GIFT OF  
TO  
uel Missionary College Librar


PHILOSOPHY  
OF THE  
PLAN OF SALVATION  
Book fob the Tin - 10.  
BY  
JAMES B. WALKER, D. D.  
CHAUTAUQUA EDITION.  
JAMES WHITE LIBRARY  
ANDREWS UNIVERSITY  
BERRIEN SPRINGS, MICHIGAN  
NEW YORK :  
CHAUTAUQUA PRESS,  
C. L. S. C. DEPARTMENT,  
805 BROADWAY.  
18S7.  HERITAGE ROOM  
James White LibrarY  
ANDREWS UNIVERSITY  
Berri en  Springs, MI 49104


INTRODUCTION  
TO THE CHAUTAUQUA EDITION.  
BY H. B. RIDGAWAY, D. D.  
•  
WHILE religion and human nature remain essen- 
tially the same, it must needs be that the proofs  
which meet the objections to religion will remain essen- 
tially the same. The current objection to Christian- 
ity in Bishop Butler's day was based upon a Deistic  
view of the world ; hence he aims to show that the  
same difficulties meet us in both natural and revealed  
religion, and that the objections which would be fatal  
to revealed religion would be alike fatal to all religion.  
The miraculous element in the Gospels has uni- 
formly been the stone of stumbling to skeptics. Yet 
from substantially the following position it is impos- 
sible for believers in supernatural Christianity to  
recede: "We must posit a nature to be acted upon,  
so fixed in its course that when any departure there- 
from takes place we can be quite sure that it is not a  
mere random variety in the order of phenomena, but  
the result and proof of the action upon nature of  
higher spiritual powers. On the other hand, while  
positing a nature thus fixed in its course we must  
bear in mind that this course was meant to be acted  
on by a class of powers altogether different from phys- 
ical forces. These forces are wills."  
Huxley allows the argument of Hume against mir- 
acles from  experience  to be weak and unsatisfactory,  
and yet he himself virtually admits that hardly any  
3  

Copyright by  
CRANSTON & STOWE.  
1887.


1  
5  4  
amount of evidence would satisfy him as to the Gos- 
pel miracles. Thus running through the whole his- 
tory of the conflict between Christianity and modern  
doubt the miracle is the  crux.  Somehow it must be  
gotten rid of, is the cry from every class, whether it  
be the Rationalist, quickly following the Deist in the  
order of succession ; or the Pantheist, who deifies the  
universe in which God first knows himself in the self- 
consciousness of man; or the Positivist, who accounts  
for every thing by the operation of physical laws; or  
the Culturist, who accepts the known facts of man's  
condition, and dismissing all reference to God is the  
Unknowable, would, by a gospel of "sweetness and  
light," perfect human nature and usher in a reign  
which " maketh for righteousness."  
The chief obstacle in getting rid of the miracle has  
been, and still is, Jesus the Christ. What will ye do  
then with Jesus ? And the chief obstacle in getting  
rid of Christ is Christianity ; Christianity not only  
as taught by Christ, but as developed in history, existing  
in the Church, and as it affects the face of civilization  
and the course of the world. Given Christianity, and it  
must have an adequate cause in the Christ. A system  
so replete with wisdom, power and benevolence, which  
saves its adherents from sin and makes them superior  
to death, must owe itself to one who was every way  
sufficient to produce it. Then given such  a person as  
Christ, and the religion which emanates from him is  
as the sun's rays to the sun. Himself the Life, he  
can not but reproduce himself in living members,  

TO THE cHAUTAUQUA EDITION.  
who shall share his nature and propagate that nature  
indefinitely. " Verily, verily, I say unto you, ex-  
cept a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it  
abideth alone ; but if it die, it bringeth forth much  
fruit. And I, if  I  be lifted up from the earth, will  
draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying  
what death he should die." (John xii, 24, 32, 33.)  
The whole argument for the character of Jesus might  
be rested, if necessary, upon this enunciation from his  
own lips of the law of love and self-surrender as the  
law of his life : and the results following his earthly  
existence need no other vindication as to their di-  
vinity, than as streams flowing from such a source.  
The so-called heroes of the world have conquered by  
shedding other men's blood ; but this man by shedding  
his own. Indeed, whatever excellences the religions of  
the Old World possessed, and they had many, there was  
little or no _place in them for  sorrow and weakness.  
Their Jupiters and Minervas and Venuses might be  
cruel, revengeful, and deceitful, but they must not be  
weak, lacking either in physical strength or beauty,  
though morally deformed. Weakness was a misfortune  
if not a crime ; hence paganism  built no hospitals for  
the insane and blind,   it provided no asylums for the  
aged and the  incurable. • That a man_was not  stronw  
enough to defend  himself  in the battle of life  was  
reason sufficient that he should die. The v — eiaT  
virgins, equally with emperors, senators, patricians,  
and plebeians, would vote for the death-thrust to be  
given to the hapless victim who chanced to fall be-  

INTRODUCTION


6  
neath the brute force of his antagonist. It was left  
for Christ to introduce the new element of  com- 
passion to the world. (In his cross he showed the  
heart of God. Henceforth the Godhead was asso- 
ciated with the lowly and the suffering. Christ loses  
himself—his honor, wealth, fame, riches, his life—that 
he might by his own sacrifice gain all who in the  
same spirit of self-surrender would unite themselves  
to him. This spirit of benevolence takes the place  
of the spirit of selfishness which dominated the Old  
World, and dominates the New until the spirit of  
Christ touches and transfigures it. The compassion  
of Jesus shows itself more, if possible, to the morally  
weak and wretched. He was the friend of sinners.  
Himself sinless, the very incarnation of holiness, he  
put himself into such close contact with the vile and  
sinful by the power of his sympathy, that he made  
the sinner's sin his own. Mankind can never fail to  
be moved by the consideration that he who was with- 
out sin, was made sin, that be might save sinners.  
This element of revelation reaches the fallen, guilty  
soul, when all else has failed. It does this, not by  
excusing or palliating sin as a mere weakness, but  
exposing its guilt and corruption through the light  
of perfect love and purity, it affects to penitence, and  
subdues by forgiving. Is it any wonder that there  
have always been those who would at any moment  
die for Christ? It is the same spirit in the disciple  
as in the Master.  
The founder of a system may be judged by his  sys-  

TO THE CHA UTA UQ UA EDITION.  7  
tern, and the system must be judged by its best speci- 
mens. To have given the world St. Paul is enough to  
attest the divinity of Christianity. Paul is an unanswer- 
able argument for Christ. To have conquered one such  
mind and appropriated it, is a victory, the paean of  
which sounds on through all the centuries. Not only the  
fact of his existence, character, and labors, which so  
marvelously illustrate the sacrificial zeal of Christ, but  
his writings as unimpeachable historical documents,  
carry us straight to the earthly scenes of Christ's life and  
to those of his first disciples. Under the full weight  
of a debt of gratitude to Jesus which this great  
apostle of the Gentiles felt, and was ever glad in life  
and in death to express, he could say : " But what  
things were gain to me, those I counted loss for  
Christ. Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but  
loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ  
Jesus my Lord." For Paul we may account, but for  
Jesus who shall account ? Truly His character was  
altogether original, and original because at once  
divine and human. Himself the greatest of miracles  
as the God-man, miracles became his natural expres- 
sion. To deny them, and the history of Christianity  
as the greatest of them, is to deny him.  
And while Christianity moves forward in the ever- 
widening moral results of the Gospel upon the succeed- 
ing ages, men will continue to reverence and trust its  
divine Author. While it does for mankind what it  
does, they will not quickly abandon it. So long as  
the world feels the pangs of guilt, it will welcome the  

INTRODUCTION


8  INTRODUCTION.  
glad evangel of pardon; while it still wrestles with  
corruption, it will welcome the offer of cleansing ; while  
it yet gropes amid the conflicting lights and shadows  
of this checkered scene of things, it will hail the  
guidance of a divine Providence; and while people  
everywhere are dying and dropping into the grave, we  
can not cease to rejoice in the blessed hope for ourselves  
and our dead, " I am the resurrection and the life : he  
that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall  
he live." Men may be temporarily drawn away by  
another gospel, which is not another; but upon ma- 
turer reflection, born it may be of the hours of sor- 
row, they will return to the more stable foundations  
of the truth as it is in Jesus.  
This new edition of the Philosophy of the Plan of  
Salvation is fittingly placed among the books to be read  
and studied by the Chautauqua students. Few American  
books have had a wider circulation, and none in their  
sphere have done more solid and abiding good. Even  
within a day or two, one of the most cultivated ladies  
of our land, whose tongue and pen are doing so much  
to mold the thoughts and actions of her country- 
women, has expressed her great debt to it, as saving  
her from skepticism and assisting to settle her in the  
faith of Christ at a most critical period in her intel- 
lectual and religious development. Amid all the shill-
ings of thought in the never-ceasing conflict between  
light and darkness, this work must hold its ground.  
It will meet wants ever liable to recur, especially with  
advanced youth, in the history of religious inquiry.  

CONTENTS.  
CHAPTER I.  
PAGE.  
Man will worship—He will become assimilated to the  
Character of the Object that he worships—Char- 
acter of Heathen Deities Defective and Earthly— 
From this Corrupting Worship Man has no Power  
to extricate himself,  
CHAPTER II.  
Concerning the Design and Necessity of the Bondage  
in Egypt,   42  
CHAPTER III.  
Concerning Miracles—Particularly the Miracles which  
accompanied the Deliverance of the Israelites from  
Bondage in Egypt,    
CHAPTER IV.  
Concerning what was Necessary as the First Step in  
the Process of Revelation,    
9  

25  
47  
59


CONTENTS.  11  10  CONTENTS.  
CHAPTER V.  CHAPTER X.  
PAGE.  PAGE.  
Concerning the Necessity of Affectionate Obedience to  Concerning the Medium of conveying to Men Perfect  
God, and the Manner of producing that Obedience  Instruction in Doctrine and Duty,  109  
in the Hearts of the Israelites,  63  
CHAPTER XI.  
CHAPTER VI.  
Concerning the Design and Necessity of the Moral  
Law,  71  
CHAPTER VII.  
Concerning the Development of the Idea of Holiness,  
and its Transfer to Jehovah as an Attribute, . . . 77  
CHAPTER VIII.  
Concerning the Origin of the Ideas of Justice and Mercy  
and their Transfer to the Character of Jehovah, . . 88  
CHAPTER IX.  
Concerning the Transition from the Material System,  
by which Religious Ideas were conveyed through  
the Senses to the Spiritual System, in which  
Abstract Ideas were conveyed by Words and  
Parables,  101  

Concerning Some of the Peculiar Proofs of the Mes- 
siahship of Christ,  115  
CHAPTER XII.  
Concerning the Condition in Life which it was Neces- 
sary the Messiah should assume, in Order to  
benefit the Human Family in the Greatest De- 
gree, by his Example and Instructions,  121  
CHAPTER XIII.  
'Concerning the Essential Principles which must, ac- 
cording to the Nature of Things, lie at the Foun-  
dation of the Instruction of Christ,  128  
CHAPTER XIV.  
Concerning Faith, as the Exercise through which  
Truth reaches and affects the Soul,  132


12  CONTENTS.  
CHAPTER XV.  
PAGE.  Concerning the Manifestations of God which would  
be necessary, under the New and Spiritual Dis- 
pensation, to produce in the Soul of Man Affec-  
tionate Obedience,   142  
CHAPTER XVI.  
Concerning the Influence of Faith in Christ upon the  
Moral Disposition and Moral Powers of the Soul, 181  
CHAPTER XVII.  
Concerning the Design and Importance of the Means  
of Grace —Prayer—Praise—Preaching,   203  
CHAPTER XVIII.  
Concerning the Agency of God in carrying on the  
Work, of Redemption, and the Manner in which  
that Agency is exerted,   221  
CHAPTER XIX.  
Concerning the Practical Effects of the System as ex-  
emplified in Individual Cases,   227  
SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER.  
An Objective Revelation necessary, as a Means of the  
Moral Culture of Mankind,   239  

GENERAL  INTRODUCTION.  
BY CALVIN E. STOWE, D. D.  
WE  ask not that a man should come to an inves- 
tigation of the evidences of the Christian revelation  
with a prejudgment in its favor; we ask only that  
there be no prejudice in the soul against it. It is only  
when a man looks through a glass which is perfectly  
clear and pure, that he sees things as they are; if the  
glass be in the least degree distorted or discolored,  
every object seen through it will necessarily partake  
of the distortion and discoloration. So our Savior  
teaches us, Matt. v, 22, 23. This is said expressly in  
regard to the blinding power of avarice in perverting  
the religious judgments (compare vs. 19, 20) ; and  
the same is true of every other forbidden state of  
mind and affection. When there is no mental or  
moral preoccupation averse to the Christian system,  
the surprising adaptations of this system to meet and  
relieye the wants and sorrows of man, constitute  
a species of evidence which is real and most con- 
vincing ; some traits, which on a superficial view  
seemed unfavorable, on closer scrutiny are found to  
be among the strongest links in the chain of demon- 
stration. Again, the mind may be in such a state  
13


14  GENERAL INTRODUCTION.  
that the clearest evidence of this kind will produce  
upon it no effect whatever. There is a voluntary and  
perfect unsusceptibility to any impression from it.  
The idea which I wish to convey can probably be  
best illustrated by an example. We will suppose a  
shipwreck in which every soul perishes except two  
passengers, whom we will name Benignus and Contu- 
max. With nothing saved but their lives, they are  
cast upon the rocky shore of a desert island, where  
there is no prospect to cheer the eye, and neither veg- 
etable nor animal nor human habitation to give them  
hope of aid or sustenance.  
The first emotions of Benignus, after struggling  
through the waves, are admiring gratitude to God for  
giving him his life, and a cheerful confidence that he  
who had aided him thus far, would not then leave him  
to perish. The first emotions of Contumax are mur- 
muring regret that he has lost his voyage and lost his 
money, and is thrown upon a desolate coast with no  
immediate prospect of getting away. He wonders  
why such ill-luck should always happen to him ; he  
is indignant that he was ever such a fool as to trust  
himself to the sea; he wonders he could not have had  
sense enough to remain at home.  
Presently Benignus discovers in the rock, far above  
the reach of the waves, a spacious cavern, the entrance  
to which is protected by an artificial wall, and its  
sides pierced, evidently by a human hand, for the ad- 
mission of light and air. Benignus is delighted ; he  
immediately concludes that some benevolent individ-  

GENERAL INTBODUCTIoN.  15  
uals, or some paternal government, had provided this  
shelter on purpose for unfortunate mariners who  
might be shipwrecked on the inhospitable shore.  
Contumax scorns any such inference ; he can not  
see why benevolent people should wish to drive poor 
shipwrecked wretches into such a dismal hole in the  
rock, instead of providing them with a comfortable  
and pleasant home. Benignus reminds him that a  
house with windows and doors could not endure the  
storms of such a coast ; and as no one would live  
there to take care of it, it would be continually out of  
repair, and far less comfortable than the cavern ; and,  
therefore, the very nature of the shelter provided  
should be regarded as a striking proof, not only of the  
benevolence, but also of the wisdom of the provider.  
But Contumax is thinking of a handsome house in a  
green yard, filled with the shrubbery of a fine climate,  
and can not see a particle of either wisdom or benev- 
olence in the rocky grotto. He, however, avails  
himself of the shelter for want of better.  
Benignus soon finds, carefully stored away beyond  
the reach of damp, a tinder-box with all the necessary  
furnishing, and a quantity of dry fuel for making a  
fire. " See," says lie joyfully to his companion,  
" another proof of the benevolent care of the pro- 
vider of the cavern ; here are all the materials for mak- 
ing a quick fire, of which we are so much in need."  
" How do you know," replies Contumax, " that these  
things came here in that way ? They probably belong 
to some poor wretch who has been shipwrecked before


16  17  GENERAL INTRODUCTION.  
us, and found a chance to get away again, as I wish  
from my heart I could do." Benignus thinks that  
the great care with which they were put away out of  
the reach of injury is a sufficient indication that they  
were not left by one joyously hastening away, intent  
only on his own selfish interest, but must have been  
deposited there by some benevolent hand, for the ex- 
press purpose of relieving the suffering ; but Contu- 
max cherishes no such romantic ideas.  
Benignus, greatly delighted with what he has al- 
ready discovered, makes further search in the cave,  
and finds plain and wholesome provisions, such as  
would not soon be injured, together with medicines  
and cordials ; and also a supply of coarse but clean  
and warm clothing, carefully cased up so as to pre- 
serve them from all injury of wet or moth. " Now,  
says Benignus to his companion, " you certainly will  
be convinced that this place was provided by spme 
benevolent hand on purpose for the shipwrecked.  
Here is evidence which can not be gainsaid." " We  
have more reason to apprehend," growls Contumax,"  
" that we have fallen upon the haunts of pirates,  
who are now absent on their depredations, but will  
soon return to murder us." " Nay," replies Benig- 
nus, " these are not the spoils of pirates : here are  
neither jewels nor silks, here is no gold or silver— 
here are neither costly viands nor rich wines nor in- 
toxicating brandies ; and, besides, the things are laid  
away with much more care and scrupulous nicety than  
suits the wasteful and licentious habits of pirates."  

