fulfilment of the written prophecy; in the wisdom of the written doctrine; in the purity of the written law-in the harmony of the contents of the Bible amidst almost endless varietyand in its efficacy, as the principal means employed by Divine Providence for the illumination, conversion, and spiritual edification, of men-the inquirer cannot fail to perceive unquestionable indications of the divine origin of Holy Writ. And, although he is aware that inspiration must vary, in manner and degree, according as it is applied to the enunciation respectively of different subjects-that it may probably be one thing in history, and another thing in doctrine and prophecy; yet, the general result of his deliberations on the subject is plainly this-that, of the Scriptures, considered as a whole, God is the primary author-that the account which they contain of religious truth rests on the authority of the Supreme Being and, therefore, that the person who searches for that which is revealed may safely direct his unhesitating attention to that which is written.

Struck with the importance of eternal things--convinced of the truth of Christianity--and satisfied of the divine authority of that astonishing book in which all its particulars are recorded, our inquirer, who is already possessed of some little knowledge of the Sacred Volume, now turns over its pages with a new feeling of confidence and delight. To him it appears plain beyond contradiction, that it is the bounden duty of every man, who has the Bible in his hands, and who has received an adequate education--to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest, its contents; in other words, to make a diligent and profitable use of one of the most remarkable and precious of the gifts of God to man. And in pursuing this object, he endeavours to arrange his inquiries in such a manner as to obtain, if possible, a connected and comprehensive view of the whole scheme or system of revealed truth.

Now, of all the knowledge of which man is capable, the most important and truly honourable is the knowledge of God. The very first point, therefore, of scriptural inquiry, is thisWhat information do we receive from the Volume of Inspiration respecting the Supreme Being himself? In answer to this inquiry, we have found occasion to observe, that the declarations of Scripture respecting Jehovah are such as confirm, enlarge, and complete, the light derived, on the subject, from merely natural religion. The investigator of divine truth, who commits himself to the guidance of the sacred writers, is presently taught, that there is no other God but Jehovah-that

he is one--that he has existed from eternity—that he is the first cause of all other beings, the Creator of heaven and earth, and of all things which they contain,-that he is the Supreme Governor of the universe-a Spirit-omnipotent, all-wise, omnipresent-that he unites in himself the perfection of all moral attributes-that in the government of his creatures, and especially in that of his creature man, he shows himself to be holy, just, faithful, and true, and displays an ever-abounding goodness and mercy-that he is himself Love.

Now, although there is no doctrine on which the patriarchs and prophets of ancient Israel have laid a stronger stress than the unity of their Deity, it is a singular fact, that they often speak of him, or introduce him as speaking, in such a manner, as indicates that in this one God there subsists a real plurality. Our inquirer is fully sensible that this subject (relating, as it does, to the nature of an infinite, incomprehensible, Being) is extremely mysterious to the finite understanding of men; but he bows with a simple and sincere heart under the authority of confessed revelation; and no sooner has he properly examined the New Testament, than he is prepared to acknowledge that, in the vast plan of wisdom and mercy ordained for our salvation, Jehovah, the only true God, has revealed himself to mankind as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. From the testimony of Jesus Christ and his apostles he learns, that a personal character attaches to these three respectivelythat the Father is God—that the Son is God-and that the Holy Spirit is God-that they are the united sources of our redemption and salvation, the common and equal objects of our allegiance and devotion--that they are, nevertheless, first, second, and third, in order; and, in the economy of grace, are described as fulfilling distinct offices-the Father as origi nating--the Son as mediating--and the Holy Spirit as completing. While, however, the friend of truth embraces these distinctions with the mind of faith, and endeavours to meet them with the exercise of corresponding dispositions, and the performance of consequent duties; yet, the more diligently he reflects on them, the more fully is he persuaded of their absolute consistency with the essential and never-to-be-forgotten truth, that GOD IS ONE.

The next subject to which the inquirer is led to direct his attention, is the personal character and history of certain angelic powers who are declared, in Scripture, to have fallen from their heavenly state; and more especially of their powerful and insidious chief, called the devil, or Satan. Of him we read, that he is ever originating evil-that he is full of ma

lignity-a liar from the beginning, and the father of it-the adversary of God and Christ-the tempter, accuser, and destroyer of man-that he betrayed our first parents; afflicted Job; provoked David to sin; resisted Joshua the priest; and tempted, buffeted, and persecuted, the Messiah himself. Finally, while we are assured that no other end awaits the enemy of our souls, and all who adhere to him, than absolute defeat and destruction, yet, in the mean time, the wrath and deceitfulness which he is at present permitted to exercise, are, in Scripture, presented to us, as the strongest of motives to watchfulness unto prayer to the investing of our souls, and that perpetually, with the whole armour of God.

