IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

^ .^.

1.0

1.1

UIM |Z5

■JO ^^" ■■■

m
u

140

P'iji^li^

— ^ ^

Hiotographic

Sciences

Corporalion

19 WIIT MAIN ITRHT

WfUTH.N.Y. MStO

(71*) 173-4503

CIHM/ICMH

Microfiche

Series.

CIHIVI/ICIVIH
Collection de
microfiches.

Canadian Inttituta for Historical IMicroraproductiona / Institut Canadian da microraproductiona hiatoriquas

Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notas tachniquas at bibliographiquas

Tha Instituta has attamptad to obtain tha bast
original copy availabia for filming. Faaturas of this
copy which may ba bibliographically unique,
which may altar any of the images in the
reproduction, or which may significantly change
the usual method of filming, are checked below.

D
D

Coloured covers/
Couverture de couleur

I I Covers damaged/

Couverture endommagte

Covers restored and/or laminated/
Couverture restaurta at/ou pellicuMe

r~n Cover title missing/

Le titre de couverture manque

I I Coloured maps/

Cartes giographiques 9n couleur

Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/
Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire)

Coloured plates and/or illustrations/
Planches et/ou illustrations an couleur

Bound with other material/
ReliA avac d'autres documents

Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion
along interior margin/

La re liure serrie peut causer de I'ombre ou de la
distortion le long de la marge int^rieure

Blank leaves added during restoration may
appear within tha text. Whenever possible, these
have been omitted from filming/
II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajoutias
lors d'une restauration apparaissant dans la taxte.
mais, lorsqua cala itait possible, ces pages n'ont
pas «t4 film«es.

Additional comments:/
Commentairas supplimantairas;

L'Institut a microfilm^ le maillaur axemplaire
qu'il lui a it6 possible da sa procurer. Las details
da cat axemplaire qui sont peut-Atre uniques du
point de vue bibliographiqua. qui pauvent modifier
une image reproduite. ou qui peuvent axiger una
modification dans la mithoda normala de filmaga
sont indiqute ci-dessous.

□ Coloured pages/
Pages de couleur

□ Pages damaged/
Pages endommagAas

□ Pages restored and/or laminated/
Pages restaur^as et/ou pelliculAes

yi Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/
Pages d^color^es, tachetias ou piqu6es

I I Pages detached/

Pages ditachias

Showthrough/
Transparence

Quality of prir

Qualiti inigala de I'imprassion

Includes supplementary matarii
Comprend du material supplimantaira

Only edition available/
Seule Edition disponible

r~] Showthrough/

I I Quality of print varies/

I I Includes supplementary material/

rn Only edition available/

Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata
slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmad to
ensure the best possible image/
Les pages totalement ou partiallement
obscurcias par un fauiilet d'errata, une palure,
etc., ont M filmies A nouveau da fapon A
obtanir la mailleure image possible.

Th
to

Th
po
of
fiir

Orl
ba<
th(
sic
oti
fin
sic
or

Th
sh<
T»
wh

Ml
dif
en]
be
rig
rei
m(

This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/

Ce document est film* au taux de reduction indiqu* ci-dessous.

10X

14X

18X

22X

26X

SOX

12X

itx

aox

a4x

28X

32X

The copy filmed here hes been reproduced thenke
to the generoeity of:

Dougles Librery
Queen's University

L'exempieire film* fut reproduit grice A la
gAnArositA de:

Dougles Library
Queen's University

The imeges appeering here are the best quelity
possible considering the condition and legibility
of the original copy and in keeping with the
filming contract specifications.

Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed
beginning with the front cover and ending on
the last page with a printed or illustrated Impres-
sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All
other originel copies are filmed beginning on the
first page with a printed or illustrsted impres-
sion, and ending on the last page with a printed
or illustrated impression.

Lee Images suivantee ont AtA reproduites avec le
plus grend soin, compte tenu de la condition et
de la nettet* de l'exempieire filmA, et en
conformity evec les conditions du contrat de
filmage.

Les exemplaires orlginaux dont la couverture en
papier est imprlmte sent filmAs en commen^ent
par le premier plet et en terminant soit par la
derniire page qui comporte une empreinte
d'impression ou d'lllustration, soit par ie second
plat, salon le ces. Tous les eutres exemplaires
orlginaux sont fllmte en commen^ent par la
premiere page qui comporte une empreinte
d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminent par
la dernlAre pege qui comporte une telle
empreinte.

The last recorded freme on each microfiche
shell contain the symbol — ^> (meaning "CON-
TINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END"),
whichever applies.

Un des symboiss suivar«ts apparaftra sur la
dernlAre imege de cheque microfiche, selon le
ces: le symbols -4k> signifie "A SUIVRE", le
eymbole V signifie "FIN ".

IMaps, plates, charts, etc., may l>e filmed et
different reduction ratios. Those too large to be
entirely included in one exposure ere filmed
beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to
right and top to bottom, as many frames as
required. The following diagrams illustrate the
method:

Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre
filmte A des taux de reduction diff Arents.
Lorsque le document est trop grend pour Atre
reproduit en un seul cllchA, 11 est f iimi A psrtir
de I'angle supArieur gauche, de gauche i droite,
et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre
d'Images nicessaire. Les diegrammes suivants
illustrent la mithode.

M^e

THE

DIVINE LOVE,

AND THE

DIVINE FORGIVENESS,

ILLUSTRATED,

IN TWO SERMONS.

THE REV. R. B. WIGGINS, A. iV.

SAINT JOHN, N. B.

PRINTED UV HENRY CHUBB 4 COMPANT,
I'niN' B WII.LIAM-STHKKT

IH5I

In presenting these and kindred sentiments to the public, I do not
profess to impart views of Divine Truth which. are peculiarly my
own ; but which have influenced some of the wisest and most intel-
ligent minds in the Christian world, for the last half century. These
sentiments are now, indeed, coming more prominently forward, as
the intelligence of the age is able to receive and approve of them.
Nor are they speculative, or based upon any mere human system of
interpretation, but solely the result of a close study of the Word of
God, in accordance with the letter of the word, and the spiritual sense
thereof, as sew by comparing 0Q« part of the Scripture with other
and similar passages. The doctrine taught is therefore one, and the
tendency of it is to make all one, according to the prayer of Him
whom we worship as God and Man in Orte Person,

THE DIVINE LOVE.

\st John, iv., part of Sth verse. — For God is Love.

do not
irly my
st intel-
These
vard, as
af them,
ystem of
Word of
ual sense
Lth other
, and the
: of Him

Love is that principle which can exist only by seeking to benefit
and bless othersi It is diffusive in its nature ; and can find its hap-
piness only in imparting happiness ; and this happiness will be more
or less extensively felt, in proportion to the nature and quality of the
Love itself. In the natural man, this love is natural ; in the spiri-
tual or regenerated man, it becomes spiritual or Heavenly love in the
soul ; and in Heaven itself, it is angelic love, or that blessed princi-
ple of oneness, where each soul freely sympathizes with the happi-
ness of all the rest.

But, these are only the streams from the Infinite fountain : these
all receive according to their measure and capacity ; and can impart
only what they receive. But Love itself is boundless and eternal ;
and in the proper sense of the word, exists only in the bosom of God.
It is there infinite and unwearied Love, and goes out of itself to the
utmost bounds of the creation. God hateth nothing that he has
made, and He willeth not the death of a sinner ; for God is Love.
If we can then ascertain what is Love, we shali be able to discern
the nature of God,

Consider this Love on the lowest level of human life ; as it exists
in the heart of every being called human. The human heart is as
wide as its sympathies^ and these sympathies are as wide as the
world ; for the human heart loves its own, and its sphere reaches as
far as home and kindred can be found.

When the child is recreant to parental love, still, in his wayward-
ness, and in his errors, he is not neglected, nor cast off. Even when
he abandons fond home, and spurns all the accents of endearing
kindness, thoughts from home still follow him wherever he goes ;
blessings are wafted for him on the very winds ; deep affections hover
over him in his dreams; in the midnight storm, the heart starts for
him in its sleep ; and when the soft wind blows, the hopes of his re-
intu come over the spirit like gentle messengers from a distant land.

/^ /fs ? i

And when he comes to himself; oh! when the illusion is scallcred,
when the spell is dissolved ; when his wandering feet slowly seek
his native home — is there no love for him there ? Are there no
yearning hearts to welcome him to the blest abode of his childhood,
where he once lived full of dreams and hopes ; and where every vi-
sible thing is covered all over with the golden hues of memory ?
Say, are there no trembling hearts that have counted the years of his
absence ; and are not their feelings too full for utterance ? Words
are wanting to express even this human love, and the outburst of tho
/leart puts all human language to flight.

