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been conducting his work both in the church, and in the world; and how the humble believer, as a poor bruifed reed, or as the fmoking flax, has been kept, through faith, unto falvation. The whole church will then be prefent to behold that Saviour who loved them, bled for them, and interceded in their behalf above: And the general acclamation will be, "All our fprings are in him. Lo! this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will fave us! This is Jehovah, we will rejoice and be glad in him; for he is our life!"

Nor to themselves only, but to all, fhall it then be made clearly manifeft how, and by whom, their life has been fupported. At prefent, the men of this world wonder at their choice, their conduct, their converfation. They wonder what they can poffibly find in religion thus to engage and entertain their minds. Then it will appear that they had other eves to fee with, other fenfes to exercise, and other objects to attract them. The life of Chrift fhall then appear manifeft in those whom they once denounced mad, or esteemed as fools. Arrayed in all the glory of his majesty, Christ will appear to own them as his friends, and to receive them as his bride. It fhall now be made manifeft that it was his grace, ftrength, Spirit, yea, that it was he himself that lived in his people. Every eye fhall then behold him ;----faints, as their life; and finners, to their fhame and confufion.

Yes; when he that is their life thall appear, they hall appear with him in glory. They fhall appear as evidences in Support of the efficacy of Chrift's death. It fhall then be manifefted, that all have been delivered from the pit of hell for whom he paid a ranfom. His death was not in vain ; but by the one oblation of himself once offered, he for ever perfected all the fanctified. All the ranfomed of his blood will then be prefent to unite in that anthem, "To him that loved us, and washed us from our fins in his own blood-to him be glory!"-They fhall also appear with him in glory, as the trophies of Chrift's victory. Then, having vanquished fin, Satan, and the world in them, as well as for them he will be glorified in his faints, and admired in all them that believe; while he proclaims them conquerors, and more than conquerors. Having completely fpoiled principalities and powers, he will make an open fhew of the trophies of his victory. With him they fhall likewife appcar in glory, as fubjects and partakers of his great falvation. How great will be the honour, and how high the privilege to be faved in the Lord with an everlafting falvation, fo as never to be afhamed

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afhamed or confounded world without end! Then will that great prediction, which angels were commiffioned to bear from heaven to our world, be fulfilled, "Jefus hath faved his people from their fins, and is the author of eternal falvation to all that obeyed him." And as his reward, treasure, and fulness, fhall they appear with him in glory. The full manifeftation of Chrift's glory may in fome fort be faid never to be complete till he has all his church around him. As he is their fulness, fo, with reverence be it spoken, they are his. And as Adam's happiness, though perfect in its parts, was not complete in its degree till Eve was introduced to him, fo God hath put all things under the feet of Christ, and given him to be head over all things to his church, which is his body, the fulness of him who filleth all in all *. Finally, They fhall then appear as members everlastingly united to God's own Son, and glorified in, and with him. "Beloved," faith the apostle, "now are we the fons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we fhall be; but we know that when he fhall appear, we fhall be like him, for we shall fee him as he is t." "From heaven we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jefus Chrift, who fhall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working, whereby he is able to fubdue all things unto himself."

AGNUS.

ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THE DOCTRINES OF THE TRINITY AND THE ATONEMENT.

A

Gentleman of eminent learning, but whofe religious principles I cannot exactly ascertain, observed fome time fince to another diffenting minifter, that "it was impoffible to point out any good moral tendency of the doctrine of the Trinity, or the atonement of Chrift:" He added a reftriction on the latter fubject," as it was commonly stated." But not knowing wherein he would reprehend the common statement, I can only offer my remarks on his affertion, agreeably to my own views of that doctrine, whether mine be the common method of ftating it, or not.

As I believe these two doctrines to be the two principal articles of merc revelation, or the two moft important truths,

* Eph. i. 22, 23.

† 1 John, iii. 2.

Philip, iii, 20, 21.

which would have been utterly concealed from the most unbiaffed of created minds, had not God graciously difcovered them in his word, I can by no means give into this gentleman's idea concerning their being deftitute of a good moral tendency.

It appears evident to me alfo, that the principal end of the two pofitive inftitutions of the New Teftament, is to keep up the belief of these two doctrines in the church: That the ordinance of baptifm, which I confider as a folemn act of worship, is defigned to uphold the belief of the Trinity, and the ordinance of the Lord's Supper to confirm our faith in the atonement. And I do not believe that either the violent abuse of fome of the enemies of thefe doctrines, or the infidious artifices of others, will be able to deftroy thefe articles of the Chriftian faith, as long as thofe ordinances continue to be obferved, which I doubt not will be till the fecond coming of our crucified and infulted Lord.

When I confider the innumerable wonders of creation, wherein I find the moft confident philofophers acknowledge themselves puzzled with countless myfteries, it would feem ftrange to me, if, in a revelation made by the Creator of himfelf, there fhould be no remarkable peculiarity of his nature introduced; but that I, who am unable to comprehend the vegetation of a blade of grafs, or the voluntary motion of a worm, or a fly, fhould be able to comprehend all that God can tell me about himself. I own, therefore, that if a revelation, claiming a divine origin, contained no myfterics, it would be to my mind a much stronger objection to its authenticity, than any myftery commonly reputed to be contained in the Bible.

