Glass Qa [Q± Book > SAA IU2 ELEMENTS POPULAR THEOLOGY, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE DOCTRINES OF THE REFORMATION, AS AVOWED BEFORE THE DIET AT AUGSBURG, IN MDXXX. Designed chiefly for private Christians and Theological Students. S. S. SCHMUCKER, D. D. Professor of Christian Theology in the Theological Seminary of the Gen. Synod of the Lutheran Church, Gettysburg, Pa. THIRD EDITION, WITH NUMEROUS ADDITIONS. BALTIMORE: PRINTED AND PUBLISHED AT PUBLICATION ROOMS, NO. 7 S. LIBERTY STREET, ALSO BY TAPPAN & DENNET, AND CROCKER & BREWSTER, BOSTON; D. APPLETON & CO. AND SAXTON & DAYTON, NEW-YORK; E. LUCAS, CINCINNATI; C. H. KAY & CO., PITTSBURG. 1842. SJ7 COPT RIGHT SECORED ACCORDING TO LAW. I 3/ no PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. ? . The following work was undertaken at the request of the General Synod of the Lutheran Church in the United States. The want of a volume on the plan proposed, uniting in a portable form the primary as- pects of Christian Doctrine and Practice, and sustain- ing at the same time some relation to the Lutheran church, had long been felt and frequently expressed. Out of due respect to the glorious Reformation, the same ecclesiastical body desired, that some reference should be had to the doctrines then avowed, and the Augsburg Confession be introduced. "With a view that the work might also discharge a portion of the debt, due from Protestant churches to the cause of Reformation, amid the accumulated and insidious ef- forts of Romanists to disseminate their errors, it was deemed expedient not to emit the list of Catholic cor- ruptions of Christianity, against which the early re- formers protested before the Emperor and Diet, and which their churches had repudiated even at that early day. It was desired, that the plan of the work might be systematic, and yet that its discussions should partake rather of the popular than learned character, being designed for laymen as well as the clergy. How far the author has succeeded in meeting the wishes of iff iv Preface. that respected judicatory of the church, his brethren generally, and the public at large, will judge. Habitually fond of rigid adherence to system, the writer would have preferred the omission of the Augsburg Confession, as that symbol was neither de- signed for an epitome of Theology, nor is entirely systematic in its structure. This difficulty was how- ever obviated by mainly pursuing a logical connexion in the arrangement of the subjects, and when any particular article of the Confession did not coincide with this order, referring the reader to its appropriate place in the work. The limits prescribed to himself, precluded as ample a survey of many topics, as would have been pleasing to the writer, and perhaps grate- ful to some readers. Condensed as the discussions are, they have swelled the volume beyond its contem- plated size. Throughout the whole, it was the author's prayer- ful effort to render the work instructive and edifying to the intelligent Christian and theological student; and he hopes it will be found not entirely useless to ministers of the gospel. From the nature of the case, those topics could not be avoided, on which diversity of opinion exists among Christian denominations : and the writer desires those who may dissent from any of the views presented, to remember that he was con- ducted to their discussion by the nature of his work, and not by fondness for polemical altercation. On matters of non-fundamental importance, Christians should agree to controvert with lenity, and differ in peace. Entire harmony of opinion was not an attri- PREFACE. bute of the church even under apostolic guidance; nor have we any evidence, that diversity of view on minor points, was regarded as a barrier to ecclesi- astical communion. Fundamental errorists, indeed, ought to be the subjects of uncompromising ^contro- versy, and of exclusion from church privileges. To this end, as well as to ascertain the fundamental soundness of applicants for sacramental and for min- isterial communion, some comparison of doctrinal views is unavoidably requisite. Nor is it a matter of any moment, whether the parties present their views to each other orally; or one, or both, communicate by writing. In either case we have a creed ; and, that which is written, possesses some manifest advan- tages over its oral counterpart. The error of exist- ing creeds lies not in their being reduced to paper, but in their undue length, and in the rigid adherence demanded to those minor points, which ought not to be embraced in them at all. There is little doubt that in each of the several denominations termed or- thodox, there are and always have been members liv- ing in harmony, who differ from each other as much as the svmbols of the several churches. As the srreat Head of the church has so extensively owned the la- bours of all these denominations; the ground held by them in common should be considered fundamental, and the points of difference regarded in a secondary light as legitimate subjects for free and friendly in- quiry. To the amicable discussion of these points even the dissentient reader therefore cannot object; but if a single page of this work be found soiled by VI PREFACE. acerbity of spirit, or harshness of language, the au- thor will cheerfully join the reader in its condem- nation. In the composition of the following pages, the au- thor aimed at plainness and perspicuity, as being not only the appropriate style of didactic discussion; but also best adapted to the cardinal design of his work, to convey lucid views of divine truth, in a manner in- telligible also to unlearned inquirers. To his numerous friends, who have expressed an interest in the speedy appearance of the work, the author owes a word of explanation on the cause of its delay. During the first year after he engaged in the undertaking, his impaired health enabled him to do little else than discharge his duties in the Theo- logical Seminary, and attend to the extensive* eccle- siastical business and correspondence necessarily devolving on him. During the leisure hours of the succeeding year, the greater part of the work was written;': and the manuscript was sent to the printer in the latter part of December. Before the edition had entirely passed through the press, orders were received for all the copies, and a second will be com- menced without delay. In conclusion, the writer would commend this vol- ume to the gracious blessing of that divine Being, by whose kind providence it has been completed, with the ardent prayer, that it may subserve the interests of His kingdom, and prove a blessing to many souls. Theological Seminary, Gettysburg, March 10, 1834. ANALYSIS OF THE WORK. I. Natural Religion ------ i Intellectual structure of man ----- 3 Defects of Natural Religion ----- q Desirableness of a Revelation ----- 7 Diiferent possible modes of Revelation - 8 IL Evidences of Christianity - 9 Original Evidences ------- ]0 The character of the oral teachers of Christianity - 11 The nature of the truths taught by thern - - - jb The doctrines to be believed - 12 The changes of heart to be experienced - - - 13 The duties to be practised — (ethical systefil) - - ib The miracles wrought by the Saviour - - - 14 The miracles of the Apostles - - - - - 13 The evidence of personal experience - - - 13 Progressive Evidences ------ ib The astonishing harmony of the Old and Xew Testament 20 The fulfilment of Prophecy : in - ib The destruction of Jerusalem ----- ib The dispersion of the Jews - - - - - 21 Tire departure of the sceptre from the Jews after the Saviour's Advent ------ ib The destruction of the Temple after the Messiah's Advent 22 The Revelation of St. John _ _ _ - _ j D The remarkable extension of Christianity - - ib The salutary influence of Christianity on the nations embracing it - - - - - - - 23 The peculiar adaptation of Christianity to all forms of civil government and social society — The Mytholo- gies of the Asiatic nations — The discoveries of Ge- ology — of Xummismatology _ - _ _ 24 III. Canon of Scripture and Principal Modern Versions 25 IV. Gradual corruption of Christianity and the Reformation in the sixteenth century ----- 29 Diet at Augsburg ------- 30 Augsburg Confession and the number of its professors ib Westminster Confession, Saybrook Platform, and 39 Ar- ticles - 33 Vlll ANALYSIS OF THE WORK. Estimation of the Augsburg Confession in the Amer- ico-Lutberan church ------ 32 Remarks on the advantages and disadvantages of Creeds ........ 35 The Articles of Christian Faith and Practice. V. God 36 His existence, ---_-_.. 37 His attributes ------- 40 The Trinity - 44 Unity of the Divine Being ----- 45 Trinity of Persons • -____ 45 Divinity of Christ ------- ib Ante mundane existence of Christ - - - - 47 The name of God is applied to him _ _ - 43 The works of God are ascribed to him - - ib The attributes of God are attributed to him - 49 Divine honour and worship of Christ are commanded ib Holy Spirit 51 His personality ------- ib His divinity -------- 53 Relation of the doctrine of the Trinity to Reason - 54 VI. Decrees and Providence of God - 73 Design of the Divine Providence and Government ib Plan of God in the government of the world - , - 75 Does this plan embrace moral agents? - 79 Is God the author of sin ? - - - - - 81 Do the divine decrees and Providence extend to all things ?-------- 84 Are the decrees of election and reprobation formed according to the voluntary conduct of man? - 87 (Luther's opinion on this subject, Art. VII.) - ib Scripture passages explained ----- 93 VII. Creation and Preservation - 100 The Author of Creation ----- ib Plurality of worlds ------ ib Possible pre-existence of the matter of our earth be- fore the Mosaic Creation - - - - - 101 Institution of the Sabbath ----- ib Preservation of the universe - 102 VIII. Angels. Their Creation, character, names and employment - 104 Evil Spirits 105 Their influence on man - - - - - 105 Invocation of Angels useless and sinful - - 107 IX. Origin and Primitive State of Man - - 109 Reason ignorant of our origin _ _ - - ib Scripture account of our origin and primitive state - 110 Unity of the human race not disproved by diversity of complexion - - - - - - - HI ANALYSIS OF THE WOUK. IX X. Depravity of Man ------ Its origin -------- Its transmission hereditary - Its consequences ------- Metaphysical nature of sin - XI. Plan of Salvation ------ Covenant of works ------ It was a perfect moral government - Its features -------- Covenant of Grace ------ The basis of the Covenant (the sufferings and right- eousness of Christ) ------ The persons placed under this covenant - - - Influence of the Atonement (its modus operandi) Conditions of this covenant - - - - - Justification -------- XII. Means of Grace _----- Generic nature of the means of Grace. They are all either -------- Written exhibitions of divine truth - - - Symbolic exhibitions of divine truth, or - - Oral exhibitions of divine truth _ - - - Adaptation and influence, yet insufficiency of these means, without the Holy Spirit - - - - Of Prayer in particular - Its nature -------- Its advantages __„---- The mode of its influence - - - - - XIII. The Great Moral Change, wrought by the Spirit, through the means of grace Gospel call ------ Illumination ------ Conviction ------ Penitence, legal and evangelical Faith Sanctification. Is not perfected on earth Different names for the change, conversion, repen tance, regeneration, Repentance, how far voluntary Duty of immediate repentance Duty of Christian benevolence or love Love of complacency Love of gratitude . Love of benevolence XIV. The Church Head of the Church Different modes of church government, the Papal, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Independent or Congrega^ tional, the Americo-Lutheran Officers of the Church 114 ib 116 ib 118 122 124 ib 125 126 ib 128 131 135 136 139 140 ib 141 ib 143 145 ib 149 150 156 157 ib 158 ib 159 161 163 165 187 168 ib ib ib 174 175 176 178 X ANALYSIS OF THE WORK. Ministers, their call, qualifications, parity . . 