If this be the sphere of mere natural love, of that love which is
instinctive in all who claim to be human ; how wide and diiTusivo is
the sphere of spiritual love, of that love which extends into eternity,
and yearns for the best interests of the immortal part of man ! This
is the love felt, by the regenerated man, for his friends and kindred ;
nay, even for his enemies and persecutors ! His love cannot bo li-
mited to earth, for the spliere of his afTections extends into Heaven,
and partakes of the sympathies and affections of that bright world,
All earthly things and earthly uses he regards as the means of higher
influences ; and he fills them all with heavenly life and feelings.
His sphere extends through this world, and into the next too ; and ho
looks upon the human family as one vast brotherhood, to be bene-
fitted and blessed both here and hereafter ! The wider this feeling
of spiritual love, the more diffusive is his own happiness, till he feels
the answering response from Heaven, and hears, as it were, the breath-
ing of heavenly accents, — Freely ye have received, freely give : it is
more blessed to give than to receive. There is joy in Heaven over
every sinner that repenteth.

It is reserved for the next world, to see the full exercise of this
blessed principle, to know what it is to hear the response of angelic
voices, and to see and fed the kindling love of angelic faces ! Think
of a society where the happiness of each is the happiness of all, and
where all conspire to the happiness of each ; where each of these so-
cieties is only the member of a larger circle ; and this larger circle
is only one among others that fill the boundless realms of Heaven !
The happiness there, you see, is in proportion to the love ; to (ho
diffusiveness of the Heavenly principle ; to the wide-spread benevo-
lence that reigns in that blessed world.

Such is spiritual love as it exists dimly upon earth, and as it is
fully realized in Heaven ; till it kindles up in the fire of tho
seraph, and glows and buins in tjic face of the Archangel ! lie cuij*

'«-

not be satisfied, except with the widest and most diffusive lave; his
sphere extends from circle to circle of the Heavenly societies ; he im-
bibes more vividly than others the spirit of Heavenly love, and sees
therefore deeper into the plans of Heavenly wisdom. ,

But this love, after all, isfnite; and though continually increasing
for ever, it will for ever remain finite ! Between it and the infinite, '
the distance will ever be infinite. What then must be the Infinite
love — the love of God ? It is exhaustless, unwearied, and eternal
love ; utterly incomprehensible to the finite mind ; it is the name of
God Himself— -;/br God is Love !

To conceive of this lofoe, even remotely, we must consider it un-
der the emblem by which it is represented to us in the Holy Scrip-
tures, — that of the visible and material Sun. This earth, as we
learn from science, was bom of the Sun, was created in the order of
Providence, by means of emanations from that source ; and all the
dwellers on the earth are kept alive by the light and heat which now
proceed from that fountain of life ! The rays of the sun are ever
streaming forth to benefit and bless all who dwell upon earth; and
it warms and blesses each, as if each were the only dweller upon the
earth's surface ! It is untiring too in its genial exercise, and new
every morning ! Nothing can restrain its influence, for it is created
to shine upon all, even wpow the evil and the unthaiikful.

Here is an emblem of the hve of God — for God is Love. God is
the Sun of the Moral World. He shines upon all with the blessed
light and warmth of His Divine Providence. In all ages has He
saved the souls of men ; and yet His mercy is as free, and His bounty
as exhaustless, as if no one had yet been blessed by His cheering
Love. Innumerable multitudes have been ransomed from sin and
sorrow, and the means are at hand for multitudes more ! Heaven
has already received its myriads from earth ; the saints of all ages
have gone to their home ; and yet the love of God seems wider and
wider than ever! There is no limit to His mercy ; and no bounds
to His Love.

But, it may be asked — ^and is, indeed, often asked, — if the love of
God is thus infinite, why are any of His creatures unhappy ? whence
come the misery and disquietude on earth ? nay, whence are the tor-
ments of Hell ?

Now, it is usual to meet this objection by a reference to what is
termed the justice of God. But still the question arises, how is it
possible that even the justice of God should consign men to eccrlasi-
ing torments ? > . ,. (;,

'k'-t

!.l )

We meet this question on very difTerent grounds. We do not talk
merely of the justice of God in: the punishment c^ ike sinner ; but of
the love of God too^ The ju^ice of God is pure love^ and nothing
else, for there is nothing arbitrary or vindictive in the character of
Crod. God is IrOO«, infinite and unwearied love ; and all the misery
<of the wicked arises from having rejected and despised this Lne !
This Une is felt by thera to be the consumuig wradi of €hid ; for it
•comes to them only in the shape of coercion and lesttaint upon their
■selfish and maligaant passions ; and tfada raistaiice to God*s will kin-
idles up in them Ihe flames «f Hell !

No one can Ihink of God except from s«ch princq^es as exist in
Msoum mmd. To such ais liove God, and seek to obey His will, God
is love ; but to the evil He is thonght to be an enemy and an avenger.
The good, indeed, tremble, but tremble with holy fear, wi^ such
fear aa love contains ; bat &e evil are terrified and affrighted, and
«all upon the mountains to fiall upon them. It is net possiUe for an
•evil man to see God, except as a consuming fire. It is the pare ins.
heart only that jae God as He is.

God is one and ever the same ; but he is difTerently manifested wo
cording to the medium through which he is seen, just as the rays of
light, when they fall upoa some objects, produce deformed and ugly
coUmrs, and upon other objects produce bright and beautiful colours.
The Ught is the same, and from the same source ; but the «^^ts
upon which the light falls are totally different So, ia the life of
plants, some are healthful, and some are poisonous ; some jsustain the
life of man^ and some destroy it. And yet they are all equally fed
and nourished by the light and heat of the same sun I So also in
the lower animals : the same sun which warms the gentle demi warmar
^'so i!la& hissing 9erpent ; and the himb rejoices in the same< vital
heat that nourishes the beasts of prey !

These objects in the natural world are »ot there on their own ac-
count; but they ere there to teach man the difference between re-
ceiving the Love of God without perversion, as it uras origineUy given,
and the perversion of that love. These pervecsions in natural objects
are, in one sense, involuntary, and in the lower animals they imply
no guilt for that reason ; but, in man they are voluntary, «nd are
therefore the measure of his real depravity. Originally these per-
versions were not there at alL There was no evil will or evil pur-
pose in man, and there was then nothing in nature but what was very
good. There was nothing ugly or deformed there ; there were no
thorns nor thistles, no poisons, no kissing serpent, no beasts of prey :

these aie the effects of sm; they were originated by man himself;
diey are the perreisions in the natural world, to cerrrespond to the
perversions in the moral world ; they are only the sigm and iymhds
of the depravity and degradation of man !

But, if God is a God of Love, how came man to he depraved and
degraded ; why was he ever aUoaoed to fall into his present condition ?
Man was created /ree to choose or reject; and without this freedom,,
he could not have been human, kte any persons present willing ta
surrender this freedom, axul to become mere machines, to be pulled
about with a string ? No ! no rational being is willing to surrender
the exercise of his &culties, and to become a mere automaton. There
is nothing for which human, beings contend with greater energy than
for^ee(2o»^<-'the freedom to will and do — the freedom to choose and
reject. Freedom was the first, and the great gift of G«d to man ;
and that gift has never been recalled ! This is that gift, without
which nothing else cotM posnbly be given to man ; and it toai given,
because God is Lne, and delights in the free and toUUng homage of
His creatures ! <

The Lam of God is a very difierent attribute fmn what we vtatuF-
raUy si^pose it to be. It is not, like the love of man, liable to any
error in its manifestation { but it is legulated and controlled by a
uiisdom that is infinite. God is unchangeable. He cannot deny
Himself; and his Love goes forth to benefit and bless His creatures in
accoidance with the laws of His own Being, and not athenoise !
God is surrounded by certain laws ; and He cannot go out of them,
for they are Himself! and these laws rule in liie wide universe,
whether obeyed or disobeyed : they rttie^ of theanselves, without any
special exercise of the Divine power ; they carry their own sentence
into execution, by an iaherent and self-acting force ; it is Heaven to
obey them, and Hell to disobey them. In this sense, God is every-
where ; and if you go iq) to Heaven, God is there ; and if you go
down to Hell, God is there alao. r> ' ,- ^. > • . >

And this ia Ime » The m«cy of God is shewn, not in passotg hy
thie d^oaands of His own Laws, but in faotioging the sinner into
SKi^ection to these Lawsw Mercy is not a change in God, but a
change in man ; and the Lpm of Gtid to the sismer is shown, not in
the jnet» pardon. <^ sin, bat in deHserttMie firom it ! An act of m-
w^ieae mercy, as mtn deem mercy, is utterly impossible on tbe part
of God ; for if the mercy of God could save man, without reference to
the condition of man himself, all men would necessarily be saved ;
for God is infinitely merciful, and wlkth not the death of a sinner.

His wUl is to save all

but all men are not willins' to be saved!

1 1
III

men

to submit to those laws, by which God is sur-
and God cannot go out of those laws, without denying

They are not
rounded ;
Himself !

You see this exemplified in the laws of the natural world, for these
Laws are the laws of God, as much as the laws of the moral world
are. He who wrote the Book of Nature, wrote also the Book of
Revelation. They are both indeed equally the Revelations of God ;
and Love, and Love only, is inscribed on all their pages!