GENERAL INTRODUCTION..  
" Well, at any rate," replies Contumax, " the donor  
must be a vulgar, stingy fellow, to put us off with  
such coarse food and raiment." " But you do not  
consider," says Beuignus, " that these things must not  
be so costly as to tempt cupidity, since they can not be  
kept under lock and key—and besides, they are healthful  
and comfortable, and far better adapted to the con- 
dition of those most likely to need them, than if they  
had been of fine material; for twenty sailors suffer  
shipwreck, where one gentleman is subject to such a  
misfortune." The only reply which Contumax has to  
this is, to keep the thought well up in his own mind,  
" I am a gentleman, and not a sailor."  
Contumax, however, does not hesitate to warm  
himself by the fire which Benignus has made of the  
materials found in the cave ; he partakes largely and  
with great zest of the provisions and cordials, simple  
as they are ; gladly lays aside his own wet and torn  
clothing, for the coarse but comfortable and dry raiment,  
provided for him ; and fixing himself in the most easy 
position he can devise, and as near the various com- 
forts of the grotto as he can get, he is quite ready to  
enter upon an argument to any extent. He is a great  
reasoner, Contumax is. He can prove most philoso- 
phically that Benignus  can not prove  that there was  
any benevolent intention at all in any body in provid- 
ing and furnishing that cavern—he can prove to a  
dead certainty that, for all which can be proved to  
the contrary, it might have been a mere accident, a  
blunder, a selfish enterprise ; that nobody knows any


18  19  GENERAL IN7'B OD UCTION.  GENERAL INTRODUCTION.  
thing about it ; and he can account for it in twenty  
ways, without the least supposition of wisdom or  
benevolence, or any thing of the kind. The only  
thing he is certain of is, that he is in a miserable  
place ; he thinks somebody is greatly to blame for  
putting him there, and is under decided obligation to  
get him safely away again.  
What kind of reasoning can you apply to such a  
mind? What sort of evidence can such a man per- 
ceive or appreciate? What can he see in a pure light  
while his eyes are suffused with jaundice?  
This character represents, and not unfairly, by far the  
largest class of skeptics, which exist in Christian lands.  
There is in them all a tinge of disaffection, of mis- 
anthropy, or rather, of  theomisey—if we may be al- 
lowed to coin a word, to express an idea which is often  
a reality, but which in our proper English tongue as  
yet has no name. This gives a dark shade to all their  
views of evidence, itid — prevents their seeing any de- 
cided proof in trains of reasoning which, in other  
states of mind, would have all the force of absolute  
demonstration.  
The man who has long held raw brandy 1n- his  
mouth can not immediately distinguish the taste of_  
delicate wines ; and he who has accustomenTs soul to  
the unfeeling roughness ofa godless style of thought,  
loses the -delicacy  of moral perception, which to the  
experienced Christian is the very organ by which he  
receives and appropriates evidence on moral and re- 
ligqus subjects.  

All reflecting men, when they seriously contem- 
plate their moral condition in this world, feel very  
much like shipwrecked sailors. In regard to this  
single point there is very little difference between the  
believer and the unbeliever—between Benignus and  
Contumax. But there is a great difference in their  
feelings in reference to their condition after it has  
been surveyed. The believer feels that he yet has  
much to thank God for; he feels teal gratitude that  
his position is not still worse than it proves to be.  
The unbeliever, on the other hand,  when he knows  
God, glorifies him not as God, neither is he thankful ;  
and as a necessary consequence, he  becomes vain in his  
imagination, and his foolish heart is darkened. He feels  
under no particular obligation to God ; on the con- 
trary, he rather thinks that God is under decided ob- 
ligation to him, to treat him very well, and bring him  
easily and safely through the bad place into which he  
has thrown him.  
In this state of mind he looks upon the divine ar- 
rangements actually made for his spiritual good, and,  
almost as a matter of course, he is dissatisfied. Such  
being the different state of mind of the two classes of  
persons, the facts of the Christian revelation, although  
substantially the same as they present themselves to  
both, yet produce very diverse and even opposite  
effects; to the believer establishing his faith, to the  
unbeliever confirming his skepticism ; to the one a savor  
of life unto life, to the other a savor of death unto death.  
Meanwhile, the most scornful unbeliever quietly


20  GENERAL INTRODUCTION.  
avails himself of all the incidental advantages which  
the— Christian system brings, makes himselfsery com- 
fortable with all the social improvements which it  
- originates, and employs the mental culture which he  
himself owes  to it in sirinuoui eger ions to disprove  
its intelligent and benevolent origin.  
We will endeavolow, in a fei , iparticulars, the  
different effects which the same aspects of revelation  
produce on the two different classes of mind under  
consideration.  
To both, revelation presents itself as, in the main,  
very plain and homely in its garb. To the unbeliever,  
this is offensive, unworthy of God. He would have  
something more in accordance with the ambitious style  
of the little greatness of this world, for he has never  
learned that the  foolishness of God is wiser than men,  
and the weakness of God is stronger than men.  The be- 
liever understands that the greater part of God's chil- 
dren, for whom revelation is designed, are plain and  
homely people, that their souls are as precious as the  
souls of the proud and mighty, and in eternity may  
be altogether more elevated ; and he knows if one can  
not perceive the real dignity and refinement of Scrip- 
ture, it must be because his ideas of dignity and re- 
finement are fictitious, and not natural.  
Both the believer and the unbeliever see things in  
the Bible that are severe and rough. The destruction  
of Sodom, the stoning of the Sabbath-breaker, the  
extirpation of the Canaanites, are matters of fact in the  
eyes of both. But in this atmosphere, the philosophic  

GENERAL INTRODUCTION.  21  
infidel feels as uncomfortably as Contumax in the  
cave. The believer, however, reflects that since God  
does not choose to purify men by physical omnipo- 
tence, but by moral means and influences only, he  
must of course address each age by means adapted to  
the condition of each, and rough generations must be  
met with severe measures ; just as Benignus sees that  
a cavern with loop-holes and guard-walls, instead of a  
house with doors and windows, is admirably fitted to  
a desolate and stormy coast.  
Both understand that the vicious, the indolent, and  
the careless can not attain to correct views of revealed  
truth ; for the truth is so revealed that labor, effort,  
care, and even energetic strugglings, are essential to  
the acquisition of religious knowledge in its purity.  
To the unbeliever this is all distasteful. He feels as  
if God were under obligations to make the way of  
salvation such that men would walk in it as a matter  
of course, without either effort or thought of their  
own ; that all the means of salvation should not only  
be such that they can be used, but such that they can'  
not be abused; that men should not only be able to  
find the way of life, but absolutely unable to lose it.  
The believer perceives at once the total unreasonable- 
ness of these demands, and their entire inconsistency  
with all the arrangements of nature. It would be as  
easy for God to cover the earth with railroads as with  
mountains, with canals as with rivers—to cause houses,  
all finished and furnished, to spring out of the ground 
as well as trees, and make the wheat-stalk bear a well-


22  GENERAL INTRODUCTION.  
baked loaf of bread just as easily as the grain of  
wheat—and thus save men all the hard labor of toil- 
some traveling, of digging and building, of plowing  
and planting, of harvesting and grinding and baking.  
But has God done this ? And what would man be  
good for if he had ? So, in religion, what would a  
free agent be who had nothing to do ? In all nature,  
that  be used is    
that which can do good can be perverted also to evil.   
Why does not tceThigel require, as proof of the wis- 
dom and goodness of the God of nature, a kind of  
water that can quench his thirst and clean his skin  
and float his ships, but which will never on any occa- 
sion drown any body or make an inundation ; a kind  
of grain that will refresh his grass, but never wet his  
hay; a kind of ax that will cut wood, but never pen- 
etrate the flesh of the wood-cutter; a kind of fire that  
will cook his food and warm him when he is cold, but  
can never burn him or reduce his dwelling to ashes ?  
These demands are all quite as reasonable as those  
which the infidel makes as conditions of his ideal rev- 
elation, and the objections which are urged with so  
much confidence against the Bible, and gain so easy a  
reception among men, proceed on a principle which 
would be scouted and scorned by all the world as un- 
speakably ridiculous if applied to nature. The be- 
liever recognizes the God of the Bible and the God of  
nature as the same; and when he sees the same kind  
of analogies running through both, it confirms his  
faith instead of shaking it.  

GENERAL INTRODUCTION.  23  
These illustrations might be pursued to almost any  
extent, at least until they had made a book much  
larger than the unpretending little volume which they  
are designed to introduce to the reader.  
Having known something of this work from its in-  
ception to its completion, having witnessed with pleas- 
ure its remarkable success with the public, being con- 
fident that its influence must be good, and only good,  
in these times when philosophical skepticism and super- 
stitious credulity are equally abundant and equally  
mischievous, I would gladly do whatever may be in  
my power to increase its circulation.  
The argument itself, if not entirely original, is de-  
veloped with a care, a consistency, and a thoroughness  
which can nowhere else be found, certainly in the  
same compass ; and the whole style of thought from  
beginning to end shows it to be the author's own work,  
and not a thing which he has borrowed from others.  
Such books add just so much to our stock of real  
intellectual wealth. They are like introducing into a  
community the gold and silver coins in full weight,  
instead of setting up a new bank on paper capital, and  
issuing paper.  
The argument will always be entirely satisfactory  
to Benignus; and though Contumax may still continue  
to cavil, every one will see that caviling and refuting  
are two very different matters.


PHILOSOPHY  
OF THE  
PLAN OF SALVATION.  
Chapter I.  
INTRODUCTORY.  
MAN WILL WORSHIP—HE WILL BECOME ASSIMILATED TO THE  
CHARACTER OF THE OBJECT THAT HE  WORSHIPS—CHAR- 
ACTER OF HEATHEN DEITIES DEFECTIVE AND UNHOLY— 
FROM THIS CORRUPTING WORSHIP MAN HAS NO POWER  
TO EXTRICATE HIMSELF.  
THERE  are three facts, each of them fully devel- 
oped in the experience of the human family, a con- 
sideration of which will prepare the mind for the in- 
vestigation which follows. When considered in their  
relation to each other, and in their bearing upon the  
moral interests of mankind, they will be seen to be of  
exceeding importance. We will adduce these facts,  
in  connection with the statements and principles upon  
which they rest, and show how vital are the interests  
which depend upon them.  25


26  
PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
THE FIRST FACT STATED.  
t nature of man o ie circum- 
stances in which he is conditioned,  someth,ing  which  
p  o• ea s im to recognize and worshi a su erior en] .  What that  something is,  is not important    inquiry; whether it be a constitutional instinct in- 
wrought by the Maker; whether it be a deduction of  
universal reason, inferring a first cause from the things  
that are made ; whether it be the effect of tradition,  
descending from the first worshipers, through all the  
tribes of the human family; whether any or all of  
these be the cause, the fact is the same —Man  is a re- ligious being ;  HE WILL WORSHIP.  
In view of this propension of human nature, phi- 
losophers, in seeking a generic appellation for man, have  
denominated him a "religious animal."  The character- istic is true of him in whatever part of the world he  
may be found, and in whatever condition ; and it has  
been true of him in all ages of which we have any  
record, either fabulous or authentic.  
Navigators have, in a few instances, reported that  
isolated tribes of men, whom they visited, recognized  
the existence of no superior being; subsequent re- 
searches, however, have generally corrected the error,  
and, iri all cases, when it has been supposed that a  
tribe of men was found believing in no god, the fact  
has been stated as an evidence of their degradatio n    below the mass of their species, and of their approxi- 
mation to the confines of brute nature. Of the whole  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  
. family of man, existing in all ages, and scattered over  
the four quarters of the globe, and in the isles of the  
sea, there is scarcely one well-authenticated exception  
to the fact that, moved by an impulse of nature, or the  
force of circumstances, man worships something which  
he believes to be endowed with the attributes of a su-  
perior being. 
THE SECOND FACT STATED.  
The second fact, connected, as it is, by the nature  
of things, with the preceding, assumes the highest  
degree of importance. It may be stated in the follow- 
ing terms:  Man, by worshiping, becomes ass  
the moral character of the object which he worshi  s. This  
is an invaria e principle, operating with the certainty  
of cause and effect. The worshiper looks upon the  
character of the object which he worships as the stand- 
ard of perfection. He therefore condemns every thing  
in himself which is unlike, and approves of every thing  
which is like that character. The tendency of this is  
to lead him to abandon every thing in himself, and in  
his course of life, which is condemned by the charac- 
ter and precepts of his god, and to conform himself  
to that standard which is approved by the same cri- 
terion. The worshiper desires the favor of the object  
worshiped, and this, reason dictates, can be obtained  
only by conformity to the will and the character of  
that object. To become assimilated to the image  of  
the object worshiped must be the end of desire with  
the worshiper. His aspirations, therefore, every time  

27


28  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
he worships do, from the nature of the case, assimilate  
his character more and more to the model of the ob- 
ject that receives his homage.  
To this fact the whole history of the idolatrous  
world bears testimony. Without an exception, the  
character of every nation and tribe of the human fam- 
ily has been formed and modified, in a great degree,  
by the character attributed to their gods.  
From the history of idolatrous nations we will cite  
a number of familiar cases, confirmatory of the fore-  
going statement, that man becomes like the object of  his worship.  
A most striking instance is that of the Scythians,  
and other tribes of the North men, who subdued and  
finally annihilated the Roman power. Odin, Thor,  
and others of their supposed deities, were ideas of hero- 
kings, blood-thirsty and cruel, clothed with the attri- 
butes of deity, and worshiped. Their worship turned  
the milk of human kindness into gall in the bosoms  
of their votaries, and they seemed, like blood-hounds,  
to be possessed of a horrid delight when they were  
reveling in scenes of blood and slaughter. It being  
believed that one of their hero-gods, after destroying  
great numbers of the human race, destroyed himself,  
it hence became disreputable to (lie in bed, and those  
who did not meet death in battle frequently committed  
suicide, supposing that to die a natural death might  
exclude them from favor in the hall of Valhalla.  
Among the gods of the Greeks and Romans there  
were some names, in the early ages of their history, to  

which some virtuous attributes were attached ; but  
the conduct and character generally attributed to their  
gods were marked deeply with such traits as heroism,  
vengeance, caprice, and lust. In the later history of  
these nations their idolatry degenerated in character,  
and became a system of most debasing tendency.  
The heroism fostered by idolatry was its least in- 
jurious influence. Pope's couplet, had he thrown a  
ray or two of light across the background of the  
dark picture, would have been a correct delineation  
of the character of Pagan idols—  
" Gods partial, changeful, passionate, unjust;  
Whose attributes were rage, revenge, and  lust."  
In some cases the most corrupt attributes of human  
nature, and even of brute nature, were attributed to  
objects of worship, and while men bowed down to  
them, they sunk themselves to the lowest depths of  
vice. The Egyptians might be named as an instance.  
The first patrons of the arts and sciences were brute- 
worshipers ; and it is testified of them that bestiality,  
the lowest vice to which human nature can descend,  
was common amongst them. The paintings and sculp- 
ture of their divinities, in the mummy catacombs, are  
for the most part clusters of beasts, birds, reptiles, and  
flies, grouped together in the most disgusting and un- 
natural relations; a true indication that the minds of  
the worshipers were filled with ideas the most vile  
and unnatural.  
The ancient Venus, as worshiped by almost all  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  29


30  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
the elder nations of antiquity, was a personification  
of lust. The deeds required to be done at her pollut- 
ing fame, as acts of homage, ought not to be named.  
In the best days of Corinth—" Corinth, the eye of  
Greece "—the most sacred persons in the city were  
prostitutes, consecrated to the worship of Venus.  
From this source she derived a large portion of her  
revenues. The consequence was that her inhabitants  
became proverbial for dissoluteness and treachery.  
To the heathen divinities, especially those placed  
at the bead of the catalogue as the superior gods, what  
theologians have called the physical attributes of  
deity—omnipotent and omnipresent power—were gen- 
erally ascribed; but their moral character was always  
defective, and generally criminal. As one of the best  
instances in the whole mythology of the ancients, the  
Roman Jupiter might be cited. Had a medal been  
struck delineating the character of this best of the  
gods, on one side might have been engraved Almight- iness, Omnipresence, Justice;  and on the reverse,  Ca-  price, Vengeance, Lust.  Thus men clothed depraved  
or bestial deities with almighty power, and they be-  
came cruel, or corrupt, or bestial in their affections,  
by the reaction of the character worshiped upon the  
character of the worshiper. In the strong language  
of a recent writer, " They clothed beasts and depraved  
beings with the attribute of almightiness, and in effect  
they worshiped almighty beasts and devils." And  
the more they worshiped the more they resembled  them.  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  31  
These testimonies concerning the influence of  
idolatrous worship, and the character of the idols  
worshiped, are maintained by authorities which render  
doubt in relation to their credibility impossible. Upon  
this subject the wiser men among the Greeks and  
Romans have borne unequivocal testimony. Plato, in  
the second book of the Republic, speaks of the per- 
nicious influence of the conduct attributed to the  
gods, and suggests that such histories should not be  
rehearsed in public, lest they should influence the  
youth to the commission of crimes. Aristotle advises  
that statues and paintings of the gods should exhibit no  
indecent scenes,  except in the temples of such divinities  
as, according to common opinion, preside over sensuality. *  
What an affecting testimony of the most discriminat- 
ing mind among the heathen ! asserting not only the  
turpitude of the prevailing idolatry, but sanctioning 
the sensuality of their debauched worship.  
As Rome and Greece grew older, the infection of  
idolatry festered, until the body politic became one  
mass of moral disease. The state of things, in the 
later ages of these nations, is well stated by a late  
writer of the first authority.t " We should naturally  
suppose," says this writer, " that among so great a  
variety of gods, of religious actions, of sacred vows,  
at least some better, feeling of the heart must have  
been excited ; that at least some truly pious senti- 
ment would have been awakened. But when we con-  
*  Aristot. Politica vii, 18; ed. Schneider.  
t Tholuck on the Influence of Heathenism.


