66 " evidences of Christianity, although they may be presented with all the power with which reason, and learning, and eloquence, can enforce them, will produce no real effect. The remark is equally true in its application to the peculiar doctrines of the gospel, especially to the doctrine which is here considered. The proofs of it from Scripture may be seen in the clearest light; it may be set before the reader in the most convincing form; his reason, in short, may be satisfied, but his heart will, unless touched by the Spirit of God, remain opposed to it, and himself utterly unaffected by the very truth-which he cannot, except by mere assertion, deny-that " unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, THE MIGHTY GOD, THE EVERLASTING FATHER, THE PRINCE OF PEACE. "No man," in short, says an Apostle, can call Jesus Lord, but by the Holy Spirit." Flesh and blood cannot reveal this truth to any man. It must, as it was to Peter, be revealed by our Father who is in heaven. It is with this impression that I would implore any whose sentiments may yet be undetermined, or who may have been in any degree influenced by the late unholy attempts in this place, to enter upon the perusal of the following Work. Whilst they consider that it is not a mere opinion which is involved, but that the salvation of their immortal souls depends on the reception which they give to him who is "the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” and except by whom " no one cometh to the Father,"—whilst they should engage in the investigation of this truth, with such a feeling of its importance and their own responsibility, and exercise, as the Bereans did, their reason in the examination of the Scriptures, in order to ascertain whether it is in accordance with them, let them not, we repeat, rest satisfied with a temporary conviction, but accompany their inquiries with earnest prayer, "that He who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, would shine into their minds, and give them the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ." And as, in the commencement of these remarks, I adduced the words of an Apostle, and gave utterance to my own views in his language, so now would I say with him, on behalf of those who may open these pages," For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father - of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might, by his Spirit, in the inner man,—that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints, what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height, and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge,-that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God." ABERDEEN, May, 1834. A. L. G. LETTER I. REVEREND AND DEAR SIR, I HAVE recently perused a sermon delivered by you at the ordination of the Reverend J. Sparks, in Baltimore, with no small degree of interest. The subjects of which it treats must be regarded as highly important, by every intelligent man who is a serious inquirer after revealed truth. And if the views which you have disclosed will stand the test of examination, and shall appear to be those which the Word of God maintains, or which it will justify, it certainly will be the duty of every friend to Christianity to embrace and promote them. It is proper, no doubt, that every one who reads and reflects upon your sermon, should do it without prejudice or party views. Unless I am deceived as to the state of my own feelings, I have endeavoured impartially to weigh the arguments, and examine the reasonings which it presents, with a wish to know and believe the truth. I dare not flatter myself, indeed, that I have perfectly succeeded in doing this; for every man who is acquainted with his own heart, will find reason to believe that he often has been, and may be again, deceived by it. But, as I am not conscious of party feelings on the present occasion, will you permit me, without apology, to lay before you my thoughts in regard to three topics of your discourse that stand in close connexion with each other, and are among the principal points in regard to which I feel myself compelled to dissent from your opinions. The points to which I refer are-the principles of interpreting Scripture; the unity of God; and the divinity and humanity of the Saviour. I limit myself to these three, because it would require more time and labour than I can possibly spare at present, and more health than I enjoy, to express in writing my views of all the statements of doctrines which you have made. I might adduce another reason for confining myself within these limits. If the B principles of reasoning which you adopt, and the results which you deduce from them, in regard to some of the points on which I am about to remark, are untenable or incorrect, the consequence of this must extend itself essentially to some of the remaining and most important topics which you have discussed in your sermon. The general principles of interpreting Scripture you describe in the following manner :— "We regard the Scriptures as the records of God's successive revelations to mankind, and particularly of the last and most perfect revelation of his will by Jesus Christ. Whatever doctrines seem to us to be clearly taught in the Scriptures, we receive without reserve or excep tion. We do not, however, attach equal importance to all the books in this collection. Our religion, we believe, lies chiefly in the New Testament. The dispensation of Moses, compared with that of Jesus, we consider as imperfect, earthly, obscure, adapted to the childhood of the human race, a preparation for a nobler system, and chiefly useful now as serving to confirm and illustrate the Christian Scriptures. Jesus Christ is the only master of Christians; and whatever he taught, either during his personal ministry, or by his inspired Apostles, we regard as of divine authority, and profess to make the rule of our lives. "This authority which we give to the Scriptures, is a reason, we conceive, for studying them with peculiar care, and for inquiring anxiously into the principles of interpretation, by which their true meaning may be ascertained. The principles adopted by the class of Christians in whose name I speak, need to be explained, because they are often misunderstood. We are particularly accused of making an unwarrantable use of reason in the interpretation of Scripture. We are said to exalt reason above revelation, to prefer our own wisdom to God's. Loose and undefined charges of this kind are circulated so freely, and with such injurious intentions, that we think it due to ourselves, and to the cause of truth, to express our views with some particularity. "Our leading principle in interpreting Scripture is this, that the Bible is a book written for men, in the language of men, and that its meaning is to be sought in the same manner as that of other books. We believe that God, when he condescends to speak and write, submits, if we may so say, to the established rules of speaking and writing. How else would the Scriptures avail us, more than if communicated in an unknown tongue ? "Now, all books and all conversation require in the reader or hearer the constant exercise of reason; or their true import is only to be obtained by continual comparison and inference. Human language, you well know, admits various interpretations; and every word and every sentence must be modified and explained-according to the subject which is discussed according to the purposes, feelings, circumstances, and principles of the writer, and according to the genius and idioms of the language which he uses. These are acknowledged principles in the interpretation of human writings; and a man whose words we should explain without reference to these principles, would reproach us justly |