158 



THE CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHER. 



of the whole. But before we can, on good 

 grounds, hazard such an assertion as that under 

 consideration, we must have explored all the dis 

 pensations of God, through every portion of his 

 vast dominions ; and be able to form a compari 

 son between the different displays of divine glory, 

 made to all the different classes of intellectual 

 oeings, under the government of the Creator. 

 And who, among the sons of Adam, can lay claim 

 to such high qualifications for pronouncing so 

 sweeping a decision on this point ? 3dly, It sets 

 limits to the dimne perfections and operations. For 

 although it could be proved, (which it cannot be,) 

 that no such displays have hitherto been made to 

 any other beings, yet who can take upon him to 

 assert, that displays of divine perfection far more 

 glorious and astonishing will not be exhibited 

 during the countless ages of eternity which are 

 yet to come ? To set limits to the operations of 

 almighty power and boundless benevolence, dur 

 ing the lapse of infinite duration, is not the pro 

 vince of any created intelligence, and far less 

 of man, who stands so low in the scale of uni 

 versal being. 4th!y, It fends to damp the hopes 

 and prospects of immortal beings, when looking 

 forward to an interminable existence. For this 

 sentiment leads them to conclude, that they are 

 already acquainted with the greatest display of 

 divine glory which can be made ; and that what 

 ever scenes of wonder may be exhibited in the 

 future world, they must, of course, be all inferior 

 to this, in point cf extent and grandeur. 



The redemption of the human race, as dis 

 played in the Christian revelation, is a theme 

 sufficiently grand, astonishing, and interesting, 

 to command the attention of all who are con 

 vinced that they belong to an apostate race of 

 intelligences, and to excite the admiration and 

 gratitude of all who have experienced its bene 

 fits ; and it stands in no need of such unfounded 

 and extravagant assertions, to display its riches 

 and glory. &quot; Will a man speak deceitfully for 

 God ? Shall not his excellency make you afraid, 

 and his dread fall upon you ?&quot; We pronounce 

 nothing decisively on this subject. We feel our 

 selves chained down to an obscure corner of 

 God s dominions, to be in the very infancy of 

 our knowledge, and withal, to be connected with 

 a race of beings whose &quot;understandings ~.e 

 darkened by reason of sin ;&quot; and are therefore 

 unable to prori ounce an infallible decision on 

 what God will or will not do. Were we to ha 

 zard a conjecture on this subject, we would say, 

 that the converse of the proposition under consi 

 deration is more probable than the proposition 

 itself. We can conceive of worlds ten thousand 

 times more populous than ours, and peopled with 

 a higher order of intellectual beings, towards 

 whom a similar display of benevolence and mercy, 

 were it necessary, may be made ; and, therefore, 

 in point of the extent of its objects, we can con 

 ceive the love of God more illustriously mani 



fested than even to the inhabitants of ou* globe 

 But whether such an event shall ever take place 

 it would be presumption in us to determine. For 

 the thoughts and the ways of God as far transcend 

 ours, &quot; as the heavens are high above the earth.&quot; 

 It demands our highest tribute of irra eful adora 

 tion, that the Almighty condescended to &quot; regard 

 us in our low estate,&quot; and to deliver us from the 

 moral degradation into which we had fallen ; but, 

 surely, it would be unreasonable to conclude, 

 from this consideration, that of all the rational 

 tribes which people the universe, man is ihe only 

 favourite of the Most High, &quot; when thousand 

 worlds are round.&quot; Though myriads of other 

 intelligences were to share in similar favours, it 

 would not lessen the happiness conferred on us, 

 nor ought it in the least to detract from our ad 

 miration of &quot; the love of God, which is in Christ 

 Jesus our Lord.&quot; 



There are a great many other vague and un 

 tenable notions which are entertained and reite 

 rated bv certain commentators and divines, as 

 indisputable axioms, which it would be of im 

 portance to the cause of religion to discard 

 such as that angels are pure immaterial sub 

 stances* that they were formed on the first day 

 of the Mosaic creation that the wisdom of 

 God is no where so illustriously displayed 

 throughout the universe as in the scheme of re- 

 demptionf that the chief employment of the 

 future world will be to pry into the mysteries of 

 salvation]. that sin is an infinite evil that the 



* In the Scriptures ansels are called spirits. And 

 till some evidence is offered of their materiality, we 

 shall see no reason to abandon the opinion, that they 

 are pure spirits. Ed. 



+ To show that it is important to discard this sen 

 timent, the author ought at least to have stated some 

 good reason for believing it to be without, founda 

 tion. Until something more decisive of this point 

 shall be made to appear, there cannot be tlie least 

 occasion to abandon the sentiment in question. Kd. 



% Here substantially the same reply may be made 

 as in the preceding instance. Prove that this wifl 

 not be the chief employment of heaven fihow that 

 any thing else will, lor the most part, occupy the 

 attention of the spirits of just men made perfect in 

 glory, and the sentiment under consideration will 

 be readily renounced. Till then we shall claim the 

 risrht to belie&quot;;,, &amp;lt;&amp;lt;nd maintain, that the employment 

 of the redeemed in glory will consist, to a pretxt ex- 

 t.e&amp;gt;*, m beholding, admirin-r, ad adoring Him, who 

 nath loved them ami died for them. Kd. 



Infinite is once used in the scriptures to qualify 

 the term iniquity, Jobxxii.5. Is net thy wickedness 

 great and thine iniquities infinite? But not to in 

 sist on perhaps a too literal interpretation of the 

 term, it will be sufficient to show what it is ordina 

 rily used to denote. 



Some authors, regarding only the very limited 

 faculties and powers of human beings, deem it im 

 possible, that any of their deeds can be an infinite 

 evil. 



Others, considering only the infinity of the Being 

 against whom sin is committed, find no difficulty in 

 convincing themselves, that it is an infinite evil. 



There is also a third class, who, takimr the word 

 of God for their guide, and learning that sin exposes 

 men to everlasting punishment, do not hesitate tp 

 denominate that an infinite, evil, which brings on its 

 guilty victim sufferings infinite in duration/ Under 

 stood in this last sense, we can feel no obligation to 



