrown upon the earth from the sun itself, which would be suflicient to check tile force of its departing momentum, and gra- dually draw it back to its place. If a portion of the niiignetic power of the sun could be thrown into the earth, an adhesion would take place between it and the earth, and then, after the cord was fastened, if tliat body of attractive matter could ascend again to tiie body of the sun, the earth would receive the re* iiu'iiin^ impulse, and a new and peculiar influence would be created to draw it back to its allegiance to the sun. If as has been said, the power came from iiiiy other body but the sun itself, or attracted to- wards any other body, the earth would lose its place in the system forever.* So in the moral world : God's relations to the moral universe must be sustained. The infinite • These illuslrations are not lo be applied to the raole of exis- tence, or subsistence, in the Godhead : but, as God is the autlior of both the physical and moral laws, and as the at racticn of gravitation in physics corresponds with the attraction of aflectJou in morals, an analogy of what would be necessary under one, "9 taken to what was accomplishoJ by Christ under the other. PLAN OF SxlLVATION. 1S5 jufclice and holiness of the Divine law must not be compromised. The end to be gained is, to draw man, as a revolted sinner, back to God, while the in- tegrity of God's moral goverment is maintained. Now, affection is the attraction of the moral uni- verse. And, in accordance with the foresfoinor de- duction, to reclaim alienated man to God would be impossible, unless there should be a manifestation of the Godhead in the world, to attract to himself man's estranged affections, and then, after the affin- ity was fastened by faith, by his ascending again to the bosom of the Deity, mankind would thus be gradually drawn back to allegiance to Jehovali. 6. ILLUSTRATIONS FROM NATURE AND THE SCRIP- TURES. Tiie Plan of Salvation is likened unto a vine which has fallen down from the bouofhs of an oak. It lies prone upon the grouiid; it crawls in the dust, and all its tendrils and claspers, which were formed to hold it in the lofty place from which it had fallen, are twined around the weed and the bramble, and havmg no strength to raise itself, it lies fruitless and corruptmg, tied dowu to the base things of the earth. Now, how shall the vine arise from us fallen condi- tion ? But one way is possible for the vine to rise again to the place from whence it had fallen. The bough of the loiiy oak must be let down, or some communicatio 1 must bo formed connected with the 186 PHILOSOPHY OF THE top 01 the oak and at the same time with the earth. Th<3iL whtn the boiiofh of the oak was let down to the place where the vine lay, its tender claspers might fasten upon it, and, thus supported, it might raise itself up, and bloom and be?^ fruit again in the lofty place from whence it fell. So with man — his affections had fallen from God, and were fastened to the base thinsfs of the earth. Jesus Christ came down, and by his humanity stood upon the earth, and by his divinity raised his hands and uiiited limisel/ with the Deity of the everlasting Father: thus the fallen affections of man may fasten upon him, and twine around him, until they again ascend to the bosom of the Godhead, from whence they fell. It was thus that Prophets, Evangelists, Apostles, and the son of God himself, piesented tlie divine scheme of human redemption. Christ is the * Branch' by which the vine may recover itself from its prone and base condition: he is the 'Arm of the Lord' by which he reaches down and rescues sinful men from the ruins of the fall: "through whom," says Peter, "ye believe in Godj''^ [i. e. believe in God manifested through Christ,] " that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory, that your faith and hope might be in God.^^ Says Paul, * Your life is hid with Christ in God." Jesus him- self proclaimed that the believer should have within him " a well of water, sprintriiigup into everlasting life'' — tjiat is, he that belie veth in Christ crucified, the hud heart within liim will be struck liy the rod PLAN OF SALVATION. 187 of fr.ith, and in his soul there will be a well of pure and living affection, springing up to God forever. And again : " Jesus cried, and sai/i. He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on Him that sent me ; and he that seeth me, seeth Him that sent me :" i. e. Christ was God acting^ developing the divine attributes through human nature, so that men might apprehend aud realize them. God might have been as merciful as he is, if Christ had never died ; but man could never have known the extent, nor felt the power, of his mercy, but by the exhibition on the cross. His mercy could have been manifested to man's heart in no other way. And men cannot love God for what he truly is, unless they love Him as manifested in the suffering and death of Christ Jesus. '• I am the way, the truth, and the life ; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." " If ye had known me, ye would have known my Father also, and from henceforth yc know him, and have seen him." 6. THE PRECEDING VIEWS ESTABLISHED BY REDUC- TIO AD ABSURDUM. It is necessary that man should know the charac ter of the true God, and feel the influence of that character upon his mind and heart. But human nature, as at present constituted, could not be made to feel the goodness of God's mercy, unless God- blvisscd bo his name — should make selfdenials for 12 188 PHILOSOPHY OP THE man's benefit ; either by assuming human nature, or in some other way. {And is it not true thai God could make self-denials for men in no other loay that would be plain to their apprehensiou, ex- cept by e7nbodying his Godhead in human nature!) Mercy can be manifested to man, so as to make an impression upon his heart, in no other way than by labor and self-denial. This principle is obvious. Suppose an individual is confined, under condem- nation oi the law, and the governor, in the exercise of his powers, pardons him : this act of clemency would produce upon the heart of the criminal no particular effect, either to make him grateful, or to make him better. He might, perhaps, be sensible of a complacent feeling for the release granted ; but so long as he knew that his release cost the gover- nor nothing but a volition of his will, there would be no basis in the prisoner's mind for gratitude and love. The liberated man would feel more gratitude to one of his friends, who had labored to get peti- tions before the governor, for his release, than to the governor who released him. To vary the illustra- tion — suppose that two persons, who are liable to be destroyed in the flames of a burning dwelling, are rescued by two separate individuals. The one is enabled to escape by an individual who, perceiving his danger^ steps up to the door and opens it, with- out any effort or self-denial on his part. The other is rescued in a different manner. An individual, perceiving .lis danger and liability to death, ascends PLAN OF SALVATION. I8i« to him, and oy a severe effort, and while he is him- BelC suffering from the flames, holds open the dooi until the inmate escapes for his life. Now the one who opened the doar without self-denial, may have been merciful, and the individual relieved would recognise the act as a kindness done to on.e in peril j but no one would feel that that act proved that thb man who delivered the other manifested any special mercy, because any man would have done the same act. But the one who ascended the ladder and rescued, by peril, and by personal suffering, the in- dividual liable to death, would manifest special mercy, and all vvho observed it would acknowledge the claim ; and the individual rescued would feel the mercy of the act, melting liis heart into grati- tude to his deliverer, unless his heart was a moral petrifaction. What are, in reality, tlie facts by which alone men may know that any being possesses a benevolent nature ? Not, certainly, by that being conferring benefits upon others, which cost him neither person- al labor, nor self-denial ; because we could not tell but these favors would cease the moment they in- volved the least degree of sacrifice, or the moment they interfered with his selfish interests. But when it requires a sacrifice, on the part of a benefactor, to bestow a favor, and that sacrifice is made, then be- nevolence of heart is made evidently manifest. Now mark — any being who is prompted, by benevolence of heart, to make sacrifices, may not lose happiness. 190 PHILOSOPHY OF THE in the aggregate, by so dcing ; for a benevolent na- ture finds happiness in performing benevolent acts. Self-denials are^ therefore^ not only the appro- priate method of manifesting benevolence to men^ hilt they are likewise the appropriate manifesta- tions of a benevolent nature. Now, suppose God is perfectly benevolent ; then, it follows in view of the foreo^oingf deductions, in order to manifest his true nature to men, self-denials would be necessary, in order that men might see and feel that " God is love." It is clear, therefore, that those who reject the divinity of Christ, as connected with the atone- ment, camiot believe in God's benevolence ; be- cause, God is really as benevolent as the self-denials of Christ (believed in as divine) will lead men to feel that he is : nor can they believe in the mercy of God in any way that wili produce an effect upon their hearts. To say tl\at the human heart can be deeply affected by mwcy that is not manifested by self-denial, is to show but little knowledge of the springs which move the inner life of the human soul. Man will feel a degree of love and gratitude lor a benefactor who manifests an mterest in his wants, and labors to supply them ; but he will feel A greater degree of grateful love for the benefactor who manifests an interest in his wants, and makes self-denials to aid him. To deny, therefore, the di- vi le and meritorious character of the atonement, is to shut out both the evidence and the effect of God's mercy from the soul. PLAN OF SALVATION. 191 In accordance with this view, is the teaching of the scriptures. There is hut one thing which is charged against men, in the New Testament, as a fundamental and soul-destroying heresy^ and that is, not denying the Lord, but, " denyiiig the Lord that bought them." It is rejecting the purchase of Christ by his self-denying atonement, which causes the destruction of the soul, because it rejects the truth which alone can produce love to the God of love. But further : the facts have been fully proved, that God Jehovah, by taking a personal interest in the well-being of the Israelites, and laboring to se- cure their redemption, secured their affections to himself; and that His acts of mercy produced this effect was manifested by their song after their final deliverance at the Red Sea. "O sins: unto Jelio- vah, for he has triumphed gloriously ; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. Jehovah is my strength and song, and has become my sal- vation." In like manner, Jesus Christ secured to liimself, in a greater degree, the affections of Chris- tians, by his self-denying life and death, to ransom them from spiritual bondage and misery. The Is- raelites in Egypt were under a temporal law so se- vere, that while they suffered in the greatest degree, they could not fulfil its requirements : they there- fore, loved Jehovah for temporal deliverance. The believer was under a spiritual law, tlie require- ments of which lie could not fulfil, and therefore lie 1*^2 PHILOSOPHY OF THE loved Christ for spiritual deliverance. This fact, that the supreme affection of believers was thus hxel upon Christ, and fixed upon him in view of his sel f-sacrificing love for them, is manifest through- out the whole New Testament — even more mani- fest than that the Jews loved Jehovah for temporal deliverance. " The love of Christ constrains me ;" says one : thus manifesting that his very life was actuated by affection for Jesus. Says another — speaking of early christians oren-erally— " Whom fChrist] having not seen, ye love ; and in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye re- joice with joy unspeakable and full of glory." The bible requires men to perform their religious duties, moved by love to Christ : " And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men ; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the re- ward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ." Mark — these Christians were moved in what they didj what they said, and what they/eZ^, by love to Christ : love to Jesus actuated their whole being, body and soul. It governed them. Now, suppose that Jesus Christ was not God, noi a true manifestation of the Godhead in human na- ture, but a man, or angel, authorized by God to ac- complish the redemption of the human race from sin and misery. In doing this, it appears, from the nature of things and from the scriptures, that he did what was adapted to, and what does, draw the heart of everv tnie believer — as in the case of the PLAN OP SALVATION. 