For instance : it is a Law, of the moral world, that light is light,
and that it is not darkness ; and it is equally a law that good is good,
and that it is not evil. Now these are the laws of God ; and for God
to change these Laws would be to deny Himself! If God were to put
darkness for light, and light for darkness ; evil for good, and good for
evil, there would be an end to His Love ; and this toatdd be the case,
if he were to save a sinner by an act of immediate mercy, without
reference to the change in the habits and the dispositions of the sin*
ner ! If such a sinner were to be taken to Heaven, he would inar
the very happiness of that bright world ; and his own torments would
be a thousandfold greater there, than they could be in the deepest
and darkest Hell ! It would be an arbitrary ant on the part of God ;
it would be the denial of Himself, and the violation of all His Laws.

God never departs from these Laws, even in the natural world.
It is a law, there^ for instance, that fire should bum, and that ice
should chill or freeze the body ; and there is no exemption from this
law ; but the Love of God is ^own in giving the body sensibility to
heat and cold, by which the danger of being burned or frozen may
be avoided ! These instincts are perfect, in adaptation to these laws ;
and without this deep sensibility to pain, the body would be con-
tinually liable to perish, either from heat or cold.

By these laws, which are the laws of Love, and therefore the laws
of God, man is the arbiter of his own destiny. He may do good, or
he may do evil ! He may go to Heaven, or he may go to Hell !
But, in either case, it is the life of his choice. In the one case, he
receives the Love of God into his will, and yields a ready assent to
His Laws ; in the other case, he resists the Laws of Divine order ;
he puts evil for good, and good for evil ; darkness for light, and light
for darkness. If a man die in this latter state, nothing ca^ save him ;
he has blotted the word "mercy" out of the Universe; and he can
never hear ^^i word any more !

be saved !
od is sur-
dcnying

d, for these
)ral world
! Book of
s of God ;

t is light,
>d is good,
id for God
rere io put
i good for
3 the case,
, without
)f the sin-
ould inar
nts would
e deepest
t of God;
rlis Laws.
'ol world.
I that ice
from this
sibility to
)zen may
ese laws ;
d be con-

the laws
good, or
to Hell!
! case, he
assent to
le order;
and light
ave him ;
d he can

But he has not blotted the Love of God out of the Universe : the
Love of God remains unchangeable, though it comes to the sinner only
in the form of wrath and anguish ! He may charge God with his
punishment, and even think that God, if he chose, might deliver him
from it ; but, this is merely the blindness and infatuation of sin that
shuts his eyes from seeing the Love of God that is putting a restraint
upon his sinful passions ! If you go down to Hell, God is there; His
Love is there in governing and quelling the rage of Devils against
each other, and in leading them from the more grievous, to the light-
er degrees of punishment. The wrath is not in God, but in them ;
they have perverted His Love, and thus changed it into its opposite,
till they can no longer see Him as He is, but only as a Being of wrath
and anger.

These views of the Divine Being, as a Being of Love, are clearly
seen in all His dispensations. Is He not kind to the evil and the
unthankful ? Does He not send His rain upon the just and the un-
just t Is not life a continued succession of blessings ; and does He
not crown man with mercies and loving kindnesses ? Every thing
is so arranged, in the orderly course of His Providence, as to give plea-
sure instead of pain; and pain itself, when this order is violated, is
the merciful arrangement to prevent a greater and more alarming
evil ! And is it even possible, that a Being who so loves His creatures
to-day, that He — an unchangeable Being — can hate them to-morrow ?
No ; it is not even possible ! " God willeth not the death of a sinner ;
and hateth nothing that He has made." Men choose their own lot,
for good or evil, and if they prefer evil here, they wiU continue to
prefer it hereafter. The condemnation thus becomes a present con-
demnation ; this is the condemnation that light is come into the world;
and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were eviL
It is a law of their being to do what they love to do ; and the love of
evil is the essential element of all misery, because it opposes the love
of God.

From these reflections on the Love of God, we see the awful de-
pravity and degradation of resisting that love ; of spurning the offers
of salvation ; and remaining the willing enemies of Him, who seeks
to save the lost. Only think of that Love— of the infinite, unwearied,
and eternal Love of God ; — a love, so vast, that no finite Being shall
ever be able to comprehend it ; shall ever know its height and length,
and depth and breadth, throughout everlasting ages !

To see this love in its highest influence, we must see it, as it is mani-
fested in person. We may dwell upon the love of God, as it exists in

( I'

the Infinite Fountain of the Deity, for ever inconceivable to aircreated
Beings ; and we may think of it, also, as it descended before the in-
carnation, in the form of an Angel, to come to the knowledge and
perception of Angels; but, to feel its power, and to be warmed by its
holy fire, we must see God manifested in the person of Jesus Christ.
This is a faithful saying, and uoortky of aU acceptation, that Jesus
Christ came into the world to save sinners. Are you a sinner?
Then you are the ol^ect of His Love ; to you the Gospel is address-
ed ; it is good news and glad tidings to the sinner : Come unto me all
ye thai are weary, and heavy laden, and 1 will give you. rest. And
him that cometh unto me, Ivnll, in tio vnse, cast out.

But, hou) are we to come ? Gome as they came of old : follow
Him, in the path He trode. Be His disciples indeed, and not in word
only. It is the heart service he requires ; and not the mere homage
of the lips. It is not the mere opinions, not the act of the mind alone,
that can enable you to come to Jesus ! An intelligent belief is indeed
essential ; it is quite necessary to know that Jesus is the Saviour ;
that He is the Lord ; and the only Saviour and Redeemer of lost man.
But, the thing actually required, is the belief in Him with the heart.
There must be a feeling sense of His Power, and of His Love ; a
consciousness that He is not only able, but willing to save ; nay, that
He is not only vnlling to save, but that He loves to save. He is
Jesus, the Saviour ; He is the Infinite love of God, in the human
person.

You can come to Him ; but, you can come to God in no other way.
There is no other manifestation of the absolute Deity ; of the incom-
prehensible Father ! No man cometh unto the Father, He says, hit
by me. No one hath seen Crod at any time ; the ordy begotten Son,
which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him. In this
way, men may approach God ; but, in no other way, can He be ap-
proached by men or Angels.

But, how can we come, even to the Saviour ? He is in Heaven,
and we are upon earth. They of old came to Him in person ; they
were conscious of His presence, and relied on His power; and they
left all and followed Him. So may you be conscious of His presence,
in a higher sense, than they ever were ! They had doubts ; you need
have none. He is no longer neglected and despised on earth ; nor
hanging on the cross ; nor laid in the Tomb, where their hopes, for
the time, were laid ; but. He is risen from the dead ; He has ascended
into Heaven ; and all power is given to Him as the Redeemer of sin-
ners. He is the medium of access with the Invisible God ; the visi-

ircreated
e the in-
idge and
ed by its
s Christ,
at Jesus
sinner ?
address-
to me all
t. And

follow
in word
homage
id alone,
s indeed
Javiour ;
ost man.
le Juart.
-<ove; a
lay, that
He is
human

ler way.

incom-
ys, but
n Son,

In this

be ap-

leaven,
; they
id thev
3sence,
u need
li; nor
es, for
:ended
of sin-
e visi-

ble form in which God resides ; the Divine Human Person, in whom
dwelleth aU the fulness of the Godhead bodily !

Herein is love ; the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge •
He puts on the nature of man, and is touched with the feeling of all
our infirmities ; rises with it to the regions of glory, and dwells there
as the Lord of all, in the glorified Person of Jesus Christ. And in
that Person, He is now present everywhere — omnipresent, nay, om-
niscient and omnipotent ! He is present by His spirit ; present in
His word ; giving life and efficiency to His pro nises ; and calling
all men to come to Him for salvation. All things are ready ; the
feast is prepared ; let none go away empty, hungering and thirsting
for immortal food.

The command is, — Go ye into aU the world and preach the Gospel
to every creatm-e. It is a Gospel of love ; there is Love in all its Holy
precepts ; the blessed lesson on all its leaves is love ; love to God and
man, the only constraining principle in Heaven above, and on earth
beneath, which binds His disciples together, in one vast brotherhood
of love and peace ! .1, < . i .k. t 1

What glad tidings and good news is this : God is Love ! There
is room in His boundless compassion to satisfy the cravings of the
immortal soul ; there is room for you in His Kingdom, infinite room,
scope enough for all your faculties throughout Eternity. There is
room for all that come ; and none that come shall be cast out ; no
humble effort shall be despised, and no sincere prayer shall be re-
jected. There is no impediment in the way ; there is no obstacle to
those who will come ! Compel them to come in is the language of
the commission ; preach the Gospel in its fullest and freest terms of
mercy ; impart its Heavenly consolations, and apply its blessed pre-
cepts, to all who are willing to receive them. To all such the gates
of Heaven are now wide open ; for all these there is room — there is
room, and yet — there is room.

>. tV -WJ.-'-, - '>iv= )

THE DIVINE FOBGIVENES&

' ' .■. i s I J. (■ I

Psdm cxxx. 4 — But, there is forgiveness with Thee, that Thou

MAYEST BE FEARED.