32  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
sider the character of this superstition, and the testi- 
mony of contemporaneous writers, such does not appear  
to have been the fact. Petronius's history of that  
period furnishes evidence that temples were frequented,  
altars crowned, and prayers offered to the gods, in  
order that they might render nights of unnatural  
lust agreeable ; that they might favor acts of poison- 
ing ; that they might cause robberies and other crimes  
to prosper." In view of the abominations prevailing  
at this period, the moral Seneca exclaimed: "How  
great now is the madness of men ! They lisp the  
most abominable of prayers ; and if a man is found  
listening, they are silent. What a man ought not to  
hear, they do not blush to relate to the  gods."  Again  
says he, " If any one considers what things they do,  
and to what things they subject themselves, instead  
of decency, he will find indecency ; instead of the  
honorable, the unworthy ; instead of the rational, the  
insane !" Such was heathenism and its influence, in  
the most enlightened ages, according to the testimony  
of the best meu of those times.  
In relation to modern idolatry, the world is full of  
living witnesses of its corrupting tendency. We will  
cite in illustration a single case or two. The follow- 
ing is extracted from a public document, laid before  
Parliament, by H. Oakley, Esq., a magistrate in  
lower Bengal. Speaking of the influence of idol- 
atry in India, he  says  of the worship of Kale, one of  
the most popular idols : " The murderer, the robber,  
and the prostitute, all aim to propitiate a being whose  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  
worship is obscenity, and who delights in the blood  
of man and beast; and, without imploring whose aid,  
no act of wickedness is committed. The worship of  
Kale must harden the hearts of her followers ; and  
to them scenes of blood and crime must become  
familiar."  
In China, according to Medhurst, the priests of  
Buddha understand and teach the doctrine of the as- 
similation of the worshiper to the object worshiped.  
They say : " Think of Buddha and you will be trans- 
formed into Buddha. If men pray to Buddha and  
do not become Buddha, it is because the mouth prays,  
and not the mind." *  
Two facts, then, are philosophically and historically  
true : First. Man is a religious animal, and will wor- 
ship something as a superior being. Second. By  
worshiping, he becomes assimilated to the moral  
character of the object which he worships. And (the  
God of the Bible out of view for the present) those  
objects have always had a defective and unholy char- 
acter.  
Here, then, is one great source which has devel- 
oped the corruption of the family of man. We in-
quire not in this place concerning the origin of idol- 
atry : whatever, or wherever was its origin, its  
influence has been uniformly the same. As no object  
of idolatrous worship was ever conceived to be per-  
' For a succinct statement of the universal prevalence  
of false religions, and their corrupting influence, see Ryan  
on the Effect of Religion upon Mankind,  passim.  
3  

33


34  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
fectly just and benevolent, but most of them no better  
than the apotheosis of heroes, or the deification of 
the imperfect faculties and impure passions of  
human or brute nature, the result followed, with  
a certainty as unerring as cause and effect, that man,  
by following his instinct to worship, would becloud  
his intellect and corrupt his heart. Notice how in- 
evitable, from the circumstances of the case, was the  
corruption of man's powers : he was led to worship  
by an instinct over which he had no control. The  
objects of his worship were, whether he originated  
them or not, all of them of a character that corrupted  
his heart ; thus the gratification of his instinctive pro- 
pensities inevitably strengthened the corruption of his  
nature.  
Now, it is not our design to inquire whether, or  
bow far, man was guilty in producing this evil condi- 
tion of things. In view of the  facts  in the case  
the inquiry which forces itself upon the mind is :  
Were there any resources in human nature, or any  
means of any kind, of which man could avail himself  
by which he might save himself from the debasing  
influence of idolatrous worship ? In reply,  
THE THIRD FACT IS STATED.  
.7.702:e were no means within the reach of human  power  
or wisdom, by which man could extricate himself from the  
e" .. iLof idalab, either an immediate or by a progress 
iess_of. Lforts.  
This fact is maintained from the history of idol-  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  35  
atry, the testimony of the heathen philosophers, and  
the nature of man.  
1. Instead of man acquiring the power or the dis- 
position, as the race became older, to destroy idolatry,  
idolatry, from its first inception in the world, gained  
power to destroy him. Amid all the mutations of society,  
from barbarous to civilized, and amid all the conflicts  
of nations and the changes of dynasties and forms of  
government, from the first historic notices which we  
have of the human family down to the era of Christ,  
idolatry constantly became more evil in its character  
and more extended in its influence. It is well ascer- 
tained that the first objects of idolatrous homage were  
few and simple, and the worship of the earliest ages  
comparatively pure. Man fell into this moral debase- 
ment but one step at a time. The sun, moon, stars,  
and other conspicuous objects of creative power and  
wisdom, received the first idolatrous homage. After- 
wards a divinity was supposed to reside in other ob- 
jects, especially in those men, and beasts, and things,  
which were instrumental in conferring particular  
benefits on tribes or nations of men. And finally,  
images of those objects were formed and worshiped.  
Images, which subsequently became innumerable, were  
not so in the earliest historic ages. In some nations  
they were not allowed until after the era of the founda-
tion of Rome.* As the nations grew older, images, which  
were at the first but few and clothed with drapery,  
* Plutarch says that Numa forbade the Romans to  
make statues of their gods.


36  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
became more numerous, and were presented before the  
worshipers in a state of nudity, and in the most ob- 
scene attitudes. And as has been before stated, their  
character, from being comparatively innoxious, be- 
came, without exception, demoralizing in the extreme.  
2. During the Augustan age of Rome, and the  
age of Pericles and Alcibiades in Greece—those  
periods when the mind had attained the highest ele- 
vation ever known among heathen nations—the mass  
of the people were more idolatrous in their habits,  
and consequently more corrupt in their hearts, than  
ever before. The abominations of idol-worship, of  
the mysteries, and of lewdness, in forms too vile to  
name, were rife throughout the country and the vil- 
lages, and had their foci in the capitals of Greece and  
Rome. Jahn says, in relation to this period : " Deities  
increased in number, and the apotheosis of vicious  
emperors was not unfrequent. Their philosophers, in- 
deed, disputed with much subtlety respecting the ar- 
chitect of the universe, but they knew nothing about  
the Creator, the holy and almighty Judge of men."  
Some of the more intelligent of the philosophers,  
perceiving the evil of the prevailing idolatry, desired  
to refine the grossness of the popular faith. They  
taught that the facts believed concerning the gods  
were allegories. Some endeavored to identify the  
character of some of their deities with the natural  
virtues ; while many of them became skeptical con- 
cerning the existence of the gods and of a future  
state. Those were, however, but isolated exceptions  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  37  
to the mass of mankind. And, had their views been  
adopted by others, they would only have modified,  
not remedied the evil. But a contemporary writer  
shows how entirely unavailing, even to modify the  
evil, was the teaching of the philosophers. Dionysius  
of Halicarnassus says: " There are only a few who  
have become masters of this philosophy. On the  
other hand, the great and unphilosophic mass are ac- 
customed to receive these narratives rather in their  
worst sense, and to learn one of these two things,  
either to despise the gods as beings who wallow in the  
grossest licentiousness, or not to restrain themselves  
even from what is most abominable and abandoned,  
when they see that the gods do the same." Cicero, in  
one sentence, as given by Tholuck, notices both the  
evil and its cause ; confirming, in direct language,  
the preceding views. " Instead"_ says he, " of the  
transfer to man of that which is divine, they trans-  
ferred human sins to the gods, and then experienced  
again the necessary reaction." Such, then, is the tes-  
timony of the philosophers in relation to the idolatry  
of their times. A few gifted individuals obtained  
sufficient light to see the moral evil in which men  
were involved, but they had neither wisdom to devise  
a remedy, nor power to arrest the progress of the  
moral pestilence that was corrupting the noble facul-  
ties of the human soul.  
3. It was impossible, from the nature of man, that  
he should extricate himself from the corrupting in- 
fluence of idolatry. In this place we wish to state a


38  39  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
principle which should be kept in view throughout  
the following discussion :  If man were ever redeemed  
from idolatrous worship, his redemption would have to be  
accomplished by means and instrumentalities adapted to his  
nature and the circumstances in which he existed.  If the  
faculties of his nature .were changed, he would not be  
man. If his temporal condition were changed, different  
means would be necessary. If, therefore, man,  as man,  
in his present condition, were to be recovered, the  
means of recovery, whether instituted by God or  
man, must be adapted to his nature and his circum- 
stances.  
The only way, then, in which relief was possible  
for man was that an object of _ worship should be  
placed before the mind directly opposite in moral  
character to those he had before adored. If his heart  
was ever purified, it must be by tearing his affections  
from his gods, and fixing them upon a righteous and  
holy being as the proper object of his homage. But  
for man to form such an object was plainly impossible.  
He could not transfer a better character to his gods  
than he himself possessed. Man could not " bring a  
pure thing out of an impure." The effect could not  
rise higher in moral purity than the cause. Human  
nature, in the maturity of its faculties, all agree, is  
imperfect and selfish ; and for an imperfect and selfish  
being to originate a perfect and holy character, deify  
it, and worship it, is to suppose what is contrary to  
the nature of things. The thought of the eloquent  
and philosophic Cicero expresses all that man could  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  
do. He could transfer his  own  imperfect attributes  
to the gods, and, by worshiping a being' characterized  
by these imperfections, he would receive in himself  
the reaction of his own depravity.  
But if some men had had the power and the dis-  
position to form for the world a perfectly holy object  
of worship, still the great difficulty, as we have seen in  
the case of the philosophers, would have remained ; that  
is, a want of the necessary power to arrest the pro- 
gress of idolatry and substitute the better worship.  
To doubt the truth of the prevailing idolatry was all  
that men, at the highest intellectual attainment ever  
acquired in heathen countries, could do. And, if they  
had had power to convey their doubts to all minds in  
all the world, it would only have been to place man- 
kind in the chaotic darkness of atheism, and leave  
them to be led again by their instincts into the abom-  
inations of imperfect and impure worship.  
The testimony, then, is conclusive, from the history  
of idolatry, that the evil became greater every age— 
from the statements of the wisest of the heathen, that  
they had no power to arrest its progress, and from  
the nature of man, that it was not possible for him to  
relieve himself from the corrupting influence of idol-  
atry, in which he bad become involved.  
From the foregoing facts and reasonings, it is plain  
that the high-born faculties of the human soul must  
have been blighted forever by a corrupting worship,  
unless two things were accomplished ; neither of which  
it was in the power of human nature to effect;  and


40  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
yet both of which were essentially necessary to ac-  
complish the elevation of man from the pit into which  
he had fallen.  
The first thing necessary to be accomplished was  
that a  pure object of worship should be placed before the  
eye of the soul.  Purity of heart and conscience would  
be necessary in the object of worship, otherwise the  
heart and conscience of the worshiper would not be  
purified. But if an object were presented whose  
nature was infinitely opposed to sin—to all defile- 
ment, both physical and spiritual—and who revealed,  
in his example and by his precepts, a perfect standard  
to govern the life of man under the circumstances in  
which he was placed, then man's mind would be en- 
lightened, his conscience rectified, and the hard and  
corrupt feelings of his heart softened and purified, by  
assimilation to the object of his worship. As, ac- 
cording to the nature of things, an unholy object of  
worship would necessarily degrade and corrupt the   +►  human soul, so, on the contrary, a holy object wor- 
shiped would necessarily elevate and purify the  
nature of man.  
The second necessary thing in order to man's re- 
demption was,  that when a holy object of worship was  
revealed, the revelation should be accompanied with suf- 
ficient power to influence men to forsake their former  
worship, and to worship the holy object made known to  
them.  The presentation of a new and pure object  
would not cause men to turn from their former  
opinions and practices, and become directly opposed  

in heart to what they had formerly loved. A display  
of power would be necessary, sufficient to overcome  
their former faith and their present fears, and to de- 
tach their affections from idols, and fix them upon the  
proper object of human homage.  
It follows, then, that man must remain a corrupt  
idolater forever, unless God interpose in his behalf.  
The question whether he would thus interpose, in the  
only way possible, to save the race from moral death,  
depends entirely upon the benevolence of his nature.  
The question whether he has done so may be answered  
by inquiring whether any system of means has been  
instituted in the world, characterized by sufficient  
power to destroy idolatry, revealing at the same time  
a holy object of worship ; and this revelation being 
accompanied by means and influence so adapted to  
man's nature as to secure the result.  
To this inquiry the future pages of this volume  
will be devoted. The inquiry is not primarily con- 
cerning the truth of the Bible, but concerning the  
only religion possible for mankind, and the only  
means by which such religion could be given consist- 
ently with man's nature and circumstances.  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  41


-  -  

42  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
Chapter II.  
CONCERNING THE DESIGN AND NECESSITY OF THE BONDAGE  
IN EGYPT.  
THERE are certain bonds of union and sources of  
sympathy by which the minds of a whole people may  
be united into one common mind; so much so, that  
all hearts in the nation will be affected by the same  
subjects, and all minds moved by the same motives.  
Any cause which creates a common interest and a  
common feeling, common biases and common hopes,  
in the individual minds which compose a nation, has  
a tendency to unite them in this manner.  
Some of the causes which have more power than  
any others to bind men, as it were, into a common  
being, are the following: The natural tie of consan- 
guinity, or a common parentage, is a strong bond of  
affiliation among men. And there are others which,  
in some cases, seem to be even stronger than this:  
among these may be named a common interest ; a  
common religion ; and a common fellowship in suffer- 
ing and deliverance. Any circumstance which educes  
the susceptibilities of the mind and twines them to- 
gether, or around a common object ; any event in  
which the interest, the feelings, the safety, or the rep- 
utation of any people is involved, causes them to be   

PLAN OF SALVATION.  43  
more closely allied to each other in social and civil  
compact.  
The more firmly a people are bound together by  
these ties of union, the more strength they will pos- 
sess to resist opposing interests and opinions from with- 
out; while, at the same time, every thing national, or  
peculiar to them as a people, will be cherished with  
warmer and more tenacious attachment.  
From the operation of this principle originates the  
maxim,  "Union is strength;"  and whether the conflict  
be mental or physical, the people who are united to- 
gether by the most numerous and powerful sympathies  
will oppose the strongest and the longest resistance to  
the innovations of external forces. On the contrary,  
if the bonds of moral union are few and easily sun- 
dered, the strength of the nation is soon broken, and  
the fragments easily repelled from each other.  
According to this principle, in all cases in which a  
whole nation are to be instructed, or prepared for of- 
fense and defense, or in any wise fitted to be acted  
upon, or to act as a nation, it would be necessary that  
the bonds of national union should be numerous and  
strong, and that as far as possible a perfect oneness  
of interest and feeling should pervade the nation.  
So long as the human mind and human circum- 
stances continue what they are, no power in heaven or  
on earth could unite a people together, except by the  
same or similar means as have been stated. If, there- 
fore, God designed to form a nation, either to be acted  
upon or to act as a nation, be would put in operation


PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
those agencies which would bind them firmly and per- 
manently into one mass.  
Now, mark the application of these deductions to  
the case of the Israelites. About the period when the  
corruptions of idolatry were becoming generally prev- 
alent, Abraham, the Bible record states, was extricated  
by divine interposition.  He was assured that his  
descendants should suffer a long bondage, and after- 
wards become a numerous nation. Abraham was  
their common ancestor, one whom they remembered  
with reverence and pride; and each individual felt  
himself honored by the fact that the blood of the  
" Father of the faithful " circled in his veins. The tie  
of consanguinity in their case was bound in the  
strongest manner, and encircled the whole nation. In  
Egypt their circumstances and employments were the  
same; and in the endurance of a protracted and most  
galling bondage they had a common lot. Their lib- 
eration was likewise a national deliverance, which  
affected alike the whole people, the anniversary of  
which was celebrated by distant posterity with strong  
and peculiar national enthusiasm.  
Now, it has been said that the events of our colo-  
nial servitude, and the achievement of American in- 
dependence, are points in our history which will ever  
operate upon our national Character, impressing clear  
views of the great principles of Republicanism, and  
uniting all hearts in support of those principles: how  
much more affecting and indelible, then, was the  
impress made upon the national heart of the Israelites  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  
by their bondage and deliverance! They were bound  
by blood, by interest, feeling, hopes, fears, by bondage  
and by faith.  
And how firmly did these providences weave into  
one web the sympathies and views of the Jewish peo-  
ple! It is a fact which is the miracle of history, and  
the wonder of the world, that the ties which unite 
this people seem to be indissoluble. While other na-  
tions have risen and reigned and fallen ; while the ties  
which united them have been sundered, and their  
fragments lost amid earth's teeming population, the  
stock of Abraham endures, like an incorruptible mon- 
ument of gold, undestroyed by the attrition of the  
waves of time, which have dashed in pieces and washed  
away other nations, whose origin was but yesterday  
compared with this ancient and wonderful people.  
In this manner was this nation prepared for pecu- 
liar duties, and to dicharge those duties under peculiar  
circumstances. Many of the nations by which they  
were surrounded were more powerful than themselves;  
all were warlike, and each had its peculiar system of  
idolatry, which corrupted all hearts that caine within  
its influence. Hence the necessity that this people  
should be so united together as to resist the power and  
contagious example of surrounding nations, while they  
were fitted to receive and preserve a peculiar national  
character, civil polity, and religious doctrines ; of all  
which they were to be the conservators amid surround- 
ing and opposing heathenism, for many ages.  
Other items might be added to the induction which  

45  44


Chapter III.  
CONCERNING MIRACLES - PARTICULARLY THE MIRACLES  
WHICH ACCOMPANIED THE DELIVERANCE OF THE  
ISRAELITES FROM BONDAGE IN EGYPT.  
THERE has been so much false philosophy written  
concerning the subject of miracles, that it is difficult  
for those conversant with the speculations of writers  
upon this subject to divest their minds sufficiently of  
preformed biases to examine candidly the simple and  
natural principles upon which is based the evidence  
and necessity of miraculous interposition.  
The following statement is true beyond controversy:  
Man can not, in the present constitution of his mind, be- 
lieve that religion has a divine origin unless it be accom- 
panied with miracles.  The necessary inference of the  
mind is, that if an Infinite Being acts, his acts will be  
superhuman in their character; because the effect,  
reason dictates, will be characterized by the nature of ,  
its cause. Man has the same reason to expect that  
God will perform acts above human power and knowl- 
edge that he has to suppose the inferior orders of ani- 
mals will, in their actions, sink below the power and  
wisdom which characterizes human nature. For as it  
is natural for man to perform acts superior to the power  
and knowledge of the animals beneath him, so reason  