193 apostle and the early christians — nnto himself, as the supreme or governing object of affection. Tlieir will is governed by the will of Christ ; and love to him moves their heart and hands. Now, if it bo true that Jesus Christ is not God, then he has de vised and executed a plan, by which the supreme affections of the human heart are drawn to himself, and alienated from God, the proper object of love and worship : and, God having authorized this plan, he has ievised means to make man love Christ, on Christ, and feel the mercy of God as it is manifested in the atonement, they are consti- tuted " priests to offer up spiritual sacrifices, accept- able to God through Jesus Christ." 2.— P RAISE. The truth which has been demonstrated in pre- vious chapters is again assumed, that the manifesta- tions of God, in Christ Jesus, would, when brought into efficient contact with the soul, produce that active holiness in the heart, which is man's greatest good. And as the end to be accomplished depends, under God, on those truths which are developed in the great plan of mercy being impressed upon the mind and the heart, it follows that those means would be used, which, from their nature, are best PLAN OF SALVATION.. 229 adapted to give influence and impressiveness to the orreat truths of Revelation. The influence of music upon the emotions of the soul is well known to every one — « There is in souls a sympathy with sounds" — The soul is awakened, and invited by the spirit of the melody to receive the sentiment uttered in the song. Sweet, affecting music — not the tone of the piano, nor the peals of the organ — but a melodious air, sung by strong and well disciplined voices, and accompanied by the flute and viol — such music reaches the fountains of thought and feeling, and, « Untwisting all the links that tie The hidden soul of harmony," it tinges the emotions with its own hues, whether plaintive or joyous ; and it fosters in the heart the sentiment which it conveys, whether it be love of country, or of God — admiration of noble achieve- ment, or of devoted and self-sacrificing affection. The power of music to fix in the memory the sentiment with which it is connected, and to foster it in the heart, has been understood in all ages of the world. Some of the early legislators wrote their laws in verse, and sung them in public places. And many of the earliest sketches of primitive his- tory are in the measures of lyric poetrv. In this maimer the memory was aided in retaining the facts ; the car was invited to attend to tiiem ; im- agination threw around them the drapery of beauty, 230 PHILOSOPHY OP THE dignity, or power ; and then, music, conveyed the sentiment, and mingled if with the emotions of the soul. It was in view of the power of music, when united with sentiment adapted to affect the heart, that one has said, " Permit me to write the ballads of a nation, and I care not who makes her laws." When the effects of music and poetry upon the soul are considered, we can perceive their imi)ort- aiice as a means of fostering the christian virtues in the soul of the believer. They should be used to convey to the mind sublime and elevating con- ceptions of the attributes of Jehovah — to impress the memory with the most affecting truths of reve- lation ; and especially to cherish in the heart tender and vivid emotions of love to Christ, in view of the manifestations of divine justice and mercy exhib- ited in his ministry, his passion, and his sacrifice.* There can not be found, in all the resources of thought, material which would furnish sentiment for music so subduing and OA^erpowering, as the history of Redemption. There is the life of Jesus, a series of acts, godlike in their benevolence ; con- nected at times with exhibitions of divine power, and of human character, in their most affecting as- pects. And as the scenes of Christ's eventful min- istry converge to the catastrophe, there is the ten- derness of his love for the disciples — the last supper • « The proper drapery for music is truth. It is its only ap- parel, wheU eras applieL to God, or as used for the cultivation <« .nan." — K (nmus. PLAN OF SALVATION. 231 — ihe scene in Gethsemane — the Mediator in the. Hall of Judgment, exhibiting the dignity of truth and conscious virtue, amidst tlie tempest of human passion by which he is surrounded. Then the awful moral and elemental o:randeur of the cruci- fixion — the Savior, nailed to the cross by his own creatures, crying " PVther forgive them for they know not what they do" — and then, while dark- ness shrouds tlie sun, and " nature, through all her works gives signs of woe," he cries, '* it is finished ! and gave up the ghost." — Thus did the dark stream of human depravity roll, « Till a rainbow broke upon its gloom, Which spann'd the portals of the Savior's tomb." Such exhibitions of sublimity and power, when clothed with the influence of music, and impressed upon a heart rendered sensitive by divine influence, are adapted to make the most abiding and blessed impressions — " My heart, awake ! — to feel is to be lircJ ; And to believe, Lorenzo, is to feel." It follows, from the preceding views, that in se- lecting the means to impress the mind with religious truth, and the heart with pious sentiment, music and poetry could not be neglected. There is not in na- ture another means which would compensate for the loss of their influence. We do not mean to say that their influence is as great as some other means in impressing the truths of Revelation upon the Boul ; but their influence is peculiar and delightful, '-^32 PHILOSOPHY OF THE and without it the system of means would not be perfect. We see, therefore, the reasons why music and poetry were introduced as a means of impressing revealed truth, both under the old and the new dispensations. Moses not only made the laws, but he made, likewise, the songs of the nation. These songs, in some instances, all the people were re- quired to learn, in order that their memory might retain, and their heart feel, the influence of the events recorded in their national anthems. Music held a conspicuous place in the worship of the Temple ; and under the new dispensation, it is sanctioned by the express example of Jesus, and specifically commanded by the apostles : the exam- ple is given in connection with the institution of the eucharist, which was to commemorate the most af- fecting scene in the history ot God's love ; and the command is in such words as indicate the effects of music upon the heart : " Speaking to yourselves in psalms, and hymns and spiritual songs, singing, and making melody in your heart to the Lord ; giving thanks always, for all things, unto God and the Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.'' Upon this subject, as upon some others, the apos- tolic churches fell into some abuses ; yet the high praises of God and the Lamb, have always been celebrated in poetry and music by the church of Christ. One of the first notices of the Christians by Pagan writers, speaks of them as " singing a PLAN CF SALVATIQX. 233 hymn to Christ, as to a God ;" thus showing ihnt the principles established in the preceding views were recognized by the early disciples, who used music as a means of fostering in their hearts 'ove to the Savior. As in the case of the primitive christians, so every regenerated heart delights in such spiritual songs as speak of Christ as an atoning Savior. And those only are qualified to write hymns for the church whose hearts are affected by the love of Jesus. On this account some of the hymns of Cowper, Charles Wesley, Watts, and Newton, will last while the church on earth lasts, and perhaps longer. Thou- sands of Christian hearts have glowed with emcv tion, while they sung. There is a fountain filFd with blood, Drawn from Immanuel's veins ; And sinners plunged beneath that llood Lose all their guilty stains. Or, Kock of Ages, cleft for roe, Let me hide myself in Thee. Thousands have been awakened to duty and to prayer, by that solemn hymn, Lo, on a narrow neck of land, 'Twixt two unbounded seas I stand. Yet how insensible ! And it would not have been possible for any biU a christian poet to have written the lines, 234 PHILOSOPHY OF THE fle» nobkst life my spirit draws Fr)m His dear wounds and bleeding sid€. 3, — PREACHING. It has oeeii said that the truths and manifestations of Revelation are the elements of moral power, which being brought into efficient contact with the soul, are effective in rectifying and regulating its exercises. A medicine may be prepared in wliich are inherent qualities adapted to remove a panicilar disease ; but in order to the accomplishment o[ its appropriate effect, it must be brought to act upon the body of the patient. And if the disease has rendered the patient not only unconscious of his dan- ger, but has induced upon him a deep lethargy of mind, it would be necessary that the physician should arouse his dormant faculties, in order that he might receive the medicine which would restore him to health. So with the moral diseases of the soul ; the attention and sensibilities of men must be awakened, in order that the truth may affect their understanding, their conscience, and their heart. Whatever, therefore, is adapted to attract the attention and move the sensibilities at the same time tha. it conveys truth to the mind, would be a means peculiarly efficient to impress the gospel upon the soul. I'here are but two avenues througli which moral truth reaches the soul. And there are but two me- thods by which it can be conveyed through tliose avenues. By the living voice, truth is com muni- PLAN OF SALVATION. 