offence of a mere fallible man brought misery and death upon all his posterity, surely this one righteousness performed by a person of divine dignity and infinite worth, in offering himself through the eternal Spirit without spot to God, must be more than an adequate reparation for that one of fence: Accordingly, the apostle shews that the benefit procured by it greatly exceeds the damage which came by the fall; see ver. 15, 16, 17. [To be continued.] and the good of souls. All scrip tural means should be used, with earnest prayer to God for his blessing May the Lord give us large measures of grace, to enable us to lay out ourselves to the utmost for his glory, and the everlasting hap piness of our hearers; and crown our labours with great success. It is certain, my dear Brother, if Christ and his righteousness are the objects of our trust, all the promises are ours. 2 Cor. i. 20. I will give you an extract from a good author. "Acts of faith do not consist in believing that our sins are pardoned, but in receiving LETTER OF THE LATE REV. S. G. Christ Jesus and his righteousness Hatfield H, March 30, 1802. My dear Brother, The experience contained in your letter to me is christian; and I may truly tell you is my own. It contains the language of a soul born from above; and makes you more able to preach to sinners and to saints. With all those feelings I do not doubt my own state, nor have I the shadow of a doubt respecting yours. At times I feel as if there was not a spark of grace in my heart, yet dare not give over trusting in Christ for all covenant good. Though he slay me, I am resolved to trust in him at all times. The following references contain my experience. Isa. xlv. 24. xliv. 5. 2 Tim. i. 12. Sometimes the Bible is to me a sealed book. Sometimes I know not how to make a sermon. Sometimes I dread to enter the pulpit. The people do not know what we feel; and many have little or no feeling at all for us. I do think, brother, with you, that many of our people are determined to make us live by faith. But this is our comfort; our God is the living God, and his promise is exceedingly great and precious. Heb. xiii. 5. The plan you propose for restoring primitive Christianity is a very good one, and meets my hearty approbation. We cannot do too much for God's honour VOL. I. as the I am sincerely man, no not the angels which are that I love thee." John xxi. 17. in heaven, neither the Son, but the Jesus needed not that any should Father. And though she had testify unto him, for " he knew never read or heard any other what was in man." John ii. 25. arguments in support of the Uni-He perceived the inmost thoughts tarian doctrine, yet conceiving that of the hearts both of his disciples omniscience was essential to Deity, and others, see Luke ix. 47. with she could not but reject the Tri-Mark-ix. 34. And he himself claims nitarian scheme; although in so the high prerogative of "searching doing she had to encounter much the reins and trying the hearts" of opposition from her friends. his people, Rev. ii. 23. But if so, how shall we reconcile these express testimonies of the Saviour's divinity with the text in Mark xiii. 82. which declares him ignorant of the precise period of the final consummation of all things? this we reply, I must confess, Sir, that the above text has had some weight on my mind; and when it is advanced as an argument to convince me of the fallacy of the Trinitarian doctrine, I am completely at a loss for an answer. If you, or any of your correspondents, will elucidate this ject, it will much oblige Your obedient Servant, London, Sep. 1815. ANSWER. AMICUS. To 2. The difficulty arises from the sub-contractedness of our views of the economy of redemption. In this amazing scheme of divine grace for the of a ruined world, recovery and which so gloriously unfolds the infinite wisdom of the blessed God, it is a first principle that "God was manifest in the flesh"1 Tim. iii. 16. for "the WORD,” by whom all creation was called into existence, 66 was made flesh," or assumed the body prepared for him (compare John i. 1, 14. with Hebrews x. 5.) " and tabernacled amongst us"-"the brightness of the Father's glory, and the express image of his person." And thus possessing the divine and human natures in his one individual person Although we strongly suspect that the writer of the preceding paper is a masked Socinian, we have not hesitated to insert his letter. We are indeed well aware that with persons of that stamp, especially when once confirmed in their views, it were absurd to expect that any thing short of the power of omnipotence should reach conviction to their minds, and satisfy them of their soul-destructive errors. Yet as Christians are ex--it is no unusual thing with the pressly enjoined to "be ready at inspired writers to speak of him, all times to render to every man sometimes in reference to his dia reason of the hope that is in vine, and at others to his human them, with meekness and fear," nature; and if we only grant this we shall give him our sentiments preliminary principle, it will enable briefly on the subject of his in- us with readiness to adjust all these quiry. little difficulties, and to see in the Scriptures one uniform and consistent scheme of divine truth; whereas, upon any other hypothesis, we involve ourselves in inextricable confusion, and "wrest the Scriptures to our own destruction." But, further, 1. We fully agree with AMICUS, that Omniscience is essential to Deity; and on this principle we ground our faith in the divinity of the Son of God. The inspired writers repeatedly and expressly ascribe omniscience to him. Thus Peter, for