46  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
would make the design, if possible, more apparent.  
If the Jews were to be the recipients of new instruc- 
tion, to obey new laws, and to sustain new institu- 
tions, it would be desirable that their minds, so far as  
possible, should be in the condition of new material,  
occupied by little previous knowledge, and by no na- 
tional prejudices against or in favor of governmental  
forms and systems. Now, in the case of the Jews, the  
habit of obedience had been acquired. They had no  
national predilections or prejudices arising from past  
experience. In relation to knowledge of any kind,  
their mind was almost a  tabula rasa.  They were as  
new material prepared to receive the molding of a  
master hand and the impress of a governing mind.  
Now, as this discipline of the descendants of Abra-  
ham was the result of a long concatenation of events,  
and could not have been designed by themselves to  
accomplish the necessary end; and as the whole chain  
of events was connected together and perfectly adapted,  
in accordance with the nature of things, to produce  
the specific purpose which was accomplished by them,  
it follows as the only rational conclusion, first, that  
the overruling intelligence of God was employed in  
thus preparing material for a purer religious worship  
than the world then enjoyed ; and, second, that a  
nation could have been so prepared by no other agent,  
and in no other way.  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  47


48  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
affirms that it is  natural for God to develop his power  
by means and in ways above the skill and ability of  
mortals. Hence, if God manifest himself at all—un-  
less, in accommodation to the capacities of men, he  
should constrain his manifestations within the compass  
of human ability—every act of God's immediate power  
would, to human capacity, be a miracle. But if God  
were to constrain all his acts within the limits of  
human means and agencies, it would be impossible for  
man to discriminate between the acts of the Godhead  
and the acts of the manhood. And man, if he considered 
acts of a divine origin which were plainly within the  
compass of human ability, would violate his own reason.  
Suppose, for illustration, that God desired to reveal  
a religion to men, and wished them to recognize his  
character and his benevolence in giving that revela- 
tion. Suppose, further, that God should give such a  
revelation, and that every appearance and every act  
connected with its introduction was characterized by  
nothing superior to human power. Could any rational  
mind on earth believe that such a system of religion  
came from God ? Impossible! A man could as easily  
be made to believe that his own child, who possessed  
his own lineaments and his own nature, belonged to  
some other world and some other order of the creation.  
It would not be possible for God to convince men that  
a religion was from heaven, unless it was accompanied  
with the marks of divine power.  
Suppose, again, that some individual were to appear  
either in the heathen or Christian world—he claimed  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  49  
to be a teacher sent from God, yet aspired to the per- 
formance of  no  miracles ; he assumed to do nothing  
superior to the wisdom and ability of other men. Such  
an individual, although he might succeed in gaining  
proselytes to some particular view of a religion already  
believed, yet he could never make men believe that  
he had a special commission from God to establish a  
new religion, for the simple reason that he had no  
grounds more than his fellows to support his claims as  
an agent of the Almighty. But if he could convince 
a single individual that he had wrought a miracle, or  
that he had power to do so, that moment his claims  
would be established, in that mind, as a commissioned  
agent from heaven. So certainly, and so intuitively,  
do the minds of men revere and expect miracles as  
the credentials of the divine presence.  
This demand of the mind for miracles, as testimony  
of the divine presence and power, is intuitive with all  
men; and those very individuals who have doubted  
the existence or necessity of miracles, should they  
examine their own convictions on this subject, would  
see that by an absolute necessity, if they desired to  
give the world a system of religion, whether truth or  
imposture, in order to make men receive it as of divine  
authority, they must work miracles to attest its truth,  
or make men believe that they did so. Men can pro-
duce doubt of a revelation in no way until they have  
destroyed the evidence of its miracles ; nor can faith  
be produced in the divine origin of a religion until  
the evidence of miracles is supplied.  
4


50  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
The conviction that miracles are the true, attesta- 
tion of immediate divine agency is so constitutional  
(allow the expression) with the reason, that so soon  
as men persuade themselves they are the special agents  
of God in propagating some particular truth in the  
world, they adopt likewise the belief that they have  
ability to work miracles. There have been many sin- 
cere enthusiasts, who believed that they were special  
agents of heaven, and in such cases the conviction of  
their own miraculous powers arises as a necessary con- 
comitant of the other opinion. Among such, in mod- 
ern times, may be instanced Immanuel Swedenborg,  
and Irving, the Scotch preacher. Impostors also, per- 
ceiving that miracles were necessary in order that the  
human mind should receive a religion as divine, have  
invariably claimed miraculous powers. Such instances  
recur constantly from the days of Elymas down to  
the Mormon, Joseph Smith.  
All the multitude of false religions, that have been  
believed since the world began, have been introduced  
by the power of this principle. MIRACLES BELIEVED,  
lie at the foundation of all religions which men have  
ever received as of divine origin. No matter how  
degrading or repulsive to reason in other respects, the  
fact of its establishment and propagation grows out  
of the belief of men that miraculous agency lies at  
the bottom. This belief will give currency to any  
system, however absurd, and without it no system can  
be established in the minds of men, however high and  
holy may be its origin and its design.  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  51  
Such, then, is the constitution which the Maker has  
given to the mind. Whether the conviction be an  
intuition or an induction of the reason, God is the  
primary cause of its existence ; and its existence puts  
it out of the power of man to receive a revelation  
from God himself, unless accompanied with miraculous  
manifestations. If, therefore, God ever gave a revela- 
tion to man, it was necessarily accompanied with  
miracles, and with miracles of such a nature as would  
clearly distinguish the divine character and the divine  
authority of the dispensation.  
The whole fullness and force of these deductions  
apply to the case of the Israelites. The laws of their  
mind not only demanded miracles as an attestation of  
driine interposition ; but at that time the belief ex- 
;ger in their minds that miracles were constantly  
"Performed. Although they remembered the God of  
Abrahani, Isaac, and Jacob, yet they likewise, as sub- 
sequent facts clearly attested, believed that the idols  
of Egypt possessed the attributes of divinity. The  
belief in a plurality of gods was then common to all  
nations. And although this error was corrected, and  
perhaps entirely removed, by succeeding providences  
and instructions, from the minds of the Jews, yet  
before the miracles in Egypt, while the God of  
Abraham was, perhaps, in most cases acknowledged as  
their God, the idols of Egypt were acknowledged as  
the gods of the Egyptians, and probably worshiped  
as the divinities who had power to dispense good and  
evil to all the inhabitants of that land. And, in com-  
jAM ES WHITE LIPRARY  
ANDREWS LINIVERSM'  
BERRIEN SPRINGS, MICHIGAN


52  PHILOSOPRY OF THE  
mon with all Egypt, they, no doubt, believed that the  
acts of jugglery, in which the magicians or priests of  
Egypt had made astonishing proficiency, were actual  
miracles, exhibiting the power of their idols, and the  
authority of the priests to act in their name.  
I ❑   view, therefore, of existing circumstances, two  
things were necessary, on the part of God,* in order  
to give any revelation to the Israelites : First, that  
he should manifest himself by miracles ; and second,  
that those miracles should be of such a character as  
evidently to distinguish them from the jugglery of the  
magicians, and to convince all observers of the exist- 
ence and omnipotence of the true God, in contradis- 
tinction from the objects of idolatrous worship. Unless  
these two things were done, it would have been im- 
possible for the Israelites to have recognized JEHOVAH  
as the  only living and  true GOD.  
It follows, then, that by the miracles which God  
wrought by the hand of Moses, he pursued the only 
way that was possible to give a revelation in which  
his presence and power would be recognized. The  
only point of inquiry remaining is, Were the miracles  
of such a character and performed in such a manner  
as to remove false views from the minds of the Israel- 
ites, and to introduce right views concerning the true  
God and the non-existence of factitious objects of  
worship ?  
When rye speak of a thing as necessary on the part  
of God, it is said, not in view of God's attributes, but in  
view of man's nature and circumstances.  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  
With this point in view, the design in the manage- 
ment and character of the miracles in Egypt is inter- 
esting and obvious. Notice, first, the whole strength  
of the magicians' skill was brought out and measured  
with that of the miraculous power exerted through  
Moses. If this had not been done, the idea would  
have remained in the minds of the people, that al- 
though Moses wielded a mighty, miraculous power, it  
might be derived from the Egyptian gods ; or if it was  
not thus derived, they might have supposed that if the  
priests of those idols were summoned they could con- 
travene or arrest the power vested in Moses by  
Jehovah. But now, the magicians appearing in the  
name of their gods, the power of Moses was seen to  
be not only superior to their sorceries, but hostile to  
them and their idolatrous worship.  
Notice, second, the design and adaptedness of the  
miracles, not only to distinguish the power of the true  
God, but to destroy the confidence placed in the pro- 
tection and power of the idols.  
The first miracle, while it authenticated the mission  
of Moses, destroyed the serpents, which among the  
Egyptians were objects of worship ; thus evincing,  
in the outset, that their gods could neither help the  
people nor save themselves.  
The second miracle was directed against the river  
Nile, another object which they regarded with re- 
ligious reverence. This river they held sacred, as the  
Hindoos do the Ganges; and even the fish in its  
waters they revered as objects of worship. They drank  

53


                            

                            

                    
54  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
the water with reverence and delight, and supposed  
that a divine efficacy dwelt in its waves to heal  
diseases of the body. The water of this their cherished  
object of idolatrous homage was transmuted to blood ;  
and its finny idols became a mass of putridity.  
The third miracle was directed  to the  accomplish-  .--  ment of the same end, the destruction of faith in the river  
as an ob'ect of worship. The waters of the Nile were  
caused to sen orth legions of frogs, which infested  
the whole land, and became a nuisance and a torment  
to the people. Thus their idol, by the power of the 
true God, was polluted and turned into a source of  
pollution to its worshipers.  
By the firth miracle_of a series constantly in- 
creasing in power and severity, lice came upon man  
and beast throughout the land. " Now, if it be re- 
membered," says Gleig, " that no one could approach  
the altars of Egypt upon whom so_impure an insect  
harbored ; and that the priests, to guard against the  
slightest risk of contamination, wore only linen gar- 
ments, and shaved their heads and bodies every day,*  
the severity of this miracle as a judgment upon  
Egyptian idolatry may be imagined. Whilst it lasted  
no act of worship could be performed, and so keenly  
was this felt that the very magicians exclaimed, " This  
is the finger of God."  
The fifth miracle was designed to_ destroy the trust  
of the people in  Beelzebub or the Fly-kod, who  was  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  55  
reverenced as their  protector  from  visitations  of swarms  
of ravenous  flies, -Which infested the land generally  
about the timiiirWe7irk4716.,_ind removed only, as  
they supposed, at the will of this idol. The miracle  
now wrought by  Moses evinced the impotence of  
Beelzebub, and caused the peo 1. pi) to look elsewhere  
for relief from the  fearful visitation under which they  
were suffering  
The sixth miracle,  which destroyed the cattle, ex-  
cepting -   o f  the Israelites, was aimed at the de-  
structionsLthe entire system of brute worship. This  
system, degrading and bestial as  it was, had become  
a monster of many heads in Egypt. They had their  
sacred bull, and ram, and heifer, and goat, and many  
others, all of which were destroyed by the agency of  
the God of Moses. Thus, by one act of power, Je- 
hovah manifested his own supremacy, and destroyed  
the very existence of their brute idols.  
Of the peculiar fitness of the sixth plague (the  
seventh miracle), says the writer before quoted, the  
reader will receive a better impression, when he is re- 
minded that in Egypt there were several altars upon  
which human sacrifices were occasionally offered, when  
they desired to propitiate Typhon, or the Evil Prin- 
ciple. These victims being burned alive, their ashes  
were gathered together by the officiating priests, and  
thrown up into the air, in order that evil might be  
averted from every place to which an atom of the  
ashes was wafted. By the direction of Jehovah,  
Moses took a handful of ashes from the furnace  

                    

                    

                    

                    

                    

                    

                    

                    

                    

                      
* Every third, day according to Herodotus.  

                            

                            

                            

                            




56  PEILOSOPHY OF THE  
(which, very probably, the Egyptions at this time had  
frequently used to turn aside the plagues with which  
they were smitten), and he cast it into the air, as  
they were accustomed to do ; and instead of averting  
evil, boils and blains fell upon all the people of the  
land. Neither king, nor priest, nor people escaped.  
Thus the bloody rites of Typhon became a curse to  
the idolators, the supremacy of Jehovah was affirmed,  
and the deliverence of the Israelites insisted  ❑ pon.  
The ninth miracle was directed against the worship  
of Serapis, whose peculiar office was supposed to be to  
protect the country from locusts. At periods these  
destructive insects came in clouds upon the land, and,  
like an overshadowing curse, they blighted the fruits  
of the field and the verdure of the forest. At the  
command of Moses these terrible insects came, and  
they retired only at his bidding. Thus was the im- 
potence of Serapis made manifest, and the idolators  
taught the folly of trusting in any other protection  
than that of Jehovah, the God of Israel.  
The eighth and tenth miracles were directed against  
the worship of Isis and Osiris, to whom and the river  
Nile they awarded the first place* in the long cata- 
logue of their idolatry. These idols were originally  
the representatives of the sun and moon; they were  
Against the worship of the Nile two miracles were di- 
rected, and two likewise against Isis and Osiris, because  
they were supposed to be the supreme gods. Many placed  
the Nile first, as they said it had power to water Egypt  
independently of the action of the elements.  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  57  
believed to control the light and the elements; and  
their worship prevailed in some form among all the  
early nations. The miracles directed against the wor- 
ship of Isis and Osiris must have made a deep im- 
pression on the minds both of the Israelites and the,  
Egyptians. In a country where rain seldonviallS;  
where the atmosphere is always calm, and the light of  
the heavenly bodies always continued, what was the  
horror pervading all minds during the elemental war  
described in the Hebrew record ; during the long pe- 
riod of three days and three nights, while the gloom of  
thick darkness settled, like the outspread pall of death,  
over the whole land ! Jehovah of Hosts summoned  
Nature to proclaim him the true God ; the God of  
Israel asserted his supremacy, and exerted his power to  
degrade the idols, destroy idolatry, and liberate the de- 
scendants of Abraham from the land of their bondage.  
The Almighty having thus revealed himself as the  
true God by miraculous agency, and pursued those  
measures, in the exercise of his power, which were  
directly adapted to destroy the various forms of idol- 
atry which existed in Egypt, the eleventh and last  
miracle was a judgment, in order to manifest to all  
minds that Jehovah was the God who executes judg- 
ment in the earth.  
The Egyptians had for a long time cruelly op- 
pressed the Israelites, and to put the finishing horror  
to their atrocities they had finally slain at their birth  
the offspring of their victims; and now God, in the  
exercise of infinite justice, visited them with righteous  

r


Fr  ' 4 1111111111.11  
58  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
retribution. In the mid-watches of the night the  
"Angel of the Pestilence" was sent to the dwellings  
of Egypt, and he " breathed in the face" of all the  
first-born in the land. In the morning, the hope of  
every family, from the palace to the cottage, was a  
corpse. What mind can imagine the awful conster- 
nation of that scene, when an agonizing wail rose from  
the stricken hearts of all the parents in the nation!  
The cruel task-masters were taught, by means which en-
tered their souls, that the true God was a God not only  
of power, but of judgment, and as such to be feared  
by evil-doers and reverenced by those that do well.  
The demonstration, therefore, is conclusive that in  
view of the idolatrous state of the world, and espe- 
cially in view of the character and circumstances of  
the Israelites, the true God could have made a reve- 
lation of himself in no other way than by the means  
and in the manlier of the miracles of Egypt; and  
none but the true God could have revealed himself in  this way.*  
';'In accordance with the foregoing are the intimations  
given in the Bible of the design of the miracles of Egypt.  
By these exhibitions of divine power God said, "Ye," the  
Israelites, " and Pharaoh shall know that I am Jehovah."  
Miracles; moreover, was the evidence that Pharaoh re- 
quired. Ex. vii, 9, God said to Moses that when he should  
present himself as the divine legate, and Pharaoh should  
require a miracle, to perform it accordingly.  
In relation to the destruction of idolatry, the design of  
Jehovah is expressly announced, Ex. xii, 12: "Against all  
the gods of Egypt will I execute judgment;  I am  Je- hovah." See also Ex. xviii, 11.  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  59  
Chapter IV.  
CONCERNING WHAT WAS NECESSARY AS THE FIRST STEP IN  
THE PROCESS OF REVELATION.  
BY the miracles of Egypt the false views and cor- 
rupt habits of the Israelites were, for the time being,  
in a great measure removed. Previously they had  
believed in a plurality of gods; and although they  
remembered the God of Abraham, yet they had, as is  
evident from notices in the Bible, associated with his  
attribute of almighty power (the only attribute well  
understood  by the Patriarchs) many of the corrupt  
attributes of the Egyptian idols. Thus the idea of  
God was debased by having groveling and corrupt  
attributes superinduced upon it. By miraculous agency  
theie dishonorable views of the divine character were  
removed; their minds were emptied of false impres- 
sions in order that they might be furnished with the  
true idea and the true attributes of the Supreme  
Being.  But how could minds in the infancy of knowledge  
respecting God and human duty, having all they had  
previously learned removed, and being now  about to  
take the first step in their progress—how could the  
first principles of divine knowledge be conveyed to  
such minds?  

  
e.  




PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
One thing in the outset would evidently be neces- 
sary: knowledge, as the mind is constituted, can be  
communicated in no other way than progressively; it  
would be necessary, therefore, that they should begin  
with the elementary principles, and proceed through  
all the stages of their education. The mind can not  
receive at once all the parts of a system in religion,  
science, or any other department of human knowledge.  
One fact or idea must be predicated upon another, just  
as one stone rests upon another, from the foundation  
to the top of the building. There are successive steps  
in the acquisition of knowledge, and every step in the  
mind's progress must be taken from advances already  
made. God has inwrought the law of progression into  
the nature of things, and observes it in his own works.  
From the springing of a blade to the formation of the  
mind, or of a world, every thing goes forward by con- 
secutive steps.  
It was necessary, therefore, in view of the estab- 
lished laws of the mind, that the knowledge of God  
and human duty should be imparted to the Israelites  
,by successive communications; necessary that there  
should be a first step, or primary principle, for a start-  
ing point, and then a progression onward and upward  
to perfection.  
In accordance with these principles, God, in the  
introduction of the Mosaic dispensation, revealed only  
his essential existence to the Israelites. In Exodus iii,  
13, 14, it is stated that Moses inquired of God, " Be- 
hold, when T come unto the children of Israel and say  

60  
PLAN OF SALVATION.  61  
unto them, The God of your fathers bath sent me  
unto you, and they shall say unto me, What is his  
name? what shall I say unto them? And God said,  
I am THE I AM; and he said, Thus shalt thou say  
unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto  
you." In the Hebrew text the simple form of the verb  
is used, corresponding with the first person present, in- 
dicative, of the English verb  to be—simply,  " I am,"  
conveying no idea but that of personality and exist- 
ence. WHAT he was, besides his existence thus re- 
vealed, was afterwards to be learned. This was a  
revelation of divine BEING, a nucleus of essential deity,  
as a foundation fact of the then new dispensation, upon  
which God, by future manifestations, might engraft  
the attributes of his nature.  
Thus, at the outset of the dispensation there was  
thrown into their minds a first truth. God revealed  
his divine existence ; and the idea of God, thus re-  
vealed, was in their minds, without any other attribute  
being connected with it than that of infinite power—  
an attribute of the Godhead which all men derive  
from the works of nature—which was known to the  
Patriarchs as belonging to the true God, and which  
was now, by the miracles manifesting supreme power,  
appropriated to I Am---Jehovah—the God of the Is-  
raelites.  
Thus were this peculiar people carried back to the  
first principles of natural religion, their mind disem- 
barrassed from false notions previously entertained,  
and the true idea of the supreme God and Judge of


-`411111111  
62  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  PLAN OF SALVATION.  63  
men revealed. By these providences they were pre- 
pared, in a manner consistent with the nature of  
things and the nature of mind, to receive a further  
revelation of the moral attributes of Jehovah, whom  
they now recognized as the Supreme God.  Chapter V.  
CONCERNING THE NECESSITY OF AFFECTIONATE OBEDIENCE  
TO GOD ; AND THE MANNER OF PRODUCING THAT OBEDI-  
ENCE IN THE HEARTS OF THE ISRAELITES.  
THE following principles in relation to the affections  
will be recognized by consciousness as true in the ex- 
perience of every man. As they lie at the foundation  
of the moral exercises of the soul, and as they relate  
to the sources and central principles of all true re- 
ligion, it will be necessary for the reader to notice  
them, in order that he may see their application in  
subsequent pages.  
The affections of the soul move in view of cer-  
tain objects, or in view of certain qualities believed  
to exist in those objects. The affections never move— 
in familiar words, the heart never loves—unless love  
be produced by seeing, or  by believing that we see some  
lovely and excellent qualities in the object. When  
the soul believes those good qualillesto be possessed  
by another, and especially, when  they are exercised to- 
wards us,  the affections, like a magnetized needle,  
tremble with life and turn towards their object.  
The affections are not subject to the will ;*  
We state the facts in the case, of which every man is  
conscious in his own experience, without regard to the  
theories of sects in religion or philosophy.


64  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
neither our own will nor any other will can directly  
control them. I can not will to love a being who  
does not appear to me lovely, and who does not ex- 
hibit the qualities adapted to move the affections; nor  
can I,  by  command, or by any other effort of will,  
cause another being to love me. The affections are  
not subject to command. You can not force another  
to love or respect, or even, from the heart, to obey.  
Such an attitude assumed to produce love would in- 
variably produce disaffection rather than affection.  
No one (as a matter of fact) thinks the affections sub- 
ject to the will, and, therefore, men never endeavor  
to obtain the affections of others solely by command,  
but by exhibiting such a character and conferring  
such favors as they know are adapted to move the  
heart. An effect could as easily exist without a cause  
as affection in the bosom of any human being which  
was not produced by goodness or excellencies seen, or  
believed to exist, in some other being.  
3. The affections, although not governed by the  
will, do themselves greatly influence the will. All  
acts of will produced  entirely by pure affection for  
another are disinterested. Cases of the affections in- 
fluencing the will are common in the experience of .    
every one. There is probably no one living who has  
not, at some period of his life, had affection for another,  
so that it gave more pleasure to please the object of  
his love than to please himself.  Love for another al- 
ways  influences the will to act in such a way as will please  
the object loved. The individual loving acts in view of  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  65  
the desires of the loved object, and such acts are  disin- 
terested,  not being done with any selfish end in view,  
but for the sake of another. So soon as the affec- 
tions move towards an object, the will is propor- 
tionably influenced to please and benefit that object ;  
or, if a superior being, to obey his will and secure his  
favor. 
All happy obedience must arise from affection.  
Affectionate obedience blesses the spirit which yields  
it, if the conscience approve the object loved and  
obeyed; while, on the contrary, no happiness can be  
experienced from obedience to any being that we do  
not love. To obey externally either God or a parent,  
from no other than interested motives, would be sin.  
The devil might be obeyed for the same reasons.  
LOve must, therefore, constitute an essential element  
in all proper obedience to God.  
When the affections of two beings are recipro-  
cally fixed upon each other, they constitute a bond of  
union and sympathy peculiarly strong and tender ;  
those things that affect the one affecting the other in  
proportion to the strength of affection existing between  
them. One conforms to the will of the other, not  
from a sense of obligation merely, but from choice ;  
and the constitution of the soul is such that the sweet- 
est enjoyment of which it is capable arises from the  
exercise of reciprocal affection.  
When the circumstances of an individual are  
such that he is exposed to constant suffering and great  
danger, the more afflictive his situation the more grate-  
5


66  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
ful love will he feel for affection and benefits received  
under such circumstances. If his circumstances were  
such that he could not relieve himself, and such that  
he must suffer greatly or perish, and, while in this  
condition, if another, moved by benevolent regard for  
him, should come to aid and save him, his affection  
for his deliverer would be increased by a sense of the  
danger from which he was rescued.  
7. It is an admitted principle that protracted and  
close attention always fixes the fact attended to deeply  
in the memory ; and the longer and more intensely  
the mind attends to any subject, other subjects pro- 
portionably lose their power to interest. The same is  
true in relation to the affections. The longer and  
more intensely we contemplate an object in that rela- 
tion which is adapted to draw out the affections, the  
more deeply will the impression be made upon the  
heart, as well as upon the memory. The most favor- 
able circumstances possible to fix an impression deeply  
upon the heart and memory are, first, that there should  
be protracted and earnest attention; and, second, that  
at the same time that the impression is made, the  
emotions of the soul should be alive with excitement.  
Without these, an impression made upon the heart and  
the memory would be slight and easily effaced ; while,  
on the contrary, an impression made during intense  
attention and excited feeling will be engraved, as with 
a pen of steel, upon the tablets of the soul.  
Now, with these principles in mind, mark the means  
used to fix the attention and to excite the susceptibil-  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  67  
ities of the Israelites, and, while in that state of  
attention and excitement, to draw their affections to  
God.  
The children of Israel were suffering the most  
grievous bondage, which had arrived at almost an in- 
tolerable degree of cruelty and injustice. Just at this  
crisis the God of their fathers appears as their deliv- 
erer, and Moses is commissioned as his prophet.  
When the people are convened and their minds aroused  
by the hopes of deliverance, their attention is turned  
to two parties : one, Pharaoh, their oppressor and the  
slayer of their first-born ; and the other the God of  
Abraham, who now appeared as their deliverer, es- 
pousing their cause and condescending personally to  
oppose himself to their oppressor. Then a scene en- 
sues, adapted in all its circumstances to make a deep  
and enduring impression upon their memory and their  
heart. The God of Abraham seems, by his judg- 
ments, to have forced the oppressor to relent, and to  
let the people go. At this point hope and encourage- 
ment predominate in their minds. Now their oppress- 
or's heart is hardened, and he renews his cruelty; but  
while their hopes are sinking, they are again revived  
and strengthened by finding that God continues to use  
means to induce Pharaoh to release the captives. Thus,  
for a considerable length of time, all the powers of  
excitability in their nature were aroused to activity.  
Towards that being who had so graciously interposed  
in their behalf they felt emotions of hope, gratitude,  
love, and admiration. Towards their oppressor feel-


68  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
ings of an opposite character must have been engen- 
dered; and this state of excited suspense—the emo- 
tions vacillating between love and hatred, hope and  
fear—was continued until the impression became fixed  
deep in their souls.  
Keeping in mind the fact that the more we need  
a benefactor and  feel  that need, the stronger will be  
our feelings of gratitude and love for the being who  
interposes in our behalf, notice further : When, through  
the interposition of the Almighty, the Israelites were  
delivered, and had advanced as far as the Red Sea,  
another appeal was made to their affections, which was  
most thrilling, and adapted to call, by one grand in- 
terposition, all their powers of gratitude and love into  
immediate and full exercise.  
The army of the Israelites lay encamped on the  
margin of the Red Sea, when suddenly they were sur- 
prised by the approaching host of Pharaoh. Before  
them was the sea, and behind them an advancing  
hostile army. If they went forward, they would find  
death in the waves; if they returned backward, it  
would be to meet the swords of their pursuers. A  
rescue by earthly means from death, or bondage more  
severe than they had ever borne, was impossible. Just  
at this crisis of extremity Jehovah appears as their  
deliverer. The bosom of the pathless sea is cleft by  
the power of God. The stricken waters recoil upon  
themselves on either side. The Israelites pass over in  
safety. The Edptian host enter and are overwhelmed  
in the waters.  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  69  
Now it may be affirmed without qualification that,  
in view of the nature and circumstances of the Israel- 
ites, no combination of means, not including the self- 
sacrifice of the benefactor himself, could be so well  
adapted to elicit and absorb all the affections of the  
soul as this wonderful series of events. That this re- 
sult was accomplished by these means is authenti- 
cated by the history given in the Bible. When the  
people were thus delivered they stood upon the other  
side of the sea, and their affections, in answer to the  
call which God had made upon them, gushed forth in  
thanksgiving and praise. Hear the response of their  
hearts, and their allusion to the cause which produced  
that response:  
" 0 sing unto the LORD, for  HE  bath triumphed  
gloriously: the horse and his rider he bath thrown  
into the sea. The Lord is my strength and song, and  
he is become my SALVATION.  He is my God ; and I  
will prepare him a habitation; my father's God, and I  
will exalt him." (Ex. xv, 1, 2, etc.)  
Thus was the attention of the whole nation turned  
to the true God. An impression of his goodness was  
fixed deeply in their memory, and their affections  
were drawn out and fastened upon the true object of  
worship. Now this, as was shown in the commence- 
ment of the chapter, was necessary, before they could  
offer worship either honorable or acceptable to God.  
The end was accomplished by means adapted to the  
nature of the human soul and to the circumstances of  
the Israelites ; and by means which no being in the  
t s


70  

    
PLAN OF SALVATION.  71  
PHILOSOPHY OF THE  

  

      
universe but the Maker of the soul could use. The  
demonstration is, therefore, perfect, that the Scripture  
narrative is true, and that no other narrative, differ- 
ing materially from this in its principles could be  
true.  Chapter VI.  
CONCERNING THE DESIGN AND NECESSITY OF THE MORAL LAW.  
AT this stage of our progress it will be useful to  
recapitulate the conclusions at which we have arrived,  
and thus make a point of rest from which to extend our  
observation further into the plan of God for redeeming  
the world. This review is the more appropriate as we  
have arrived at a period in the history of God's prov- 
idence with Israel, which presents them as a people  
prepared (so far as imperfect material could be pre- 
pared) to receive that model which God might desire  
to impress upon the nation.  
1. They were bound to each other by all the ties  
of which human nature is susceptible, and thus ren- 
dered compact and united, so that every thing national,  
whether in sentiment or practice, would be received  
and cherished with unanimous and fervent and lasting  
attachment; and, furthermore, by a long and rigorous  
bondage they had been rendered, for the time being at  
least, humble and dependent. Thus they were dis- 
ciplined by a course of providences, adapted to fit  
them to receive instruction from their benefactor with  
a teachable and grateful spirit.  
' 2. Their minds were shaken off from idols; and  
Jehovah by a revelation made to them, setting forth  

1


72  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
his name and nature, had revealed himself as a DIVINE  
BEING, and by his works had manifested his almighty  
power, so that when their minds were disabused of  
wrong views of the Godhead, an idea of the first true  
and essential nature of God was revealed to them,  
and they were thus prepared to receive a knowledge  
of the attributes of that divine essence.  
They had been brought to contemplate God as  
their Protector and Savior. Appeals the most affect- 
ing and thrilling had been addressed to their affec- 
tions; and they were thus attached to God as their  
almighty temporal Savior, by the ties of gratitude  
and love for the favor which he had manifested to  
them. 
When they had arrived on the farther shore of  
the Red Sea, thus prepared to obey God and worship  
him with the heart, they were without laws either  
civil or moral. As yet they had never possessed any  
national or social organization. They were, therefore,  
prepared to receive, without predilection or prejudice,  
that system of moral instruction and civil polity which  
God might reveal as best adapted to promote the  
moral interests of the nation.  
From these conclusions we may extend our vision  
forward into the system of revelation. This series of  
preparations would certainly lead the mind to the ex- 
pectation that what was still wanting, and what they had  
been thus miraculously prepared to receive, would be  
granted, which was a knowledge of the moral char- 
acter of God, and a moral law prescribing their duty  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  73  
to God and to men. • Without this the plan that had  
been maturing for generations, and had been carried  
forward thus far by wonderful exhibitions of divine  
wisdom and power would be left unfinished just at the  
point where the finishing process was necessary.  
But besides the strong probability which the pre- 
vious preparation would produce that there would be  
a revelation of moral law, there are distinct and con- 
clusive reasons evincing its necessity.  
The whole experience of the world has confirmed  
the fact beyond the possibility of skepticism that man  
can not discover and establish a perfect rule of human  
duty. Whatever may be said of the many excellent  
maxims expressed by different individuals in different  
ages and nations, yet it is true that no  system  of duty  
to God and man, in any wise consistent with en- 
lightened reason, has ever been established by human  
wisdom and sustained by !human sanctions, and, for  
reasons already stated,* such a fact never can occur.  
But it may be supposed that each man has within  
himself sufficient light from reason, and sufficient ad- 
monition from conscience to guide himself, as an in- 
dividual, in the path of truth and happiness. A  
single fact will correct such a supposition. Conscience,  
the great arbiter of the merit and demerit of human  
conduct has little intuitive sense of right, and is not  
guided entirely by reason, but is governed in a great  
measure by what men believe. Indeed, Faith is the  
legitimate regulator of the conscience. If a maillas  
* See chap. i, p. 34, et. seq.


74  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
correct views  of duty to God and men, he will have  
Eoirect -conscience; but if he cal - Ty — t wrofig iew  
of morals and of the character of God, be induced to  
believe Wart - hen or murdet -- ;- ,-- 6Fany Vice - ,iii -right, his  
conscience will be  corrupted by his faith. When  men  
are brought to believe as they frequently _do believe  
in_ heathen_ countries, that_it is right to commit suicide  
or infanticide as a religious duty, their conscience  
condemns them if they do not perform the act.  — Thus  
that power 111cT soul which pronounces upon the  
---- morarc - F laiacter of human conduct, is itself dependent  
upon and regulated by the faith of the individual. It  
is apparent, therefore, that the reception and belief of  
a true rule of duty, accompanied with proper sanc- 
tions, will alone form in man a proper conscience.  
God has so constituted the soul that it is necessary,  
in order to the regulation of its moral powers, that 
it should have a rule of duty revealed under the•  
sanction of its Maker's authority ; otherwise its high  
moral powers would lie in dark and perpetual disorder.  
. Further, unless the human soul be an exception,  
God governs all things by laws gaited to their pro_per  
nature. The laws which govern the  world  
are sketched in the books on natural science ; such  
are gravitation, affinity, mathematical motion. Those  
laws by which the irrational animal creation is con- 
trolled are usually called instincts. Their operation  
and design are sketched, to some extent, in treatises  
upon the instincts of animals.. Such is theiaw which  
leads the beaver to build his clam, and all other ani-  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  75    
mals to pursue some particular habits instead of others.  
All beavers, from the first one created to the present  
time, have been instinctively led to build a dam-in  the  
same manner, and so their instinct will lead them to  
build till the end of time. The law which drives them  
to the act is as necessitating as the law which causes 
the smoke t o rise upwards. Nothing in the universe  
of God, animate or inanimate, is left without the  _  government of appropriate law, unless that thing be  
the noblest creature of God—the human spirit. To  
suppos e,Therefore, that the human soul is thus left  
unguided by a revealed rule of conduct, is to suppose  
that God cares for the less and not the greater ; to  
suppose that he would constitute the moral powers of  
the soul so that a law was necessary for their guid- 
ance, and then reveal none.; to suppose, especially in  
the case of the Israelites, that he would prepare a  
people to receive and obey with a proper spirit this  
necessary rule of duty, and yet give no rude. But to  
suppose these thiil would be  it follows, there-  
fore, -thar- God wou d reveal to the Israelites a law for  
the_regulatio of their conduct in morals and religion.  
But_p r ty_ i  sical law or necessitating instinct would  
not be adapted  in its nature to the government of a  
rational and moral being. The  application of either  
to the soul would destroy its  free agency.  God has  
made man intelligent, and thereby adapted his nature  
to a rule which he understands. Man has a will and  
a conscience; but he must understand the  rule in  order  
to will obedience, and he must believe  the sanction by