We have considered the Love of God, generally, in its abstract na*
ture, in the preceding discourse ; and we now proceed to consider it
more particularly in its manifestations. This Love is ever going
forth, in ceaseless activity, to benefit and bless ; and it must, there-
fore, have objects on which to bestow its care. In this world, its ob*
jects are sinners ; and with reference to them, God's Love is called
forgivBTUsSj and it thus becomes adapted to the case of those who
are still in a state of opposition to His Laws, there is forgiveness
with Thee that Thou mayest be feared.

We have seen that the character of God is that of Love ; that
Love is the very essence of His nature ; and that this Love is, ne*
cessarily, Infinite !

We have seen, also, tliat this Love is full of wisdom ; that it ia
not an unmeaning attribute ; but that it is regulated and controlled
by n knowledge that cannot err. Hence this Love is directed to«
wards the happiness of all God's creatures.

We have seen, also, that though God is all love, and that Love«
guided by infinite wisdom, yet that all His creatures are not made
happy ; there is evidently much misery in this world, and there is a
world beyond the grave, where misery reigns supreme.

We have seen, further, that this state of things is not only consist*
ent with the Divine Love, but that it is the necessary consequence of
that Love. If there were no Laws of God which made the wicked
miserable, and made the good happy, there could be neither justice
nor mercy in God. If sin did not entail its own punishment, the
Laws of God would not be able to vindicate themselves ; and then
He would cease to be a God of Love, for all His Laws are the Laws
of Love. These Laws denounce all sin, and declare an eternal se-
paration between God and the impenitent sinner.

Here, then, opens upon us in full view the nature of God's forgive-
ce£s, i. e., the mercy of God to be penitent ; there in forgiveness with

TAce, that Thou mayest be feared ; and this forgiveness is extended
to man over the whole length and breadth of his probationary exis-
tence. God's l&ee to man existed not only before man sinned, but
after he had sinned. It is not because man has sinned that the Love
of God has allowed him to sin on ; nay, his very sins rendered him
a more distinct object of this Love. The Love that created man
came forth in due time also to redeem him ; it came to seek and to
save him when lost ; and it was manifested to the sinner as it could
not have been manifested to him before he sinned. This Love is
shewn in \\a forgiving nature ; and if you would loiow what forgive-
ness is, you must feel it under an humbling sense of your utter un-
worthiness in the sight of God, and of a native hostility to his
Laws, A deep contrition for sin, under these circumstances, ensures
the forgiveness of sin ; and herein is its power to redeem the sinner.
There is a power in the forgiveness of sin which destroys sin : it is
the sense of God's deep Love touching the soul that begets love in
return. We Ume Him because He first loved us. : "

Here, too, the ground of forgiveness is seen ; forgiveness springs
from the Infinite Love of God, and can be realized only in the way
of true obedience to His will. This forgiveness is absolute ; it is
free ; it claims no ccmipensation for the past ; it asks only the future
and willing homage of the heart. This is the end and design of all
forgiveness ; and hence reperUance is the only ground of pardon ;
there is forgiveness with Thee, that Thou mayest be feared, — that is,
that Thou mayest be loved and obeyed.

This great truth is promi.iont in every part of the Old Testament.
In the xviii of Ezekiel, it is declared from the beginning to the end :
when the wicked man iurneth away from his wickedness which he hath
committed, and doeth tliat which is laivful and right, he shall save his
soul alive. In Joel : Rend your hearts a-nd not your garments, and
turn unto the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciftd, long
suffering and of great kindness, and repenteth Him of the evil. In
Daniel : To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness though
tve have rebelled against Him, neither have we obeyed the voice of the
Lord oy,r God to walk in tli« pat/is which He set before us. In the
Psalms : Hide thy face from my si7ts, aiid Idot out all mine iniquities.
And so on, throughout the old Testament.

The same great truth is taught in the New Testament, by the
Lord in Person. He says, forgive ns ye hope to be forgiven ; forgive
your Brother, on repentance, seven times a day, nay, seventy times
seven. The same is taught in the Parable of tlie tulenta, — the Lord

forgiving the ten thousand talents, because man had nothing to pay
with, and enforcing forgiveness by man of the hundred pence on this
very principle. The Prodigal Son is another instance of Divine for-
giveness. Be merciful is the great lesson. Be merciful^ as yofur
Father in Heaven is merciful^ for Jte is kind to the evil and the un-
thankful. If Thou shonddest be extreme to mark what is done amiss
O Lord, who may abide it ? But there is forgiveness toith Thee that
Thou mayest be feared.

The ground of this forgiveness, I repeat it, is the infinite mercy of
God ; and the design of it is to restore man to His favour. All is
forgiven and forgotten upon repentance. " It is His nature and pro-
perty always to have mercy and to forgive." God is a kind Parent,
and His Love consists in making his children happy ; and if they de-
part from Him, His Love requires not their punishment, but their re-
turn. They are miserable when they depart from Him, and He fol-
lows them down to their lost estate. His very justice j too, as well as
His mercy, is concerned in saving them — if they are willing to be
saved. Suppose your child rebels against your authority, and incurs
your displeasure ? Is there no compassion felt for his sufferings ?
Do you not seek to win him back to obedience ? And what do you
call this feehng on your part ? Is it mercy or compassion only, or is
it simple justice to the child, to recall him, if possible, from his
wanderings ? And is man more just, or merciful, than God ? It is,
therefore, justice, as well as mercy in God, to foi^ive sins upon re-
pentance. Here mercy and truth meet together, righteousness and
grace kiss each other.

We have so long obscured this great truth, that it is difficult now
to place it in simple day-light. God has been so long clothed with
vindictive passions, that we are accustomed to think of Him as arbi-
trary and severe ; nay, to consider Him less merciful than He teaches
us to be.

For instance : The Lord requires us to forgive others who have
offended us ; not to impute sins to them, if they are penitent ; not
any longer to charge them with the guilt of sins, which they no
longer commit ; to be merciful unto them and to love them, though
they have violated the Laws of Love ; to be willing and ready to
forgive and forget, when they are willing to change their conduct.
This is the teaching of the Gospel as regards forgiveness by man ;
and we all recognize this teaching as the Truth of the Gospel in his
case. But, wc place limitations on the mercy of the Almighty ; wc
!My that he caimot forgive sins on mere repentance ; we declare that

othing to pay
pence on this
»f Divine for-
' filly as your
and the un-
sdone amiss
ith Thee that

lite mercy of
vour. Ail is
ture and pro-
kind Parent,
d if they de-
but their re-
, and He fol-
50, as well as
grilling to be
r, and incurs
sufferings ?
what do you
n only, or is
le, from his
'^odi ? It is,
iins upon re-
eousness and

lifficult now

slothed with

{im as arbi-

He teaches

•s who have
nitent; not
;h they no
em, though
d ready to
sir conduct.
Bs by man ;
>8pel in his
lighty ; wc
leclarc that

His justice must be satisfied before He can shew mercy ; and that the
whole debt must be paid before the debt can be forgiven! There is
no mercy at all in this ; there is no forgiveness in the case ; the truth
of the text is wholly denied — there is (no) forgiveness with God that
He may be feared.

How came such a denial ever to prevail among men ? How came
they to deny the Divine forgiveness, when it is so clearly and une-
quivocally expressed in Holy Scripture ? They denied it, in virtue
of their character as yoZ^era beings. In this character, they considered
that God would demand satisfaction for their sins, as they demanded
satisfaction for the offences of others against them. And they were
allowed to consider this as the real character of God, being in the
lowest natural state themselves, and incapable of being governed by
any higher Law. Hence under the Jewish dispensation they were
taught to demand satisfaction from each other for all injuries and
wrongs done to them ; eye for eye, tooth for tooth, stripe for stripe,
blood for blood. Thau, shdtt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
They were thus taught, and could be taught in no other way, that
God would demand full satisfaction for their offences against Him.
They considered God such an one as themselves, and He dealt with
them accordingly. On this principle there was no forgiveness with
God, and no mercy could be shown to the offender till full satisfac'
tion had been made for the sins committed. Hence, they considered
sacrifices as vicarious, that is, that the victim offered actually stood
in the place of the offender, and they were allowed to have this view
of animal sacrifices, as they Avere also allowed, and were commanded,
to retaliate for injuries done to them ; while, in both cases, the end
and design of the Law was higher, as is clearly illustrated in the
Gospel : (Matt, v, 43, 44, and Mark xii, 33.) The real end and de-
sign of sacrifices was representative, and not vicarious, in the usual
sense of the word.

The natural man having embraced this doctrine, must, of course,
ground it on Holy Scripture ; and there is one passage chiefly
on which the system rests, or which, at least, involves the whole
doctrine, — God toill by no means clear the guilty. This, and
kindred passages of Scripture, are construed by the natural man
to mean that there is no forgiveness with God, without a substi-
tute for sins. Now, the passage proves anything else but the ne-
cessity of a substitute for sins. The passage reads thus : — And
the Lord passed by before him (before Moses) and proclaimed, the
Lord, the J/yrd God, merciful and gmciaiis, long suffering and abun-

■I

daiU in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgimng
iniquity, and transgression, and sin, and tJiat tvill hy no means dear
the gu^y.