235 cated throiigh the ear ; and by the signs of language it is communicated through the eye. The first of these methods — the living voice — has many ad- vantages over all other means, in conveying and impressing truth. It is necessary that an individ- ual should read with ease in order to be benefitted by what he reads. The efforts which a bad reader has to make, both disincline him to the task cf reading, and hinder his appreciation of truth. Be- sides, a large proportion of the human family can- not read, but all can understand their own language when spoken. In order, therefore, that the whole hu- man family might be instructed, the living speaker would be the first, and hr% and natural method. The living speaker has power to arrest attention — to adapt his language and illustrations to the cha- racter and occupation of his audience; and to ac- company his communications with those emotions and gestures, which are adapted to arouse and im- press his hearers. It is evident, from these considerations, that among the means which God would appoint to dis- seminate his truth through the world, the living teacher would hold a first and important place. — This result is in conformity with the arrai gements of Jesus. He appointed a living ministry ; endowed them with the ability to speak the languages of other nations ; and commissioned them to go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every crea- ture. 15 236 PHILOSOPHY OF THE In connection with this subject there is one other inquiry of importance. It concerns not only the harmony of the gospel system with the natur^j of things, but likewise the harmony of apostolic prac- tice with what has been shown to be necessary in order that the truths of the gospel might produce their legitimate effect upon the mind : It has been demonstrated that a sense of man's guilt and danger must exist in the mind, before there can be orratitude and love to the beinof who removes the guilt and rescues from the danger. It has likewise been noticed, as a self-evident princi- ple, that before repentance there must be conviction of sin. A sense of guilt and error must necessa- rily precede reformation of life. A man cannot con- scientiously turn from a course of life, and repent o^' past conduct, unless he sees and feels the error and the evil of that course from which he turns. To suppose that a man would turn from a course of life which he neither thought nor felt to be wrong or dangerous, is to suppose an absurdity ; it follows, therefore, that the preacher's first duty in endeavor- inof to reclaim men to holiness and to God, would be, in all cases, to present such truths as were adapt- ed to convict their hearers of their spiritual guilt and danofer. As God has constituted the mind, re- pentancefrom sin and attainment to holiness, would for ever be impossible on any other conditions. But the same truths would not convict all men of sin. In order to convict any particular man, or PLAN OF SALVATION. 237 class of men, of sii:, those facts iniist be fastened tipon with which they have associated the idea of moral good and evil, and concern .ng which they are particularly guilty. Thus, in the days of the apostles, the Gentiles could not be convicted of sin for rejecting and crucifying Christ ; but, it being a fact in the case of the Jews, that all their ideas of good and evil, both temporal and spiritual, were associated with the Messiah, nothing in all the catalogue of guilt would be adapted to convict them of sin so powerfully, as the thought that they had despised and crucified the Messiah of God. On the other hand, the heathen, upon whom the charge of rejecting Christ would have no influence, could be convicted of sin only by showing them the falsehood and folly of their iciolatry ; the holy char- acter of the true God, and the righteous and spirit- ual nature of the law which they were bound to obey, and by which they would finally be judged. The first preachers of the gospel, therefore, in con- formity with these principles, would aim first, and directly, to convince their hearers of their sins, and in accomplishing this end they would fasten upon those facts in which the guilt of their hearers more particularly consisted. And then, when men were thus convicted of their guilt, the salvation through Christ from sin and its penalty, would oe pressed upon their anxious souls ; and they would be tauglit to exercise faith, in Jesus, as the meritorious cause of life, pardon, and happiness. *23^ PHILOSOPHY OF THE Now, the apostolical histories fully confirm the icio., that this course— the only one consistent with truth, philosophy, and the nature of man — was the course pursued by the primitive preachers. The first movement after they ^i^ere endowed with the gift of tongues, and filled 'vith the Holy Ghost, was the sermon by Peter, on the day of Pentecost, in which he directly charged the Jews with the murder of the Messiah, and produced in thousands of minds, conviction of the most pungent and overwhelming description. At Athens, Paul, in preaching to the Gentiles, pursued a different course. He exposed the folly of their idolatry, by appealing to their reason, and their own acknow- ledged authorities. He spoke to them of the guilt which they would incur if they refused, under the light of the gospel, to forsake the errors, which God, on account of past ignorance, had overlooked. He then closed by turning their attention to the right- eous retributions of the eternal world, and to the appointed day when men would be judged by Jesus Christ, according to his gospel. The manner in which the apostles presented Christ crucified, to the penitent and convicted sin- ner, as the object of faith, and the means of pardon, and the hope of glory, is abundantly exhibited in the Acts of the Apostles, and in their several epistles to the churches. Thus did God, by the appointment of the living ]»roacher as a means of spreading the gospel, adapt PLAN OF SALVATION. 289 Himself to the constitution of his creatures : and the apostles, moved by divine guidance, likewise adapted the truth which they preached to the pecu- liar necessities and circumstances of men. ' i 'MO PHILOSOPHY OF THE CHAPTER XYIll. CONCERNING THE AGENCY OF GOD IN CARRYING ON THE WORK OF REDEMPTION, AND THE MAN NER IN WHICH THAT AGENCY IS EXERTED. God having thus devised the plan, and manifest- ed the trntli, and instituted the means of redemj)- tion ; the inquiry naturally presents itself— In what way would he put the plan into operation, and ^ive efficiency to the means of grace ? AVe cannot suppose that God would put his own institution beyond his power, or that he would leave it to be managed by the imperfect wisdom, and tba limited power, of human instruments. God would not prepare the material, devise the plan, adapt the parts to each other, furnish the instruments for building, and then neglect to supervise and com- plete the structure. God has put none of his works beyond his power ; and especially in a plan of which he is the author and architect, reason sug- gests that he would guide it to its accomplishment. The inquiry is — by what agency, and in what way, would the power of God be exerted, in carrying into efficient operation upon the souls of men, the system of saving mercy? In re) ition to the character of the agency, the PLAN OF SALVATION. 241 solution is clear. The agency by which the Plan of Salvation would be carried forward to its ulti- mate consummation would be spiritual in its na- ture : because God is a spirit, and the soul of man is a spirit, and the end to be accomplished is to lead men to worship God " in spirit and in truth." In relation to the mode of the Spirit's operation, some things belong to that class of inquiries upon which the mind may exert its powers in vain.— The mode by which God communicates life to any thing in the vegetable, animal, or spiritual world lies beyond the reach of the human intellect. But although man cannot understand the modus oper- andi of the Divine mind, in communicating life, yet tlie manifestations of life, and the medium through which it operates, are subjects open to human ex- amination. Whether the influence of the Spirit be directly upon the soul, or mediately by means of truth, the end accomplished would be the same. The soul might be quickened to see and feel the power of the truth : or, by the Spiiit, truth might be rendered powerful to affect the soal. The wax might be softened to receive the impression, or the seal heated, or a power exerted U})on it, to make the impression on the wax; or, both might be done, and still the result would be the same. It is not only necessary that the metal should be prepared 10 receive the impression of a die, but it is likewise necessary that the die should be prepared and adapt- ed to the particular kind of metal — tlio image and 242 PHILOSOPHY OP THE STiperscriplion of the king put upon it — the ma- chinery prepared and adapted to hold the die and apply it to the metal, and after all these necessary things are done, the coin can never be made, unless power is exerted to strike the die into tlie metal, or the metal into the die. So it is in the processes of the spiritual world ; the material [nianliind\ nuist be prepared. The die [the truth of the f^ospcl sj/s- !c?ji] must be revealed and /idapted to tlie material ; and the image to be impressed upon Imman natnre [The Lord Jesus Christ] and the superscrijnion, [glory to God and good will to men] nuist ])e cut upon the die. Then the means of bringing the truth into contact with the material must l)e pro- vided; and after all these preparations and adapta- tions, there must be the power of the Holy Spirit to guide the whole process, and to form the image of Christ in the soul. The foregoing is a complicated analogy, but nol more complicated than are the processes of tlie ani- mal and spiritual world. Look at the human body, with its thousands of adaptations, all of them ne- cessary to the system, the whole dependant upon the use of means for the supply of animal life ; and yet deriving from God its rational life, which ope- rates through and actuates the whole. In like manner the Spirit of God operates through and guides the processes of the Plan of Salvation. The scriptures reveal the truth clearly, that the Spirit of God gives efhciency to the means of graca PLAN OP SALVATION. ^43 And not only this, but he operates in accordance with those necessary principles which have been deve.oped in the progress of these chapters. Christ instructed his disciples to expect that he would send the Holy Spirit, and when he is come, said Jesus, "He will reprove the world of sin, of right- eousness, and of judgment :" that is, the Holy Spirit will produce conviction of sin in the hearts of the unsanctified and impenitent: — the ofRce-work of the Spirit of God in relation to the world, is to con- vince of sin. In relation to the saints, he exercises a different office. He is their Comforter. He takes of the things that belong to Jesus and shows them to his people.* That is, he causes the people of God to see more and more of the excellency, and the glory, and the mercy manifested in a crucified Savior; and by this blessed influence they "grow in irmce and in the knowledgfe of Jesus Christ." Christ, by his ministry and death, furnished the facts necessary for human salvation : the Holy Spirit uses those facts to convict and sanctify the heart. Paul, in a passage already noticed, alludes to the influence of the Spirit operating by the appointed means of prayer, or devout meditation. " But we all, with open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.^^ Further : At what juncture in the progress of the * .Tohn 16 : 7—14. 244 PHILOSOPHY OF THE great Plan of Salvation, would this agency be most powerfully exerted ? Wo answer, at the time when the whole moral machinery of the dispensation, through which the elTect was to be produced, was completed. Whatever is designed and adapted to produce a definite result as an instrument, must be completed before it is put into operation, otlierwise it will not produce the definite effect required. An imperfect system put into operation would produce an imperfect result. Here a special effect was to be produced ; it was necessary, therefore, that the truth should be revealed, and the manifestations all made, before the power was imparted to give them effect. Under the New Dispensation, the greatest and most imposing manifestations were the death, resur- rection and ascension of Jesus : had the system been put into operation before these crowning mani- festations were made, the great end of the gospel would not have been accomplished. It follows, then, that the material would be first prepared, the manifestations made and adapted to the material, the appropriate means ordained, and then the agen- cy of the Spirit would be introduced to guide the dispensation to its ultimate triumphs, and to gi\(} efficiency to its operations. These deductions harmonize with the teachings of the Scriptures : First, They expressly teach, tliat without the agency of God, no perfect result is accomplished. Second, They every where reprcsen* that the Di- P^4N OF SALVATION. 