I man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hands. and my Father are one." Therefore he said, "Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." 2. The Father and the Holy Ghost are one in essence, but distinct persons. In some portions of Scripture we find the only true and sovereign Jehovah speaking in his own name; but in other portions this is interpreted of the Holy Ghost, as the Jehovah who speaks; thus manifestly identifying the person of the Holy Ghost with the divine nature. But this same speaking Jehovah coming before us in the first person, at the same time introduces Jehovah to us in the third person; so that here we have an identity of nature and a distinction of persons. I shall take my illustration from Psalm xcv. 7-12: "To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness: when your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works," &c. And St. Paul (Hebrews iii. 7) attributes the saying of this passage directly to the Holy Ghost: Wherefore, as the Holy Ghost saith," &c. Hence it follows, that the Father and the Holy Ghost, though distinct persons, are one God. you 3. The Son and the Holy Ghost, though characterised by personal distinctions, are one in the Godhead; which truth is clearly expressed in John xiv. 18: "I will not leave comfortless I will come to you." In this passage the Saviour very clearly identifies himself with the Holy Ghost; for he had before declared that the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, should come to his disciples. And again, in chapter xvi. 7, he says: "It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you." In these passages we see a perfect distinction of persons, and yet Christ is identified with the Comforter, the Holy Ghost. Hence the Son and the Holy Ghost are two persons, but one God. 4. The Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father, and from the Son, John xiv. 26: "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father shall send in my name." Here the Holy Ghost is spoken of as proceeding from the Father; but Christ also says: "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father," &c. Again, "And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive Holy Ghost." The Holy Spirit, then, proceeds from the Father and from the Son. ye the 5. The Son proceedeth equally from the Father and from the Holy Ghost; therefore the Father and the Holy Ghost are one. This is proved from the holy incarnation and divine conception of the blessed Virgin: "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore that Holy Thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." He shall be called the Son of God, because he proceeded from the Father and the Holy Ghost. Christ, who came "to seek and to save that which was lost," was sent " Lord and his Spirit." Isaiah xlviii. 16. . by the 6. We have already proved that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, have the same essential properties and attributes; and therefore they must be one in essence, seeing there cannot be two distinct and separate infinite natures. 7. The Father and the Son are contained in each other. This is evident from John xvi. 14, 15, where the Saviour says: "He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you." And again, in John xiv. 11, "Believe me, that I am in the Father, and the Father in me." 8. The Father and the Son are one with, and contained in, the Holy Ghost. Hence Christ said, " If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." John xiv. 23. But how do the Father and Son dwell with those who love him? but in and with the Holy Ghost. The subjects of this indwelling Deity are said to be "full of the Holy Ghost." And the precious promise which Christ made to his disciples, at the time of his departure, was the indwelling of the Comforter, and with him the Father and the Son, because these three are one. Hence 9. The unity of the three persons in the Godhead, viz. Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, may be proved by a collation of the foregoing facts and arguments. We have proved : That the Father and the Son are one; That the Father and the Holy Ghost are one; That the Son and the Holy Ghost are one; and there fore the conclusion is, that these three must be one. We have also shewn, in the second course of argument That the Holy Ghost proceeds equally from the Father That the Son proceeds from the Father and the Holy That the Son is of the same infinite nature with the We have further proved That the Father and the Son are contained in each other; That the Holy Ghost contains the Father and the Son; and consequently the Holy Trinity are contained in each other, and therefore must be one. We perhaps cannot do better than conclude this article in the language of the apostolic benediction: "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen." 2 Cor. xiii. 14. We do not presume that the foregoing arguments on the Trinity in Unity will be deemed conclusive by every one who may read them; but our firm conviction is, that they are sound, scriptural, and consequently cannot be overturned by any method of mere human reasoning. "The word of the Lord abideth for ever." The subject in itself, as to its mode, is a holy mystery, which no finite mind can fully understand; it is nevertheless clearly revealed in the sacred volume, and consequently ought to be believed and received. (See Triplicity," vol. ii. page 40 to 47.) 66 XII. ON MAN: HIS ORIGIN. The We are indebted to Revelation for our knowledge of the origin of the human race. All theories, apart from Revelation, on this subject, are chimerical and groundless. All mankind spring from the same original parent, however they may differ in their circumstances, or in their physical and intellectual peculiarities. A classification of the various families and tribes of mankind. The creation or original formation of the human body: "Let us make man." What this form of speech imports. The materials of which the human body was originally composed. manner in which the Almighty raised the human system-gradually or instantaneously. The superiority of man, in his original state, compared with the other objects of the visible creation. The creation of man a glorious work, and displays the power, goodness, and wisdom of God. The laws of preservation, &c., incorporated in man's physical nature. The creation of the human soul. In connection with man's corporeal nature, there is a rational and immortal nature, called " the soul." The soul is not a part of God, neither was it composed of any pre-existing, refined atoms of matter, but created by God: " God breathed into man," &c. What is meant by this figurative expression. Parkhurst and Dr. A. Clarke on the word soul." Man was originally in the image and likeness of God. What we are to understand by the resemblance to Deity. The idea expressed by Ovid in reference to the human body. The likeness to God refers more particularly to the moral resemblance of the soul to God, which consisted in knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness. The happiness of our first parents while they retained their original state. INDEPENDENTLY of revelation, man is ignorant of both his origin and destination. It is therefore a matter of unspeakable importance and advantage to mankind, that the Author of our being has condescended to inform us who was the first man, how he came into existence, and |