179 Elders and Deacons . . . . . . 180 ' Members of the Church, their duties, obligations to support the Ministry 187 Different modes of supporting the Ministry in Europe and America ....... 188 Methodist system a good one 189 XV. Baptism- 194 Its nature ...*.... 196 Its subjects — believing adults and the children of professing Christians ...... 202 Proof of infant baptism ...... ib The historico-exegetical view of the argument . ib The argument from the essential unity of the Old and New Testament church .... 210 Argument from the unabated necessity of infant membership in the New Testament church . 211 The Scriptures speak of children in the New Testa- ment as in the Old 212 - The substitution of baptism instead of circumcision ib The practice and testimony of the Christian church and the fathers . 213 Mode of Baptism 216 Advantages of Baptism ..... 223 XVI. Confirmation, or Profession of Religion on admis- sion to sacramental communion .... 228 Course of preparatory instruction . . . 229 Vote of the church council ..... 233 Public Profession of religion before the whole church 234 Ministerial blessing*, with the imposition of hands, its Antiquity — Calvin's opinion of it . . . 236 XVII. Lord's Supper 2-10 Its divine institution and perpetuity . . • 241 Error of the Society of Friends, or Quakers . . 242 Nature and design of this sacrament * ib Mode of the Saviour's presence in the Eucharist . 245 Luther's view of a "sacramental," substantial, or a . real presence ....... 247 The second view of an influential presence of the glo- rified body— (Calvin) . . . . < . 251 Third view, that of peculiar ; special, but spiritual blessing 252 Zuingle's view of mere symbolic import, without any special influence ...... 253 Comparative estimate of these views ... ib Subjects of this ordinance 254 Repentance ....... r • 259 Roman Catholic view of repentance . . • 260 Luther's Calvinism . . . . . . i'61 Sinless perfection 265 ANALYSIS OF THE WORK. XI XVIII. Religious Ceremonies . . . ' . XIX. Civil Governments No form of civil government is of divine ap- pointment ...... Different forms ...... Despotism ...... Aristocracy ...... Limited or Mixed Monarchy Democracy, or Republicanism Influence of the Reformation on the civil liberty of Europe and America .... The proper end of all civil government When Revolution is lawful and expedient The principles of the American Revolution Violation of these principles in the continuance of Negro Slavery amongst us ... African Colonization a duty, but no remedy for our slavery ....... Duty of the entire abolition of all slavery Union of church and state proved contrary to the New Testament ..... Structure of our government Different theories of our national constitution As a compact between separate, independent, soV' ereign States ...... Between the States, as such, with the right of peaceful secession ..... As a compact between the people of the different States, with limited powers to legislate only on certain specified subjects .... Religious liberty secured to all citizens Luther's opinion on persecution . . ; XX. Millennium. Grounds of its expectation . Means of its advancement . . . Time of its commencement Nature of the millennial kingdom Probable duration ..... XXI. Death and Intermediate State Death . . . . . . Intermediate state of the soul between death and judgment ....... The Scriptures give it locality ... It is not a state of sleep or insensibility. Refuta- tion of the materialist ..... Nor a state of probation or purgation . But a state of happiness or misery Differing in some respects from the state after judgment ...... We enter this state in the moment of death 269 272 274 ib ib ib ib ib 275 276 ib 277 278 279 280 281 283 284 ib 285 ib 288 ib 289 292 294 ib 298 299 ib 300 302 303 305 306 309 ib Xll ANALYSIS OF THE WORK. XXII. Resurrection, its certainty, identity of the risen body, time of the resurrection . . . 311 XXIII. Final Judgment — the time, the Judge, the law, the sentence . . . . . . . 315 XXIV. Happiness of the righteous — its nature, grada- tions, eternity and progression - - - 319 XXV. Punishment of the Wicked. — Location of hell, nature of future suffering, gradation, and eternal duration 324 Free Will 329 Author of sin 330 Good works ih Invocation of saints ....*. 334 XXVI. List of abuses in the Romish church which the Re- formers corrected ...... 336 XXVII. The Romish church since the Reformation . 351 POPULAR THEOLOGY. CHAPTER I. OF NATURAL RELIGION. Before we enter on the discussion of the doctrines of the Christian religion, it is necessary that something be said concerning the channel through which those sacred truths have reached us, as well as the pretensions which they present to our view. And prior even to this inves- tigation, the question naturally arises, do we stand in need of any religion beyond that of reason, and are we capable of sitting in judgment on the evidences of a pro- fessed revelation? A glance, therefore, at the intellectual structure of man, the extent of the religion ol reason, and the evidences of revelation must, if our subsequent investigations are to be radical, be first indulged, before we enter on the discussion of the Christian doctrines. To beings constituted as we are, no subject can be of greater importance than that of religion. We not only possess a present capacity for pleasure and pain, which may be continued in a future existence ; but it is obvious that he, who so wonderfully and fearfully made us, can with the greatest facility augment this capacity and make us eternally and indescribably miserable or happy in a future world. What subject then can be compared, in regard to its importance, with the relations which we sustain to the Author of our being, the rule, if any, which he has prescribed for our conduct, and the condi 2 RELIGION OF REASON, tions on which our endless happiness or misery is sus- pended ? On all these subjects we now possess extensive infor- mation, but there is a very mistaken idea prevalent as to the proportion of our knowledge which is derived from mere reason. Some very erroneously imagine that what- ever such men as reject the bible, believe, may be regarded as the pure product of reason. But this is a mistake. The scriptures have shed an immense mass of light over the whole christian world, mingling with our political insti- tutions, our social relations and even the instructions of the nursery. Hence from our earliest infancy we imbibe principles and adopt opinions, which in after life are never erased from the mind even of the veriest infidel. And as no man can possibly remember whence he de- rived all his ideas in every past moment of his life, whe- ther from the bible, or from others who are indebted for them mediately or immediately to revelation, or whether they w r ere original suggestions of his own mind; it is certain that we cannot determine by recollection what portion of our knowledge is the product of reason. It has been customary in this emergency, to resort to such heathen nations as had not the bible, for fair specimens of what unassisted reason could teach. But although such an investigation presents the powers of reason in a very humiliating light, as truth is our object we are com- pelled to say, that it is yet more favourable than truth admits. Some doctriues are so important to man, so in- timately interwoven with all his wishes, his hopes and his fears, that if once known, they could never be entirely forgotten. We will not here say that some such were originally revealed by God to Adam, for this would be presupposing the truth of Kevelation which is yet to be proved; but we may confidently assert that several such truths, particularly the existence of a God, can be traced more or less distinctly through all the recorded ages of heathen antiquity. And as theie is no evidence of their having been discovered at. any particular time, the proba- bility is that they really did reach back to the creation RELIGION" OF REASON. d and were then revealed to man by God himself. This supposition is rendered still more probable, because rea- son did not gradually improve these doctrines, as might have been expected if she had at first discovered them: but some of the ancient pagans held them in greater purity than many in modern days. Nor should it be forgotten that Plato in all probability saw the writings of Moses in Egypt, whither he had travelled in search of knowledge ; that Zoroaster, whose religious system spread so extensively over the Eastern nations, was pro* bably of Jewish extraction and was certainly acquainted with the Old Testament; and that the Jews themselves, in their various dispersions, as well as by their commer- cial intercourse with other nations, spread abroad a know- ledge of their religion. Since therefore all nations learn some of these doctrines by tradition from their ancestors, and the best systems of heathen philosophy were also indebted more or less to revelation ; it is evident that hi the opinions of no nation do we see a fair specimen of reason's unaided power. Our only inquiry must be, what evidences can reason discover for the truth of these doc* trines already known to her, and what can she herself discover concerning our nature and relations in the pres- ent life. And first a) As to ourselves: When shutting out from our view every thing around us, we direct our attention to our own structure, we find that we are beings possessed of certain bodily organs, wonderfully and fearfully made. Connected with this body we find something which thinks, -feels and acts, called mind, which in all its known properties, is radically different from matter; though in its operations as totally dependent on the body, as is a musician on his instrument, for the delightful combina- tions of sound which he produces. Through our bodily senses, we acquire a knowledge of external objects: and we are so constructed, that we naturally and unavoidably regard the testimony of our senses as true. No man ever practically disbelieved it, not even those infidels who in theory have professed to do so. And our different 4 INTELLECTUAL STRUCTURE OF MAN. faculties are so many additional sources of ideas. We find that the truths with which we thus become ac- quainted, have more or less intrinsic tendency to produce conviction; and that we have the ability to investigate the relative degree of this tendency, that is, the strength of evidence. This evidence is, in many cases so strong, that, if fairly and impartially weighed, we cannot resist the conviction of the truths which it tends to establish. Who could disbelieve one of the plainest demonstrations of Euclid, after having carefully examined and under- stood the proof on which it rests ? Who could doubt the guilt of a murderer when attested by a dozen of the most credible, disinterested eyewitnesses on earth? or when seen with his owri eyes? Why then it may be asked do not all men agree in the belief of Christianity, and of every other truth which some consider fully established? The reply doubtless is, that man was created a free agent, and as such has a will, a faculty, which, however men may differ in their views of its operations, all must ad- mit to be radically different from the other faculties of the soul. If its operations were necessary and depen- dent in the same sense as those of perception, memory and judgment, a man would no more deserve censure for resolving to steal a purse of gold, than for having per- ceived a thief in the act of stealing it, or for remember- ing that it was stolen some time ago. In the exercise of this faculty of the soul, we can avoid conviction of a truth by resolving not to examine its evidences, or by approaching the investigation with strong prejudices against the truth, or by examining only part of the evi- dence. And after we have examined a subject and be- come convinced of its truth, we can resolve to disobey that conviction, however strong it may be. Hence men may be voluntary unbelievers ; and intellectual believers of Christianity may voluntarily live in practical disobe- dience to its precepts. Yet the faculty for investigating truth, which God has given us, seems to point out such investigation as our duty; and as the result of impartial investigation depends not upon ourselves, but on the NATURAL RELIGION". 