24ri Vine agency is exerted through the truth upon the soul, or exerted to awaken tlie soul to apprehend and receive the truth. Third, The Spirit was not fully communicated until the whole economy of the gospel dispensation was completed. The apostles were instructed to assemble at Jerusalem after the ascension, and wait till they were endued with power from on high. On the day of Pentecost, the promised Spirit de- scended. The apostles at once perceived the spirit- ual nature of Christ's kingdom. They spoke in demonstration of the Spirit, and with power. Men were convicted of sin in their hearts. Sinners were converted to Christ, by repentance and faith. And under the guida.xe of that Divine Spirit, the Plan of Salvation moves on to its high and glorious con- summation, when the " kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ/ "Amen : even so, come Lord Jesus !*' f> ci<> PHILOSOPHy UF TiliS CHAPTER XIX. CUNCEUNING THE PRACTICAL EFFECTS OF fllK SYSTEM. The evidence which the Lord Jesus Christ pro- posed as proof of the Divinity of the gospel system, was its practical effect upon individuals who receive and obey the truth. " If ye do of the works, ye shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God.'^ If a sick man calls a physician, who prescribes a certain medicine, which, by his receiving it accord- ing to the directions, cures him, he then knows both the eflicacy of the medicine, and the skill of the physician. Experience is evidence to the saints of the Divinity of the system. And its eifects in re- storing the soul to moral health is evidence to the world of the Divine efficacy and power of its doc- trines. " By their fruits, ye shall know them." In closing our volume, therefore, we have now only briefly to inquire what are the ascertained practical effects of faith in Christ ? We shall not refer to the moral condition of man in countries under the influence of the gospel, com- pared with his condition in Pagan lands. We will not dwell upon the fact which, of itself, is sufficient to establish at once and forever the Divine origin PLAN OF SALVATION. 247 ol evangelical religion, and the truth of the distinc- tive views developed in the preceding chapters — that the most holy men and women that have ever lived, have been those who exercised most constant and implicit faith in Christ. Passing these facts, important in themselves^ we will clost. our volume by a statement of facts concerning the present in- fluence of faith in Christ upon individuals now liv- ing, and subject to the examination of any one who might be skeptical upon the subject. The following is a true statement of the influence of the religion of Jesus upon several individual members of a village church in one of the United States. It is composed of members of common in- telligence, and those in the common walks of life. Other churches might have been selected in which, perhaps, a greater number of interesting cases might have been found. And there are other individuals in this church that would furnish as good an illus- tration of the power of the gospel as some of those which are noticed below. This church has been selected, because the writer had a better opportunity of visiting it in order to obtain the facts, than any other in which he knew the power of the religion of Christ was experienced. With the individuals spoken of I am well ac- quainted, having frequently conversed with them all, on the subjects of which 1 shall speak. Their words in all cases may not have been remembered, but the sense is truly given. 248 PHILOSOPHY OF THE CASE 1. — An old man, who has been a professor of religion from early life. He was once a deacon or elder of the church. Twenty years ago he was struck with paralysis, by which he has been ever since confined almost entirely to his room. His sit- uation is one that, to a mind which had no inward consolation, would be irksome in the extreme. His books are the bible and one or two volumes of the old divines. He is patient and happy ; and speak- ing of the love of Christ almost invariably suffuses his eyes with tears. He delights to dwell on re- ligious subjects ; and to talk with a pious friend of the topics which his heart loves, gives him evident delight. Recently, his aged companion, who had trodden the path of life with him, from youth to old age, died in his presence. She died, what is called by christians, a triumphant death : her last words were addressed to her children who stood around — "I see the cross"— a gleam of pleasure passed over her features, her eyes lighted up with peculiar brightness, she said, " Blessed Jesus, the 'ast hour is come : I am ready !" and thus she de- parted. At her death the old man wept freely and wept aloud ; but his sorrow, he said, was mingled with a sweet joy. How desolate would have been the condition of this poor cripple for the last twenty years without the consolations of faith in Christ. And when his aged companion died, who had for years sat by his side, how appalling would have been the gloom that would have settled upon his PLAN OF SALVATION. 249 soul, had not his mind been sustained by heavenly hope. His case shows that the religion of Christ will keep the affections warm and tender even to the latest periods of old age, and give happiness to the soul under circumstances of the most severe temporal bereavement. CASE 2.— A converted Atheist. I knew that there were those in the world who professed to doubt the existence of a God ; but I had met with no one in all my intercourse with mankind, who seemed so sincerely and so entirely an atheist, as the individual whose case is now introduced. The first time that I met him was at the house of his son-in-law, a gentleman of piety and intelligence. His appearance was that of a decrepit, disconsolate old man. In the course of conversation he unhesi- tatingly expressed his unbelief of the existence of a God, and his suspicion of the motives of most of those who professed religion. I learned from others that he had ceased in some measure to have inter- course with men — had become misanthropic in his feelings, regarding mankind in the light of a family of sharks, preying upon each other; and his own duty in such a state of things, he supposed to be, to make all honest endeavors to wrest from the grasp of others as much as he could. He used profane language, opposed the temperance reformation, and looked with the deepest hatred upon the ministers of religion. His social aflections seemed to be 250 PHILOSOPHY OF THE withered, and his body-j sympathizing-, was distorted and diseased by rheumatic pains. 1. This old man had for years been tiie subject of special prayer on the part of his pious daughter and his son-in-law ; and he was finally i^ersuaded by them to attend a season of religious worship in the church of which they were members. During these services, which lasted several days, he passed from a state of atheism to a state of faith. The change seemed to surprise every one, and himself as much as any other. From being an atlieist, he became the most simple and implicit believer. He seemed like a being who had waked up in another world the sensations of which were all new to him ; and al- though a man of sound sense in business affairs, when he began to express his religious ideas, his language seemed strange and incongruous, from the fact that while his soul was now filled witli new thoughts and feelings, he had no knowledge of the language by which such thougiits are usually ex- pressed. The effects produced by his conversion, were as follows — stated at one time to myself, and upon another occasion to one of the most eminent medical practitioners in this country :— One of the first things which he did after his conversion, was to love, in a practical manner, his worst enemy. There was one man in the village, who had, as he supposed, dealt treacherously witli him, in some money transactions which had occurred between them. On this account, personal enmity had long PLAN OF SALVATION. 251 existe«l between the two inlividnals. When con verted, he sought his old enemy — asked his forgive ness ; and endeavored to benefit him by bringing him under the influence of the gospel. 2. His benevolent feelings were awakened and expanded. His first benevolent oflering was twen- ty-five cents, in a collection for charitable uses. He now gives very liberally, in proportion to his means, to all objects which he thinks will advance the in- terests of the gospel of Christ. Besides supporting his own church, and her benevolent institutions, no enterprise of any denomination which he really be- lieves will do good, fails to receive something from him, if he has the means. During the last yejr he lias ffiven more with the desigfu of benefittinof his fellow men than he had done in his whole life tune before. 3. His aflfections have received new life. He said to me, in conversation upon the subject : " One pan of the scriptures 1 feel to be true — that which says. I will take away the hard and stony heart, and give you a heart of flesh. Once I seemed to nave no feeling ; now, thank God, I can feel. I have buried two wives and six children, but 1 nevci shed a tear —I felt hard and unhappy — now my tears flow at the recollection of these thino^s." The tears at that time wet the old man's cheeks. It is not probable, that since his conversioi,, there lias been a single week tnat he has not shed tears ; before conversion he had not wept since the age of manhood. An ex- 16 252 PHILOSOPHY OP THE hibition of the love of Christ will, at any time,. move his feelings with gratitude and love, until the tears moisten his eyes. 4. Effect upon his life. Since his conversion he has not ceased to do good as he has had opportunity. Several individuals have been led to repent and be- lieve in Christ through his instrumentality. Some of these were individuals whose former habits ren- dered a change of character very improbable in the eyes of most individuals. (One of them, who bad fallen into the habit of intemperance, is now a re- spectable and happy father of a respectable christian family.) He has been known to go to several fami- lies on the same day, pray with them, and invite them to attend religious worship on the Sabbath. And when some difficulty was stated as a hindrance to their attendance, he has assisted them to buy shoes, and granted other little aids of the kind, in order that they might be induced to attend Divine service. [Since the first edition was issued, a most remarkable fact concerninir this old man has come to the knowledge of the author. When converted, one of his first acts, although he had heard nothing of any such act in others, was to make out a list of all his old associates then living within reach of his influence. For the conversion of these he deter- mined to labor as he had opportunity, and pray daily. On his list were one hundred and sixteen names, among whom were skeptics, drunkards, and otlicr individuals as little likely to be reached by PLAN OF SALTATION. 253 christian influence as any other men in the region. Within two years from the period of the old man s conversion, one hundred of these individuals had made a profession of religion. We can hardly'sup- pose that the old man was instrumental in the con- version of all these persons; yet the fact is one of the most remarkable that has been developed in the progress of Christianity.] 