76  PHILOSORHY OF THE  
which the law is maintained- before he can feel the  
obligation upon his conscience. A law, therefore,  
adapted to man's nature must be addressed to the  
understanding, sanctioned by suitable authority, and  
enforced by adequate penalties.  
In accordance with these legitimate deductions, God  
gave the Israelites a rule of life—the Moral Law— 
succinctly comprehended in the Ten Commandments.  
And as affectionate obedience is the only proper obe- 
dience, he coupled the facts which were fitted to pro- 
duce affection with the command to obey, saying, " I  
am Jehovah, thy God, which brought thee up out of  
the land of Egypt, and out of the house of bondage;"  
therefore,  LOVE ME and KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS.*  
* Deut. vi,  passim.  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  77  
Chapter VII.  
CONCERNING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE IDEA OF HOLINESS,  
AND ITS TRANSFER TO JEHOVAH AS AN ATTRIBUTE.  
As yet the Israelites were little acquainted with  
any attribute of the I Am—Jehovah—except his infi- 
niteyoNysLand goodness ; and his goodness was known  
to them only as manifested in kindness and mercy  
towards themselves as a peculiar people, distinguished  
from other nations, as the special objects of the divine  
favor. They had a disposition to worship Jehovah,  
and to regard the rights of each other according to his  
commandments; but they knew as yet little of his  
moral attributes. Of the attribute of holiness—purity  
from sin, and opposition of nature to all moral and  
physical defilement—they knew comparatively noth- 
ing. After the law had been given they knew that  
God required worship and obedience for himself, and  
just conduct towards others, but they did not know  
that his nature was hostile to all moral defilement of  
heart and life. And to this knowledge, as we have  
seen in the introduction, they could not of themselves  
attain.  
At the period of the deliverance from Egypt every  
nation by which they were surrounded worshiped un- 
holy beings. Now, how were the Jews to be extricated  

it


79  78  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
from this difficulty, and made to understand and feel  
the influence of the holy character of God? The  
Egyptian idolatry in which they had mingled was  
beastly and lustful; and one of their first acts of dis- 
obedience after their deliverance showed that their  
minds were still dark and their propensities corrupt.  
The golden calf which they desired should be erected  
for them was not designed as an act of apostasy from  
Jehovah, who had delivered them from Egyptian  
servitude. When the image was made, it was pro- 
claimed to be that God which brought them up out  
of the land of Egypt; and when the proclamation of  
a feast, or idolatrous debauch, was issued by Aaron,  
it was denominated a feast, not to Isis or Osiris, but a  
feast to Jehovah, and as such they held it.* But  
they offered to the holy Jehovah the unholy worship  
of the idols of Egypt. Thus they manifested their  
ignorance of the holiness of his nature, as well as the  
corruption of their own hearts.  
It was necessary, therefore, in order to promote right  
exercises of heart in religious worship, that the Israel- 
ites should be made acquainted with the holiness of  
God. The precise question, then, for solution is, How  
could the idea of God's holiness be conveyed to the  
minds of the Israelites? If it should be found that  
there is but one way in which it could be originated,  
according to the nature of mind, then it would fol- 
low, necessarily, that God would pursue that way, or  
he.would have to alter the human constitution in order  
Ex. xxxii, 4, 5.  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  
to communicate a knowledge of his attribute of holi- 
ness. But, as it is matter of fact that the constitu- 
tion of the mind has not been altered, it follows that  
that method would be pursued which is in accordance  
with the nature of mind•, to convey the necessary  
knowledge. Now all practical knowledge is conveyed  
to the understandiitgthinugh the medium of the  
senses.  Whatever may - be said about innate ideas by  
speculative philosophers, still all agree that all acquired  
knowledge must reach the mind through the medium  
of one of the five senses, or upon the occasion of their  
exercise: Through ffie senses the knowledge of exter- 
nal objects is conveyed to the mind, and these simple  
ideas serve as material for reflection, comparison, and  
abstraction.  
The etymology of the Hebrew language, as written  
by Moses and spoken by the Israelites, furnishes an  
interesting illustration of the origin of the few abstract  
terms with  which  their minds were familiar. The  
abstract ideas of the Hebrew tongue may even now,  
in most instances, be traced to the object or circum- 
stance whence they originated. Thus the idea of  
power, among the Hebrews, was derived from the horn  
of an animal, and the same word in Hebrew which  
signifies horn _likewise  signifies power, and may be  
translated in either way to  suit the  sense. "The  idea  
was originally conveyed through the eye, by noticing  
that the strength of the animal was exerted through  
its horn. The force thus exerted, especially when the  
animal was enraged, was the greatest which fell under


80  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
their observation, and, sometimes, in its effects it was  
disastrous and overwhelming. Hence the horn soon  
became a figure to denote power; and when the idea  
was once originated and defined in their minds they  
could apply it to any object which produced a strong  
effect either upon the bodies or the minds of men. An  
idea of power likewise originated from the human  
hand, because through it man exerted his strength.  
The same word in Hebrew still expresses both the  
object and the idea derived from it. "Life and death  
are in the power of the tongue," reads literally, "Life  
and death are in the  hand of the tongue." Sunshine  
in Hebrew is synonymous with happiness, the idea  
being originated by experiencing the pleasant feelings  
produced by the effects of a sunny day; and when  
thus originated it was applied to the same and similar  
feelings produced by other causes. The abstract idea  
of judgment or justice is derived from a word which  
signifies to cut  or  divide, it being originated by the  
circumstance that when the primitive hunters had  
killed a stag or other prey, one divided the flesh with  
a knife among those who assisted in the pursuit, dis- 
tributing a just portion to each. Thus the act of cut- 
ting and dividing their prey, which was the first cir- 
cumstance that called into exercise and placed before  
their senses the principle of justice, was the circum- 
stance from which they derived this most important  
abstract idea.  
Other instances might be mentioned. These are  
sufficient to show the manner in which the abstract  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  81  
ideas of the Hebrews were originated. And so every  
new idea which found a  place in their understanding  
had to be originated, primarily, by  an  impression  
made by externalp_l _jigcts upon _the senses.  
Further, all ideas which admit of the signification  
of more or most perfect can be originated only by a  
comparison of one object with another. More lovely,  
or more pure, can only be _predicated  of one thing by  
comparison  with another which  _it excels in_ one  of  
these  - respects.  By a series of comparisons,  each one  
exceeding the  last in beauV or _p_urity, an idea of  the  
Wiest degree of  perfection ma_y be _produced.  Thus  
one flower may be called lovely, another more lovely,  
and the rose the most lovely ; and the idea of the  
superior  beauty of the rose would be originated by the  
comparison or contrast between it and other flowers  
of less beauty. It is not said that the rose would not  
appear lovely without comparison, but the idea of its  
superior  loveliness is originated by comparison, and_ it  
could be derived in no other way.  
With these principles in mind we return to the in-  
dairy, How  could the idea of God's holiness  or moral  
purity be convgsd _ to  the minds  of  the  Jews!  
First,  mark the  principles.  (1.) There was not an  
object in the material world _which would coiLvey_ta  
the mind the   idea of _God's holiness. (2.) The idea,  
therefore, would have _to be  originated,  and:  thrown  
into their mind,  through the senses, by a process in • .    
stituted forthat express purpose..  The plan to   
6


82  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
originate the idea in order to meet the constitution of  
the mind, must consist of a series of comparisons.  
Now, mark - the correspondency between_these_ptIn- 
ciples, founded upon  the laws of the mind,  and that  
system  devised to instruct the Israelites in the knowl-  __  
edge of  God.  
In the outset, the animals common to Palestine  
were divided by command of Jehovah into clean and  
unclean ; in this way a distinctionwas m - ade,_and_the  
one class  with the  other_ was _deemed to  
be of a purer and better kind. From the class thiis  
dikinguished as more pure than the other, one was  
selected to offer as a sacrifice. It was not only to be  
chosen from the clean beasts, but as an individual it was  
to be without spot or blemish. Thus it was in their  
eyes purer than the other class, and purer than other  
individuals of its own class. This sacrifice the_peo- 
ple were not deemed worthy in their own persau_s to  
Tre o r unto Jehovah, but it was to be offered_hy_a class  
of men who were distinguished from _their brethren,  
purified and set apart for the service of the priests  
office. Thus  the   idea of  purity   originated from two  
sources; the ptirlfied_priest  and the pare_animal_puri-  
were united in the offering of the sacrifice. But  
before the sacrifice could be offered it was washed with  
clean water, and the priest had, in some cases, to  
wash himself and officiate withOut his sandals- Thus  
when one process of comparison after another had  
attached the idea of superlative purity to the sacrifice  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  83  
in offering it to Jehovah, in order that the contrast 
between the purity of God and the highest degrees of  
earthly .purity might be seen, neither pest,   people,  
nor sacrifice was deemed sufficiently pure to come into  
his presence, but the off•3ring was made in_ the  court_  
wiihout the holy of holies. In this manner, by a  
process  of  on, the character `   of God-rn -point-  
was placed indefinitely above themselves    
their sacrifices.*  
And not only in the sacrifices, but throughout the  
whole Levitical economy, the idea of purity pervaded  
all its ceremonies and observances. The camp was  
purified, the people were purified; every thing_ was  
purified and re-purified, and each process of the ordi- 
nances was designed to reflect purity upon the others,  
until finally that idea of purity formed in the mind and_  
renlired intern — fel - 3y the convergence of so many rays,  
was by comparison  referred  to the idea of God, and the  
idea of God in their minds help& that of an infinitely  
powerful and good Spirit, hence, purity as a _  charae,  
teristic — Cir attribute of sucha_nature would neces- 
sarily assume a moral aspect; because it appertained  
* It is not argued that no other end was designed and  
accomplished by the arbitrary separation of animals into  
classes of clean and unclean. By this means the Jews  
were undoubtedly excluded from partaking in the feasts  
of the heathen around, who ate those animals which were  
forbidden to them. An excellent writer observes that it  
is characteristic of the wisdom of God to accomplish  many  
ends by a  single act of providence.


PLAN OF SALVATION.  85  
84  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
to a moral being,. it would become  moral purity,  or  
holiness.  Thus they learned in the sentiment of Scrip- 
ture that God was of too  pure  eyes to look upon  
iniquity.  
That the idea of moral purity in the minds of the  
Israelites was thus originated by the machinery of the  
Levitical dispensation, is supported, not only by  
the philosophy of the thing, but by many allusions  
in the Scriptures. Such allusions are frequent both  
in the writers of the old and of the new dispensa- 
tions; evidencing that, in their minds, the idea of  
moral purity was still symbolized by physicil purity.  
The rite of baptism is founded upon this symbolical  
analogy, the external washing with water being  
significant of the purifying influence of the Holy  
Spirit. St. Johu saw in vision the undefiled in heart  
clothed with linen pure and white ; evincing that, to  
the mind of the Jew, such vestments as the high- 
priest wore when he entered the holy of holies were  
still emblematical of moral purity. In the Epistle to  
Hebrews, which is an apostolic exposition of the  
spiritual import of the Levitical institution, so far as  
that institution particularly concerns believers under 
the New Testament dispensation, we have the fore- 
going view of the design of ceremonial purification  
expressly confirmed. " It was, therefore, necessary,"  
says Paul to the Hebrews, " that the patterns of  
things in the heavens should be purified with these  
[i. e.  with these purifying processes addressed to the   

senses], but the heavenly things themselves with better  
sacrifices than these ;" the plain instruction of which  
is, that the parts and processes of  the Levitical econ- 
omy were patterns addressed to the senses of unseen  
things in lieaven, and that the purifying   of  those  
patterns indicated the spiritual purity of the spiritual  
thingswhich they represented.  
There is, finally, demonstrative evidence of the  
fact, that the idea of perfect moral purity as connected  
with the idea of God is  now,  and always has been,  the  
same which was originated and conveyed to the minds  
of the Jews by the machinery of the Levitical dispen- 
sation. The Hebrew word vp—guadhosh—was  used to  
express the idea of purity as originated by the taber- 
nacle service. The literal definition is, pure, to be pure,  
to be purified for sacred uses.  The word thus originated  
and conveying this meaning is employed in the Scrip- 
tures to express the moral purity or holiness of God.*  
In the New Testament this word is translated by the  
Greek term lireos, hagios,  but the Hebrew idea is con- 
nected with the Greek word. In King James's ver- 
sion this Greek word is rendered by the Saxon term  
holy,  the Saxon word losing its original import  (whole,  
wholly), and taking that of the Hebrew derived through  
the Greek. So that our idea of the holiness of God  
is the same which was originated by the Levitical cer- 
emonies ; and there is no other word, so far as I have  
been able to examine, in any language which conveys  
*  ow—my holy name. Lev. xx, 3.


86  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
this idea ; nor is there any idea among any people 
that approximates closely to the Scripture idea of holi- 
ness, unless the words received some shades of its  
signification from the Bible.*  
Here, then, the idea of God's moral purity was  
conveyed by the Mosaic economy in a  manner in ac-  
cordance with the constitution  and the wndition of the  _ —  
Jewish mind. This same  idea has descended from the  
Hebrew, through the Greek, to our ow -   n language 1 and  
there is, so far as known, no other word in the_ world  
which conveys to_ the mind the true.. idea of God's  
moral purity,  but that originated  by the institution  
which God prescribed to Moses upon the mount.'  
The demonstrition then is conclusive, both from  
philosophy and fact, that the true and necessary idea  
of God's attribute of holiness was originated by the  
a One of the principal difficulties which the mis- 
sionary meets with, according to letters in the missionary  
/reports, is that of conveying to the mind of the heathen  
the idea of the holiness of God. They find no such idea  
in their minds, and they can use no words in their lan- 
guage by which to convey the full and true force of the  
thought. The true idea, therefore, if communicated at all,  
must be conveyed by a periphrasis, and by labored illus- 
tration. This obstacle will be one of the most difficult to  
surmount in all languages, and it can not be perfectly  
overcome till the Christian teacher becomes perfectly  
familiar with the language of those whom he wishes to  
instruct.  
t Ex. xxv, 9.  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  87  
" patterns " of the Levitical economy, and that it  
could have been communicated to mankind, at the  
first, in no other way.*  •  
* The foundation principle of that school of skepti- 
cism, at the head of which are the atheistical materialists,  
is that all knowledge is derived through the medium of  
the senses, and that as God is not an object of sense, men  
can have no knowledge of his being or attributes. Now  
these deductions show that the truth of revealed religion  
may be firmly established upon their own proposition.


88  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
Chapter VIII.  
CONCERNING THE ORIGIN OF THE IDEAS OF JUSTICE AND  
MERCY, AND THEIR TRANSFER TO THE CHARACTER  
OF JEHOVAH.  
HOLINESS  and justice, although they convey to he  
mind ideas somewhat distinct from each other, yet  
the import_of the one is shaded into that of the other.  
HolineksAgRifi2s the purity of the divine nature from  
moral defilement, while justice signifies the relation  
which holiness causes God to sustain to men as the  
subjects of the divine -   government. In relation to  
God one Ts subjective, declaring his freedom from sin;  
the other objective, declaring his opposition to sin  
as the transgression of the divine law. The Israelites  
might know that God was holy, and that he required  
of them clean hands and a clean heart in worship, and  
yet not understand the full demerit of transgressing  
the will of God or the intensity of the divine opposi-
tion to sin. God had given them the_taoral law, and  
they knew that he required them to obey it;  but  
what in the mind of God was the proper desert of  
sisobeyiug it,  know. The_y_KaiLlbeen  
accustomed, like all  idolators, to consider the desert  
_ of moral transgression uncertain and une nal. Now  
they had to learn the immutable justice of the Su- 
preme Being, that his holiness was not a passive  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  89  
quality, but an active attribute of his nature, and not  
one the ?AL:mite, but the antagonist rinci le to sin.  
In what manner — , the,cou  a knowledge of the Divine  
Justice, or of the demerit of sin in the sight of God, be  
conveyed to the minds of the Jews?  
There is but one way in which any being can man- 
ifest to other minds the opposition of his nature to  
sin. A lawgiver can manifest his views of the demerit  
of transgression in no other way than by the  penalty  
which he inflicts upon the transgressor. In all beings  
who have authority to make law for the obedience  
of others, the conscience is the standard which regu- 
lates the amount of punishment that should be in- 
flicted upon the disobedient. And the measure  
of punishment which conscience dictates is just  
in proportion to the opposition which the lawgiver  
feels to the transgression of his law; i.  e.,  the  
amount of  regard which he has for his own law will  
graduate the amount of opposition which he will feel  
to its transgression. The amount of opposition which  
any being feels to sin is in proportion to the holiness  
of that being, and conscience will sanetion_penalty up  
to the amount of oppositIOn which he feels to crime.  
If the father of a family felt no regard for the law  
of the Sabbath, his conscience would not allow him   
to punish his_children for violating,_by__Klly or labor,  
a law which he did_nothiraself respect. But a father  
who felt a sacred regard for the divine law would be  
required by his conscience to cause his children to  
respect the Sabbath, and to punish them if they dis-  

Ix


90  
obeyed. The penalty which one felt to be wrong the  
other would feel to be right, because the disposition of  
the one towards the law was different from the other.  
The principle, then, is manifest, that the more holy  
and Just any eing is, the more he is opposed to sinT  
and the higher penalty will hircons — cieliCisanction as the  
deseit of transgresses the divine law. Now God being in-  
finitely holy, he iitherefore infinitgly oppoiiedto sin, and  
the divine conscience will enforceenalty according1y.  
This is the foundation of penalty in the divine  
mind. The particular point of inquiry is,  How could  
the desert  of sin, as it existed in the mind of _09d, be re- 
vealed to the Israelites?  
If the penalty inflicted is sanctioned by the con- 
science of the lawgiver, it follows, as has been shown,  
that the opposition of his nature to the crime is in  
exact proportion to the penalty which he inflicts upon  
the criminal. Penalty, therefore, inflicted upon the 
transgressor, is the only way by which the standard  
of justice as it exists in the mind of God could be re- 
vealed to men.  
The truth of this principle may be made apparent  
by illustration. Suppose a father were to express his  
will in relation to the government of his family, and  
the regulations were no sooner made than some of his  
children should resist his authority and disobey his  
commands. Now, suppose the father should not  
punish the offenders, but treat them as he did his  
obedient children. By so doing he would encourage  
the disobedient, discourage the obedient, destroy his own  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  91  
authority, and make the impression upon the minds  
of all his children that he had no regard for the regu- 
lations which he had himself made. And, further, if  
these regulations were for the general good of the family,  
by not maintaining them he would convince the obedient  
that he did not regard their best interests, but was  
the friend of the rebellious. And if he were to punish  
for the transgression but lightly, they would suppose  
that he estimated but lightly a breach of his com- 
mands ; and they could not, from the constitution of  
their minds, suppose otherwise. But if the father,  
when one of the children transgressed, should punish  
him and exclude him from favor till he submitted to  
his authority and acknowledged with a penitent spirit 
his offense, then the household would be convinced  
that the father's will was imperative, and that the only  
alternative presented to them was affectionate sub- 
mission or exclusion from the society of their  
father and his obedient children. Thus the amount  
of the father's regard for his law, his interest in the  
well-being of his obedient children and the opposition  
of his nature to disobedience, would be graduated in  
every child's mind by the penalty which he inflicted  
for the transgression of his commands.  
So in the case of an absolute lawgiver : his hostility  
to crime could be known only by the penalty which  
he inflicted upon the criminal. If for the crime of  
theft he were to punish the offender only by the im- 
position of a trifling fine, the impression would be  
made upon every mind that he did not at heart feel  