instance, "Lord, thou Ingwest all things; thou knowest 3. In order to understand the text in question, it is necessary to observe, that in the economy of redemption, though possessed of the divine nature, Jesus Christ acted as the servant of his heavenly Father. The Father sanctified him and sent him into the world, and gave him a commandment to lay down his life for the salvation of his guilty people. John vii. 28, 29. viii. 16, 18. x. 18, 36, 38. In executing his office, he is to be considered as the great prophet sent into the world to reveal the Father's will to men; and consequently as delivering to men, not what he knew as the result of his own omniscience, but that which was communicated to him by the Holy Spirit. Can any thing be more obvious than this distinction in the writings of the Evangelists? Remark his own language, "I have not spoken of myself, but the Father which sent me he gave me a commandment what I should speak-whatsoever I speak, therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak," John xii. 49, 50. "The word which I speak, I speak not of myself, but the Father which abideth in me," ch. xiv. 10. "The Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all that he doeth," ch: v. 20. which last words seem to be thus expounded by John the Baptist, "He that is of God speaketh the words of God, for the Father giveth not the Spirit to him by measure; for the Father loveth the Son, and hath put all things (relating to the revelation of his will) into his hands," John iii. 34, 35. If, therefore, we only keep these things in view, where, it may be asked, is the difficulty of understanding our Lord in the text (Mark xiii. 32.) as affirming that, "with regard to the times and the seasons which the Father hath put in his own power," Acts i. 7. He, the great prophet of the church, had received no revelation from him, and, of course, was not commissioned to make his will, in regard to these things, known to mortals? This, we have no doubt, is the meaning of the text. EDIT. ON THE MARGINAL READINGS IN OUR ENGLISH BIBLES. From Bishop Horsley's Nine Sermons. IT should be a rule with every one who would read the holy Scriptures with advantage and improvement, to compare every text, which may seem either important for the doctrine it may contain, or remarkable for the turn of the expression with the parallel passages in other parts of holy writ; that is, with the passages in which the subject-matter is the same, the sense equivalent, or the turn of the expression similar. The parallel passages are easily found by the marginal references in the Bibles of the larger form. It were to be wished, indeed, that no Bibles were printed without the margin. It is to be hoped that an objection obviously arising from the necessary augmentation in the price of the book, may sometime or other be removed by the charity of religious associations. The Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge could not more effectually serve the purpose of their pious institution, than by applying some part of their funds to the printing of Bibles, in other respects in an or dinary way, for the use of the poor, but with a full margin. Meanwhile those who can afford to purchase the larger Bibles should be diligent in the improvement of the means with which Providence has furnished them. Particular diligence should be used in comparing the parallel texts of the Old and New Testaments. When you read the Old Testament, if you perceive by the margin that any particular passage is cited in the New, turn to that passage of the New to which the margin refers, that you may see in what manner, in what sense, and to what purpose, the words of the endeavour to ingraft their own opinion upon the oracles of God. He may safely be ignorant of all Old and New Testament. Let him study these in the manner I recommend, and let him never cease to pray for the illumination of that Spirit by which these books were dictated; and the whole compass of abstruse philosophy and recondite history shall furnish no argument with which the perverse will of man shall be able to shake this learned Christian's faith. The Bible thus studied will indeed prove to be what we Protestants esteem it, a certain and sufficient rule of faith and practice, a helmet of salvation, which alone may quench the fiery darts of the wicked. more ancient are alleged by the later writer, who, in many instances may be supposed to have received clearer light upon the same sub-philosophy except what is to be ject: On the other hand, when in learned from the sacred books; the New Testament you meet with which indeed contain the highest citations from the Old, always con- philosophy adapted to the lowest sult the original writer, that you apprehensions. He may safely remay have the satisfaction of judg- main ignorant of all history, except ing for yourselves, how far the pas- so much of the history of the first sage alleged makes for the argument ages of the Jewish and of the which it is brought to support. In Christian church as is to be gatherdoing this you will imitate the ex-ed from the canonical books of the ample of the godly Jews of Bercea, which is recorded with approbation in the Acts of the Apostles, who, when Paul and Silas reasoned with them out of the Scriptures of the Old Testament, clearly setting before them the prophecies concerning the Messiah, and the accomplishment of those prophecies in Jesus, whom they preached, "searched the Scriptures daily, whether these things were so." The Bercean Jews compared the parallel passages of Paul's oral doctrine with the written Scriptures of the Old Testament. And we now should with equal diligence