3. Effect upon his happiness. In a social meet- ing of the church where he worships, I heard him make such an expression as this — " I have rejoiced but once since I trusted in Christ — that has been all the time." His state of mind may be best de- scribed in his own characteristic langfuao^e. One day he was repairing his fence. An individual passing addressed him — " Mr. , you are at work all alone." " Not alone," said the old man, " God is with me." He said that his work seemed easy to him, and his peace of mind continued with scarcely an interruption. I saw him at a time when he had just received intelligence that a son, who had gone to the south, had been shot in a per- sonal altercation, in one of the southern cities. The old man's parental feelings were moved, bui he seemed even under mis sudden and most dis tressiiig afiliction to derive strong consolation from trust in God. 6. Physical effects of the moral change. As soon us hi.s moral nature had undergone a change, his body, by sympathy felt the benign influence. Hip ^54 PHILOSOPHY OP THE countenance assumed a milder and more intellioent aspect. He became more tidy in his apparel, and his ' thousand pains/ in a good measure, left him. In his case, there seemed to be a renovation both of soul and body. This case is not exaggerated: the old man is living, and there are a thousand living witnesses to this testimony, among whom is an intelligent physician, who, hearing the old man's history of his feelings, and having known him personally for years, the obvious effects which the faith in Christ had produced in this case, combined with other in- fluences by which he was surrounded, led him seri- ously to examine the subject of religion, as it con- cerned his own spiritual interest. Hy this exami- nation he was led to relinquish tiie system of ' ra- tional religion,' (as the Socinian system is most in- appropriately called by its adherents,) and profess his faith in orthodox religion. CASE 3. — Two individuals who have always been poor in this world's goods : but who are rich in faith. Many years ago they lived in a new set- tlement where there were no religious services. The neighborhood, at the suggestion of one of its members, met together on the Sabbath, to sing sacred music and to hear a sermon read. Those sermons were the means of the conversion of the mother of the family. She lived an exemplary life, but her husband still continued impenitent, and be- came somewhat addicted to intemperance. Some FLAN OP SALVATION. 25b of the children of the family, as they reached ma- ture years, were converted ; the husband, and final- ly after a few years, all the remaining children, em- braced religion. From the day of the husband's conversion, he drank no more liquor, and, he says he always afterwards thought of the habit with ab- horrence. The old people live alone. The old woman's sense of hearing has so failed that she hears but imperfectly. When the weather will al- low, slie attends church regularly, but sometimes hears but little of the sermon. She sits on the Sab- bath and looks up at the minister, with a counte- nance glowing with an interested and happy ex- pression. She has joy to know that the minister is preaching about Christ. The minister once de- scribed religion possessed, as a spring of living wa- ter, flowing from the rock by the way-side, which yields to the weary traveller refreshment and de- light ; the old lady, at the close, remarked, with meekness, " I hope I have drank, many times, of those sweet waters. Except what concerns rheir particular domestic duties, the conversation of this aged pair is almost entirely religious. They are devout, and very hap- py in each other's society. And sometimes in theii family devotions and religious conversations, their iiearts glow with love to God. They look forward to death with the consoling hope that they will awake in the likeness of the glorious Savior, and so '*bc forever with the Lord ' 35(5 PHILOSOPHY OF THE CASE 4. — A female who early in life united with the church, and conscientiously performed the external duties of Christian life. She had, for many years, little if any happiness in the performance of her religious duties, yet would have been more un- happy if she had not performed them. She mar- ried a gentleman, who during the last years of his life was peculiarly devoted. During this period, in attending upon the means of grace, she expe- rienced an entire change in her religious feelings. She felt, as she says, that "now she gave up all for Christ. She felt averse to every thing which she believed to be contrary to his will. — To the will of Jesus she could now submit for ever, with joyful and entire confidence. — She now loved to pray, and found happiness in obeying the Savior." She made as she believes, at that time, an entire surrender or all her interests, for time and eternity, to Christ, and since then her labors in his service have been hap- py labors. Before they were constrained by con- science, now they are prompted by the affections. She does not think she was not a Christian before. She had repented in view of the law, but she hfid not, till the time mentioned, exercised affectionate faith in Christ.* She now often prays most solicit- ously for the conversion of sinners and the sar.ctifi- • Are there not many m all the churches who have been con- victed of sin, and who have perhaps repented, but have not ex- ^.rcjsed full faith in Christ ? PLAN OF SALVATION. 257 cation of the church. She loves to meet weekly in the female circle for prayer, and labors to induce others to attend with her. Her little son, nine years of ao^e, is, as she hopes, a Christian ; and her daugh- ter, just approaching the years of womanhood, has recently united with the church. Two years since her husband died under circumstances peculiarly afllicting. She prayed for resignation, and never felt any disposition to murmur against the provi dence of God. She sometimes blamed herself tha4 she had not thought of other expedients to prolong, if possible, the life of one that she loved so tenderly ; but to God she looked up with submission, and said in spirit, "the cup that my father hath mingled foi me, shall I not drink it?" Her husband she views as a departed saint, whom she expects to meet in a better world. She cherishes his memory with aa affection that seems peculiarly sacred ; and ihe re- membrance of his piety is a consoling association connected with the recollections of one now in heaven.* A single incident developes the secret of that pi- ety which gives her peace, and makes her useful. — One of the last times that I saw her, she stated, in • That the marriage bond becomes more sacred, and the recip- rocal duties of affection more tender, between two hearts thai both love Jesus, I have no doubt. The feelings of this piouf widow favor the supposition, and the facts recorded in the biog- raphies of Edwards Fletcher and Corvosso, fully confirm it. 258 PHIi^OSOPIIHY OF THE conversation upon the subject, that a short time be- fore, she had read a Sabbath school book, which one of her children had received, in which was a repre- sentation of Christ bearing his cross to Calvary. While contemplating this scene, love and gratitude sprang up in her heart, which were subduing, sweety and peaceful beyond expression ! How is it reader, that the contemplation of such a scene of suffering should cause such blessed emotions to spread like a rich fragrance through the soul, and rise in sweet in- cense to God ? It is the holy secret of 'he cross of of Christ ! which none but the saints know, and even they cannot communicate ! * * Thomas h. Kempis endeavored to give expression to the consciousness of the divine life in the soul — " Frequens Christi visitatio cum homine interno, dulcis, sermocinatio, grata con- solatio, multa pax," &c. PLAN OF SALVATION. 259 SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER. AN OBJECTIVE REVELATION NECESSARY, AS A MEANS OF THE MORAL CULTURE OF MANKIND. Since the first pablication of this volume, the question between those who receive the Christian Scriptures as an Authoritative Divine Revelation, and those who do not, has somewhat varied its form. The discussion for the past few years, both in Europe and America, has been mainly between those who believe in the Divine Authority of the Christian Revelation, as a rule of duty, and those who believe in the authority of Conscience and Reason, as the highest guides of man. Neithei class altogether rejects the Scriptures, but one receives the Messiah and his teachings as of God — the other receives them as of man. The arguments by which the inspiration of the sacred Scriptures are usually maintained are well known ; and but little can be added to them in their common forms. There is, however, anothei view which may be taken of the subject — a view which considers a tvriUen Revelation in the light of the moral wants of man, and as an adapted and necessary means in order to human development. 260 PHILOSOPHY OF THH Such a train of thought would correspond with the tenor of the argument in th*^ preceding chapters, and would meet, directl}'^, the position of the tran- scendental school — that all the moral ligflt which God gives to man is revealed subjectively in the human consciousness, or derived by the unaided reason. If it can be shown that the moral constitution of man demands a revelation ab extra — from with- out — as its complement, and that the Christian Revelation is the adequate and adapted means by which the moral development of man as a being, and of men as a family, must be secured ; if these positions can be established, they will place the Bible upon the basis of moral necessity ; be- cause the moral constitution of man implies, in order to its development, a written Revelation. We propose,, then, for ourselves and our read- ers, thi« inquiry : Is man so constituted by his Creator, that a Revelation of objective truth (i. e.. truth revealed to him, not in him) is demanded, in order to the right and full development of his moral facult ics ? In the first chapters of this volume the fact that man is, by nature, a religious being, is stated and proved ; and in succeeding chapters the adaptation of some of the processes by which truth is revealed in the Scriptures is discussed. We propose now to direct our attention to the single inquiry, Whether a Written Revelation be a demand of man's moral PLAN OF SALVATION. constitution, without which his moral culture is impossible. There is a first fact connected with this in- quiry which might be assumed ; but it will be more satisfactory to exhibit its ground and its relations to our discussion. Man is a cultivating and a cultivable being. Culture improves nature. There is a certain degree of perfection attained, or attainable, by the species of the vegetable and animal kingdoms, which nature of herself produces. Unusual cir- cumstances may produce choice individuals, which are in advance of the natural average ; but in suc- ceeding generations, without culture, these will return again to the natural level. No species of things can improve itself. Cul- ture must in all cases come from man. By his agency individuals of the vegetable and animal kingdoms may be advanced far beyond what is possible for them in their natural state. Most species of fruits are "flat, stale, and unprofitable" "by nature, and would always have continued so, unless they had received the aid of human culture. So the domestic animals are moulded to beauty and utility only by human culture. All things below man that have valuable quali- ties are created capable of culture ; but the culture must come, in aL 2ases, from a nature higher than their own. Man is the lord of the lower creation. He advances and improves such species as are 262 PHILOSOPHY OF THE profitable for his use, and destroys others. Man ia the only cultivator, and for his use and benefit nature is made capable of improvement. But let us mark especially the correlated fact with which we have especially to do in this dis- cussion. Man is not only a cultivating, but he is a culti- vable being. Like the other animal species, there is a certain natural level above which he cannot rise without aid from a Being higher than himself. (See Chap. I.) This is true of him especially aa a moral being. In intellectual attainment, and in the perception of moral principles, individuals among men have achieved a high position with- out, as some have supposed, aid from an external revelation. We will concede, if it be desired, that some of the moral precepts of Confucius, Soc- rates, and Seneca are similar to those of the New Testament. Whatever may be conceded on this point, the fact is historically demonstrated, and, as we think, philosophically demonstrated, (see God Revealed in the Process of Creation, &c.. Book II.) — that without aid from above himself, man does not attain to a knowledge of the character of God as his Father, nor to a knowledge of self-denying duty due to all men as his brethren. In this respect man is not an exception to the law, that no species can raise itself above its natural condition. The Gretks and Romans had many excellent moral precepts; but in the Knowledge of God and of self- PLAN OF SALV-aTION. 