As to that peculiarity in the divine nature, by which the uncreated Being combines in himself the moft perfect unity, and the most complete fociety; fo that in one fenfe he is abfolutely one, and in another refpect is really three; I do not imagine this could have been difcovered by the moft exalted of created beings without a revelation, and I guess that one defign of the redemption of the church was to make it manifeft; but now it is revealed, it appears to me very reasonable and beautiful, and gives me, I think, the more exalted ideas of God.

But these two great doctrines of revelation appear of the greatcft importance when viewed in their connection with each other. The œconomy of falvation illuftrates the Trinity, and the previous threefold diftinction in the divine nature lays the foundation for the clearcft manifeftation of the

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divine perfections in the falvation of the church. "We cannot understand the scheme of redemption unless we know who the Saviour is. Nor can we rationally, and with comfort and fatisfaction, believe and truft in him, unless we know his fufficiency as a Saviour; his fufficiency in power to subdue our iniquities, to fanétify our fouls, to conquer Satan and all our fpiritual enemies, and to uphold us to the end; his fufficiency in wisdom to disappoint the devices of our grand adverfary and all his agents, and to make us wife unto fal-. vation; his fufficiency in goodness and grace to forgive our fins, to watch over us continually for our prefervation, to intercede for us with the Father, and to difpenfe to us grace to help in time of need; and the fufficiency of his merit, and the price of his redemption, or his propitiatory facrifice to atone for all our fins, and to procure our acceptance with the Father. Now, if he be a divine perfon, his fufficiency in these things, and all other refpects, appears at once. But if he were not a divine perfon, might we not doubt, yea, positively deny, his fufficiency? How fhould a finite price redeem us from an endlefs or infinite punishment? How should a finite atonement fatisfy for crimes deferving a punishment without end? If Chrift were a mere creature, we might well difbelieve either the Scripture doctrine of endless punishment, or the fufficiency of the Redeemer. No wonder, therefore, that thofe who difbelieve the divinity of Christ, do generally, if not univerfally, difbelieve the endless mifery of thofe who die impenitent *."

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What farther difcoveries may be made to us hereafter of the intrinfic glory of Deity, as enhanced by this peculiar mode of fubfiftence, we cannot yet afcertain; nor what advantages may hence refult to the happy inhabitants of heaven. But as to us faved finners, it is certain that our obligations to gratitude, and devotednefs to the Redeemer, and our motives to loathe, abhor, and mortify fin, are increased to an unípeakable degree, by confidering the dignity of the Redeemer, and the neceffity of the atonement, which no inferior person could have made.

What debtor will affirm that his obligations to a furcty are equal, whether he paid for him an hundred pence, or ten thousand talents? What Chriftian will be fo infatuated as to believe that if no greater a facrifice had been required than the blood of bulls, or goats, to expiate our guilt; and if he

See a sermon entitled, All Divine Truth profitable, by Dr. Jonathan Edwards, at the Ordination of the Rev. Dan, Bradley, of Hampden, 1792.

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who faid of them, who deferved to perish, "Deliver them from going down to the pit, I have found a ransom,” had pointed us to a ram caught in the bushes, as the only requifite atonement; our reafon to admire the love of God, and fhudder at the evil of fin, would have been as great, as it is on the fuppofition of the Lamb of God, being no other than his incarnate Son?

Sure I am that the writers of the New Teftament lay the greatest ftrefs on God's giving his own Son to be incarnate, and to be facrificed for us; and my idea of the exalted import of that appellation abundantly enhances my fenfe of the obligation to divine love. In like manner, my fenfe of the abominable evil of fin, my repentance for the paft tranfgreffions of which I am confcious, my humiliation for the fin that ftill dwelleth within me, and my watchfulness against it in future, are all in proportion to my conviction, that it was requifite the Father of mercies fhould fhew his abhorrence of iniquity in the very method of his granting forgivenefs; and that nothing would have been a fufficient falvo for his honour, or any adequate means of fupporting the credit and authority of his law, but the vicarious fufferings of one, who could fuftain the full curfe of the law, and yet emerge from thofe dreadful fufferings, which no inferior perfon could have fuftained without finking into perdition.

O! would to God that all the worshippers of the flaughtered Lamb, without the fhedding of whofe precious blood it would have been impoffible for one fin in the world to have been expiated, may fo walk as to confound the enemies of the Crois! The love of Chrift contraineth us; let us then depart from all iniquity. We have seen him that was pierced for our offences, and in his fufferings have feen the extreme evil of fin; yes, we have beheld his glory as the glory of the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth; let us mourn, and be in bitterness, while we reflect what it was that rendered it neceffary for him to be fo wounded and bruifed: Let our indignation be roused against fin; let us pursue it unto death. A way with it! crucify it crucify it! It is not fit that that regicide fhould live which murdered the Prince of life.

Meanwhile it is a bleffed ground of encouragement, that our Sanctifier is divine, as well as our Saviour. Let them, who know not the depths of Satan, but perhaps deride his existence, and who know not the depravity of the heart, and the deceitfulness of fin; let them, I fay, doubt whether there be a Holy Spirit; let thein treat him only as a figurative perfon, and his bleffed influence

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