and with delight to those engaged on the occasion. During his residence at the Academy, he was not only diligent in the acquisition of knowledge, but was anxious that increase of learning should produce increased sancti. "Last night he was conversed with by six of the Society; I went into the writes, "But O, my soul, how unequal am I to the awful, arduous work! Ah, where is my sufficiency? O not in myself, but blessed be God there is a sufficiency, yea, all-sufficiency, in Jesus Christ, the great Head of the church, who holds his ministers in his right hand, and walks in the midst of the golden candle-room just as they had finished the consticks; I humbly hope he is my withdrawn they told me they had not versation, and when your son was all in all; to him therefore let me apply, upon him depend, and expect all from him that I stand in need of. O for the teachings of the Holy Spirit! for it is no matter how weak the learner, if he is the teacher."-Previous to his leaving home for London, other prayer-meetings were held on his account, and his own mind was exercised with much anxious solicitude in reference to the path of duty. All this is very charac teristic of the seriousness with which christians of that day engaged in the important concerns of the sanctuary. September, 1759, he arrived in London, and passed his examination, with much credit to himself * * On this occasion, the late Rev. and pious Richard Winter wrote to his father, Mr. John Symonds of Kidderminster, the following satisfactory epistle. "London, Cursitor-street, Sept. 10, 1760. DEAR SIR,-I received yours by your son, and return you thanks for your kind wishes.-It is a pleasure to me to be doing good, that God may be glorified. With respect to what you hint at the close of your letter, I am persuaded, as far as I am able to judge, there will be no unbecoming freedom taken with your son. I cannot help observing, what I have often observed before, that the word jesting, in Eph. v. 4, might better be rendered scurrility, for there is such a thing as a lawful, just, and innocent pleasantry. However, this I can say, that I know of nothing at the Academy that will be an hindrance; but there are many things that are likely to prove helps to him. received such pleasure and satisfaction in conversing with any young man proposed a long while. He gave such a solid, judicious, and entertaining account of himself, that he prevented their asking him many questions; and there was so much modesty and humility ran through his account, that they were highly delighted with him. One of the gentlemen, a man of considerable judgment in the best things, was so pleased, that he said, 'This young man has given us a sermon; I dare say when he comes out into the ministry he will preach without notes.' I do assure you, my good friend, I was so affected with their pleasing opinion of him, that I could not forbear tears. -After this conversation, the report was made immediately to the Society, who were assembled in another room, upon which they were all so pleased that he was unanimously voted into the Academy for three months, for trial of his abilities; then he was called in and addressed by Mr. Webb the minister, (who was the chairman for the night, and one who examined him,) in a short religious speech, and so dismissed. I suppose your son will send you other particulars, but I could not help writing these things, because you have an answer to prayer in this matter, and great reason to rejoice in a Covenant God. I think I now see tears of joy trickling down your cheeks, and a strong desire in your heart to hasten into some retired place, to return praise to God for this his goodness to you and yours. I cannot but add, your son, the first days he has been in my house, has behaved so well that he has endeared himself to me and mine. Please to inform Mr. Fawcett of these things, and as many more christian fication of heart, and was more careful than ever to walk closely with God, examining constantly the state of his heart, with a watchful jealousy, mourning over the first symptoms of declension, and not ceasing to wrestle in prayer, till the love of God was renewed with vigour in his soul. (To be continued.) The Range of the Figurative tinued. THERE is something so great in all that God does, that we can only glance at a single point, leaving a boundless infinitude unseen and unknown: and, in a general way, our heavenly Father has been pleased to condescend to this narrowness of our conceptions in the communication of Divine truth. In order, however, to veil certain facts for a time, truths have sometimes been transmitted to us through a medium that has accorded more with Divine knowledge than with the feeble intellects of mortals, Thus our Lord spoke in the style of Deity when he said, "Behold, I come QUICKLY; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." Rev. xxii. 12. With our narrow views, indeed, we should have called two or three thou rance* sets about analyzing these expressions of Deity, he says, "Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation." 