263 denial for the good of men, they were nover in advance of those whom they designated as bar- barians. A knowledge of the true character of God, and of benevolent labor for men as brothers, is absolutely essential, as we shall see, to human culture and human progress; but all human history and human experience testify that man unaided can no more attain to this knowledge than an ani- mal can subdue and discipline itself for domestic uses. Leaving the preceding observations for the con- sideration of the reader, we assume again the fact, which will be granted even by those who may doubt in relation to some of the preceding state- ments — God has created man a cullivating' and a cultivable being', and he is the only being created that possesses the double capability to receive and to impart culture. By his ability as a cultivator, he may elevate others up to the level of his own attainment, and by his capacity for culture, the cultivator may himself be cultivated by a superior being. We inquire, then, for the necessary and adapted means, in order to the full development of man's moral faculties. We will notice three endowments by which men are particularly distinguished from irrational beings. The union of the three is requisite in producing human development ; but the effect of the whole will be perceived more distinctly ty first noticing 264 PHILOSOPHY OF THE them separately. These distinguishing endow- ments are Written Language^ Faith, and Con- .science. A sign-language is characteristic of man. Al- though it may not be manifest at the lowest stages of social condition, it is always necessary as the basis of social progress. Beasts make, to a con- siderable extent, sounds and gestures which are intelligible to each other; but they cannot impress upon matter a permanent si<^n of their thought This is an endowment possessed by humanity alone. It is not necessary to our argument to discuss the forms of the primitive sign-languages, or whether there were an original language which was the basis of all others.* Whether the process be by one m(?thod or another, every settled nation, with whose history we are acquainted, formed or possessed a sign-language. As nations advance in age, language improves, and the people improve inteUectually with the language. Colonies carry the parent language into new regions of the world. In the lapse of time, by the intermingling of peoples, old forms and sounds are modified — some words * If the present languages of the world be derived from a com- mon origin, (which neither reason nor Scripture requires us to suppose,) the various streams must run back to the parent source before the two distinct forms of alphabetic and syllabic writing were originated. The rudimental structure of the alphabetic and syllabic languages are so diverse, that they could in no way hnv€ been derived the one from the other. PLAN OF S A L V A T lO iX . 265 are lost and new ones are admitted ; but the attri- bute of a sign-making and sign-reading being is characteristic of man in all ages, after be leaves the lowest stages of barbarism. The fact is fairly settled, that without aidinjt himself by a written language, man cannot ascend even to the first stages of civilization. But when time and settled condition will allow, he makes for liimself signs of thought; and although the methods may vary, the result is the same : the signs writ- ten by the hand of one communicate his thoughts through the eye to the minds of others. After the language of any people has taken its form, the degree of civilization attained at any time can be ascertained, with perfect accuracy, by rhe copiousness of their vocabulary and the shades of discrimination in their definitions. In theif written language they accumulate the history, science, and sentiments of the past, and add to these the achievements and experiences of the present. Their words, with fixed definitions, are susceptible of authentication as media of com- mercial and civil transactions; and, as these are conditions of civilization, nothing can be more ap- parent than the statement that without a written language civilization is impossible: and if civili- zation is impossible without a written language, we cannot suppose that high moral culture can be attained without an aid which is necessary to the lowest stages of social progress. . 266 PHILOSOPHY OF THE As certainly, therefore.^ as man is constituted to ascend from lower to higher stages of progress, written language is designed as the medium of his •social and moral culture ; but as neither God nor man, so far as we can see, can use signs in any other way than as objective to the mind itsclfj hence, if man receives moral culture at all, it must be by fixed signs of thought, presented objectively to the human soul. Signs are the creations of the human mind in which 7nafi embodies his h^os ; they are the medium by which the thought of one is conveyed to others; and hence they must he the adapted and only means of moral culture, when man is to act as a« instrument in elevating his race. Written language connects man with the past and the future. In it he must store all he liolds valuable or sacred in knowledge. Without it he would be an undeveloped moral beiijg — an infant in knowledge, while old in years and in crime; a being without science, living mostly in the pres- ent; haunted by demons of the imagination, and a prey to hutnan tyrants, as ignorant but more powerful than himself. But suppose it be granted that without written language man cannot receive moral r;«iture; yet, are not the signs of that language, and the ideas that they contain, originated by man? And hence while a written language in order to moral culture may be admittsd, a revelation of truth other than that originated by man may be denied. PLAN OF SALVATION. 267 It will be seen when we come to consider tlie subject of faith, that in order that truth may aft'ect the moral character of man, and exert upon him an elevating and purifying influence, he must receive it as coming from God, the Lawgiver and Judge of nien. But apart from this consideration, which is a vital one in its relation to the subject of moral culture, there are plain evidences which prove that man cannot of himself attain to the true idea of the Divine character; and hence, if God be ever truly known to men, he must reveal himself in such forms and by such signs as will communicate a true knowledge of his character to the human mind. We are aware that there are those who believe and teach that the character of God, as well as the being- of a God, is revealed subjectively in mcii : we will notice the superficial and injurious character of this philosophy in another place; but here we affirm that all history, and the common experience and reason of men, prove the fallacy of such an opinion. A sense, or intuition, or conception (call it what you will) of the existence of a God, is found in all ages, existing in all races of men. It is a universal conviction, and belongs to man as man. But no two men have precisely the same idea of God's character. The diversity in one case is as perfect as the unity of the other. Without a revelation men believe that there is a God ; but their views of the divine character are as diverse as their languages, and have never risen above the 17 268 PHILOSOPHY OF THE level of heroism, naturalism, and lust, in connection with the natural attributes of wisdom and power. The idea of the existence of God is the idea of being. The idea of character implies quality; to suppose that man has intuitive ideas of either the j)hysical or spiritual qualities of things is absurd. Again, every man is conscious that he has not himself got an intuitive idea of the character of God. Every man believes that God is ; but what he is, is with every man matter of reflection, or of faith. The conscious experience of every man is testimony in this case. It is a fact admitted almost universally, that the present state of the creation, both moral and phys- ical, is imperfect. Allowing, then, (if it be desired,) that man has an intuitive idea that a Divine Being, or Beings, exist — how could he get the concep- tion of a perfect character from an imperfect world ? If man forms a conception of God's character without re /elation, in the present state of things, he must necessarily form a wrong one. Man is imperfect, and nature is imperfect, and therefore there is no archetype from which a true sign of the Divine character can be drawn. Hence the his- tories of man's theologies, in all ages, are histories of errors. Now, it is a fact which is marked and peculiar that the character of God revealed in the Old Tes- tament is revealed in accordance with the laws by which signs are made to communicate first ideas, PLAN OF SALVATION. 269 and in accordance with the nature of man as a sign-reading being. We have shown in Chapters VII. and VIII. that the word Jehovah, signify- ing merely divine being — loithout character, was clothed with attributes by a process of signs or hieroglyphics woich formed the true character of God in the Jewish mind, so far as that character was known under the introductory dispensation. Moses was a sign-maker. His dispensation waa one of types. From the processes and hieroglyphics ot his dispensation the ideas of heavenly things were produced. This is expressly affirmed in the New Testament, as it is likewise in the Old.* Under the New Testament Dispensation we have a manifestation of duti/, in the life of Christy and of love in his self-sacrifice, which have given new ideas to the human mind. These are ren- dered permanent in the written language of the New Testament. In Christ's death " was the love of God manifested" — and man could never have had the idea but by the cross of Christ. The cross of Christ is the sig-n of Divine love for men. The life of Christ is the sign of human duty. These manifestations are objective to the soul. These ideas, embodied in sign-language, are the material * Ex. 25 : 40. " Make them after the pattern that was showoJ thee in the mount." And Acts 7 : 44. Heb. 9 : 23. The Mosaic ceremonies generally are declared to b€ "patf-ems — pictures — hieroglyphics — "of things in the heav- ens." Z70 PHILOSOPHY OF THE of the highest moral culture. But in order to elevate and purify the soul, they must become sub* jective in the heart, and authoritative with the conscience and the will. This brings us to the connected subject oi faith^ by which objective Divine Truth becomes subjec- tive in the soul. Faith, or Credence, like sign-language, distin- guishes between man and irrational beings. (The word Credence may be more appropriate as a gen- eral term, while we apply the word Faith in a moral sense.) Animals receive knowledge by sen- sation only; man receives knowledge by sense and by credence. Almost the whole of man's acquired knowledge he obtains by crediting the testimony of others. In relation to God, and the objects of the spirit- ual world, faith is the only exercise by which we can know them. These are not cognizable by the senses. The being of God may be admitted intu- itively, but the character of God can be known only by faith ; and it is the character of God, not THE BEING OF GoD, that is the element of moral culture. In order to the moral effect of the Divine character upon the soul, we " must believe not only that God is, but that he is a reiaarder of those who diligently seek him.