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grand. Love to our neighbor will teach us that man is the end of culture, commerce, government, and social life; -that the soul must be rated above dollars and institutions; that only strict justice and constant benevolence can permanently advance the interests of the race. All things now preach the need of a gospel of Love. Old theologies of hatred and contempt are not wide enough to cover the interests of the men of our day. Nothing less than the original pure truth, as it is in Jesus, can save us.

Among the minute curiosities in the Crystal Palace, I saw a gold dollar, with the Lord's Prayer engraven on it in letters so small that they could be read only by a microscope. To me it was a most significant sight. There, I thought, is a type of our duty and destiny as a people. When this Almighty American Dollar shall get the Lord's Prayer inscribed upon it in deed and truth,-when every dollar that goes into your and my pocket shall not blush to have this inscription on its face, and shall go out only in obedience to the eternal principles there inscribed,—when our vast enterprise, our industry, our science, our freedom, every thing that is represented in that dollar, shall be consecrated by Love, then shall we attain to a destiny worthy to contemplate. Who will not strive towards such a glorious issue? Who will pollute this new gold dollar by meanness, fraud, selfishness, sensuality, or impiety? Who will not live so that his whole life shall bear upon its front the prayer-" Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in Heaven."

A. D. M.

ART. XXII.

Revelation Progressive.

GOD has given to man a revelation of himself, but as one of the apostles asserts, has given it at "sundry times, and in diverse manners." And in connection with the generally admitted necessity, of a written revelation of

God, of his moral government, of the duty and destiny of man, it may be proper and useful to discuss briefly the progressive character of the record, which contains this revelation.

This may be deemed somewhat necessary at the present time, as it may serve to remove certain objections which have been raised against the authority of the Bible. The diversity of style, the different manners of expressing the same ideas adopted by the sacred writers have led some minds to doubt the inspiration and divine authority of those writers.

The record of the Gospels is sometimes doubted because the Evangelists write in different styles, and do not coincide in all the facts and particulars of their statements. Others have perhaps seriously doubted the truth of the Bible, because the Old Testament does not present exactly the same view of the divine character and government that is found in the New Testament. It is thought if the Bible contains a revelation from God, that it ought to present in all its parts the same characteristics of himself.

To a casual observer such objections may seem plausible and have the appearance of reality; but taking a broader view, they amount to nothing; especially when considered in connection with the fact, that revelation is progressive in its manifestation to man.

In the first place, it should be borne in mind that the Bible is not the product of any particular age. It belongs to no particular era; but its different books range over a space of time comprising thousands of years. And in connection with this fact, should be taken into account, the law of human progress.

And what we affirm is, that God has spoken to the race in his Word, in accordance with this natural law. History demonstrates that the race of man is progressive in its moral and intellectual tendencies. And no nation or class of people can be found on the globe that presents any total contradiction to this law. The Hebrews, as a nation, certainly form no exception. As a race, they were subject to the same laws of progress and developement, in their social and individual aims, as any other race, and exhibit similar traits and dispositions. At different periods of their career they exhibit different mental and moral capa

cities. At first, their minds were full of the darkness and idolatry of Egypt. Their ideas of God and religion were gross and unspiritual. But gradually they outgrew their Egyptian notions and ignorance, and were educated and prepared for a higher idea of God, and a more persuasive and milder form of moral government. As they improved, their ideas of God took a higher and more spiritual form. And here another fact should be noticed; which is, that revelation is meant for the good of man, to teach, instruct, and aid him in his spiritual aims and purposes; and hence must be adapted to his wants and understanding, for otherwise it would do him no good. A revelation so far above our reason and spiritual perceptions that we could not comprehend its import and teachings, would be worthless to us. It must be adapted to the mental and spiritual power we possess at the time it is given. And if the race naturally advances, and from age to age grows in mental and moral strength, it follows that revelation, given at "sundry times," must be adapted to those different states or degrees of improvement. God is the same at all times, but he is speaking at each time to a different state of the human mind.