2 Pet. iii. 4. Hence nor A second mode of speaking in the style of Deity is adverted to by the Apostle Paul when he says that God" calleth those things which are not as though they were." Rom. iv. 17. This definition was furnished from its obvious application to the prophecy the Apostle had just quoted: "I have made thee a namely, father of many nations." For to be as certain as if it had alwith God a future event is held to be as certain as if it had already taken place; and that certainty is powerfully exhibited by the use of a past tense. the import of the passage in question may be thus expressed: Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, powers, nor things present, nor things to come, shall frustrate or alter my purpose: and therefore, Abraham, thou mayest consider thyself as already surrounded the stars of heaven, or countless as with an offspring as numerous as the sands upon the shores of the God there is no contingency. wide extended ocean. Thus with Before him every thing wears the aspect of infallibility. Therefore he can justly and wisely promulgate a decree on any particular day, and call that very day the day of its accomplishment, though before the accomplishment really hundreds of years may elapse takes place. On this principle sand years a long time instead of a SHORT time: but" with the Lord a thousand years are but as ONE DAY." To Him before whom all eternity lies open, it is but an instant that elapses from his communication of the Apocalypse till he shall sit on "they son, THIS DAY have I congreat white throne," "to give every man as his work shall be." But when vain man with his fleshly mind and wilful igno God said to David, "Thou art For the Sacred Writers of the New stituted thee mine heir,” Ps. ii. 7. Testament have shown that this *See 2 Pet. iii. 5. passage was a prediction of God's producing [or raising] from among the dead an heir to the boundless universe, and that he who thus burst the barriers of the tomb was Jesus "the FIRST-BORN from the dead."* When, there fore, it was said to David, "THIS DAY have I constituted thee mine heir," the real import seems rather to have been, "THIS DAY do I divulge an unalterable decree to make thee mine heir."-So when God said to Adam, "IN THE DAY thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die," that solemn declaration did not really mean that Adam's life would terminate on the day of his transgression, but that ON THAT DAY he would become mortal, as an irrevocable sentence of death would be passed on him. That sentence, however, which made Adam virtually a dead man, affected also the countless millions of his posterity: for "IN ADAM ALL DIE," 1 Cor. xv. 22. Thus we are led to the consideration of a third mode of speaking that seems to rise above the style of mortals. -We are accustomed to look at men in their individual character; but by Him who knows our frame, the most distant generations can, at a glance, be identified with their primitive ancestor, and the whole world can be included in the word THOU addressed to Adam. Hence to Divine comprehension a long genealogical series forms no barrier to the connexion of the first and the last links of the mysterious chain. On this principle it might have been said to Adam THOU shalt live 930 years, THOU shalt build an ark, and all things in heaven and on earth shall be put under THY * See Acts xiii. 33—Heb. i. 5—Heb. ▼, 5—Rev. i. 5, and Col. i. 18. + See Gen, ii. 17. feet. For the first assertion was verified in Adam's own person, the second was verified in Noah, a remote descendant, and the third assertion was verified in the Messiah, who was, according to the flesh," a still more remote descendant. In this way, Adam and every other ancestor of the Messiah had the most uncontrolled" dominion over the works of God's hands." Ps. viii. 6. For such is the dominion of the Messiah their descendant, "who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, and crowned with glory and honour." Heb. ii. 9.-On such a principle, then, David was identified with the Messiah; and hence the passage already quoted from Ps. ii. 7, receives additional modifications, so that the real meaning may be unfolded in the following language: Thou art the ancestor of my Son. This day do I divulge an unalterable decree to raise thy descendant from the dead to the heirship-even to take possession of my vast dominions, and to exert Omnipotence, and Omniscience, and all the attributes of Deity, in executing my purposes. Moreover, it is apparent that genealogical identification was The introduction of Noah's name serves to illustrate the principle in question. But it is in reference to the Messiah that such mysterious language is generally used. Yet some traces of it may be seen in the genealogies recorded in the scriptures. For instance, in Matt. i. 8, we read "Asa was the progenitor of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat was the progenitor of Jehoram, and Jehoram was the progenitor of in this case may be thus expressed: Uzziah." Now the definite genealogy "Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat was the father of Jehoram, and Jehoram was the father of Ahaziah who was the great grandfather of Uzthe father of Joash, Joash was the faziah." In other words, Ahaziah was ther of Amaziah, and Amaziah was the father of Uzziah. the grand principle upon which | pel. And why should mystePeter applied the sayings of Davidries startle any inhabitant of our to Christ on the memorable day world; when INCOMPREHENof Pentecost.