Our inquirer now turns his attention to a branch of scriptural truth, fraught with a very peculiar degree of interest-the history, condition, prospects, and character, of our own species; and truly there is nothing by which the declarations of the Bible are more clearly distinguished from the results of merely human speculation, than by the exact and extensive information which they communicate to men respecting themselves. In the Scriptures he finds a clear account, in the first place, of the creation of our first parents, in that condition of natural and moral perfection, in which sin, Satan, and death, possessed no mastery over them; of their fall from that condition; of the consequent mortality of themselves and their descendants; and of the brief and withering nature of all those enjoyments which here excite their desire, and engage so much of their attention. In the second place, he observes, that the sacred writers, nevertheless, represent man as the child of eternity; and he notes a variety of passages which prove that we possess not only a mortal body, but a soul which, after death, continues to exist, and is introduced to a condition either of happiness or of suffering. He is also assured by prophets and apostles, and more especially by Jesus Christ himself, that the day is coming, when, all who "are in the graves" shall hear the voice of the Son of God-when the dead shall actually be raised, even as Christ was first raised-when the souls of men shall be invested with spiritual bodies, "this mortal" clothed with immortality, and death swallowed up in victory.

He next ascertains, on the authority of Scripture, that man is ever treated by his Creator as a free moral agent; that we are capable either of righteousness or of sin; that we are individually responsible to the Supreme Governor of the world, for the use we make of his gifts, and for our whole conduct and conversation; and that, in the great day of final retribution, we shall (after a rule of perfect justice and equity) be

rewarded or punished, according to our works. Nor can the searcher after truth do otherwise than tremble under the weight of his own responsibility, when he reads the plain declarations of our Saviour, couched in terms too clear to be misunderstood, and too strong to admit of any palliated interpretation, that both the rewards of the righteous and the punishments of the wicked are of eternal duration. Lastly, he finds it plainly recorded, that when Adam and Eve gave way to the first temptation of their adversary, they became transgressors, and lost the moral image of God; that from them the whole race of their descendants have inherited a nature infected with sin, and prone to evil-that all mankind, in their fallen nature, and without grace, are in a condition of darkness, and alienation from God--that we are universally sinners-and that, as such, we are individually liable to the operation of the curse of the law: "The soul that sinneth, it shall die."

Such is the view, which the sacred writers present to us, of the condition and prospects of unregenerate man. The inquirer reads a corresponding lesson in his own heart. He is humbled in a sense of his vileness, and trembles in the view of the just judgments of an offended Deity. But despair is not his portion. While he utters the sincere and earnest cry"A Saviour, or I die-a Redeemer, or I perish for ever!" he cannot be ignorant of the multiplied declarations of Holy Writ, that such a Saviour and Redeemer is actually provided for us. The mysterious and exalted person to whom this description applies is, in the Old Testament, described as the Messiah; in the New Testament, as the Christ--both the Hebrew and the Greek word signifying the Anointed one; and, being already convinced that Jesus of Nazareth was that Anointed One of whom the whole Scriptures testify, it is with the most lively feelings of interest that the friend of truth now institutes the great inquiry--what are the nature and character of Jesus Christ?

In order to pursue this inquiry in its true order, he directs his attention to the history of the Son of God, as it is revealed in the Holy Scriptures. He finds it declared in the New Testament, that when Jesus came into the world--that is, when he was born-he proceeded forth from the Father out of heaven. Hence, he learns, that before his incarnation, Jesus was in heaven with the Father; and the Scriptures enable him to trace backward the preexistence of the Son of God, from the days of the birth of John the Baptist, to those of Abraham; from the days of Abraham, to the period of the creation; and from the period of the creation, to an antecedent eternity.

Was, then, this preexistent Messiah a creature, or did he subsist in the nature of God himself? A deliberate investigation on this subject leads to the following results: that the preexistent Messiah was "in the form of God," and "thought it not robbery to be equal" with the Father-that he is described in terms which are applicable only to the first Great Cause-that he was the "only-begotten" Son of God the Father-that he was the Word, whose attributes and operations were understood by the Jews to be those of Deity, i. e. of Jehovah present with his people—that by him all things were created, visible, and invisible, in heaven and in earth-that he was the light and life of men, the spiritual Lord of the people of God, the Angel of the Covenant, in whom dwelt the name, character, and power, of Jehovah. On these multiplied evidences the inquirer is fully satisfied that the Messiah preexisted in the nature, not of man-not of any superior order of creatures--but of the Supreme Being himself.

He proceeds with the thread of the Messiah's history. The Word was made flesh; that is to say, he assumed the human nature. At the point, therefore, of his incarnation, he, who before was God only, became God and man. The narrative which the Gospels present to us, of the abode of the Messiah on earth, affords the plainest evidences that his humanity was real. He was nourished, he was tempted, he was inspired; he prayed, suffered, wept, and died. These and other coincident circumstances were the proper consequences of his having become invested with the nature of man. But the deity of Christ can know no change. No wonder, therefore, that, during his mortal career, he is found to have claimed the character, displayed the powers, and accepted the homage, which appertain to Jehovah alone.

The Son of God broke the bands of death asunder; rose from the dead; ascended into that heaven where he was before; and, clothed in a glorified body, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. There, while as Mediator between God and man, and as still possessing the human nature, he is, in all things, subject to the Father, he is, nevertheless, described as exercising, by an invisible agency, a divine government, not only over his own church, but over all the creatures of God. He is declared to be the author of grace, and the bestower of every spiritual gift. He regulates the external circumstances of his church, and by his providence the universe consists. He is a legitimate object of prayer, praise, religious affiance, and complete mental devotion. Finally, in the last awful day of retribution, though he will still be found