Here the Divine forgiveness is declared, in the most unqualified
manner, to the penitent,— /or^cing' iniquity, transgression, and sin;
but no forgiveness to the impenitent, — the Lord wUl by no means
clear the guilty. If it is here meant that there is no pardon for the
guilty, on repentance, man must perish ; for he is guilty ; and if it
meant that the guilty is forgiven for the sake of a victim, or substi-
tute, this tfoes clear the guilty. ' -h , ,, i..

I read no where in the Gospel that the Lord demanded satisfaction
for past sins, in order to their forgiveness by Himself, "nie only
condition there stated is to forsake sins, and they are at once for-
given by an act of the Divine Sovereignty, — thy sins be forgiven
thee. Here is an absolute and unqualified pardon for the past.
That sins are forgiven upon repentance is the uniform doctrine tau^t
by the Lord Himself in Person ; and he gave this doctrine in com-
mand to His ministers for all future time, — that repentoTice and re-
mission of sins should be preached in His name, throughout cdl nations,
beginning at Jerusalem.

Still it is continually afRrmed that there is no forgiveness of sins
without a substitute for sins. But, how could a substitute ever be
found ? Why, upon the supposition that there are three Gods in-
stead of one ! One is thus made to atone to another, for the sins
committed equally against both ! But how could one Divine Being
suffer to appease another ? If there are three different Persons, or
Beings, and all equals how could one go out of Himself to become a
substitute to the others for the sins of man ? How could the Son do
an act which the Father could not do ? If one could not forgive sins
without a substitute, how could the others ?

In the very nature of the case, no substitute for sins can ever be
found. God cannot undo the sins of man by suffering the penalty
of sin. God cannot suffer ; and nothing finite is sufficient to atone
to the Infinite. No one would venture to say that the Divine nature
died on the cross for sin ; and if it were not the Divine nature, the
satisfaction spoken of could not be made. If it is said, that though
the Lord could not suffer, yet the Human nature of the Lord could,
it may be replied that the Human nature which suffered death was
finite ; and if the highest angel, as has been often affirmed, could
not suffer or atone for the sins of man, how could that nature which
was made loiver than the angels, for the suffering of death f My

!s, forgimng
9 means dear

— 't f, . , ^ , ,

t unqualified
ion, and sin;
by no means
trdon for the
iy ; and if it
n, or substi-

l satisfaction
: 'nie only
at once for-
ie forgiven
or the past,
•trine taugiit
■ine in com-
nce and re-
t all nations f

ness of sins
ute ever be
ee Gods in-
br the sins
Ivine Beingf
Persons, or
become a
the Son do
forgive sins

;an ever be
he penalty
nt to atone
vine nature
mture, the
lat though
jord could,
death was
nod, could
(ure which
ath? My

Brethren, justice and mercy are in accordance with, and are not in
opposition to, each other. They are kindred attributes in the God-
head ; and appear differently according to the different states of man.
Mercy or Love is the soul of forgiveness ; and justice is the form of
its manifestation to sinners. Hence man cannot be forgiven until he
is in a state to receive forgiveness. Now, an evil man is not in a
state to receive this forgiveness (though it is continually urged upon
him by the Divine Being), because an evil man is not able to com-
prehend either the mercy or the justice of God.

Apply it, and you will see the truth at once. A kind parent loves
his child, though the child is evil ; but, till the child cease from evil,
he cannot receive the kind parent's love. The parent feels nothing
but mercy and forgiveness, but the child cannot receive them as such.
He cannot feel this love till he is touched with sorrow for his disobe-
dience to his father's will. Then he feels that love and justice are
kindred qualities, and that the just restraints put upon him, by pa-
rental authority are the simple evidences of Love ; and that they
were designed not to punish him, but to induce him to return to his
obedience. Merely to forgive the child, while he remained impeni-
tent, would do him no good ; indeed, " forgiveness," in such a case,
is a moral impossibility ! Forgiveness s^lways exists in a kind parent's
heart ; but the child is not able to receive it while in a state of op-
position to his iather's will. The change required is not in the
parent, but in the child.

So, while men remain impenitent, they cannot receive the Divine
forgiveness. God always loves them, but they cannot feel His Love ;
nay, His very love is considered unmerciful, because it will not en-
courage them in sin. His Love requires not the punishment, but
the return of the sinner ; it requires the re-establishment of the Law
in his heart; and hence it becomes strict justice, on the part of God,
to forgive the sinner on repentance. This is the nature of the Divine
forgiveness : there is forgiveness with Thee that Thou mayest be feared.
But the sinner, in his natural state, considers God's foigiveness mere-
ly as giving up the demands of the Law instead of rectifying the
disorders which lead to the violation of it. He considers justice and
mercy naturally at war with each other, so long as he remains in this
natural state of mind. But, when he begins to feel the Love of God,
and is touched with a sense of the forgiving nature of that Love, he
feels that justice and mercy are one j that the Divine forgiveness is
not a f.hange in God, but in man ; that God always forgives, but that
man is not always in a state to receive this forgiveness.

'y ii

i. "

Man is a wanderer from his Father's house, and God in Ihc kind
parent waiting for man's return. And is God not at lil)erty to act
the part of a kind parent ? Can He not receive the returning peni-
tent till an innocent person suffers for tlie guilty ? Till some one
else is punished, is there no pardon for the Prodigal son 7 Is man
Tn&re merciful than God ? "Will it never do for God to forgive the
debt, till the debt itself has been paid ? Why the debt never can be
paid in the least degree ! A sin, once committed, it committed, and
cannot be undone for ever ; and no satisfaction for it, is oven possible.
God cannot suffer for it, and no one else can atone for it ; but God
can forgive sins, and He has continually declared His willingness to
do so, and the end and design of His forgiveness is to recall His
wandering children, — let them return unto the Lord, and He will have
mercy icpon them; and to our God, for He tvill abundantly pardon.

If man cannot be forgiven until a full satisfaction has been made
for violating the Law of God, then he never can be forgiven; for it
is a part of that Law that the innocent cannot suffer any more than
that the guilty can escape. In the meantime, the maker of the law
cannot endure the penalty ; for that would be to change the very law
itself. He who sins, he alone can endure the penalty— <A« soul that
sinneth it shall die; this death is a present death, and if ho sin on
through life, he will love to sin for ever, and thus render the death an
everlasting death, where the worm dieth not, and the fire is 7U)t
queruihed.

Let us now calmly reconsider this subject, in order to moot some
of the objections which men raise to these views of the Divine for*
giveness.*

It is objected, in the first place, to the power of God to forgive sins
absolutely, that He has declared eternal death against tho sinner ;
and that all must, therefore, die, unless satisfaction is made to Divino
Justice. We have seen that this satisfaction is, in the very nature
of the case, quite impossible ; and therefore, if the threat of eternal
death has been made by the Ahnighty, all must die ; and the enquiry
very naturally arises, — whether such a threat has ever been made.
The leading passage of scripture referred to, by way of enforcing this
doctrine is : in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt turely die. —
Gen. ii. 17. Now it is very certain that this sentence has passed
upon all men, for all have sinned ; but is the death, here s|)okcn of,

* Then " objectiona," and the answers thereto, are taken, generally, Troni on nrticlo
on the Atonement, in a late periodical.

-m

IN (he kind
berty to act
arning peni-
1 some one
n 7 Is man
forgive the
ever can be
mitted, and
en possible,
t; but God
llingness to

recall His
^e will have
tly pardon.
been made
iven; for it

more than
of the law
le very law
\e soul that

ho sin on
e death an
Ire ii not

meet some
)ivino for-

trgivo sins
10 sinner;
to Divine
>ry nature
of eternal
e enquiry
en made,
rcing thin
elij die. —
IS passed
ijwkcn of,

n an nrticio

necessarily eternal death ? On the contrary, are we not told that if
men return from their evil ways, they shall not die eternally ; that
the soul that sinaeth it shall die ; that he who lives on in sin shall
die, but if the wicked turn from all his sins he shall surely live ; he
shall not die, but shaJl save his soul alive. Why tnll ye die, O House
of Israel, for I have no pleasure, saith the Lord, in the death of him
that dielh. There is no threat of eternal death in these passages,
nor is there any warrant for such a threat to the penitent, in the
Holy Scriptures. See Ezekiel xxxiii. 14, 15, 16, where this very
expression — he sJudl surely die, occurs ; where it is emphatically de-
clared that if he repent, he shall not die, he shall surely live. So
nlso in the same Prophet, iii. 18, 19.