1. If we turn back to the very earliest account of revelation, we find the Deity is represented as revealing himself in audible speech. Before man was created, he is represented as using the expressions: "And God said, Let there be light, and there was light." "And God said,

Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters." "And God said, Let us make man in our own image after our likeness." "And God saw every thing he had made, and behold it was very good." At the building of the city and Tower of Babel, God is represented as coming down to look at the work. "And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the children of men builded." "And he said, Let us go down and confound their language." This is the manner in which God is represented, by the sacred writers, in the very earliest ages of revelation,

And to understand these expressions in their proper sense, we must remember that the language and form of expression are furnished by the writer himself, many years after the events described took place. Instead of giving VOL. XI. 29

a scientific and philosophical description of the creation of the world, a minute analysis of the nature of light, and the creation of man; instead of describing, scientifi cally, all the processes and lengths of time which modern research has discovered, he adopts a style of narrative which is very simple, graphic, attractive, and perfectly adapted to the mind and capacity of those he addressed. He directs them to God as the beginning and great moving power, and points out to them the results. This was all the object he had in view. He wisely left it for future ages to discover the laws and processes of creation, which, in that age of the world, would not have been understood, even if pointed out.

The sublime, expressive language, "God said, Let there be light; ""God said, Let us make man in our own image;" conveyed more to the uneducated, but reverent mind of that age, than could have been learned from the most eloquent treatise on Geology or Astronomy.

"His

We notice, also, in the early part of Hebrew history, that God is represented as talking directly to man. Adam heard his voice calling to him, as "the Lord God walked in the garden in the cool of the day." It is said, he addressed Cain, Noah, Abraham, and Moses. But it cannot be supposed, or thought, that any created human being ever saw God, or talked with him, or heard his voice. Any such idea is contradicted in other parts of the Bible, which declare that "No man hath seen God at any time." "Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape." "For there shall no man see me and live." He is a being whom none can see or comprehend. ways are past finding out." How then are we to understand these seemingly contradictory expressions? Not literally, in both instances, of course. But the writer in the first instance, adapts his language to that age of the world, when the people he addressed understood more through the senses, by graphic pictures, and bold descriptions, than by any lofty intellectual or spiritual expression. God spake to Adam, Cain, Noah, Abraham and Moses; but he spoke through the conscience and inward spirit, the same as when, in later times, he revealed his will to the race, through the words of Paul, Peter and John.

In the earlier part of the Old Testament, God is represented as having a human form, as using human speech, as appearing personally to the patriarchs, and in one instance, as wrestling with one of them. He is also represented as holding an argument with Moses, as to whether or not he had better destroy the whole race of Israel, and make him the head of a new generation to serve the Lord. He is said to have repented that he made man in the first place, he had turned out so desperately wicked. He is said to have rested from his labors; thus attributing to him the attributes and infirmities of man. But in other parts of the Bible, written at a later period, he is called "unchangeable," "the same yesterday, to-day and forever;" "He is a spirit," "the king eternal, immortal, invisible," "He fainteth not, neither is weary."

The Lord is said to be wroth, full of anger with the wicked; and then again he is described as a being of infinite love," slow to anger, and of great kindness," full of mercy and compassion. And thus this seeming conflict of statements goes on. Now the only proper way to reconcile these discrepancies in expression, is by referring them to different.periods of progress in the history of revelation.

To make the judgements of divine Providence more awful and restraining, the Deity is represented as clothed in attributes of wrath and anger. Language is used expressive of the popular and then prevailing opinions. The prophets and inspired teachers of those early times spoke of the Deity in the language of appearance; the same as when they referred to objects of nature, the sun, moon, stars, and earth, and their motions, as these bodies appeared to the eye. They spoke of him by comparison, and clothed him in the "figurative attribution of the human form, with its organs and functions, and the human mind with its passions and affections.' 99 1

This method, the instruments of the Divine Spirit were obliged to adopt, in order to impress their listeners with a sensible idea of what they meant.

If God had revealed himself to Moses and the prophets in all his glory, spirituality, and power, they could not

1 Geology and Scripture.-J. P. Smith.

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