PHILOSOPHY OF THE


92  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
much hostility to the crime of larceny. If he had  
the power and did not punish crime at all, he would  
thus reveal to the whole nation that he was in league  
with criminals, and himself a criminal at heart.  
So in relation to murder : if he were to let the  
culprit go free or inflict upon him but a slight penalty,  
he would thus show that his heart was tainted with  
guilt, and that there was no safety for good men under  
his government. But should he fix a penalty to  
transgression, declare it to all his subjects, and visit  
every criminal with punishment in proportion to his  
guilt, he would show to the world that he regarded  
the law, and was opposed directly and forever to its  
transgression.  
In like manner and in no other way could God  
manifest to men his infinite justice and his regard for  
the laws of his kingdom. Did he punish for sin with  
but a slight penalty, the whole universe of mind  
would have good reason to believe that the God of  
heaven was but little opposed to sin. Did he punish  
it with the highest degree of penalty, it would be  
evidence to the universe that his nature was in the  
highest degree opposed to sin and attached to holiness.  
Now, whatever it ay be said in relation to the ap- 
plication of these principles to future rewards and 
punishments, one thing will be apparent to all, which  
is all that the present argument requires to be ad- 
mitted ; that is, the mind of man would receive an  
idea of the amount of God's opposition to sin only by  
the amount of penalty which he inflicted upon the sinner.  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  93  
Having ascertained these premises, we return to  
the inquiry,  How could the demerit  of sin in  the sight  
of God or the idea of God's attribute of justice be con-  
veyed to the minds of the Jews?  
The people had now in a good degree a knowledge  
of what sin was. In addition to the light of natural  
conscience which might guide them to some extent in  
relation to their duties to each other, they had the  
moral law, with the commentary of Moses defining its  
precepts, and applying them to the conduct of life.  
Their minds were thus enlightened in relation to sin  
in the following particulars : First, those acts which  
were a transgression of the positive precepts of the  
law ; second, omissions of duties enjoined in the law ;  
and, third, many acts which the spirit of the law  
would condemn, but which might not be defined in  
any particular precept, would now be noticed by en- 
lightened conscience, as sin against Jehovah, their  
holy benefactor and the giver of the law.  
Having thus been taught what was sin of commis-  
sion and omission, one obvious design of the institu- 
tion of sacrifices,* and one which has been perceived  
*The question whether the sacrifices, and the partic- 
ular regulations concerning them, were of divine origin,  
does not affect the argument. Whether they were origi- 
nally instituted by divine command, or whether Moses, act- 
ing under divine guidance, modified an existing institution  
and adapted it to the divine purposes, both the design and  
the end accomplished would be the same. There are good  
reasons, however, for the opinion that sacrifices for sin  
were of divine appointment.


94  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
and understood, both by the Jews and Gentiles, was  
to convey to the mind the just demerit and proper pen- 
alty of sin.  
There were three classes of sacrifices in the old dis- 
pensation in which death was inflicted. The first,  
which Gentiles as well as Jews were permitted to offer,  
was the holocaust, or whole burnt-offering, which was  
entirely consumed by fire. Sacrifices of this descrip- 
tion seem to have been offered from the earliest ages.  
They were offered, as the best informed think, as an  
acknowledgment of and atonement for general sin- 
fulness of life. They seem to have had reference to  
the fact, of which every man is conscious, that he  
often violates known duty and does many things which  
the light of nature and conscience teaches him not to do.  
After the whole burnt-offering was the sin-offering,  
sacrificed for an atonement, when the individual had  
transgressed any specific precept of the moral law.  
The trespass-offering differed only from the sin- 
offering, as the learned suppose, in this, that it was a  
sacrifice for sins of omission, or for the non-perform- 
ance of duty, while the sin-offering was made for a  
violation of the specific precepts of the Moral Law.  
Whether the design of the different classes of sacrifices  
was as above specified or not, is not material, further  
than it shows how nicely the forms of the Levitical  
economy were adjusted to meet that varied conscious- 
ness of sin which the precepts of the law and an en- 
lightened conscience would produce in the human soul.  
The material point to which attention is necessary, with  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  95  
reference to the present discussion, is that by which the  
death and destruction of the animal offered in sacrifice  
was made to represent the desert of the sinner.  
When an individual brought a sacrifice he deliv- 
ered it to the priest to be slain. He then laid his  
hands upon its head, thereby, in a form well under- 
stood among the Jews, transferring to it his sins ; and  
then the life of the sacrifice was taken as a substitute  
for his own life. He was thus taught that the trans- 
gression of the law, or any act of sin against God, was  
worthy of death, and that the sacrifice suffered that  
penalty in his stead.  
Further, the Jews had been taught that the blood  
of the sacrifice was its life; or, rather, the principle  
upon which the life of the body depended. Upon this  
subject they had the following express instruction :  
" For the life of the flesh is the blood ; and I have  
given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement  
for your souls ; for it is the blood that maketh an  
atonement for the soul."* Now this blood, which the  
Jews were thus taught to believe was the life of the  
sacrifice, was repeatedly sprinkled by the priest upon  
the mercy-seat and towards the holy place, thus pre- 
senting the life of the sacrifice immediately in the pres- 
ence of God (the ineffable light, or symbol of God's  
presence, rested over the mercy-seat between the cher- 
ubim), signifying, as plainly as forms and shadows  
and external types could signify, that life had been ren- 
dered up to God to make an atonement for their souls.  
Lev. xvii, 11.  
ih


96  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
Thus the idea was conveyed to their mind through  
the senses that the desert of sin in the sight of God  
was the death of the soul. And while they stood  
praying in the outer court of the tabernacle, and be- 
held the dark volume of smoke ascending from the fire  
that consumed the sacrifice which was  burning in their  
stead,  how awful must have been the impression of the  
desert of sin made by that dark volume of ascending  
smoke !. The idea was distinct and deeply impressed,  
that God's justice was a consuming fire to sinners,  
and that their souls escaped only through a vicarious  
atonement.  
As a_pktLrw'n a child's primer will conyey an idea  
to the infant mind long before  it can be tau  ab-  
stract signs, so the Jews, in the infancy of their  
knowledge of God, and before there were any abstract  
signs to convey that knowledge; had thrown into their  
-Minds through the senses the two essential ideas of  
God's justice and mercy—his justice, in that the wages_  
of sin is the death of the soul;,   and his mercy,iik  that  
G  OAwould pardon the sinner if he confessed his sin,  
acknowledged the life Di_his-swil forleitecLand_offera  
the life of the sacrifice as his substitute.  
In this manner an idea of the desert of sin was con- 
veyed to the minds of the Jews, God's law honored,  
and the utter hostility of the lawgiver to sin clearly  
manifested ; and God's mercy was likewise revealed as  
stated in the preceding paragraph. Thus in a manner  
accordant with the circumstances of the Jews, and by  
means adapted in their operation to the constitution of  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  97  
nature, was the knowledge of God's attribute of Jus- 
tice, and the relation which Mercy sustains to that  
attribute, fully revealed in the world ; and in view of  
the nature of things it could have been revealed in no  
other way.*  
* Inquiring readers of the Old Testament often find  
many things announced in the name of God which must  
seem to them inconsistent with the majesty of the divine  
nature, unless they view those requirements in the light  
of the inquiry, "What impressions were they adapted to 
make upon the Jewish mind ?" There are but few read- 
ers of the Old Testament who read on this subject intelli- 
gently. In this remark we do not refer to the historical  
or preceptive portions of these writings, but to the ele- 
ments of the Mosaic institution. In order to see the de- 
sign of many items of the system, we must consider those  
items as exhibitions to the senses, designed chiefly, per- 
haps only, to produce right ideas, or to correct erroneous  
ones then existing in the minds of the Jews. The inquiry  
ought not to be, What impression are they adapted to pro- 
duce upon our minds concerning God ? but, What impres- 
sion would the particular revelation make upon  THEIR  
minds ? An instance or two will illustrate these remarks.  
The adaptation to accomplish a necessary end is appar- 
ent in the scene at Sinai. The Israelites had been accus- 
tomed to an idolatry where the most common familiarities  
were  practiced with the idol gods. The idea of reverence  
and majesty which belongs to the character of God had  
been lost by attaching the idea of divinity to the objects  
of sense. It was necessary, therefore, that the idea of God  
should now be clothed in their minds with that reverence .  
and majesty which properly belongs to it. The scene at  
Sinai was adapted to produce, and did produce for the time  
being, the right impression. The mountain was made to  
tremble to its base. A cloud of darkness covered its sum-  
7


98  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
mit, from which the lightnings leaped out and thunders  
uttered their voices. In the words of a New Testament  
writer, there was " darkness, and blackness, and tempest."  
It was ordered that neither man nor beast should touch  
the mountain, lest they should be visited with death. The  
exhibition in all its forms was adapted to produce that  
sense of majesty and awe in view of the divine character  
which the Israelites needed to feel. To minds subjected  
to the influence of other circumstances than those which  
affected the character of the Israelites in Egypt, such man- 
ifestations might not be necessary; but in the case of the  
Jews, accustomed as they had been to witness a besotting  
familiarity with idols, these manifestations were directly  
adapted to counteract low views of the divine character, 
and to inspire the soul with suitable reverence in view of  
the infinite majesty and eternal power of the being with  
whom they had to do.  
The testimony of the Bible in relation to the design  
of the exhibition at Sinai corroborates the views that have  
been given. " When the people saw it, they removed and  
stood afar off, and they said unto Moses, Speak thou unto  
us and we will hear: but let not God speak unto us lest  
we die. And Moses said unto the people, Fear not, for  
God has come to prove you, and that his fear may be be- 
fore your faces that ye sin not." (Ex. xx, 18, 19.)  
The scene which occurred afterwards evinced the ne- 
cessity of this exhibition, and developed the result of the  
proof (trial) that was made of their character. In the ab-  
sence of Moses they required an image of Jehovah to be  
made, and they feasted and "played "—this last word hav-  
ing a licentious import—in its presence. Thus, after trial  
of the strongest exhibitions upon their mind, some of them  
proved themselves so incorrigibly attached to licentious  
idolatry that they desired to worship Jehovah under the  
character of the Egyptian calf. They thus proved them- 
selves unfit material, too corrupt for the end in view, and   

PLAN OF SALVATION.  99  
they were, in accordance with the reason of the case, de- 
stroyed.  
Another conviction necessary to be lodged in the  
minds of the Israelites, and impressed deeply and fre- 
quently upon their hearts, was faith in the present and  
overruling God. This was the more necessary as no visi- 
ble image of Jehovah was allowed in the camp. There  
were but two methods possible by which their minds could  
be convinced of the immediate presence and power of God  
controlling all the events of their history. Either such  
exhibitions must be made that they would see certain ends  
accomplished without human instrumentality, or they must  
see human instrumentality clothed with a power which it  
is not possible in the nature of things it should in itself  
possess. The circumstances connected with the fall of  
Jericho will illustrate the case. The people were required  
to surround the city, by a silent procession during seven  
days, bearing the sacred ark, and blowing with rude instru- 
ments which they used for trumpets. On the seventh day  
the people were to shout after they had compassed the  
city seven times; and when they shouted, according to a  
divine promise, the walls of the city fell to the ground.  
Now, here was a process of means in which there was no  
adaptation to produce the external effect, in order that the  
INTERNAL  effect, the great end of all revelation, might be  
produced; that they might be taught to recogpize Jehovah  
as the present God of nature and providence, and rest  
their faith on him.  
If the Israelites had, in this case, used the common  
instrumentalities to secure success; if they had destroyed  
the wall with instruments of war, or scaled its height with  
ladders, and thus overcome by the strength of their own  
arm, or the aid of their own devices, instead of being led  
to humble reliance upon God, and to recognize his agency  
in their behalf, they would have seen in the means which  
they had used a cause adequate to produce the effect, and


•  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  101  100  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
they would have forgotten the First Cause, upon whose  
power they were dependent. Second causes were avoided,  
in order that they might see the connection between the  
First Cause and the effect produced ; human instrumen- 
tality stood in abeyance, in order that the divine agency  
might be recognized. Thus they  were taught to have faith  
in God, and to rely upon the   presence  and the power  of  
the invisible   Jehovah.  Chapter IX.  
CONCERNING THE TRANSITION FROM THE MATERIAL SYSTEM,  
BY WHICH RELIGIOUS IDEAS WERE CONVEYED THROUGH  
THE SENSES, TO THE SPIRITUAL SYSTEM, IN WHICH  
ABSTRACT IDEAS WERE CONVEYED BY WORDS AND  
PARABLES.  
HUMAN language has always advanced from its  
first stage, in which ideas are acquired directly through  
the medium of the senses, to the higher state, in which  
abtsract ideas are conveyed by appropriate words and  
signs. When an idea is once formed by outward ob- 
jects, and a word formed representing that idea, it is  
then no longer necessary or desirable that the object  
which first originated the idea should longer be asso- 
ciated in the mind with the idea itself. It is even  
true that the import of abstract ideas suffers from a  
co-existence in the mind of the abstract thought with  
the idea of the object which originated it. Thus the  
word spirit now conveys a distinct idea to the mind  
of pure spiritual existence; but the distinctness and  
power of the idea is impaired by remembering that the  
word from which it was derived originally signified  
wind, and that the word itself was originated in the


102  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
first place by the wind. So in other cases: although  
the ideas of abstract and spiritual things can be orig- 
inated, primarily, only from outward objects, yet when  
they have been originated, and the spiritual idea con- 
nected with the sign or word conveying its proper  
sense, it is desirable, in order to their greatest force  
and perspicuity, that their connection with materiality  
should be broken off in the mind.  
In all written languages this advancement from  
one stage of perfection to another,- by the addition of  
abstract ideas, can be traced ; and experience teaches,  
incontrovertibly, that the advancement of human lan- 
guage, as above described, and the advancement of  
human society, are dependent upon each other.  
The preceding principles being applied to the sub- 
ject under consideration, it would follow that the  
Mosaic machinery, which formed the abstract ideas  
conveying the knowledge of God's true character,  
would no longer be useful after those ideas were orig- 
inated, defined, and connected with the words which  
expressed their abstract or spiritual import. It would  
follow, therefore, that the machinery would be entirely  
dispensed with whenever it had answered the entire 
design for which it was put into operation. When- 
ever the Jews were cured of idolatry, and had ob- 
tained true ideas of the attributes of the true God,  
then the dispensation of shadows and ceremonies,  
which " could not make the corners thereunto per- 
fect," would, according to the reason of things, pass  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  103  
away, and give place to a more perfect and more  
spiritual dispensation.  
We find, accordingly, that the machinery of the  
tabernacle was gradually removed, it never having  
existed in perfection after the location of the tribes in  
Palestine. They sojourned in the wilderness until  
those who had come out of Egypt died. The genera-
tion who succeeded them had the advantage of having  
received their entire education through the medium  
of the Mosaic institution, and thus of being freed from  
vicious habits and remembrances contracted in idola-  
trous society.  
Afterwards the prophets held an intermediate place  
between the material dispensation of Moses and the  
pure spirituality of that of Christ. In the prophe  
books, especially the later ones, there is an eviden4    
departure from a reliance upon the external forms,  
and an application of the ideas connected with those  
forms to internal states of mind. Their views of  
the old dispensation were more spiritual than the  
views of those who lived near the origin of the insti- 
tution. And in the dispensation of the Messiah, the  
prophets evidently expected clearer light and purer  
spirituality.  
The state of the case, then, is this : The old dis- 
pensation was necessary and indispensable in itself  
and in its place, but it was neither designed nor  
adapted to continue; the knowledge of divine things  
which it generated was necessary for all men, but as


104  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
yet it was circumscribed to a small portion of the  
human family: the point of inquiry now presents it- 
self, How could this essential knowledge concerning the  
Divine Nature and attributes be extended throughout the  
world?  
There would be but two methods possible : either  
the same processes and the same cumbrous machinery  
(which were a " burden" that an apostle affirmed  
neither he nor his fathers were able to bear) must be  
established in every nation and kindred and tribe of  
the human family, and thus each nation be disciplined  
and educated by itself, or one nation must be pre- 
pared and disciplined, their propensity to idolatry de- 
stroyed,  the ideas coined in the die prepared by Jeho- 
vah  thrown  into their minds, and  then, being  thus  
prepared, they  might be  made the instruments  of  
transferring those ideas into the  languages of other  
nafions.* If the Almighty were to adopt the first  
method, it would exclude men from benevolent labor  
for the spiritual good of each other ; and, besides, the  
history of the process with the Jews, as well as the  
reason of the thing, would indicate that the latter  
*There is a common and, to some minds, a weighty  
objection against the truth of revealed religion, stated as  
follows: If God ever gave  a religion to the world, why did  
he not reveal it to all men, and reveal it at once and per- 
fectly, so that no one could doubt? If this had been pos- 
sible, it might not have been expedient; but the nature of  
things, as we have seen, rendered it impossible  to give  
man a revelation  in such a manner.  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  105  
method would be the one which the Maker would  
adopt.  
But in order to the diffusion of the knowledge  
of God by the latter method, some things would be  
necessary as prerequisites, among which are the fol- 
lowing :  
That the Jews, who possessed these ideas, should  
be scattered throughout the world, and that they  
should be thus scattered long enough before the time  
of the general diffusion of divine knowledge to have  
become familiar with the languages of the different  
nations where they sojourned. This would be neces- 
sary in order that, by speaking in other tongues, they  
might transfer into them their own ideas of divine  
things, by attaching those ideas to words in the re- 
spective languages which they spoke, or by introducing  
into those languagas words and phrases of Hebrew  
origin, conveying the revealed ideas. Whether the  
different languages were acquired by miraculous or by  
human instrumentality, there would be no other way  
possible of transferring ideas from one language to  
another but by the methods above mentioned.  
It would be necessary, before the Jews were thus  
scattered, that their propensity to idolatry should be  
entirely subdued; otherwise they would, as they had  
frequently done before, fall into the abominable habits  
of the nations among whom they were dispersed.*  
* Idolatry is one of the most unconquerable of all the  
corrupt propensities of the human soul. Miracles under  
the new dispensation had scarcely ceased, the apostolic