5 strength of evidence which God has placed within our reach for or against any point under examination, obe- dience to the result of such impartial investigation must be our duty. In short, man is a moral agent, his duty is sincere and uniform obedience to the strongest evi- dence, that is, to truth; and a better definition of virtue than this coidd not easily be given. Thus constructed, when we look around us on the uni- verse, what can we learn? b) That there is a God, we were taught in our in- fancy. Whether we could have discovered this doctrine if we have never learned it from others is doubtful. Since it is known to us we can see every where in the universe abundant evidences of its truth. Nay so clear are these truths that it is impossible for any good man to disbelieve them. And we very much doubt whether any wicked men in a christian country can sincerely and habitually and confidently disbelieve it. But that our ability to discern the evidences of a truth after it is known, by no means proves that we could ourselves have discovered it; is exemplified in our daily experience. Take for in- stance some modern discovery in physical science, some newly invented machine of real value. A man of ordinary mind, after examining it, can see and prove its excellence, and wonders that he did not long ago himself make the discovery; yet thousands of years passed over the heads of men, before any one of them made, or rather stumbled upon it. The experiments, in the case of several men who were lost in infancy and grew up wild in the woods, as also those of the deaf and dumb, though the circumstances were adverse to the full developement of mental power, go far to corroborate our doubts as to the ability of unaided reason to deduce from the works of nature the existence of a God. Nor, when the existence of God is known, can reason certainly establish his unify. The apparent elemental discord in the world, the commixture of good and evil, has led some to conjecture the existence of two conflict- ing superior powers. Reason may indeed look abroad b DEFECTS OF NATURAL RELIGION. in the universe and see the harmony of all its .various parts. She may see the striking adaptation of the at- mosphere to the lungs of man and other animals; she may perceive how admirably the influence of the sun, moon and stars is suited to the situation and necessities of man ; nay, she may catch a ray of light from the most distant, visible fixed star, and prove that it is subject to the same laws of reflection and refraction, which govern the light of a candle ; but all this proves only unity of design, evinces only agreement in the plan of the uni- verse, and not that it was created by one superior being. Accordingly, as is well known, many among the most enlightened Pagan nations both ancient aud modern, be- lieved in either a duality or plurality of deities of various characters and orders. c) But what can reason teach us concerning our re- lations to a superior power? That we are responsible for our actions she may indeed render probable ; but as her acquaintance with the moral attributes of God is very un- satisfactory, she is unable to point out with certainty the course of conduct most pleasing to him. Though in the constitution of our physical nature, vice is often produc- tive of pain and sickness ; yet, in the course of events, how often do the wicked prosper, whilst the good man's way is proverbially rough and thorny? Why are the righteous and the wicked, subject alike to almost every variety of disease? Why are they alike swallowed up by the devastating earthquake? That man is a sinner, is known to reason, and was ac- knowledged in affecting terms by many heathens. 1 But why he was born with sinful dispositions, and above all, how he can be released from this malady, she knows not. d) Whether there is an hereafter, that all important question, which must have so great an influence on our conduct and expectations through life, reason cannot satis- 1 Cicero, 3 Tuscul. III. 1. says, "Simul ac editi in lucem, et sns- cepti sumus, in omni continue* pravitate et in su . ma opinionum perversitate versamur : ut pene cum lacte nutricis errorem suxisse videamur. DESIRABLENESS OF A REVELATION*. 7 faetorily answer. And admitting- that there should he a future existence, she is totally unable to decide whether it will be probationary or retributive. Such are the scanty, unsatisfactory lessons derived from reason alone. Every sincere inquirer after truth cheerfully receives them, but they should only tend to make him long for clearer light; they should only pre- pare him to receive with greater gratitude the ample and satisfactory instructions of the holy volume. Many of the ancient heathen expressed an ardent desire, that God would grant them farther communications of knowledge. Both Socrates and Plato confessed their need of a revela- tion from heaven: and so generally did the mass of the people feel the uncertainty of their knowledge, that dis- cerning legislators, such as Solon, Lycurgus, Numa and others, knew no better method of giving sanction to their laws, than by pretending that they had received such revelation. The man therefore who knows the extreme scantiness of reason's instructions, and feels no desire for a farther revelation, is worse than a heathen. He must either be so depraved as to dread every communi- cation from heaven, or as indifferent about his destiny as the brutes that perish ! e) But in what manner ought God to give us farther information on these subjects, if he saw fit to grant it to us ? Much has been said by infidels against the manner, in which God is believed by Christians to have made a reve- lation: but so far as we know, not one of them has been able to propose a different method, which would be half as reasonable. Ought God to meike an oral revelation to every individual of the human family in every suc- cessive generation ? Would not the great mass of man- kind in a few years forget, many of the ideas communi- cated to them l And if, in order to prevent this, each one would immediately record for his own use what God had taught him, granting that all men were even able to make such a record, would we not soon have millions of bibles instead of one • And as the views which God 8 DIFFERENT POSSIBLE MODES OF REVELATION. would reveal would be substantially the same, we should have millions of repetitions of the same revelation ! How absurd is this, and how much more rational the one re- corded revelation which God has given, and which may be circulated over the whole world: Others have main- tained that God ought in every successive age, work new miracles to confirm his revelation* But they forget that miracles, thus often repeated, would be miracles no more, would attract no more attention than the regular succes- sion of summer and winter, or at most than the irregular occurrence of thunder and lightning, or descent of rain and hail. In short, if God sees fit to grant to mankind any additional information beyond what the heavens and the earth and the structure of the human soul afford, the most suitable method of its accomplishment so far as we can see, would be this : To communicate these truths which will of course be reasonable in themselves, to one or more suitable individuals ; appoint them to teach these doctrines ; attest the divinity of their mission by satisfac- tory evidence, and provide for the accurate transmission of these truths and evidences to all future generations for whom they were intended. It is obvious that oral teach- ers would present important advantages in addition to those of the mere written record. Yet who does not see, that although the first oral teachers alone would have suf- ficed to publish the gospel to their generation, because they were inspired, and therefore infallible ; the oral in- structions of their uninspired successors would be liable to constant error, and consequently totally unsafe in di- recting the momentous interests of immortal souls, unless there were some infallible writen record, by which they could be corrected ? Such a record was happily made by the first inspired teachers of Christianity, whose instruc- tions when orally given were confessedly infallible and of divine authority, and when written could not be less so. From these books we derive our principal information of the doctrines and some of the facts of Christianity, al- though at the present stage of our argument, we use them only as ordinary authentic narratives, whose genuineness EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. V and integrity have often been clearly and satisfactorily established. Now, precisely in this way does Chris- tianity profess to be a revelation from God, and through- out the long series of eighteen hundred years has she triumphantly maintained her claims in the world, whilst the tide of her evidences has been rolling on with unin- terrnpted and constantly increasing force and volume. CHAPTER II. EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. In looking at these evidences, they naturally fail into two classes, original and progressive; those in which the gospel came arrayed to its first hearers, and those additional items of evidence which collected around it, iu its progress through the world. I. The original evidences. a) The first thing which struck the primitive hearer of the gospel, was doubtless the character of the men who published it to them. And who are they ? "Who ought they to be ? Not kings of the earth, or other great men in power; lest their new religion might be suspected of being an engine of state, and its extension be attri- buted to the arm of civil power:- — not the rich, lest pecu- niary influence should cast suspicion on it: — not the learned, lest its sacred truths might be regarded as the offspring of their own intellect by men incapable of ac- curate discrimination. But the persons to whom God would in all probability first make a revelation, and whom he would select to publish it, would be men previously void of much influence, yet possessed of good reputation and sound native intellect. Now precisely of this char- acter were the first preachers of the gospel. They were 1* 10 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. not indeed "ignorant" men, as the English version of Acts iv. 13 1 erroneously asserts, but common people, not professional men — persons engaged in private life. In short they were men engaged in mechanical pursuits, among whom we find as much native vigour of mind, as in any other walks of life. These men their hearers knew to be as little capable of fabricating such a religion as they themselves were. Nor could they suspect their motives ; for they had renounced all prospect of tempo- ral gain to publish this gospel: nor could they doubt the miraculous facts to which they appealed; for these were attested by hundreds of other witnesses, and repeated in their own presence. How absurd then is the supposition of the prejudiced infidel Volney, that these men were a "combination of artful Impostors,*' who built upon the credulity of mankind, the stupendous fabric of the Chris- tian Church! When, therefore, the apostles declared, that they had not invented their doctrines themselves, their fellow citizens readily did and necessarily must have believed them. When they declared, that they were taught by the Lord Jesus, what w T ould be the im- pression? The populace knew, that the apostles had intercourse with Jesus ; but what proof had they that he was not himself an impostor? That they could not re- gard him in this light, is evident from the manifest sin- cerity apparent in his whole life, but especially from the fact, that he neither sought nor accepted any advantage or honour from his fellowmen, which he could so easily have obtained by accommodating himself to the Jewish ideas of the [Messiah, as a temporal prince. On the con- trary he knew and himself predicted, that privation, per- secution and death would he his reward. Such never had been the conduct of cunning deceivers prior to that time, and never has been since. Impostors had arisen before and have been known since; but their conduct invariably betrayed them. Mohammed pretended to be a messenger from God, but the licentiousness of the re- x ly^fxfA±nroi kzi iJa>*/. See Ptosenmueller's Scholia. ORIGINAL EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIAMTV. 