Besides, how could a threat ever proceed from God ? — what could
be the object of the Divine threatening, as declared to exist in Genesis
ii., before alluded to ? It would have been a threat to inno-
cent beings. Would you threaten an innocent child by way of
keeping him in obedience ? And are not virtuous beings conscious,
without a threat, that sin is offensive to the Holy One ? How could
a threat be urged as a motive to retain them in a state of innocence ?
Or, was it to produce fear ! Fear is addressed only to fallen beings,
and even then, fear is merely the beginning of wisdom ; perfect love
casteth out fear, because all fear hath torment. Love is the only
constraining motive of virtuous obedience; and if love were too
weak a motive for such obedience, a threat would never succeed. It
would produce only a feeling of alarm and disquietude.

It was therefore not a threat at all. It was simply a declaration,
as we gather from other places in the Holy Scripture, and especially
in those just referred to in Ezekiel. The declaration of the Al-
mighty was, — that the sold that simieth shall die ; it was the principle
of the Divine Government, and it declared the nature of all opposi-
tion to His will. Such a feeling of opposition would entail its own
misery, and bring the soul into a state of condemnation. The ex-
pression of death in the above passage is just equivalent to the ex-
pression of condemnation, or damnation. This is the damnation (for
the word is so translated in other parts of the Gospel), that light is
come into the toorld, and men loved darkness rather than light, be-
cause their deeds were evil. The threat, so called, is here executed ;
the sentence has already passed ; the death, or condemnation, has al-
ready taken place ; this is the condemnation ; and yet this death is
not eternal ! the siimer is still called Upon to return and live ; he that
fursaketk his sins sliallfind tueny ; there is forgiceness with Thee, that

■:l

Thmi mayest be feared ; the soul tfuU sinneth, ii shall die ; and the
soul that sinneth does die, and no one can die for it. There is no
possibility of escape ; the righteousness of the righteous shall be
upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him :
the soul that sinneth, it shall die. v • ..

Again, it is objected to the power of God to forgive sins out of His
own sovereignty, without satisfaction being made to His injured
justice, that others would continue to sin on with the hope of pardon
at last.

How does this objection operate ? If men are not to be forgiven
on repentance, because others will sin on, the Father could not re-
ceive the returning Prodigal. The Pather must demand satisfaction
for the past, before he could exercise forgiveness towards his son !
Upon this principle, the Christian could not forgive others, as he
prays God to forgive him ; nor could any encouragement be offered
to continue in a life of progressive holiness. If Thau, Lord, shouldest
be extreme to mark what is done amiss {shouldest mark iniquities), O
Lord, who shall stand ? But there is forgiveness ivith Thee that Thou
mayest be feared.

It has been even objected against the power of God to forgive sins ;
that the good of the Universe demands that the justice of God should
be vindicated by a full satisfaction for the sins of man, lest other
worlds, now innocent, should sin too !

What an objection for a finite creature to propose, — the good of the
universe demands it ! But how does this objection operate ; how
does the case stand with regard to other parts of the Universe ? It
stands thus :

If satisfaction has been made for one world, why not for the others ?
If God is just, they would say, he will extend the vicarious sacrifice
throughout the Universe. The satisfaction is infinite ; and there is
therefore enough in it to atone for all sins ! Why, the effect would
be to encourage Beings to sin, rather than to hinder them. They
would plead the example of one world already fallen, and claim the
same immunities. Nor could the justice of God, upon this principle
as here objected, refuse the claim ! Such are the contradictions into
which men have fallen, in order to vindicate what they call the jus-
tice of God ! Such are their «' objections " to His government.

The truth is, that men talk a great deal about the injured justice
of God, and the good of the Universe, and they care nothing about
the one or the other. They contend for what they call tlic justice of
God, while they are often destitute themselves of the most simple jus-

-■*■,

ie ; and the
riiere is no
lis shall be
upon him:

out of His
lis injured
! of pardon

be forgiven
lid not re-
satisfaction
Is his son !
ers, as he
be offered
i, shmddest
quities), O
'■ that Thou

''give sins ;
rod should
lest other

ood of the
rate; how
leree ? It

le others ?
s sacrifice
i there is
Bct would
1. They
claim the
principle
ions into
the jus-
ent.

d justice
ng about
usticc of
nple jus-

ticc towards their fellow creatures ! With the justice of God, they
have nothing to do in the way of protecting it ; for, it will always
protect itself. On the same principle, why not protect the laws of
nature from injury ? They are God's laws ; they are the laws of
Infinite justice ; and they are continually injured or violated in the
way of infraction ; but they always vindicate themselves, and require
no other satisfaction for the injury or violation. The injured justice
of God ! Why, it never can be injured, for, if it could be injured,
it would cease to be Infinite Justice ! Violate one of these laws,
and see if there is any other satisfaction required than suffering the
penalty ? Put your hand into the fire, and see whether you have in-
jured the infinite justice of God, or injured yourself. It is precisely
the same in the moral world ; and if you violate these laws, the
consequences are just as inevitable as when you violate the laws of
nature. The difference is in the extent of punishment. Nature is
confined to this world ; but the moral laws are eternal in their sanc-
tions, and if men live and die in a sinful state, they will feel the
consequences for ever ! Sin on through this life, and you carry the
results into eternity with you ; the evil purposes of the heart, whe-
ther open or secret here, will there lead to endless misery and dis-
quietude. Become regenerated in this world, and all that is high,
and holy, and heavenly, awaits you in the world to come !

If such, then, be the doctrine of the Divine forgiveness ; if it is
an act of mercy alone, and has no reference to any satisfaction for the
past, — why was it necessary for Christ to suffer ? And what was
the object of His coming into the world ? He came to redeem man,
to deliver him from a state of thraldom and servitude, as is continu-
ally and emphatically declared throughout the Holy Prophets. Man
was in bondage ; in prison, chains, and darkness ; subject to the
power of enemies he could not subdue : these powers had gained
the ascendancy, and Christ came to destroy them. He was manifested,
we are told by the apostle, that He might destroy the works of the
Devil. He assumed the Human nature to subdue the powers of evil
in that nature over which they had once triumphed ; to glorify it, by
admitting into that nature temptations and combats from the powers
of darkness ; and thus, by vanquishing those powers for ever, to be-
come the perpetual human medium of saving influences to mankind.
He came to remove no obstacles to the forgiveness of sin, because no
such obstacles ever existed ; and when He came he forgave sins, as
He always had forgiven them, and does naw ! There was nothing
rfaid about satisfaction for the past, in order to be forgiven. On the

i^^

contrary, they were told to forgive sins to others as God forgfave their
<mn sins ; that is, without taking vengeance or demanding satisfac-
tion. And hence ,they could realize the nature of the Divine for-
giveness.

The Divine forgiveness is not merely passing by the demands of
the law ; but it involves deliverance from the actual dominion of sin
in the heart. It is represented, in the Gospel, by a deliverance from
bodily evils; and it was therefore usual when miracles were per-
formed with that view, to say, — thy sins be forgiven thee. The bodily
•cure and the forgiveness of sins were terms of the same import :
Whether is easier to say, thy sins be forgiven thee, or to say, arise,
take up thy bed and loalk ? The natural, in these cases, represents
the spiritual ; and in this sense the Lord is ever present to take aioay
the sins of the vxrrld. He is msrcifi'l to all men, and seeks to with-
draw them from everything that is evil and false (so far as in free-
dom they can be drawn), and to impart to them all that is good and
true. In this sense, He continually casts out the Devils with His
loord, and heals all that are spiritually sick. He forgives sins, not
in paying the penalty of these sins to another Being ; but in deliver-
ing men from the bondage of sin, by destroying the power of the
Devil who is the author of sin. Hence, we may ask, emphatically,
who can for give sins but God only f And here arises the great ques-
tion — who is God ? We read of God as creating all things ; as ex-
hibiting signs and wonders ; as working miracles ; as delivering His
Law amid thunderii^ and lightnings; as«peaking by His Prophets;
as proclaiming His own advent; and as declaring that He Himself
would appear in the flesh ! We read again, that He appeared, and
that He declared Himself to be the Self-Existent, the I AM. In a
word, we read that the Deity spake in human accents, and was seen
and heard in this natural world, in which we live, and which He had
originally created ! • '

God is therefore known, and is a distinct object of worship to
christian minds ; and all the obscurity on the doctrine of the Divine
forgiveness, and on every other doctrine in the Bible, arises from de-
nying the actual fact of the coming of the Jehovah into this world !
It was declared that He should come, but it is practically denied that
He has come. It is denied, I mean, that He who forgave sins on
earth, is the very Jehovah against whom sins have been committed !
And, yet, how is it possible that any other Being can forgive sins ?
Who can forgive sins but God only? Well might the Jews ask
such a question; and well may toe enquire the meaning of it.

Who can forgive sins but God only ? There is forgiveness wiik
Thee, that Thou mayest be feared. On this ground ulone can we ac-
knowledge the Deity of Jesus Christ ; or pay unto Him the honour
duo unto His name. He declares emphatically that He is the Lord,
the only manifestation of the Jehovah ; that the Father dwells in
Him ; that the Father speaketh the words; that the Father doeth the
works; and that He and the Father are one. By the Father, there-
fore, is understood the Divinity in the Lord, inasmuch as the Father
was in Him and He in the Father.