^^ God has so made man that his moral nature ia moved and his moral character controlled by faith. If he believes (whether falsely or not) that his PLAN OP' SALVATION. 271 neighlor is a bad man, he will feel towards nim as if it were so. If he believes with an assured faith certain things in relation to God and duty, he will feel and act as he believes. If a man has faith in truth, he will have a true conscience ; but in so fai as his faith is false, his conscience will be false; and in relation to duties due to God, if a man has no faith at all, he will have no conscience at all. A man without faith is influenced no more in his character or conduct by the existence and character of God than if there were no God. In the light of such truth, which cannot be controverted, every sound mind ought to see that transcendentalism is a moral lie. God has made the soul of man to recognize him as sovereign, and his will as obligatory. The ani- mal mind reaches up to man, and knows no higher lord. The mind of man by faith reaches up to the Supreme Being, and recognizes duty and obligation to him. Thus man by faith and conscience be- comes responsible as a subject of the divine gov- ernment, and is thus separated from all inferior things. Sign-language and Faith are correlated in the moral tuition of man. All human progress depends upon faith exercised in testimony, fixed by the settled import of written language. Without cre- dence vocal language might exist, and men might communicate to each other their experiences and observations ; but credence alone, in connection 272 PHILOSOPHY OF THE with fixed signs of thought, raises man to the con- templation of the past — the future — the spiritual and the Divine. But all the objects upon which moral culture depends are without the soul. They are not sub- jective, but objective. Say, if you will, that the idea of a God is an intuition ; but what God is has been matter of credence in all time and with all men. It is unnatural, it is impossible, for man to look into himself for objects of credence. The idea is a preposterous one. Man is created a believing be- ing, and Faith looks out of self for its objects, as naturally as the eye looks out of self to the phe- nomena of the world of sense. But in order that the objects of Faith may have subjective efficiency over the affections, the will, and the conscience, man must recognize not only the rectitude but the authority of the truth presented for credence. This brings us to consider, in con- nection with Faith, the office of Conscience, with- out the rectitude and efficiency of which there can be no moral culture. There are two elements in efficient faith ; one i\\Q form of the fact — the other the authority of the fact. The fact, in order to be efficient within men, must be perceived not only as truths but as author' itative truth; that is, perceived as proceeding from a being whose character we love, and whose au- thority to command we recognize. The perception of truth doci not impart the moral power or the PLAN OF SALVATION. 273 moral disposition to obey the truth. No man in his senses will say that the man who perceives truth obtains thereby a disposition to obey it. Truth has little efficiency for moral culture unless it be recognized by faith, as grounded in the character and communicateu to man by the will of God, Whatever is believed by the soul to be the will of the Divine Lawgiver revealed for man, that con- science will enforce upon the life. Socrates, Plato, and Seneca uttered much valu- able truth ; and truth that was recognized among the people as coming from the highest human sources. But what cared men for the utterances of philosophers ? Whose conscience troubles him in our day for not obeying the maxims of the author of Lacon, or the precepts of living or dead moralists ? Men are equals ; and truth from merely human sources can rise no higher than the opinions of equals. It may be — it generally is — believed as truth ; but it can have no moral sanction as obli- gatory upon the life, and therefore can have little influence uoon the soul as an element of moral culture. The greatest difficulty with men is not thai they do not perceive truth. Men perceive much moral truth by the force of their own reason ; and they assent to much more that is perceived by others. Colton wrote more moral maxims than any man of his afije, and violated them all. Instead of the perception of trutli being moral culture in liis case, 274 PHILOSOPHY OF THE it was, as in many other cases, only a light thai revealed a deeper debasement. A revelation of truth concerning God and human duty ^s necessary; but power or disposition to obey the truth is the greater want — is an absolute necessity — in order to the moral culture of the soul. A perception of truth without love and obedience is demoralizing. A perception of truth which mo\ es the heart and the will is the process of moral c Jture. Both experience and revelation agree in the things which have been said. The teachings of the Messiah himself had no reformatory or sancti- fying power, until men believed that they were sanctioned by the Godhead. This Jesus frequently afRnned. The disciples were taught to expect that wJien the resurrection and the advent of the Comforter should have attested the divinity of his mission^ thex men would be "persuaded of 5m, rigli Icon sness, and judg'ment;'^ that is, when they saw God in the truth which he taught, they would feel that it was sin to disobey. The words which he had spoken unto them would become s])irit and life to their souls, when thev were received as the irord of God, Now, let us condense and remember the factb* V. hich we have considered. The character of Con- science in all religious duties depends upon Faith. Without faith it has no life — with a false faith it is corrupted, and therefore a curse — with a tnie faith it is living and pure. Conscience in itself is PLAN OF SALVATION. 275 a most potent power, but it is a blind power. It enforces the conduct dictated by a man's faith, whatever that may be. Bat its power for good oi evil comes only with a sense of the authority of God. It will enforce no di^ty, nor pro luce remorse for any neglect of duty in regard to God, unless faith affirms the act to be sanctioned by the will and authority of God. A sense of right exists in most minds and consciences — so enjoins a right practice towards men — until the mind becomes darkened by a false credence or a wrong practice. But where no faith exists, conscience never enforces a wrong towards man as a sin against God. And even in relation to the duties in life which we learn by experience, the conviction of right is often very inefficient: and in relation to the hif^hest social duties, a false credence often makes wrong to be a duty or a privilege. In relation to God, therefore, and religious duty, faith is the only guide of conscience ; and in rela- tion to the practice of right tc wards men, and more especially the maintenance of right social princi- ples, man is a weak and wandering spirit; and when his conscience dies or is perverted by a false crcdenco or a wrong practice, he has hope of rescue and purity only in a revelation which faith may receive as the will of God, and which conscience will then enforce as duty; the violation of which Is sin.* • A fact of importance in this connection it may be profitable to ^76 PHILOSOPHY OF THE From the preceding considerations we might at once deduce a conclusion in favor of an objective revelation, as a necessary requisite in order to human culture. But this conclusion would be a general one, and many who would assent to the general conclusion might not agree that the New Testament is the only perfect and the ultimate revelation of Divine Truth. Before, therefore, we endeavor to show the adapt- edness of the Christian Scriptures as the only sys- tem of Truths by which man's moral nature can be rightly and fully developed, let us notice, in connection, some of the views by which we have notice — a fact both in revelation and inhuman experience. It ia not a link in the argument, but it may aid our conviction of the vital importance of the subject. It shows, likewise, the relation of this subject of Divine Culture to the fact stated in an introductory paragraph, that culture of one being must come from another supe- rior to itself. Thus man cultivates nature and God cultivates man. It is a law of man's nature, that when the truth is perceived in the mind and its obligation acknowledged, if obedience be not yielded, the conscience grows less potential to enforce the duty. It is a retributive principle incorporated into man's moral constitution, that sin being persisted in against light and obligation, the liglit becomes darkness in the mind, and the sense of obligation dies in the souL This is a natural law. But a sense of God's special presence re- vei-ses this law. The influence of the Holy Spirit awakens again the dying conscience, and illumines again the darkening mind. The evil of sin is again seen and felt. The dead conscience is awakened by the presenx-e of God, and the soul that was sinking under the moral paralysis of sin is offered rescue and called to heaven. Reader, this is your liope — the miraculons interposition of the Divine Spirit. PLAN OF SALVATION. 277 argued the necessity of an objective revealment of Divine Truth, in opposition to the false notion that a knowledge of the Divine character and of human duty are revealed subjectively in the soul. M»an is created conscious of imperfection and capable of culture. Man can receive moral culture only by the aid of signs of moral truth embodied in written lan- guage. Man may have by nature an intuition of the Being of God, but he has no knowledge of the character of God; but that character has been revealed in accordance with the process of linguis- tic development, and in adaptation to man's nature and wants, in the Old and New Testaments. Man is a being of Faith, and can be affected by the character and will of God only by the exercise of faith. Faith naturally looks out of self for its objects. The past — the future — God and the spiritual world are without the soul, as revealed by faith. Man is a being of Conscience ; but the character of conscience is determined by faith. Unless faith sees God in truth, conscience will not enforce it on the soul. But it will enforce whatever faith dictates as the character and will ol God, whether right or wrong. Faith is in itself blind. It does not know truth from error; and reason has never had power with- out revelation to correct its false afiirmations. The \ 27y PHILOSOPHY OF THE highest effort of reason is to ;roducc doubt. (See Chap. 1.) It cannot substitute truth foi falsehood. Conscience is blind. It is a potentiaJ force, but it follows faith right or wrong, and when faith is false it enforces falsehood in the soul. Both faith and conscience look to God for au* thority ; and until faith sees God in Truth, Con- science will not convict the soul of guilt for dis- obedience. Hence, in the moral culture of the soul, every thing depends on the revealment of truth. But this truth must come to the soul, not as human opinion, or as the utterances of philosophy, but as Truth which Faith and Conscience recognize as rendered obligatory upon man, by the will and aut'^ority of God. Withoul revealed Truth, Reason has no data^ Faith is false, and Conscience is cor- rupt. The erring nature of man's moral powers, without Revealed Truth, requires a revelation from the Maker. As there can be no moral culture with a false faith and a corrupt or dead conscience, hence a revelation of objective Truth, rendered cfUcrient by the perceived presence and authority of God, is a moral necessity ^ in order to the culture of the human soul. But in order to the moral culture of man it is not only necessary, as we l>ave seen, that man should receive from a personal God, by faith, a revelation of Truth ; but certain characteristics in that truth PLAN OF SALVATION. 