11 lig-ion which he taught, the sword by which he promul- gated it, and the naked views of self-aggrandizement which his conduct betrayed, proved his imposture. But in Jesus is seen nothing that could reflect suspicion on his character. He came indeed to publish a religion, but they knew it was a religion of self-denial ; it com- manded men to bridle their passions, to cultivate the nobler powers of the soul, to love and practise virtue. He Came also to establish a kingdom, but he told them it was a "kingdom not of this world." He paved for himself a way to a throne — but it was a throne in heaven. To establish his kingdom he drew the sword — but it was " the sword of the Spirit." His loins were girt, but with truth; he wore a breastplate, but of righteousness, and a shield, but it w r as a shield of faith; for his was a religion of peace and good will to men, and forbade " To wade through slaughter to a throne, And shut the gates of mercy on mankind.' 1 Nor had the Jews any ground for considering Jesus as an enthusiast. The moderation uniformly evinced by him in the execution of all his designs, and especially the vast comprehensiveness of his plan for a spiritual king- dom, which according to his own declarations was to be executed almost entirely after his death, forbids the idea. b) The character of the first teachers of Christianity was, therefore, in itself calculated to arrest the attention of the primitive hearer and prepossess him in favour of their communications. But this interest was soon height- ened, and this confidence increased by the nature of THE DOCTRINES WHICH THEY TAUGHT. The truths of the sacred volume relate either to doctrines to be believed, or changes of heart to be experienced, or to duties of life to be performed, and may therefore accurately be di- vided into doctrinal, experimental and practical. In all these departments of truth the primitive hearer w T as ar- rested, as he would naturally expect, by many things new, interesting and of eternal importance, ^and some things especially relating to God, which seemed to border on mystery. But as the truths concerning the divine # 12 ORIGINAL EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. being, which he had known and believed before, were of the same kind; as he could no more comprehend the mode of the divine omnipresence, the fact of which he had long believed, than the mode of the incarnation of the Son of God, and the trinity, which these new teach- ers inculcated, he considered this contiguous mystery as no objection. 1 Each class of these truths, moreover, contained numerous positive evidences of divine origin. The doctrines which they taught, corrected the errors of both Jews and Gentiles, and supplied the deficiencies of their religious systems. Instead of a God whose name was legion, being indeed many, the Christian religion taught the polytheistic heathen the existence of one living and true God — instead of idols of wood and stone, which their own hands had manufactured, it presented to them God as a spirit, pervading immensity with his presence, and beholding with omniscient eye the thoughts, words and deeds of all his creatures. Instead of the external homage through types and ceremonies at Jerusalem, it taught the Jew and Samaritan that the service of Jehovah is not confined either to mount Gerizim or Jerusalem, but that God is a spirit, and must be worshipped in spirit and in truth, and may every where be found. Instead of the darkness and uncertainty which hung around the fu- ture destiny of man, it brought life and immortality to clearest light: it elevated the veil which separated be- tween time and eternity, and spread before them in all their length and breadth, the future mansion of the blessed, as well as the doleful prison-house of the ac- cursed. Above all it taught to every serious inquirer with a degree of clearness not to be misunderstood, and with an amplitude leaving nothing to be desired, a satis- factory answer to the momentous, the thrilling question, "what must I do to be saved?" The serious gentile found these doctrines so strongly commend themselves 'For the full discussion of the relation of the trinity to reason, the consideration of which would in this place have interrupted the argument, the reader is referred to the article of the trinity. MORAL EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 13 to his mind, and the reflecting Jew found them moreover so coincident with the doctrines of Moses and the pro- phets; that they felt the nature of this new religion com- bine with the character of its publishers, to arrest their attention and command their assent. Nor could the changes of heart which Christianity required, appear unreasonable to the serious mind. That mankind were depraved creatures, prone to do and delight in that which they knew to be wrong, even the heathen had acknowleged. Now Christianity required, that this depraved heart should be so changed by the power of God, as to take delight in those holy occupations, which are best calculated to promote our happiness on earth, and must constitute the source of our felicity in heaven: that we should be transformed into the image of God, and like him love holiness, delight in the prosperity of our fellow-beings, forgive our enemies, and place our su- preme affections on things above. That such a change must be conducive to happiness, that it was in every re- spect reasonable, the primitive hearer must have per- ceived; nor could the tender of its production, by the spirit of God, in all who would attend and obey the in- structions of the apostles, be objectionable in his view. The ethical system of Christianity in like manner must have made a favorable impression on the primitive hearer. The Jew found it elevating the standard of virtue far •above the requisitions of Moses and the prophets, 1 and saw his duty set forth in alight that could not fail to flash conviction into every serious, inquiring mind. The gen- tile found many of his imagined virtues blotted out from the catalogue, such as love of fante, self-confidence, sto- ical apathy under suffering, hatred of enemies and suicide ; and beheld their place supplied by milder, more humble and benevolent dispositions. The Christian religion in- culcated love to enemies; taught its votary to bless those that cursed him, to do good to those that hate him, and pray for them who despitefully used him ; 2 to love and •Matth. 5: 17. 21—22. 27. 28. 31. 32. 33. 34. fee. 2 Matth. 5: 43. 14 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. do good to all mankind. It taught a path of duty adapted to the constitution of man, harmonizing fully with all his relations in life, requiring him to give unto Caesar the things that are Cassar's, and to discharge to God the du- ties which he owed to the great author of his being. The primitive hearer, therefore, found the truths proposed by the Saviour and his apostles , in themselves so new as to arrest their attention, so important as to excite their hopes and fears, so reasonable and plausible as to invite their belief. But these communications were accompa- nied by other circumstances, calculated still more to ex- cite an interest in their bosoms and completely to com- mand their assent. c) Those who first preached these doctrines, declared, that God, who sent them, authenticated their mission by- performing diverse miracles; and the primitive hearer actually witnessed such works with his own eyes. The miracles of the Saviour himself, who professed to be the Son of God, were not only first in order, but also most numerous, stupendous and important. But were they of such a nature, and performed under such circumstances, as to be clear of all suspicion? How could the sincere inquirer doubt when even his enemies confessed, This man doth many miracles ; when he knew that they were of the most various nature. He healed all kinds of sickness. 1 He miraculously changed water into wine. 2 He provided for Peter the piece of tribute money in the? fish's mouth: 3 and procured for him a miraculous draught of fishes. 4 He walked upon the sea. 5 He commanded the wind and waves and they obeyed. 6 He miraculously fed at one time above four thousand, and at another five thousand persons, beside women and children. 7 He dis- played divine foreknowledge. 8 He raised the dead 9 on several occasions, and finally he himself arose from the dead. 10 It was also notorious that these exhibitions of *Matth. 4: 23. 24. 2 John 2: 1—11 3 Matth. 17: 27. "Luke 5: 4—7. 5 Matth. 14: 25. G Mark 4: 35—39. 7 Matth. 14: 21. &John 1: 49. 50. 9 John 11: 1—47. lu John 20. Luke 24: 1—40. RESURRECTION OF JESUS. 15 miraculous power, were not confined to one place, where Jesus might have enjoyed facilities for deception. Of some the theatre was Jerusalem, others were performed in the temple, others in Galilee, others in difFerent towns and villages, and some the Saviour healed, whom he even did not see ! Nor were his friends the only spectators of his miracles. Enemies of learning, ingenuity and virulence were often present; especially Judas, who had every possible opportunity to detect the supposed fraud, as well as every inducement to divulge it. And could any reflecting Jew for a moment indulge the supposition, that if the traitor had entertained the least suspicion that Jesus was an impostor, he would have felt any compunc- tion at having brought him to merited punishment; much less have brought back the money, acknowledged that he had betrayed innocent blood, and gone and hanged him- self? Nor could it have appeared possible, by any ingenuity whatever, to effect an imposition on his disciples arid his enemies, with regard to the principal and most striking of all his miracles, his own resurrection from the dead. For, that he was truly dead was confessed by his most inveterate foes. When Joseph of Arimathea desired of Pilate the body of Jesus, Pilate would not grant his re- quest, until, having inquired of the centurion, he found that Jesus had been dead some time. And the soldiers, who had been sent to break the legs of all three, brake the legs of the two malefactors, but coming to Jesus (we are told) "they brake not his legs, because he Was dead already." And now, when the Saviour had been com- mitted to the tomb, what could any prudent inquirer, what could an enemy of the gospel wish, to make the evidence absolutely conclusive? Why that some cau- tious, discerning person, or better still, some such enemy of Christ, could be there, and watch the grave during the eventful three days. Now all this, the first hearers of the apostles well knew, had actually been clone. 