compare the written doctrine of Paul, and of his fellowlabourers, with the writings of the Old Testament. It is incredible to any one, who has not in some degree made the experiment, what a HAVING seen in a former proficiency may be made in that number of your Magazine, an inknowledge which maketh wise unto quiry into the propriety of ministers salvation, by studying the Scrip of the gospel assuming to themtures in this manner, without any selves, and applying to others, the other commentary or exposition term Reverend, which savours of than what the different parts of the popish pride, another term usually sacred volume mutually furnish for appropriated to themselves has each other. I will not scruple to likewise been brought to my recolassert, that the most illiterate Chris-lection, equally if not more exceptian, if he can but read his English tionable, viz. FELLOW-HELPERS Bible, and will take the pains to WITH God! Now as this title has read it in this manner, will not only often appeared to me to border on attain all that practical knowledge blasphemy, I should be much which is necessary to his salvation, obliged to any of your corresponbut, by God s blessing, he will be dents to inform me on what they come learned in every thing relating ground this high claim to partnerto ins religion in such a degree, that ship with God; as I can see no he will not be liable to be misled, authority for it in the Scriptures, either by the refined arguments or I am yours, by the false assertions of those who To the Editor of the New Evangelical SIR, SUNERGOS. Theological Review. was written on the 21st of March, and on the 7th of May following, that is, in little more than six weeks, his apprehensions were fully realized, by the termination of his own labours in his Master's vineyard. dies, semper acerbum, semper honoratum, Sic Dii voluistis! Among other powerful inducements to enter upon the study of this part of the holy Scriptures, Mr. Fuller acknowledges that the events of the present times seemed to him to call for a special attention to prophecy, and that they might be ex Expository Discourses on the Apocalypse, interspersed with Practical Reflections. By the late REV. A. FULLER. London. Button & Son. 1815. pp. 434 8vo. 10s. 6d. bds. THE book of the Revelation is confessedly, by general consent, so obscure a part of the sacred volume, that we hail with grateful acceptance every judicious attempt to explain its meaning, and simplify its contents to the level of ordinary capacities. But when, as in the present instance, the task is undertaken by a writer eminently distinguished for correct ness of judgment, extent of informa-pected to throw some light upon it. tion, and felicity of diction, we become doubly interested in the publication. We have before us, if we may except a small pamphlet of thirty pages in defence of the practice of strict communion, the last fruits of the matured mind of one who had spent half a century in the study of the holy Scriptures, and in unwearied labours to elucidate them both from the pulpit and the press. He adds, that "some late writers upon the subject appear to understand many things which earlier ones did not; and there is reason to expect that prophecy will be understood much better in years to come than it is at present." This is a very just observation. When the great Calvin furnished the world with his learned and elaborate Commentary on the Scriptures, he declined to enter upon the Apocalypse; a conduct for which he received the praises of Joseph Scaliger, himself a prodigy of eru more than a century ago, published his valuable Commentary on the New Testament, he stopped short at the book of Revelation, and Macknight, still more recently, followed his example, though he had devoted thirty years of his life to the composition of his work on the Apostolic Epistles! The truth is, that of the prophecies contained in the Apocalypse, it may be said with nearly the same pro priety as is said of the path of the just, that it is a light shining more and more unto the perfect day. The volume comprises thirty-one Discourses (in Scotland they would have termed them Lectures) which Mr. Fuller delivered to the churchdition. When Dr. Whitby, a little in Kettering under his pastoral care, in the years 1809 and 1810, in style and manner very much resembling his Discourses on Genesis, which are well known. In the following year he drew them out for the press, but very properly allowed them to lay by him more than four years, during which interval he availed himself of whatever further light he could obtain from reading or reflection, and took every opportunity of revising and perfecting the manuscript. In a Dedication of the volume to his flock, he, in very affecting terms, remarks, that while the subject had been more immediately under his consideration, "several of our most highly esteemed friends, who joined in the request [that they might be published] are gone the way of all the earth. We shall soon follow them. We have seen enough, amidst all the troubles of our times, to gladden our hearts; and trust that our children will see greater things than these." This paragraph "His providence unfolds the book, And makes his counsels shine; Each opening leaf, and every stroke, Fulfils some deep design." "The method I pursued," says Mr. F. was, first to read it carefully over, and as I went on to note down what first struck me as the meaning. After re ducing these notes into something like a scheme of the prophecy, I examined the best expositors I could procure, and comparing my own first thoughts with theirs, was better able to judge of their justness. |