279 itself are necessary — characteristics which, as we shall now show, mark the New Testament as the inspired, adapted, and final revelation of God to man. In view, then, of man's character and condition, notice some characteristics necessary in revealed truth, in order to his perfect and ultimate culture. A first requisite in the truth itself, in order to moral culture, is, that it should be ultimate and perfect, so that the standard may always be in ad- vance" of man's present attainment; and that it should be so revealed as to awaken and encourage aspiration and struggle for conformity to the re- vealed standard. Every one will allow that a determination of the soul from evil to good, and a struggle upward, is the only method by which man can possibly attain to a better moral condition. But in order to awaken interest and promote effort for mora, advancement, truth must be so exhibited as to show us our present moral delin- quencies andderCiictions. This can be done only by presenting precept and example which are above the present moral condition of the soul. It is seli- evident that man cannot advance to a higher posi- tion until he is convinced that his present state is a wrong one, and below attainments which he is under moral obligation to make. Divine precept and example stand as the embodied model. The effort, by Divine aid, for a higher attainment in 280 PHILOSOPHY OF THE holy living is the process by which the attainment is secured; and the attainment in which the sou] finds its happiness in a spirit of love for Christ and labor of love for man, is the culture that the souJ needs ; and when divinely illumined by truths it is the culture which the soul seeks. Now, do the precepts and examples of the New Testament furnish authoritative objective truth of this character ? Are they such, that while they encourage and aid, they will always be in advance of the soul, leading it up to moral perfection ? About this question there can be no controversy. No man dare deny that if the spirit of the New Testament prevailed on earth, vice, and crime, and want would cease among men. Neither atheists nor sceptics dare deny that the spirit of the Chris tian Scriptures is reverent love for God and self- denying, happy love-labor for man. The ultimate good of all men can only be attained by those who possess good of any kind, denying themselves to bring those below them up to the good they enjoy The New Testament spirit and example is a per- fect fulfilment of this requirement. It stands alone, and high as heaven above every thing else known to the human mind in the spirit and practice of self-denying love for the equal temporal and spirit- ual good of all men. The devil dare not deny that the labor and sacrifice of Christ for the good of men is ultimate. Nothing can be higher, liolier, or in any respect better than the precept, the spirit, PLAN OF SALVATION. 281 and the example of the New Testament. It has ever been in advance of human character, and wiil be till the end of time. It is ultimate in spirit, in precept, and in example ; and it is not profane to say, that, if there be any other revelation, or if God give any other, it must be a worse one, because there cannot be a better. There is another requisite in the character of revelation necessary to human culture, which we have assumed, but which we will now notice more fully. That requisite is, that the ultimate standard of duty should be given in the form of example. We need to know not only what we ought to do, but we need to understand the spirit in which a duty should be discharged. A good act may be- come evil, and have no influence for moral culture, because it is not done in a good spirit. Those who have not the Spirit of Christ are none of his. But an example of forbearance, of firmness, of self- denial, of reproof, of compassion, of forgiveness, of the manner of conduct in particular circumstances, is necessary, in order to lead men to understand, and, by faith, enable them to discharge right duties in a right spirit. (See Chap. XVI.) But example, in order that we may understand the motive and the spirit of duty, is necessary in another particular. General precepts have specific applications ; and the best minds are liable to err in the application of general precepts to the varying every-day duties of life. Man is so constituted that 282 PHILOSOPHY OF THE perfect knowledge of duty in all specific cases i& impossible; he needs, therefore, an ever-present guide, to which he can refer the decision of what is duty in specific cases. There can be no such guide, except it be a model character acting' in our circuvi' stances. The life of Christ is the infallible standard of reference for sinful men acting in a world of sin- ners. Suppose an absent father should leave hia son to manage his affairs during his absence. It would be impossible for him to give his son specific directions in relation to all cases that might arise in ihe varied duties of the farm during a long ab- sence. The son, however, has seen the example of his father; he knows perfectly the motives which governed him, and the spirit he manifested. In the application, therefore, of his father's general pre- cepts to specific cases, he involuntarily, naturally dutifully asks himself, What would my father do in this case ? What would he have me do ? Thus the knowledge of his father's character, life, and spirit, guides him in the application of precept to practice ; while, at the same time, it reveals the motive and the spirit in which the act should be done. Other requisites in the character of revealed truth might be added to these ; but we will not prolong the chapter. We might show that there should be elements to awaken hope and courage in those who seek the " mark of the prize of the high cut' ture^^'' given in the life and spirit of Jesus ; and that these elements accompany the precept of the New Testament. PLAN OF SALVATION. 283 » We might show that the question, "What is Truth ? " on moral subjects, can never be settled in any individual mind, except by faith and Divine authority, and an ultimate example ; and that these are given in the written Scriptures. We might show that there can be no culture of the soul except the motive to action be benevolent- That love of Christ makes God the motive — takes it out of self; and hence acts for Christ's sake are necessarily unselfish acts, and that unselfish action is necessary to moral culture. We have, we trust, already said enough to aid candid minds to the conclusion that the moral cul- ture of the soul must be accomplished by a system of Truth, revealed objectively in written language, by Divine authority ; and that the Christian Scrip- tures contain that system of Truth. The Scriptures alone possess the characteristics which adapt truth to the ends of moral culture. The believer is made humble by the perfection of Christ's example of love, and labor, and sacrifice for men — a perfect standard, yet so far in advance of his attainment. Gospel faith, which realizes in the soul that Christ's sacrifice was for him, will mingle gratitude and love with his humility. The offer of aid in the moral conflict, of pardon to the penitent, and of divine favor to every one who denies himself and exercises a spirit of affectionate obedience, inspires hope and courage, and gives ipy by the way; and, then, Divine Authority, as 18 284 PHILOSOPHY OF THB well as Divine Love, being in the Truth, these gov- ern in harmony the affections^ the conscience^ and the will. No man can ever make so high an attainment in moral culture that Christ will not be before him still, as an example and a guide ; and yet no man can be so low in moral culture but that the gospel faith brings to him hope, impulse, direction, and a spirit- ual benediction ; and in whatever stage of progress the Christian may be, whether near the beginning of the race, or so far advanced that temptation has little influence, and habits of holy action are mostly confirmed — at whatever stage of attainment those who lay aside every known sin, and looking to t»he character of Christ as the goal of moral perfection, run with what strength they have for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus — au such will receive divine aid and favor by the way* Progress is the order of the moral as well as the physical * The question of perfection, about which good men have often misconceived each other, ought to be con- sidered obsolete. Men can do what they can do, in the circumstances, and God requires no more. The call of God is no more. The requirement is not ultimated per- fection, but progressive perfection. Men are called to aim and strive for the moral perfection set before them in the life of Christ ; and he who, like Paul, is a perfect runnei toward the goal, is perfect f in one sense ; while not hav- ing yet attained the goal, he is imperfect in another. t This is the plain and undoubted sense of the Scriptures. (See Phil. 3 : 7 — 16.) " Let us, therefore, as many as are perfect, be thuf minded." PLAN OF 8ALVATIJN. 285 world ; (see God Revealed in the Process of Crea- tion, &c..;) perfection is its end; and the mani- festation of God in Christ, revealed in the New Testament, is a necessary element in order to the final consummation. Leave, then, reader, the transcendental folly of those who would find the perfect character of God rev-^aled subjectively in themselves ; or who seek a perfect example in an imperfect humanity. Such a philosophy is shallow and sinful; it is engendered by selfishness in union with aspiring intellect. Its glare has poison in it ; and it dazzles to blind the conceited and superficial thinker. Believe in the Lord Jesus — repent from selfishness — cross your own will, and follow Christ in filial piety to God aud love-labor for man, and thou shalt be saved. 286 PLAN OP SALVATION. CONCLUSION. Allow the author to say, in closing, that it is his opinion, that in view of the reasonings and facts presented in the preceding pages, every individual, who reads the book intelligently, and who is in pos- session of a sound and unprejudiced reason, will come to the conclusion, that the religion of the Bible is from God; and divinely adapted to pro- duce the greatest present and eternal spiritual good of the human family. And if any one should doubt its divine origin (which, in view of its adap- tations and its effects as herein developed, would involve the absurdity of doubting whether an intel- ligent design had an intelligent designer), still, be the origin of the Gospel where it may, in heaven, earth, or hell, the demonstration is conclusive, that it is the only religion possible for man, in order to perfect his n«,ture, and restore his lapsed powers to harmony and holiness. THE END. B ISHOP MERRILL'S liOOKS. B THE NEW TESTAMENT IDEA OF HELL. 16mo. Clotli. 376 pa^es. $1.00. 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