1 "The l Matth. 27: 62—66, 16 MIRACLES OF THE APOSTLES. chief priests and pharisees came to Pilate saying, sir, we remember the deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. Command, therefore, that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, he is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first." How natural these suspicions ! How exactly like what many at the present day would feel ! We may then rest assured, these were the very persons who would not suffer an imposture to be practised so much to their injury by which they would stand condemned as murderers of innocent blood. " Then said Pilate unto them, ye have a watch, go your way, make the grave as sure as ye can. So they went and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch" That the Saviour, however, notwithstanding all this precaution, actually arose from the dead, was a matter of absolute certainty to those whom the apostles first addressed ; for he had frequently appeared to differ- ent persons, at one time to more than five hundred breth- ren, and during forty days after his resurrection he in- structed his apostles in the things pertaining to the king- dom of God, 1 after which as he was conversing with his disciples at Bethany, " whilst they beheld, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight." 2 Hun- dreds were yet living, who had been eye-witnesses of these stupendous miracles, and in any ordinary collection of hearers in or near Jerusalem, one or more of these per- sons would usuaUy be embraced. d) It was moreover known, that this Jesus had himself commissioned his apostles, Judas excepted, to publish his doctrines to all nations; hence their divine authority could not be disputed, and they were authorized to teach. And Jesus told them that the Holy Ghost, whose special influences should be poured out on them at pentecost, would bring to their recollection, and further teach them all things necessary for their official duties. There could •1 Cor. 15: 5—8. 2 Acts 1: 9, MIRACLES OF THE APOSTLES. 17 be no doubt therefore of the infallible accuracy of their instructions. The hearers of the apostles, moreover, knew, that Jesus had conferred on them the power of ivorking miracles in his name ; for they indisputably ex- ercised it. When Peter healed the lame man, 1 even the Jewish sanhedrim was compelled to exclaim, "For that indeed a notable miracle hath been wrought by them, is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem, and we can- not deny it." 2 No, we cannot deny it, we who have heretofore possessed the confidence of the people, we whose interest so strongly demands it, we whose honor and power depend on it; we cannot deny it. And why ? Because the lame man was for many years known to thousands, who all now see him restored. We cannot deny it, because we and hundreds beside ns, know it with as much certainty, as we do the existence of Jerusalem, the city in which we dwell ; for we see it with our own eyes ! e) The reflecting Jew would moreover remember, that about that time the expectation of the coming of-.Messiah prevailed in Israel. And if he knew the predictions that had been given to his people or if he inquired of Moses and the prophets, how surprisingly clear and striking w r ould he find their applicability to Jesus ! Had it been indefinitely predicted, that at some future time, a distin- guished personage should arise and establish an extensive empire, it might have been Cyrus or Philip of Macedon, or Alexander the Great, or Caesar, as well as Christ. Or, had the prophecies only determined, that this personage should arise from among the Jews ; it might have been fulfilled in Judas Maccabeus, or Jonathan, or John Hir- canus or Aristobulus, as well as by Jesus of Nazareth. But when he finds the prophets determining the very time of his appearance, namely before the sceptre or civil power should depart from the Jews ; whilst the sacred temple was yet standing; and at the expiration of the seventy prophetic weeks of Daniel, which ended in the *Acts 3: 5—7. 4 Acts 4: 16, 18 EVIDENCE OF PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. year of his death ; when he heard them specify the very tribe (that of Judah) from which he should descend — yea, the very family of David in that tribe — and the very town, Bethlehem, in which he should be born; and, as there were two towns of that name, adding that it was Bethlehem in Judea and not in Galilee; — when on inves- tigation, the sincere, and inquiring Jew found these, and many other particulars, distinctly predicted by one or other of the prophets, and knew that all these things were so perfectly fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth; how was it possible for him to doubt? Who that could weigh the force of evidence, and was anxious to learn the truth, would not have been convinced ? Who that was not blinded by prejudice, or enslaved to lust, would not, un- der such circumstances, have been constrained to exclaim, Lord, it is enough, I believe that thou art the Christ, the son of the living God, to whom else shall we go, thou hast the words of eternal life ! f) Such were the primitive evidences which Chris- tianity presented to those to whom it was first preached. And if they attended to its doctrines and endeavored to obey its prescriptions, they soon experienced within their souls another, a still more impressive and convincing evidence of its divine origin. They found these sacred truths penetrating the inmost recesses of their hearts, shedding abroad their benign light, enlisting their feelings in the cause of God, and urging them to the love and obedience of their forsaken heavenly Father, and find happiness in the paths of his commandments. In short they found, as every inquiring sinner will now find by happy experience, the truth of the Saviour's declara- tion, If any man will do my will, he shall know of my doctrine whether it be of God. 1 II. And what is the light in which Christianity pre- sents itself to succeeding generations, to us at the pre- sent day? Has any certain record of its doctrines and duties and facts reached us? Can its primitive evidences 'John 7: 17. EVIDENCE OF PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. 19 exert any influence on our minds, and the stream of evi- dence, as it rolled on through successive centuries, been scattered and lost, or has it accumulated greater volume and force ? That we have as certain knowledge on the subject of Christianity, as the primitive hearers of the apostles, is indisputable, since in the kind Providence of our God, the very men whom Christ himself appointed as oral teachers of his religion, also reduced their instructions to writing for the benefit of distant Christians and of after ages. 1 Those instructions are found in the books of the New Testament, which we have hitherto, in the progress of our argument, received only as ordinary, authentic narratives of the facts recorded in them. But since it is certain, that the written instructions of all men, are at least as accurate if not more so than their oral, extempo- raneous communications; it follows, that the written pro- ductions of the apostles oi Jesus must be as correct and authentic as their preaching. And it is evident from what has been said, that they were divinely authorized teachers of Christianity, and that the instructions which they gave were rendered infallible by the guidance of the Spirit. Hence, as it would be absurd to suppose, that those who were infallible when they spoke, would instantly cease to be so when they undertook to communicate the same truths to distant Christians or future generations by wri- ting; it inevitably follows, that the writings of the apos- tles have the same kind and same degree of divine authority and inspiration, which belonged to their oral communica- tions. The call of the apostle Paul was miraculous, but his divine mission and inspiration are established by evi- dence of the same kind and degree which sustains the others. The writings of Luke and Mark receive a simi- lar character from the fact, that those of the former were Uohn 20: 31. But these (c-,-y.!iz A. 30, signs, miracles) are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, (the Messiah) the son of God ; and that ye might have life through his name. Luke 1: 1—4. 20 HARMONY OF THE SCRIPTURES. written in the company of Paul and sanctioned 1 by him, and those of the latter dictated by Peter. 2 And here it may in passing be remarked, that the divine authority of the books of the Old Testament, is also proved by the circumstance of their being so frequently quoted as such, by the infallible Saviour and his inspired apostles. From the above argument we derive the important in- ference, that having the genuine, unadulterated written instructions of those very persons, icho by divine au- thority first taught the Christian religion, that religion now comes to us arrayed in the full force of all its pri- mitive or original evidences. But the stream of evidence has received new acces- sions in the course of its progress, and the believer of after ages can find his faith confirmed by additional facts, not accessible to the primitive hearers of the apostles. Among these progressive or cumulative evidences (which we can take time merely to enumerate, but not discuss,) we may specify, a) The astonishing harmony of the books of the Old and New Testaments, written in different countries, by different persons, and hundreds of years apart; yet all constituting one connected, progressive revelation. This unexampled coincidence of persons, many of whom never even saw each other, in forming one harmonious work, and in communicating such successive and con- nected degrees of revealed truth, is explicable on no other supposition than that it was the same Spirit who guided the pen from Genesis to Revelation. b) The fulfilment of prophecy in the destruction of Jerusalem is another progressive evidence. A few years only elapsed after the departure of our Lord, until his disciples witnessed with their own eyes another fearful evidence of the divine origin of their religion. The Saviour had predicted in clear and unequivocal terms, J Acts 21: 17. 24: 27. &c. see Storr's Biblical Theology, Vol. I. p. 137. 2 See Storr's Bib. Thcol. Vol. p. 136. PROGRESSIVE EVIDENCE— PROPHECY. 