said to have done so as "the Angel of the covenant." By no possible interpretation can the appearances which we have mentioned be referred to any but a divine person. There would seem to be this object in speaking of God as the "Angel of the Lord," the "Sent of the covenant"-namely, that it enables the narration to exhibit, as it were, so much of that wondrous amount of love and power as human exigencies required and human intellect could understand, and to place this before men in the most gracious manner; not plunging them at once into the ocean of divine love, but taking for them, as it were, a drop from that ocean, and keeping the glory within those limits which would enable the faculties of fallen man to receive it. When God gave any visible token of his presence to his people of old, he gave them to understand that while he revealed somewhat of his glory, they were not to suppose that its fullness was perceived by them. He vouchsafed to them that which was necessary for the time; he condescended to adapt himself to their powers by enabling them to see through a glass darkly, instead of face to face. At the same time he gave them intimations that the "angel of the Lord" was really no other than the Lord himself, in order that there might be no misgivings in their minds as to the accomplishment of the promises made to them.

But when God spoke unto his people by prophecy, the exhibition made was of a totally different kind. The prophet, in dream or trance, beheld the Lord and spake with him; but this appearance was altogether different from those manifestations of which Scripture has already furnished us with instances. Prophets, in their visions, beheld the Lord; they were caught up, in spirit, from the earth-lifted into communion with the invisible world; but it was not with the bodily eye that they beheld God, it was not with the bodily ear that they heard the accents of divinity. Wrapt in ecstatic visions, they heard and saw the things which God intended to bring to pass. Sometimes it would seem as though the Spirit had merely sharpened their intellect, and given them thus the knowledge of future events. They were enabled to discover by the analogy of the past what should come to pass hereafter; and, their powers being thus supernaturally exalted, were in a position to de

clare the results of their observations to their fellow-men. Sometimes they had the interpretation given them at the same time as the vision; sometimes that interpretation was withheld, and the whole prophecy remained dark until its accomplishment showed at once both what had been intended and how surely the prediction had been fulfilled.

And here, perhaps, will be a suitable place for a few remarks on inspiration. There have been some who maintained not only that "all Scripture is given by inspiration of God," but that the inspiration of every part is one and the same, and that the Holy Spirit prompted each and all of the sacred writers to state certain facts and propound certain doctrines, and to do this in certain words. This verbal inspiration is, however, evidently lost in a translation, and is, moreover, negatived by the circumstance that there are certain varieties in the events related by different writers, all according to this theory equally and verbally inspired. An instance will be found in the case of the purchase of the threshing-floor of the Jebusite by David, after the numbering of the people. Two accounts are given; one in the 2d Book of Samuel, chapter xxiv., and another in the 21st chapter of the 1st Book of Chronicles. In these two accounts the name of the Jebusite is different, and the price paid for the threshing-floor. One such instance will negative the theory of a universal verbal inspiration. But as undoubtedly some parts of Scripture are verbally inspired, such as the direct messages of God to his saints and to his chosen people, so we must perceive the necessity of accommodating our theory to the facts of the case We shall recognize, then, three distinct degrees of inspiration.

First, that in which the words themselves are dictated by the Great Supreme; such as the provisions of the Mosaic code, the revelation to Moses of the Divine name, and similar instances.

Secondly, that in which the Spirit of God, having revealed in visions to his prophets future events, commanded them to make those visions known to his people, but left them to do this in such language as they might deem most fitting. In this class we must place the larger portion of the prophetic writings.

A subdivision of this will include the Psalms, Proverbs, and perhaps the Song of Solomon, together with the apostolic epistles; the

variation consisting in this, that the promptings of the Spirit were not in these latter cases made known by means of visions, but by powerful and unmistakeable impressions.

Thirdly, that in which the Divine Spirit "moved" some qualified person to write the history of some important periods, leaving him to collect his own facts, and relate them in his own language; but at the same time preserving him from important error, and doubtless giving him additional qualifications for his work. It is under this third division that we must place the historical books both of the Old and New Testament.

This theory involves no unnecessary miracles, it accounts for occasional and unimportant variations, renders perfectly intelligible the natural variety of style in different prophets, and enables us to regard the inspiration of both Testaments as capable of transfusion, with their languages, into those of other lands.