The awful error is in dividing the essence of the Almighty, and
thus in making three Divine Beings to exist, instead of one. The
tri-personal theory is at the bottom of all the false systems in the
christian world. Out of this theory have arisen all the perversions
of the truth, both from the old and the new Testament. It is the
theory of the natural man, and was invented to save him from the
necessity of sacrificing his sins. With this view, he declares it im-
possible for God to forgive sins without satisfaction to His Justice ;
the Lord Jesus Christ is then made a mere victim to appease God's
wrath ; and yet, when the Lord comes in person, He teaches us that
there is no wrath in God, and that no victim is therefore necessary,
or even possible ! On the contrary. He promises forgiveness
on repentance alone, and on no other conditions whatever; de-
clares that God always forgives, but that the selfish and the malig-
nant, the impious and the unholy, cannot receive his forgiveness ;
that He forgives the penitent sinner because the sinner has nothing
with which to pay^ and because any satisfaction for sin is, in the na-
ture of the case, morally impossible ! A debt that is paid needs no
forgiveness ; and the debt is forgiven freely because it never can be
paid : If Thou, Lord, shonddest be extreme to mark iniquities, O
Lord, who shall stand? But, there is forgiveness with Thee that Thou
mayest be feared.

The question before us, therefore, resolves itself into the Personality
of God. There can be but one God ; and if the Lord Jesus Christ
is not God, there is no God ! It is not a question of Three Persons,
but it is a question of the very existence of Deity ! It is not a specu-
lative question at all; but practical, and practical to the very utmost,
it involves the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Deity,
because He is the forgiver of sins. He forgives them, in His own
name ; and refers you to no one else ! He is the Lord ; and His
name is Jesus the Saviour. He is the Lord Jesus, and not the Lord
and Jesus ; " He is not two, but one, Christ." Hence, it is written.

Sij;

(Isaiah xliii. 11,) 1, even /, am the Lord ; and beside me there is no
Saviattr.

This great truth can be realized only by following Him in the
Regeneration, or as it is expressed in the parallel passage, continuing
with Him in His temptations ; becoming His by a new creation — being
renewed in the spirit of the mind, and thus delivered from the bon-
dage of Satan. Thy sins be forgiven thee, arise and walk, is the lan-
guage of the Lord to all such as believe in Him, and obey Him.
This belief can exist no farther than the obedience is rendered ; for
no one can say thai Jesus is the Lord, but by imbibing His spirit, and
seeking to do His will. To suck the Lord manifests Himself as he
does not to the world. If any one toill do His ivill, he shall know of
the doctrine whether it be of God. To others the doctrine would do
no good, because it would not be practical. The perception of the
Lord, as one in Person, and as Divine in His Humanity, is clear in
proportion to a man's progress in regeneration. As man advances
in this great work, in this new Genesis, — as he follows the Lord in
obedience to His precepts. He sees the Divinity clearly existing in the
person of the blessed Saviour, (Isaiah xxv. 9). This great truth is
hidden in mercy from the unholy and the impenitent, lest they should
profane it. He hath hardened their hearts, ^c, John xii. 37, 40.
Only the pure in heart see God. Pilate and Herod, in their dark de-
pravity, saw Him only as man. The Pharisees admitted, as Chris-
tians generally do now-a-days, that God ^vas with Him in some \vay.
The Disciples on the Mount saw His glory (the glory of the Father)
shining as the Sun in His strength. John in the Isle of Patmos,
under the intense splendour of this glory, fell at His feet as dead.
And in Heaven, where they see Him as He is, as the all in all. He
is the Lord supreme, the sole object of worship, and His glory fills
immensity and eternity.

The idea of God, therefore, depends upon the state of the worship-
per. If the Lord Jesus Christ is considered inferior to God, as only
secondary in the scheme of salvation. He will be regarded (no matter
what is said to the contrary) merely as a victim to atone to another
Being, and consequently God Himself becomes the "unknown God,"
and the worship paid to Him will necessarily partake of the false
views of the worshipper. Sut li a person will consider God as arbi-
trary and severe ; as unforgiving in His nature, and demanding a
victim ; while the Saviour will be considered merely as a substitute
to np|)caso His wmth. Such a man's religion will bo itself full of
^\•ratll, from constantly contemplating God in that character: and

ie there is no

Him in the
5, continuing
ation — being
irom the bon-
k, is the lan-
i obey Him.
3ndered; for
is spirit, and
Imself as he
hall know of
le would do
ption of the
S is clear in
an advances
the Lord in
isting in the
reat truth is
they should
xii. 37, 40.
eir dark de-
i, as Chris-
i some way.
he Father)
of Patmos,
et as dead,
in all, Ho
glory fills

c worship-
'd, as only

no matter
o another
)wn God,"

the false
d as arbi-
landing a
substitute
!lf full of

tor; and

this has accordingly been the Religion of a great patt of the Chris-
tian world for eighteen centuries ! In Europe alone, during that
period, there has been more wrong and injustice, more cruelty and
oppression, more rapine and bloodshed, than in all the oiher parts of
the world together. Nor has it been confined to their own countries ;
they have evinced the same spirit in their wanderings all over the
earth. If you wish to trace the progress of the Christian race on the
map of the world, you will trace their footsteps, generally ,-^« blood !

On this principle, therefore, it is easy to see why the Christian
Religion has so long remained what it id. Christians have denied
the Author of their Religion ; they have denied His Deity ; they
have denied that Christ is God ; they have denied the Incarnation of
the Jehovah, and that the Lord God Almighty has founded His
Kingdom in this world ! What wonder is it that such persons should
deny the force of His precepts, after they have denied the sole Di-
vinity of Him who declared them ? Is it any wonder that Chris-
tians, so called, should be sordid and grovelling, sensual and malig-
nant, earthly and selfish, merciless and uncharitable, while they deny
the Lord that bought them, and are living in high'treason against
His Government ? They have denied the authority of His Laws ;
and have even falsified and profaned His " Word," as the Jews pro-
faned His Person. By their " traditions," they have reduced the Lord
Himself to the level of a mere man,'**' and made His Religion subser-
vient to human pride and human ambition. . "

But the dawn of a brighter day is at hand ; nay, it is day ; thd
morning light is already upon the mountains, and the Sun of Righ-
teousness is rising unth healing in His toings. At the brightness of
His presence the clouds remove. He is coming to scatter the darkness
of the natural man more and more, till the light of the moon shall be
as the light of the Sun, and the light of the Sun shall be seven-fold.
Light from Heaven is flowing into the minds of men by a silent in-
flux, as they are opening their minds to receive it. More is taught
to them now than formerly, in spiritual as well as in natural things ;
and an evidence of this is, that the Bible is now appealed to, more
generally than before, as the bole authority in matters of religious
belief. Under this authority, false systems are disappearing like
mists before the sun ; and false Teachers are acting under the limita-
tions which the necessity of the day imposes upon them. They are
no longer able to c'efend the theory, that one Deity atones to another ;
or the scheme, which justifies the sinner in an instant; or the
doctrine that the merit or righteousness of the Deity is imputed

■— ' ■ ' ■ II >■■■■■ — ^iiaa— MM— ■ ■» ■■■■. -^.i . ........ .1^ M iM^ifc»^iMWi»^iiW^** ■ ■ p *

* Sec Note at the end.
Xi

to the sinner, that is, that the attributes of God are imputed to the
sinner ; for the righteousness of Christ (or the work of Redemption)
being Infinite, necessarily involves the Infinite attributes. These
doctrines require three separate Divine Beings to sustain them ; and
as there is but on* Divine Being, these Doctrines are falsifications of
the Word of God, and are destined soon to pass for ever away.
(Zech. xiv. 9.) These doctrines go upon the supposition that the God
of Heaven and Earth is other than the Lord Jesus Christ ; and
where He is not acknowledged as the King of the Universe, there is
no Christian Religion. If He were so acknowledged. Religion would
become a personal concern ; and hence the final judgment, whenever
spoken of in the Bible, is a question of pers<mal righteousness alone,
and not depending at all upon the transfer of moral actions, or the
" imputation" of merit, from any other source.