21 the sad catastrophe, which awaited the devoted city of Jerusalem. He informed the Jews that "there should be great distress in the land and wrath upon the peo- ple ;" " that they should fall by the edge of the sword;" " that there should not one stone of the magnificent temple be left on another;' 5 and that there should be great tribulation in the city such as was not since the beginning of the world, nor ever shall be, and that many of those who heard him should live to see it. 1 How fearfully all this was accomplished in A. D. 70, when the city was taken and reduced to a heap of ruins by the Roman general Titus, is well known. c) The dispersion of the Jecvs was also clearly fore- told. " They shall be led away captive into all nations," said the Saviour, and who has not been impressed with the singular spectacle presented by the descendants of this devoted people until the present day ? For seven- teen centuries have they literally been scattered among all nations, never amalgamating with them, yet never succeeding in the formation of a people or government of their own ! d) Since "Shilo, the Messiah, has come" 2 "the scep- tre has actually and finally departed from Judah." More than seventeen hundred years before the Saviour actually appeared, the Patriarch Jacob having "gathered his sons together that he might tell them what should befall them in the last days," told them that the Messiah, or Shilo, should appear before the civil power or sceptre had finally departed from the Jews, implying that after the advent of the Messiah, that power should not long be retained by them. Now we cannot fail to see a strong confirmation of our faith and cumulative evidence of the divinity of the bible in the fact, that although the civil power was never finally wrested from the Jews during all the vicissi- tudes which they had experienced as a nation before the birth of Christ, it was soon after actually taken from them, and never has been restored till this day ! Matthew 24, and Mark IS. 2 Gen. 49: 10. 22 MIRACULOUS EXTENSION OF CHRISTIANITY. e) The Messiah or " desire of nations" was also to come, whilst the second temple 1 was yet standing; im- plying that after his advent it would be destroyed; and its entire demolition was clearly predicted by the Saviour himself. 2 Now in A, D. 70, about forty years after the Saviour's public appearance, the temple actually was de- stroyed and has never since been rebuilt! We have there- fore in the destruction of the temple another progressive evidence, which the first Christians had not, that Jesus was the Messiah, was sent from God, and therefore his instructions divine. f) The Revelation of St. John contains a prophetic history of the Christian church, and is a standing mira- cle for all ages. It was not designed, that all its portions should be intelligible prior to their completion. Hence this book of prophecy always has been enveloped in some mystery. But the progress of completion in every successive century, has reflected increasing light on this interesting portion of sacred writ; and in the last three centuries, the vicissitudes of the Papal "beast," the glo- rious Reformation, and the more recent efforts to spread tba gospel of Christ over every nation of the earth, have placed in strong relief the prominent features of that pro- phetic exhibition of futurity, and tended greatly to con- firm the believer's hope. 3 g) Another progressive evidence of the divine origin of Christianity we behold in its extension and preserva- tion under the circumstances of the case. The nature of this religion is such, that it presented no inducements to its adoption to any other than those who sincerely be- lieved its doctrines and promises. Present difficulties, 'Matth. 24: 1.2. And Jesus went out and departed from the temple : and his disciples came to him to show him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, see ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, there shall not be left here, one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. 2 On this interesting subject the reader is referred to " Faber on the Prophecies,'" and the " Prophetic History of the Christian Religion," by the R.ev. J. G. Sch mucker, D. D. 3 Haggai 2: 7 — 9. See also Malacbi 3: 1. UNIVERSALITY OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 23 persecution and often death, were the reward of its pro- fession. Nothing but the belief of a rest remaining for the people of God hereafter, could enable men to believe that godliness is profitable unto all things ; nothing but the belief that God was with them, and that he required such sacrifices, could have fortified the breasts of the primitive martyrs amid the horrors of the rack and stake. Moreover no other religion was ever propa- gated by mere instruction. The different forms of pa- ganism had been transmitted by tradition from the earliest ages, and were so incorporated with the civil governments as to be mere machines of state. They were therefore supported by the governments for political purposes, and not, like Christianity, extended by the intrinsic force of their own truths, Hence arose the oppositions of those who derived their subsistence from the services of the established system, hence the cruel, the inhuman perse- cutions which raged with almost uninterrupted fury fer several centuries, and in which frequently all the ener- gies, pecuniary, military, and intellectual were exerted to exterminate Christianity from the earth. Yet amid all these difficulties the religion of the despised Nazarine, by the sword of the Spirit and the aid of its divine Au- thor, fought its way against the pride of power, the pomp of opulence, and the sensuality of lust; until in the short space of a few centuries, the vast and powerful empire of the Romans bowed her neck to the crucified Galilean, and the banners of Christianity, which were first un- furled in the valleys of Judea, waved triumphant over the palace of the Cassars ! Was any other religion thus extended? Could any other be, especially such a re- ligion as the Saviour taught? h) The salutary influence which Christianity has ex- erted on those nations which have embraced it in any tolerable degree of purity, presents another item of pro- gressive evidence. An influence so salutary could pro- ceed from no other than a good source ; an influence so far transcending all that men ever exerted by their own ability, proves that another power beyond that of man 24 UNIVERSALITY OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION. was concerned in its propagation. It inculcates those principles, by which alone the faithful administration of civil governments can be in the highest degree secured. It has mitigated the horrors of war; abolished human sacrifices ; it has elevated the female sex to their proper station in society ; it has almost throughout the whole extent of its influence abolished domestic slavery ; it has improved the situation of the poorer classes of society, and given rise to various enterprises of benevolence, al- most as numerous as the forms of misery and want met with on earth. And if the influence of this religion were more generally felt in nations nominally Christian, and its precepts faithfully obeyed; it would still farther miti- gate every form of suffering, and banish from the face of the earth that prolific mother of evils, war. i) The peculiar structure of Christianity by which it accomplishes the benign effects above enumerated, and which adapt it to universal adoption under every form of civil government, and every state of social society, de- monstrates that it is based on a more perfect view of all the complicated relations of human society and all the principles of human nature, than ever fell to the lot of any uninspired teacher of religion. Similar evidences are found in j) the mythologies of the Asiatic nations, which confirm many of the promi- nent facts of the Old Testament; k) in the discoveries of modern geologists, who find in the bowels of the earth conclusive proof of a universal deluge, of antediluvian animals, &c. &c. In view of this overwhelming mass of concurrent evi- dence, to which might be added the corroborative testi- mony of profane writers, of coins, . We have also a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shiiieth into a dark place, until the day dawn and the day star arise in your Hearts. TRANSLATIONS OF SCTUPTUIiE* 27 men as teachers of this religion; 1 but 1) bind them to study the Scriptures 2 and teach according to them: 3 2) mention certain teachers, whose doctrines were false;* and 3) Require the hearers to compare the instructions of their teachers with the written revelation of God ; 5 and 4) Pronounce the most awful curses on those who either add to, or subtract from the things taught in the inspired volume. 6 From all these considerations we perceive the absur- dity, as well as the wickedness of the Roman Catholic church, which maintains, that the scriptures do not teach all the necessary features of true Christianity, that God's own word is not sufficiently clear to serve as a rule of faith and practice to Christians generally ; and that her popes and councils and priests are indispensable and in- fallible interpreters of what the scriptures mean ! ! l 2 Tim. 2: 2. And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. Matth. 28: IS — 20. 2 1 Tim. 4: 15. Meditate upon these things (the things among others taught in that epistle); give thyself wholly to them, that thy profiting may appear to all. :3 Gal. 1: 8. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach (publish, \urtyyiki^nTdii) any other gospel unto you, than that which ice have preached, (published, orally, and in this epistle) let him be accursed. 4 2 Pet. 2: 1. 2. But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable (destructive, &a&hsuU) heresies, even deny- ing the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their pernicious ways, by reason of whom, the way of truth will be evil spoken of. 5 2John 10: 11. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doc- trine (that taught in this epistle) receive him not unto your house, neither bid him God speed; for he that biddeth him God speed, is partaker of his evil deeds. Acts 17: 11. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily whether those things icere so. 6 Rev. 22: 18. 19. For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, if any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the piagues that are written in this book. And if any man shall take away of the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book ! 28 VICISSITUDES OF CHRISTIANITY. The principal modern versions most extensively used are the German translation of Luther, and the English published in the reign of king James L, about two hun- dred years ago. In preparing his version the illustrious reformer received much assistance from the learned Me- lancthon. Further to ensure its accuracy, Luther invited a select party to meet at his house daily, and aid in the revision of his work. Melancthon collated the Greek, Cruciger the Chaldee, and other professors the Rabinical writings. Justus Jonas, John Bugenhagen, and Aurogallus also lent their aid. The work was published in detached parts ; but the New Testament was finished in 1522, and the entire bible was first published in 1530. The language of Lu- ther's version is remarkably pure and elegant, it has just- ly been ranked with the German classics, and is at the present day entirely intelligible to the popular reader. The English version is the joint production of forty- seven distinguished divines, who were appointed by king James I. and commenced their labors in 1607. They were distributed into six divisions, two of which assem- bled at Cambridge, two at Oxford, and two at Westmin- ster, each division having a particular part of the Scrip- tures allotted to it. Every individual translated the whole portion assigned to his division. All the members of the division then met, compared their works and selected out of each what was thought best. Each book thus finished was sent to the other five divisions, and carefully revised by them. Three years were spent in this labor, after which three copies of the entire bible thus prepared, were forwarded to London, one from Cambridge, one from Oxford, the third from Westminster. Here a committee of six, two from each of these places, reviewed the whole work, which was again revised by Dr. Smith, who wrote the Preface, and by Dr. Bilson, bishop of Winchester. It was first published in folio in 