If we believe that man can do no good action, think no good thought, originate no glorious idea, without the operation within him of the Eternal Principle of the good, and the true, and the beautiful-if, indeed, it be GOD that willeth and worketh within us all that is lofty and all that is lovely-we have our ideas of inspiration enlarged indeed. It becomes a Theopneustia, a divine inbreathing, and the glory of everything great and beautiful in man's works goes directly to the Supreme All-Inspirer.

But we do not hereby lower our idea of the solemn dignity of revealed truth. God himself has set it apart from all other inspiration. The vast and awful importance of the truths which it teaches, and the events which it relates-the tremendous curse fulminated against those who shall either add to or diminish its now completed canon-all place it in a divine isolation, and effectually prevent the devout philosopher from abusing a theory which, while it teaches him the nature of inspiration, teaches likewise the magnificent sanctity of God's revelation to man.

But to return from this apparent digression.

We have now gone through the principal manifestations of the divine Person recorded in the Old Testament. The chief impression which should remain on our minds is one to which we have already alluded—namely, that the greater part of these were mani

festations of God's anger. They were favorable, indeed, to his chosen people; but still they had reference to the punishment of that people's adversaries. Whereas the one only permanent manifestation of God was one of love-showing that the spirit of the New and that of the Old Testament are the same, although the one was given in types and shadows, and amidst much darkness, and was only comprehended here and there by a favored saint who gave himself up to the Divine teaching; while the other was that fuller and more glorious dispensation which was made in the person of Christ himself. There is one remarkable difference between the echoes of God's voice as heard from universal nature, and the echoes of that voice as heard in revelation. The one builds up, the other disperses; the one argues synthetically, the other analytically; the one converges, the other diverges. In this and the five following chapters, we shall collect into one focus the revelations of truth as respects the world of spirit, remembering that our object is no longer to show the analogy of facts with God's word, as it is God's word from which we now take our facts-but to show the analogy between the facts thus collected and universal nature.

If we follow the leading thus given, we shall see the rays of light flowing from a centre, and lighting up the dark places of the spiritual creation. We shall go first to the source of light, and bear with us the illumination thence derived into the obscure parts which we are about to explore. The value of the echo will be the greater in that it is reflected from a different surface; the Divine voice will be heard the more clearly when listened to under circumstances so various, and the identity of God's purpose the more satisfactorily understood, when it becomes evident that all things, seen and unseen, bear the same testimony. In all ages God gives his people the same lessons, teaches them by means of the same Spirit, and will, if they firmly believe in him, and place their trust in his guidance, bring them eventually to the same everlasting happi

ness.

CHAPTER II.

GOD'S DISPENSATIONS CONSTANT-ALL CHARACTERIZED BY PROGRESS-THE SAME DESIGN VISIBLE IN ALL, PATRIARCHAL, MOSAIC, AND CHRISTIAN-CHRIST'S DIVINITY ATTESTED BY THE FATHER-BY ANGELS-CHRIST'S HUMAN FORM THE ARCHETYPE OF HUMANITY—DIGNITY OF HUMAN NATURE-BAPTISM OF THE LORD MIRACLES ATTENDING IT-SPIRITUAL CHARACTER OF CHRIST'S LIFETYPICAL NATURE OF HIS HISTORY-THE RESURRECTION-ITS PECULIARITIES— DIFFERING FROM ALL OTHER RECORDED RESURRECTIONS-THE NEVER FAILING POWER OF CHRIST-HIS FORTY DAYS AFTER THE RESURRECTION-PROOFS OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY-APPEARANCE TO SAUL-GLORIFICATION AND ASCENSION-CONCLUSION.

He who rightly considers the dispensations of God to his people, cannot fail to be struck with their progressive character; he will find them, not like the works of external nature, variable and apparently inconstant, sometimes advancing, then for a short period wearing the aspect of retrogression, and then again proceeding in their onward course-but progressive, steady, and unvarying in their march. If, after observing one class or character of Divine manifestations, he look at the manifestations of God made under a succeeding dispensation, he will find the dispensation itself ever bearing the tokens of progress. And, as all have this distinguishing mark, we may naturally expect to find our observation hold good in regard of that particular subject to which we have now to direct our

attention.

"God," saith the apostle, "who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son." If there be one glory in Christianity above those systems which were merely intended to usher it into the world and to prepare mankind for its reception, it will be found to consist in this, that it reveals to us more thin any other has done of God's nature; that it points out to us