The practical part of the subject is therefore irresistible, i. e. —
that in order to be accounted just, or righteous, in the scriptiiral
sense, man must be just or righteous. This is the rule of righteous
judgment. No one can be admitted into Heaven, but by the Lord ;
and His invitation is to the *' righteous," — Th^n shall the Lord say to
the righteous ; again. Then shall he judge betiveen the righteous and
the loicked ; and again : Little children, let no man deceive you,
he that doeth righteousness is righteous. There is no escape
from the rigorous scrutiny of God ; no creeds, theories, systems,
or schemes of man, no doctrine of " imputation," will avail
the sinner in that day ! God imputes nothing to man, but that which
appertains to the man himself. Man's works are imputed to him,
and if these works are " wrought in God," then they are works of
righteousness ; and by these works the man will be judged. There
is no merit in these works, (it is not in this sense that they are the
works of righteousness,) because absolute merit, or righteousness, be-
longs not to any man or to any angel, but is, in its very nature. Infi-
nite, and belongs to the Lord alone ! Hence, He is called the Lord
our Righteousness, or Justice, because He is the author of all righ-
teousness in angels or men ; and hence all works of righteousness
lead to peace and reconciliation with God. The work of righteous-
ness is peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness, and assurance
for ever. Again, — Lord, Thou unit ordain peace for us, for Thou
hast urrought all our toorks in us.* Salvation, therefore, is not the
result of a mere creed, or an " imputative" faith ; but it is the un-
folding or renewing of the whole spiritual nature of man; and, in

* " That all our doings may be ordcr«d by Thy guvernauce, to do always that is
rigktout in Thy sight."

puted to the
Redemption)
Jtes. These
n them ; and
Isifications of
ever away,
that the God
Christ ; and
erse, there is
iligion would
nt, whenever
isness alone,
tions, or the

stible, i.e. —

he scriptural

of righteous

)y the Lord ;

' Lord say to

ighteous and

deceive you,

3 no escape

systems,

will avail

that which

xted to him,

re works of

There

ley are the

ousness, be-

nature, Infi-

d the Lord

of all righ-

:hteousness

righteous-

i assurance

, for Thmt

y is not the

is the un-

n; and, in

Iwaya ilmt it

this point of view, works save or condemn him, because they indi-
cate his quality, or the principle of his will. Christians, so called,
*talk of a Three-fold Divinity, and of salvation by faith alone, whereas
Salvation is of the life of faith, because it is the life that saves, and
nothing else can. They make faith the essential, because they can
thus live an earthly and selfish life, and still have hope of salvation.
If love or charity were made the essential thing, — love to Christ, and
love to others for His sake, — it could not be so ! Christians would
then be the disciples of Christ ; their life would be a Heavenly life ;
and they would feel the necessity of being Heavenly in temper,
habits, and disposition, in order to live in Heaven.

This Heavenly life, this aptitude for a better world, this capacity
to enjoy the purity and intelligence of Angels, is the salvation spoken
of in the Holy Scriptures ; " it is the life of God in the soul of man."
This influent life from Heaven, qualifies a man to live in Heaven ;
and nothing else can. And this life is the result of a deep sense of
God's love to the sinner ; of His forgiving love, by which the soul
learns to love Him in return, — that is, to serve Him with reverence
and Godly fear : there is forgiveness icith Thee that Thou mayest be
feared. This forgiveness is absolute on the part of God, and clogged
with no other condition than our willingness to receive it. It is not
the forgiveness of one Deity, procured at the expense of another
Deity ; but the direct and personal gift of Deity Himself to thn hum-
ble and contrite soul. How it enhances the value of this gift to feel
that it comes from a God of love ; a God who is known to us ; a God
manifested in Person ; a God incarnate— our blessed Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ! Oh ! why may we not learn to believe in Him,
to see in Him the glorious God-Head ; and to feei that the love of
Christ is the love of God Himself? God was in Christ, reconciling
{ato7iing) the world unto Himself not imputing unto men their tres-
jMsses. We have thus received the atonement, and are at one with
God, not because one Deity has paid the debt for us to another ; but,
because the Deity Himself freely forgives us the debt; and no longer
imputes sins, when they are no longer committed. Here you see the
locc of God to man, the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge ; you
see it in the sufferings He endured for us, sufferings which were but
the faint and inade([uate manifestation of His Infinite Love ! His Hu-
man sufferings appeal to our senses ; but His Divine Love, which
prompted their necessity, touches the very soul, and fills it with un-
utterable amazement. You see this love exhibited in the Gospel, as
in a picture, and beaming, in glory, from the cradle to the cross.
Oh ! think of this Love to helpless and hopeless sinners, and be won
over to love Him in return. Think of this great fact, the coming of

ottr Lord into this world to redeem us from sin ; to subjugate and
remove evils which we could no longer subdue ; to deliver us, by as-
suming human nature for that purpose, from the bondage of evil*
spirits, and by His presence in this glorified nature, to redeem us
from their spiritual bondage while time itself shall last. Think of the
fitness of the plan, the mercy and condescension of the plan, and of
the intimate access which, by the Incarnation, is thus opened up to
the Divine Being, for His sinful and fallen creatures ! Hear Him
calling upon us, in the accents of love, and in the tones of forgive-
ness, to come unto Him for life and salvation. Hear Him affection-
ately complaining,— yc will not come urUo me that ye might have life;
and declaring, emphatically — him that cometh unto me, I mil in no
wise cast out. He offers pardon for the past, hope for the present,
and blessedness and peace throughout the countless ages of eternity.
There is forgiveness with Him, that He may he feared.

NOTE REFERRED TO AT PAGE 25.

Those who declare that the Lord Jesns Christ had a Human Soul, would do well to
coniider the meaning of the word, and the oonsequencei of such a declaration. If they
mean bv the word Soul exactly what is meant by the Soul of a mere Human Being, anu
(hat thts Soul was joined to His Divine nature, it would imply the existence of two
Souis IB one Person, a thing manifestly impossible. Besides, the Human Soul is from the
Father, m the order of creation; and the covering or Body is from the Mother : hence
every Human Soul is bom and conceived in Sin, from mere Human generation ; and the
idea, therefore, if applied to the Saviour, is both irnpious and profane ! If His Human
nature were the nature of a mere man, He would diner not in essence, but only in degree
from other men, such as John the Baptist, who was a man tent from Ood, and who was
filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb ! The Human nature of our
Lord partook only of the hereditary evils of the Mother, and therefore, though tempted in
ail points like men, in order thus to concnier the enemies of man, He was without sin,
which could not have been the case, if He had |K)sscssed a mere Human Soul, wliichia
coneeii>ed and bom in Sin, His Soai was the Indwelling Father (Luke i, 85) ; an-i being
thus Divine, the hereditary evils, asEiumed from the Mother, were wholly expelled from
His Person, in virtue of the Divinity within Him, till the created substance assumed as
tkic son of Mary, became wholly a Divine substance, aod she was no kmger His Mother;
which is, therefore, so reprMetUed bv His charge to the disciple — (John xix. 26, 27.)
There are many sincere persons, no doubt, who speak of the Savigur as having a Human
Soul, merely to imply that He imssessed, in sortie wav, the Human nature, and as they
mean well, their reverential feelings of the Drity of Christ arc still retained: but I speak
now of persons who ougfd to know tlie meaning of worda, and the design of the Incarna-
tion ! The word Soul (Psyche) has reference to the external man; and the word Spiril
(or pneusaa) to the internal roan. Henoe the Soul and Spirit are two things. David
says, his Soul is disturbed, vexed, |)er8ccutcd ; that is, bis life, so called, is troubled ; but
when he speaks of departing from life, he says — into Thy hands I commend my Spirit,
And Stephen says, Lord Jesus receive my Spirit. And again, the l^nrit returns to God
who gave it; the SjHrit is the man, disengaged from his body, while the Soul is the ex-
ternal life as it were, not only consisting of the feelings of trie body, but of the rational
thoughts and (lerceptions of the external mind. When, therefore, our Lord says, that
His Soul is exceeding sorrowful, antl that His Suul is troMrd, He refers to His external
life and sufltTings; and hence it is said of Him, that He poured out His Soul unto death t
But, when He s|H!aks of His internal Being, which was Jehovah, He speaks of His
fipirit being tmu()lod, or His Di\nne hitve being in exercise towards sinners. Hence, His
Spirit, or the Divine Love, is caUcd the Father, and after the fmal passion of the Cross,
as the Father then pervaded the whole Human nature, — {Fathn, into Thy hands I com-
mend my fiptrtf)— die Human Body itself became wholly a Divine substance, saw no
corru|)tion, and after the resurrection, exercised all the attributes of the Almighty !
The nature of this Body transcends all comprehension ; but, though it can never be coin-

Bpehtuided, it may be adored m the fulntss of tht God-Head, as the Divine Human
ody, in which the Lord dwells, and tlirongh which alone he may be approached as
th« liKamatc (though Infinite and Eternal) God !

subjugate and
iver us, by as-
»ndage of evil,
to redeem us
Think of the
3 plan, and of
opened up to
■ Hear Him
es of forgive-
fim affection-
?ht have life;
I mil in no
the present,
' of eternity.

fould do well to
■ation. If they
nan Being, and
listence of two
Joul 18 from the
Mother: hence
»tion ; and the
[f His Human
only in degree
and who was
nature of our
Jgh tempted in
I without gin.
Soul, which if
S) ; anj being
expelled from
« assumed an
Hi» Mother;
xix. 26, 27.)
iog a Human
» and as they
' but I speak
*i>c Incarna-
J word Spirit
ng". DaTi.|
roubled; but
' my Spirit.
wns to God
Jl is the ex-
•he rational
d says, that
• IS external
•into death !
aks of His
FJence, His
tiw Cross,
iirf* I com-
:e, saw im
Almighty f
er be com-
no Hmnan
oachcd Its