1611, though some of the copies are dated 1612, and others 1613. It is a very correct and able version ; but too rigidly literal to be always perspicuous. A few passages also have been obscured by the change of signification which VICISSITUDES OF CHRISTIANITY, 29 some few words have experienced in the lapse of two hundred and thirty years. A revised edition of this ver- sion lias recently been published by the celebrated Ameri- can Lexicographer Dr. Webster, in which he has made all those verbal and grammatical corrections rendered necessary by the present improved state of our lan- guage. The sacred volume has been translated into many other languages, ancient and modern; and by the pious efforts of different bible societies of die present day alone, into more than one hundred and fifty languages and dialects. CHAPTER IV. THE CORRUPTIONS OF THE CHRISTIAN RE- LIGION, AND REPUBLICATION OF ITS DOC- TRINES BY THE EARLY REFORMERS. The religion inculcated in that volume, the evidences of whose divinity we havs been reviewing-, was taught with various purity in the different ages which have elapsed since its publication. In the first few centuries, the church retained much of her apostolic beauty and purity, until her unhallowed union with the civil govern- ments was effected by the Emperor Constantine and his successors, and the papal hierarchy was gradually formed ; when one corruption succeeded another, until the lustre of the church was almost entirely buried in the midnight gloom of the dark ages. In due time, however, the God of Zion commanded light to shine out of the darkness. Wickliffe, in the fourteenth century, and Huss and Je- 30 DI£T OF AUGSBURG* rome of Prague, in the earlier part of the fifteenth began to expose the ahominable corruptions of the Roman Ca- tholic church, and paid the forfeit of their lives for their zeal in the cause of the Redeemer. But in the sixteenth century, the great Head of the church raised up Martin Luther and his immortal co-adjutors, who shook the Pa- pal throne to its very foundation ; and, guided by the hand of Heaven, effected the glorious Reformation. This regeneration of the church has since been extended over the major part of Europe, and to it are we also indebted for the liberty, civil and religious, which distinguishes this favoured land. In the progress of their work, and under circumstances peculiarly interesting and imposing, the Reformers were called on to declare their fundamental views of the Christian religion, and thus framed the mother symbol of the Reformation. The Augsburg Confession was prepared for the two- fold purpose of rebutting the slanders of the papists, and of publishing to Europe, the doctrines of the Reformers. The Emperor Charles V., in order to terminate the dis- putes between the Pope and the princes who favoured the reformation, which tended to distract his empire by civil discord, and threw a formidable barrier into the way of his ambitious projects, had ordered the convention of a diet at Augsburg, and promised his personal attendance. The Pope also, who had long been pressing on the Em- peror the adoption of violent measures to suppress the obstinate heretics, as the holy father termed them, cher- ished the flattering expectation that this diet would give a death blow to the Protestant cause. Encouraged by the promise of impartial audience from the Emperor, the Elector of Saxony charged Luther, Melanethon, Eugen- hagen, and Jonas to make a sketch of their doctrines to be used at the diet. Such a summary was written by Luther in seventeen sections, termed the Torgau Articles. The Emperor, however, instead of reaching Augsburg on the 8th of April according to promise, did not arrive until the 15th of June. Melanethon in the mean time expanded these Torgau Articles, into what is now deno- minated the Augsburg Confession. This enlarged work DIET OF AUGSBURG. 31 was than submitted to Luther at-Coburg, and received his cordial sanction On the 25th of- June, therefore, at 3 o'clock, P. M- this memorable Confession was publicly pronounced in the presence of the Emperor, his brother king Ferdinand, the electors John of Saxony, with his son John Freder- ick, George of Brandenburg, Francis and Ernest, dukes bf Luneburg and Brunswick, Philip, Landgrave of Hesse, Wolfgang, prince of Anhalt, and about two hundred other princes and divines. The Chancellors of the Elec'or, Baicr and Pout-anus arose, the former holding in his hand the German copy and the latter the Latin original. The Emperor desired the Latin to be read ; but the Elector remonstrated, alleging, that as the diet was assembled on German ground, it ought to use the German lan^ua^e. The Emperor having assented, Dr. Baier read the Ger- man copy, and, it is said, pronounced it with such an emphasis and so powerful a voice, that every syllable was heard not only by all in the hall, but also by the vast multitudes who had crowded around the doors and win- dows of the spacious edifice. This Confession, although it did not change the prede- termined purpose of the politic Charles, exerted a pro- digious influence in favour o( the reformers in the mines of the numerous princes, divines and literary men, who had assembled from a distance on this memorable occa- sion. It was soon after disseminated throughout Europe, and has been translated into the Hebrew, Greek, Spanish, Belgic, Italian, "Slavonic, French and English languages. The version found in this work, was made by the writer from the original Latin. This remark may not be super- fluous, as most of the English versions that have met his eye, were made from the German copy ; which, though entirely coincident in sense, differs occasionally in its phraseology. In one or two instances an amplifying sentence, contained in the Latin, was omitted by the con- fessors in the German; and as the writer is no friend of extended creeds, it was deemed unnecessary to retain ih em. This confession, which is justly styled the mother 32 EXTENT OF THE LUTHERAN CHUI&H. symbol of the Reformation, has been adopted by the major part of all Protestant Europe, and has for about three centuries past been the standing symbol of Luther- anism in the following kingdoms ; in which the popula- tion according to the Berlin Kirchenzeitung was as fol- lows in 1836: Prussia, .... 8,000,000 Austria, .... 2,250,000 Saxony, .... 2,000,000 Wiirtemberg, - - - 1,125,000 Hanover, .... 1,000,000 In the other German States, - 2,000,000 France, .... 1,500,000 Denmark, .... 2,000,000 Norway and Sweden, - 4,000,000 Russia in Europe, - - - 2,500,000 Russia in Asia, - - - 100,000 Poland, .... 500,000 Netherlands, - 120,000 Turkey in Europe, - - 15,000 England, - - - - 40,000 Italy, .... 500 United States, - 600,000 Total in the world, - - 27,750,500 In Russia, according to the census of 1835, there were at that time, 820 Lutheran churches, attended by 493 Lutheran ministers, viz. 362 principal churches, 18G affiliated churches, 33 hospital churches, and 239 chapels. The United Brethren or Moravians, though peculiar in their church government, have always retained the Augsburg Confession as their symbol, and yet adhere to it more strictly than most other portions of the Lutheran church. The whole number of Christians in the world who profess the Augsburg Confession is therefore upwards of 27,000,000, and this population embraces in it seventeen reigning sovereigns Other Confessions of faith were drawn up by differ- ent Protestant churches, among which the Articles of the EXTENT OF THE LUTHERAN CHURCH, 33 Synod of Dort, Holland, published in 1618, die West- minster Confession and the thirty nine Articles of the Episcopal churchy are the principal. The Westminster Assembly was convened by the British Parliament, and contained 121 of the most distinguished divines of Eng- land. Their Confession, which is an elaborate and well- digested production, received Parliamentary sanction in 1648, and is still adhered to with various degrees of ex- actitude, by the Presbyterian churches of Great Britain ami America ; excepting only the Cumberland Presby- terians, whose doctrines substantially coincide with those of the Lutheran church. The Congregational churches of this country receive the Say brook platform, which refers to the Westminster Confession, to the 39 Articles of the Episcopal church, and to the Savoy Confession, as being in general cor- rect, summaries of doctrines, but does not require ab- solute subscription to any thing but the word of God. These churches generally believe in unlimited atonement, enjov the liberty of free discussion and Untrammelled investigation within the bounds of fundamentals, and dif- fer on very few points of doctrine or ecclesiastical gov- ernment from the Lutheran church in America. The Lutheran church in Europe is more numerous than all the other protestant denominations in continental Europe together, and the Augsburg Confession is pro- fessed by ninre than t\viee as many souls as any other Protestant Confession of faith. The Lutheran Church in the United States, which contains 1200 churches and dbout 104,000 regular communing members, has indeed always regarded the Augsburg Confession as the author- ized summary of her doctrines, but has not required any oath of obligation to all its contents. The General Sy- hod of the Lutheran church has adopted only the 2l doc- trinal articles* omitting even the condemnatory clauses of these, arid also the entire catalogue of Abuses corrected. No minister, however, considers himself bound to be- lieve every sentiment Contained in these twenty-one artU cles ; but only the fundamental doctrines. Accordingly, 2* 34 SYMBOLIC OBLIGATION IN THE LUTH. CH. IN U. S. the pledge of adoption required at licensure and ordina- tion, is couched in the following terms : 1. Do you believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be the word of God, and the only infalli- ble rule of faith and practice ? . 2. Do. you believe, that the fundamental doctrines of the word of God, are taught in a manner substantially correct, in the doctrinal articles of the Auo-sburg Confes- sion ? The Lutheran divines of this country are not willing to bind either themselves or others, to anything more than the fundamental doctrines of the Christian revela? tion, believing that an immense mass of evil has resulted to the church of God, from the rigid requisition of ex- tensive and detailed creeds. The Saviour and his apos- tles have left no other creed than that contained in the Scriptures, and although experience and the nature of the case require some mutual agreement as to the doctrines to be inculcated by the ministry in any portion of the church of Christ, lest one should demolish what the other is labouring to build up \ yet we can see no su(r_^ cient warrant for any Christian church to require as a term of admission or communion, greater conformity of view than is requisite to harmony of feeling and success- ful co-operation, in extending the kingdom of Christ. What unshackled friend of truth can doubt, that the introduction of so many minor ramifications of doctrine into Modern Confessions. of faith, and the requisition of them all as terms of ecclesiastical admission and com- munion, destroyed the natural estimate which every un- biassed mind would form of the relative importance of each ? Who can doubt, that men were thus led to regard and denounce as heretics the members of oilier commun- ions, who held as cordially as they themselves did, all the essentials of the Christian system ; and in the eyes of the great Head of the church, were perhaps more a<5* ceptable than their self-erected judges ? In short it c:m- not be denied, that the enormous amplitude of the prin- cipal Protestant Symbols, and the unqualified assent to them, which was for a long time required in all the EVILS OF EXTENSIVE CREEDS. 