* In short, Peter SIBILITY is associated with all grounds his argument upon three the works of God? What man particulars; two expressed, and will undertake to assert that be one implied.-1st. The Apostle himself can trace in a grain of speaks of David as a "PRO-wheat the first rudiments of the PHET," (for otherwise David future plant, with all its ramificacould not have foretold what tions and endless involutions; would happen.)- 2ndly. The nay that, as far as tendencies are Apostle Peter asserts that David concerned, he can, in that one KNEW that he was AN ANCES- grain, accurately count innumeraTOR OF CHRIST from the cir- ble millions of plants, to which cumstance that God had made God, in due time, will give "a that fact certain to him, even by body as it hath pleased him.” an oath.-3rdly. Peter's argument Surely every man must say, was grounded on a fact implied: "Such knowledge is too wondernamely, that an inspired prophet ful for me; it is high, I cannot may so identify himself with a attain unto it." Impossible, howremote descendant, as to use the ever, as many things are with personal pronoun I or a similar men, "with God all things are word, not only as a substitute for possible." If, then, Nature is his own name, but as a proper characterized by mysteries, and designation for his descendant to the Divine understanding by infiwhom the prophecy applies. nitude, we need not be surprised Such figures, however, have been at meeting with some traces of a pillar of fire to the armies of the those mysteries, and of that infiliving God, and a pillar of cloud nitude in the Sacred Oracles to his enemies. For some believed which owe their origin to the that it was Jesus of Nazareth to same Divine Being as Nature whom gave "all the prophets itself. witness," and such persons even REJOICED "that they were counted WORTHY to suffer shame for his name," Acts y. 41: whereas to others it was necessary to address the following caution:1 Chron. xxii. 9, 10, we read, "Beware lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets; Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall IN NO WISE BELIEVE, though a man declare it unto you." Acts xiii. 40, 41.Nor let any individual take of fence at the mysteries of the Bible for it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for those who reject the gos *See Acts ii. 30, 31. But to return to genealogical identification as illustrated in the case of David, we may observe that Solomon is also identified with the Messiah. Thus in "His name shall be Solomon, and + See Matt. x. 14, 15. by faith, Gal. iii. 8. Consequently it was not in Abraham but in Christ that the nations were to be blessed. Thus Christ is "as a hiding place from the wind, a covert from the tempest-and as the shady retreat within a great rock in a land fainting with heat," Is. xxxii. 2; and "BLESSED are all those who take refuge IN HIM," Ps. ii. 12. Having thus glanced at one of the causes of the "dark sayings" of scripture, it may be observed that such sayings were made still more dark when the facts pre Solomon," He shall be my son," that promise would have implied, "He shall be the heir of my KINGDOM;" and if an Emperor had made the same promise, it would have implied, "He shall be the heir of my EMPIRE:" and thus when our Lord called God his father, the Jews clearly understood that he made himself" EQUAL WITH GOD." (John v. 18.)-When therefore the word Son is used in the singular number, as implying an ONLY son, and has a reference to God as a father, and to his vast dominions as an inhe-dicted concerning Christ bore a ritance, it means GOD's HEIR,* or the possessor of his boundless kingdom, a son who being truly God effects what would be an impossibility to the mightiest angel, a son in fact who is worshipped by the angelic world, and who is to "REIGN till he hath put all enemies under his feet." 1 Cor. xv. 25. The same principle of identification in the line of genealogical succession, is also applicable to Zerubbabel, and to other ancestors of the Messiah. Thus it was said to Abraham, "In THEE shall all families of the earth be blessed;" Gen. xii. 3-and this promise is repeated without the figure in question, in Gen. xxii. 18, where we read, "In THY SEED shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." Now this SEED or DESCENDANT the Apostle Paul informs us was CHRIST, Gal. iii, 16: and in connexion with that information the Apostle shows that the blessing which the nations were to obtain included their justification * See Heb. i. 5, where the Apostle intimates that the promise "He shall be to me a Son," was more than was ever made to any of the angels. Consequently it would be obviously improper to apply it to any of the sons of men. strong resemblance to events that A fourth mode of revealing truth in a manner peculiar to the Deity, is that of making Providence subservient to the exhibition of Truth. Thus it was by a peculiar interposition of Providence that Jonah was preserved alive for three days in a situation the most perilous imaginable; and this circumstance was called by our Lord "the SIGN of the + What portion of meaning belongs to David-what to Christ-and what applies both to the Psalmist and to the Messiah-are questions to be considered in connexion with the Range and Limits of a Right Interpretation of the Figurative Language of Scrip ture, |