35 Churches and is even now demanded in some, were and ever would be a. bone of endless contention, and the pro- lific mother of bigotry and sectarianism. Had the early p rotes tan ts endeavoured to select the principal and fun- damental doctrines of Christianity, required a belief of them from all applicants for admission into their ranks, and agreed among themselves that discrepance of views on matters of non-fundamental nature, should neither be a bar to ecclesiastical communion nor fraternal affection; they would have saved the church from the curse of those dissentions, by which piety was in a great degree de- stroyed, and on several occasions, the very foundations of Protestantism shaken. What can be more painful to the true Christian, than to witness those who love the Lord Jesus, wasting that strength in mutual crimination for departure from some jot or tittle of a creed, not in- volving the grand scheme of gospel truth, nor clearly de- termined in Scripture, which ought to be directed against the enemies of tire cross, which ought to be expended in bringing sinners to Christ? But although the Lutheran divines are strenuous advo- cates for liberty of thought, and free, untrammeled inves- tigation of God's word, there is really as much doctrinal agreement and more harmony of feeling among them, than is found in any other church in America. Indeed, we do not hesitate to record it as our deliberate opinion, that full latitude of investigation within the bounds of fundamentals, is better calculated to beget unity of faith than extensive symbolic restrictions. How can that man be an impartial inquirer after truth ; how can he throw cpen his soul to the full influences of evidence, who knows that exclusion from his ecclesiastical connexions, ejection from his pastoral charge, and the exposure of his dependent family to poverty and want, would be the consequence, if his investigations should result in the rejection of a single article in his confession of faith? After these observations, it is almost superfluous to remark, that although this work, explanatory of the doc- trines of the Lutheran church, was undertaken by request of the General Synod of said church, and contains the 36 OF GOD. principal views which we believe are entertained by th£ great mass of our divines; it is not designed to be in aftjr sense a standard to regulate tbe opinions of others, far- ther than the evidences which it contains may tend to generate deliberate conviction. CHAPTER V. OF GOD* I. The Existence of God. The bible never enters into a formal proof of the exis-^ tence of the divine being, but always presupposes its belief in the reader, and sometimes illustrates it by re- ference to the works of nature. 1 All nations possess a traditionary knowledge of this doctrine ; and so strong and decided does the apostle Paul consider the aptitude and tendency of the human mind to embrace it and dis- cern the evidences of its truth, that he describes it figu- ratively as inscribed on the tablets of the human heart. And the Psalmist terms that man " a fool, who says in his heart there is no God." The evidences of reason on this subject may be reduced to the following: a) The mutable nature of all visible objects around us in the world. Every thing that is changeable cannot be eternal, therefore must have had a beginning. Hence this world either sprang into existence by chance, which is absurd ; or created itself, which cannot be conceived, Isaiah 40: 12—31. Psalm 103. 104. Job 3S— 41. Acts 14: 15—17. 17: 24—29, &c. THE EXISTENCE OF GOD. 37 for it supposes a being to act before it existed ; or it was treated by another being, who is God. b) The universal consent of nations affords another proof. It may indeed be objected, that some errors have in former ages been universally received, such as the be- lief of a literal rising and setting of the sun. But the cases are not entirely analogous. The error referred to, though it prevailed many centuries, at last vanished be* fore the light of science, whereas the belief of the divine existence, instead of being impaired is strengthened by the march of improvement ; arid is more easily demon- strable now, than it ever has been in centuries past. Again, the belief of the rising and setting of the sun rested on mere occular testimony, in which there was an optical delusion ; in the other case our belief depends chiefly on a view of the abstract relation between cause and effect* between design and adaptation in the effect, and inteili 5 gence in the cause; whilst the subjects of occular testi- mony in which this adaptation is visible, are innumerable, and consequently the danger of occular delusion m all, diminishes in proportion as their number is great. A few words, in this place, may not be amiss on the subject of the axiom itself: "that every effect (or thing) must have a cause" This seems, indeed, to be a dic- tate of the human mind, and by leading us back in the chain of causation, it accounts for the existence of all things around us. But does it tell us whence that first cause came ? Or is there contained in its elements any thing, which renders it more easy for the mind to con- ceive of a first cause as existing without a cause, than for any intermediate or second causes? In short, as we are ascending the chain of causation, dees the assumption that each link is supported by another above it, tend to explain what sustains the final link, from which the whole chain is suspended? It seems doubtful; and is almost as impossible for us to account for the existence of the first cause, as of any intermediate link without one anterior to it. Yet would it not be as reasonable for us to stop at any intermediate link, and suppose it to be final : 38 PHYSICO-THEOL. PROOF OF THE DIVIDE EXISTENCE. because, such a supposed intermediate final link would account only for the effects posterior to it and flowing from it; and for the links above it in the chain, we must suppose another cause. Thus, if rain were regarded as a first cause, it would account for the creeks and rivers which fertilize our earth, and for the springs emerging from its surface: but we would be under the necessity of supposing another first cause to account for the vapours out of which this rain was formed, and for the caloric by which water was changed from a fluid to an triform state, and for the atmosphere by whose. superior gravity these vapours were raised from the surface of the earth and ocean. In a word, if we stop in the causal chain so long as we can see another ulterior link ; w r e stop with- out a reason for so doing, and thus will be compelled to suppose the existence of thousands of first causes instead of one. Nay it would be just as reasonable to regard every effect as the cause of its own existence. Hence if there is any truth in the axiom under consideration, the same reason which leads us to seek an anterior cause of the last effect, will urge us on in the pursuit as far a? we can possibly go, that is, until we reach one final, ulti- mate cause. Moreover on the supposition of thousands of first causes, we could not account for the harmony of all the parts of the universe. But all these difficulties vanish on the belief of one first cause, which is there- fore the most reasonable and the true supposition. And, finally, as we 'judge mind to be of a higher order than matter ; it seems less reasonable to regard mere matter as a final cause of its own existence and of the existence of other things, than to attribute this character to mind. c) The oldest and most comprehensible proof, how- ever, is that usually termed the Physico-theological proof derived from the intelligent arrangement and design visi- ble in the structure of the universe. This argument is of vast extent and irresistible force. Innumerable in- stances of it, may be seen in the human and other ani* mal bodies, as well as in the vegetable and mineral king- doms. The illustrious philosopher Kant, who flourished in ATTRIBUTES OF GOD'. 39 Germany about the close of the last century, 1 and was considered by many of his countrymen as the greatest philosopher who has lived since the clays of Socrates, but whose writings at the present day do not rank so high, objected to this argument, that it does not prove the existence of the author of the universe itself, but only the existence of an intelligent architect, who planned and executed the present intelligent arrangement and de- sign of its structure. There is- some truth in this objec- tion, but it lies rather against the form than the substance of the argument. The intelligence visible in the struc- ture of the universe, does indeed only prove intelli- gence in the author of this structure ; but the axiom above mentioned requires, that we suppose a cause for the matter itself of the universe independently of its or- ganization. If we regard the matter of the universe as its own creator, we must admit several final causes ; but as this is unreasonable, one only of the two can be the ulterior cause — either inert unintelligent matter is the cause of its own existence and of the intelligent organi- sation of the world, or the intelligent cause of the design of the universe is author of both; That the latter is more reasonable we have above seen. II. The Attribute* of Goth The attributes of the adorable Jehovah may be partly learned from reason, by removing from our idea of his character every imperfection belonging to men ; by attri- buting to him as the author of our being, every tiling good found in us, and in the universe ; and by regarding as infinite, all the excellencies thus attributed to him. 2 But the sacred volume gives us more satisfactory infor- mation on this subject. The Author of nature being one and indivisible, his attributes are not distinct either from himself or one 'Obiit. 1804, eet SO. 2 These are the well known processes of systematic divinity, termed via neo-atiouis, via causalitatis vie eminentioe. 40 SELF-EXISTENCE, ETERNITY, IMMUTABILITY, another. But owing to the imbecility of the human mind, we can conceive of the divine character only by directing our attention successively to its several parts. These several aspects which are entirely subjective in their na- ture are termed attributes ; and although there are per- ceptible points of distinction between them, some of therii are so nearly related, and coalesce in such a manner, that different enumerations of them are often given. They may be thus enumerated, self-existence, eternity, immutability, omnipotence, omnipresence, omniscience, wisdom, holiness, truth, justice, benevolence (or love, or goodness;) , I. By the Self- existence of God is indicated that he has the cause of his existence in himself, and is not de- pendent for it in any degree on any being without him- self. This attribute is evident from" reason, which teaches* us to acknowledge one ultimate first cause of all things, Which being anterior to all other things . could riot be .in- debted for being to therri when they did not yet exist; The scriptures also teach this attribute by representing God as the creator of all things in the universe, and by some of the names attributed to him. 1 II. His Eternity, or existence without beginning or end, is taught by scripture, 52 and seems also to result from his self-existence. III. The Immutability, or unchangeableness of God either in nature, attributes, or purposes, is taught by rea- ^xod. 3: 14. And God said unto Moses, lam that I am. And he naid, thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I am hath sent p me unto you. Gen. J: 1. Acts 17: 24. 25, &c. Neither is (