106  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
The new and spiritual system should be first  
propagated among those who understood both the  
spiritual import of the Hebrew language, and likewise  
the language of the other nations to whom the Gospel  
was to be preached. It was necessary that the new  
dispensation should be committed first to the Jews,  
who were scattered in the surrounding nations, be- 
cause, as we have seen, they were the only indi- 
viduals immediately prepared to communicate it to  
others.  
Now, the following facts are matters of authentic  
history :  
By instruction and discipline the Jews were  
entirely cured of the propensity to idolatry ; so much  
so that their souls abhorred idols.  
They were, and had been for many generations,  
dispersed among all nations of the Roman world; but  
still in their dispersion they retained their peculiar  
ideas, and multitudes of this peculiar people assembled  
out of all countries, at least once a year, at the city  
of Jerusalem, to worship Jehovah ; and it was while  
the multitude were thus assembled that the Gospel  
was first preached to them ; and preached, as was  
proper it should be, by power and miracle, in order  
that those present might know assuredly that the dis- 
pensation was from Heaven.  
fathers were scarcely cold in their graves, before idolatrous  
forms were again superinduced upon the pure spirituality  
of the holy Gospel, and in the Papal Church the curse  
continues till this hour.  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  107  
3. The new dispensation was likewise introduced,  
in the first place, among the Jews who continued to  
reside in Palestine, and when a sufficient number of  
them were fully initiated, persecutions were caused  
to arise, which scattered them abroad among the f  
nations ; and the Gentile languages not being known  
to them, they were miraculously endowed with the  
gift of tongues, that they might communicate to  
others the treasures of divine knowledge committed  
to them.  
Thus when the old dispensation had fulfilled its  
design in disciplining the Jews, in_ imparting first  
ideas, ani th_us— , its am schoolmaster_," preparing the  
people for the higher instruction of Christ, and when  
the fullness of the times had come, that the means and  
the material were prepared to propagate the spiritual 
truth of the new dispensation, then the Mosaic cycle  
would appropriately close ; it would not be consistent  
that it should remain longer, for the plain reason  
given by Jesus himself, that new wine should not be  
put into old bottles, nor the old and imperfect forms  
be incorporated with the new and spiritual system.  
Therefore it was, that so soon as the new dispensa- 
tion had been introduced, and its foundations firmly  
laid, Jerusalem, the center of the old economy, with  
the temple and all things pertaining to the ritual  
service, was at once and completely destroyed, and the  
old system vanished away forever. It would not have  
been expedient for God to destroy the old system


108  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
sooner, because it was necessary to engraft the new 
system upon the old ; and it ought not to have re- 
mained longer, for the reasons above stated.*  
* It was necessary that the old system should be de- 
stroyed at this time, in order to throw the Jews upon 
Christ, as the sacrifice for their sins. Under the old dis- 
pensation the sacrifices for sin were allowed to continue  
to the end. From this sacrifice they were taught to hope  
for pardon. An idea had been, by the process which God  
himself instituted, originated in their mind, that death "  
must ensue for sin ; but by transferring their sins to be  
the head of the sacrifice, it died as a vicarious expiation,  
and they lived. It had become a part, almost, of the  
Jewish mind rihat -they- -  hope for_parkiLunless  
the-sacrifice-was-offered. They felt that their life was  
forfeited by sin, and they  were unpardone(r until  the  
s — grifice   was made, and it could be  made nowhere else  
but at Jerusalem.  God  destrgaiLlerusalem, and  
cause  t e offering for sin to cease, and entirely annihi- 
lated the possibility of their ever again expiating their  
sins by the bloody sacrifices; they were, therefore, shut  
up to the doctrine of Christ's sacrifice for sin. By the  
destruetien of JerusalenilhailternRtiVP WAS- f4r -esented to  
116- 3ew s : Accept of Chriatis 2 a&dfusor__you-have--no  
propitiation for your sins.  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  109  
Chapter X.  
CONCERNING THE MEDIUM OF CONVEYING TO MEN PERFECT  
INSTRUCTION IN DOCTRINE AND DUTY.  
THE knowledge which the old dispensation was de- 
signed to  generate had been transmitted into the  
minds of the Jews; and the Jews had been prepared  
to transmit the abstract import of those spiritual ideas  
into  other languages. The Mosaic institution, having  
accomplished its design, was about to " vanish away" 
and eve place to the new_dispensation,_which_would  
end the series of God's revealed instructions by  giving  
men a perfect system of religion, accompanied by  
WhTer — i would be adapted to  
develop and perfect man's moral powers, and render  
him, in his present_condition, as perfect as his nature  
and his circumstances would allow.  
At this point of our progress the inquiry presents  
itself, What can we learn, from the present constitution  
of things, concerning the medium or instrumentality  that  
God would adopt in giving mankincTa perfect systei of  
religion?  
When the ideas thawed theknowledge of  
God were understood by the people, human language  
would then become the proper medium of communi- 
cation. The very fact that the ideas were generated


110  PHIbOSOPHY OP THE  
and thrown into language evinces that language was  
design , even u  e me ium rough hhich  
they should be transmitted to the world. When the  
iileas were pared, as has been dated, then  hat  
would be necessary, in order to the  further and more  
perfect communi v edge, would &TM - a  
men shouldiiiive — a teacher -to - use— thila s nguage, to  
expand, illustrate, and apply-them e,s ; and bnkese  
give definitions, and illustrate and spiritualize other 
ideas  when necessary.  
Further, man's senses are constituted with an  
adaptation to the external world, and his intellectual  
constitution is adapted to intercourse with his fellow- 
man. The delicate bony structure of the ear, which  
conveys sounds from the tympanum to the sensorium,  
is nicely adjusted by the Maker to appreciate and con- 
vey the tones and modulations of the human voice.  
Human gesture, likewise, and the expression of the  
countenance and the eye, are auxiliary to human  
language in conveying instruction. The natu  
man, therefore, is adapted, both physically and in- 
tellectually, to receive knowledge by communications  
from one of his own species. If God designed that  
an angel should instruct thehumanfamily, one of  
two things would have to be done: either the human  
constitution would have to be elevated and adapted_to  
intercourse with a being of a higher order in the scale  
of creation, or that  being would- have to let down his  
nature to human capacity, and thus adapt himself to  
intercourse with human natures. And it    would e V e  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  111  
be requisite that the teacher should not assume the  
highest condition of humanity in order that his in- 
structions should accomplish the greatest general good;  
nor should his communications be made in the most  
cultivate and  elevated style of Ianpage. If he  
would instruct  the common mind in the best manner,    
must use common language and common illustra- 
tions; and if God (blessed be his name  II  were himself 
to instruct_ human nature, as  it is,  the same means  
would be necessary.  
Another step : Man is so constituted that he learns  
by example better than by precept. Theory without  
practice, or precept without example, does not con- 
stitute a perfect system of instruction. T_he theory  
of surveying, however perfectly it may be taught in  
college, never niaies a Li - radical surveyor. An artist  
may give a inOfitlect — t1 miry orliffifit to his ap- 
prentices or those whom he wishes to instruct in a  
knowledge of his. business, but if he would have them  
become practical artists themselves, he must, with  
tools in band, practice his own instructions before the  
eyes of the learner. In the language of the trades,  
he must " show how 'it 's done." Such, then, is the  
nature of man, that in order to a perfect system of  
instruction, there must be both precept and practice.  
Now, there can be but one perfect model of human  
nature; and man could not be removed .to some other  
planet, nor out of his present circumstances, to be in- 
structed. If the Almighty, therefore, designed ever  
to give  a  perfect and final system of instruction to


112  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  PLAN OF SALVATION.  113  
mankind it could be done only by placing_in  this  
world a perfect human nature—a beit _Ig_who_3yould  
not only gii±eperfect precepts ;   but .who would prac- 
tice those_ precepts before the eyes of  men. If such a  
being were placed  among men, who,  amid all the  
perplexities, difficulties, and trials which affect men in  
their present condition, would exhibit perfect action of  
body, heart, and mind in all his relations of life, and  
in all his duties to God and man, that would be a  
model character, practicing the precepts of the divine  
law in man's present circumstances. The example_ of  
an angel, or of any being of  a different order—from  
man, would be of no  benefit  to the _human family.  
Man must see his duties,  as man, exemplified in his  
own nature.  Human nature could be perfected oply by  
following  a  perfect modd cf human _nature.  But with  model f  
the  rule of duty in his hand, and a model character  
before him, man would have a system of instruction  
perfectly adapted to his  nature, and adapted to  perfect  
his nature. If God, therefore, designed to give man  
a  final and perfect system of instruction, he would  
adopt the method thus adapted to the constitution  
which he has given his creatures.  
I   NOW, JESUS CHRIST IS THAT MODEL CHARACTER.  (  
He assumed human nature ; came  to the  earth,  mran's \  
residence; expounded and illustrated the law in human  
language; gave it its spiritual import, and applied it  
to the different circumstances and conditions of human  
)  life. He removed the false glosses which the igno- 
rance and the  prejudices of men had attached to it •   

he modified or rescinded those permissions or clauses  
which were accommodated to the darkness of former  
times and the imperfections of the Jewish system, and 
then, by applications the most striking and definite,  
he showed the bearing of the rule of duty upon all  
varieties of human action.  
And, further, the law being thus defined and ap- 
plied, in order that the world might have a model  
character, he conformed himself to all its requirements;  
and in order that that model might be a guide in all  
the varied circumstances in which some of the family  
of man might be placed, Jesus placed himself in all  
those circumstances, and  acted in them. Is man sur- 
rounded by a sinful and suffering world ? So was Jesus.  
Does he desire  to know how to act in such circum- 
stances? Jesus ministered occasionally to the tem- 
poral wants of men, and labored continually to pro- 
mote their spiritual good.  Is  man popular? So was  
Jesus; and he used his influence to purify his Father's  
house.  Is man forsal _sepk his last  friend? So  was  
Jesus; and he upbraided and murmured not, but  
sought  consolation in communion with the Father.  
Does man visit and dine with the learned, and the re  
ligious formalists of the age? So did Jesus; and in  
his conversation he maintained the claims of spiritual  
religion, and reproved man's hypocrisy and formality.  
Does man sit down in the cottage of the poor? So  
did Jesus; and he encouraged and comforted the in- 
mates with spiritual instruction. Is man present when  
a group of friends are assembled on an occasion which  
4


4  

114  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
warrants innocent enjoyment? So was Jesus; and he  
approved their social pleasures. Is man called to  
sympathize with those in affliction? So was Jesus;  
and  Jesus wept!  Thus by land and by sew iiI-01  
places and under all circumstances, wherever any of  
earth's children are called to act, Jesus—the model  
man—is seen, living  and moving before them; and his  
voice falls upon their ear with the mingled cadence of  
authority and encouragement—" FOLLOW ME!"  
The demonstration, then, is. manifesT, tit through  
the medium of Jesus Christ man has received a perfect  
system of instruction ; and a final and perfect revela- 
tion of duty to God and man could be given in no  
other way,  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  115  
Chapter XI.  
CONCERNING SOME OF THE PECULIAR PROOFS OF THE MES- 
SIAHSHIP. OF CHRIST.  
WE have now arrived at a point in our subject  
where the light of history will aid in our investiga- 
tions. The facts which history furnishes, and which  
will elucidate the present point of inquiry, are the  
following:  
First, the Jewish prophets lived and wrote centu- 
ries before the period in which Jesus appeared in  
Judea. This fact is as certain as any other item of  
human knowledge.  
A second fact is : The Jews, about the time of  
Christ's appearance, expected, with more earnestness  
and desire than usual, the appearance of their Messiah,  
who, they supposed, would deliver them from subjec- 
tion to Gentile nations, and place the Jewish power in  
the ascendant among the nations of the earth. They  
generally supposed that, as a king, he would reign  
with great dignity and power ; and, as a priest, preside  
over,  not abrogate, the ceremonial law. Although  
some of the common people may have had some un- 
derstanding of the true nature of the Messiah's king-
dom, yet the prominent men of the nation, and the  
great body of the people of all classes, were not


expecting that the kingdom of Christ would be purely  
spiritual, but that it would be mainly temporal. And,  
indeed, it was necessary that they should not have a  
clear conception of the worth and spirituality of the  
Messiah's dispensation, previously to his coming ; be-  
cause if they had had such a conception, the imper-  
fections and darkness of their own dispensation would  
not have been borne. It is contrary to the nature of  
mind, when it is enlightened, to delight in, and em- 
ploy itself longer about, the preparatory steps that led  
it to the light.  
The facts in the case, then, were: First, the pro- 
phets lived and wrote centuries before the era of Christ;  
and, second, on account of intimations, or supposed  
intimations, in their prophecies, the Jews were expect- 
ing the Messiah about the time that Jesus appeared in  
Judea. With the question concerning the inspiration  
of the prophets we have nothing to do. Whether  
they were inspired or not, their books contained the  
matter upon which the Jews founded their expecta- 
tion of the appearance of the Messiah. With the  
question how the Jews could mistake the character  
of the Messiah we have nothing to do, although the  
solution of the question would not be difficult. The  
simple facts which require attention are: The prophe- 
cies existed; and in those prophecies a Ruler was  
spoken of, of most exalted character, whose dominion  
would be triumphant, universal, and endless ; whose  
doctrines would be pure and spiritual, and whose ad- 
ministration would be a blessing, not only to the Jews,   

but also to the Gentiles; and yet his life would be  
humble, and not suited to the feeling of the Jews; his  
sufferings extreme; and that he would terminate the  
old dispensation, and die for the sins of the people.*  
Now, in view of_thest facts,  in what character would  
the true Messiah appear when he assumed his duties as  
the Instructor of mankind?  
If he had appeared and conformed to the views  
which the Jews entertained of a temporal Messiah, it  
would have been direct evidence that he was an im- 
postor; because the Jewish views of his character and  
reign, as all can now see, were selfish, ambitious, im- 
perfect, and partial. Now, a  .teacher sent from God  
to give the world a perfect religion could not conform 
to such views; but an impostor, from the nature of 
the case, could have conformed to no other standard  
than the views of the people. If an impostor wished  
to pass himself upon the Jews as their Messiah, he  
must assume that character and conform to that con- 
duct which he knew they expected in their Messiah.  
For an impostor to assume a different character from  
that which he knew the nation expected their Messiah  
would bear, would have been to use means to frus- 
trate his own plans, which would be impossible ; be- 
cause man can not have a governing desire for the at- 
tainment of an end, and at the same time use means  
which he knows will frustrate the accomplishment of  
his own object. An impostor, therefore, in the state  
* Is. liii; Dan. ix, 24-27 ; Micah v, 1, 2 ; Mal. iii, 1-3;  
Zech. ix, 9, 10 ; Is. ix, 1-10.  

ou  

116  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  

,  
PLAN OF SALVATION.  117


118  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
of expectancy which existed at that time in Judea,  
could not do otherwise than conform himself to the  
character which the nation were expecting their Mes- 
siah would possess.  
Mark the two points. The prophets gave a de- 
lineation of the character, life, and death of the  
Messiah. This delineation the Jews misinterpreted,  
or applied to several individuals; so that they were  
expecting in their Messiah a character entirely different  
from that described by the prophets.  
Now, mark the application of these points. If  
Christ had conformed to the views of the Jews, there  
would have been three direct testimonies that he was  
not from God : 1. Because their views were partial,  
prejudiced, wicked ; 2. He could not have conformed  
to their views and sustain at the same time the char- 
acter of a perfect instructor ; * 3. He would not have  
fulfilled the predictions of the prophets concerning  
him. But, on the other hand, if he conformed to the  
prophets, and assumed the character of a perfect  
teacher, his rejection by the Jews was absolutely cer- 
taiu.t It follows, therefore, legitimately and conclu- 
sively, that Jesus Christ was the Messiah of God,  
* See chap. x.  
t  The fact that Jesus conformed to the prophets, es- 
tablished the truth of the prophecies; because, by con- 
forming to them, he suffered death; while by his death,  
in  accordance with the prophets, the world gained the  
evidence that he was the true Messiah. To give life as a  
testimony to falsehood is impossible, either in a good or  
in an evil being.  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  119  
because he pursued that course which would, from the  
nature of the  case,  result in his rejection by the nation ;  
which conduct, in an impostor, would be impossible,  
but in the true Messiah it was the necessary course.  
But, further, it was necessary that Jesus should  
establish his claim as the Messiah . by miraculous  
agency.* But owing to the peculiar state of the  
Jewish nation at that time, there would be great  
difficulty in doing this, for the following reasons : If  
he, as Moses did, had come publicly before the nation  
at Jerusalem, and by miracles of great power, fre- 
quently repeated and extending their influence through- 
out all the land, had forced conviction upon the minds  
of all the Jews that he was the true Messiah, the im- 
mediate and inevitable result would have been, that  
they would have raised one universal revolt against 
the Roman power, and would have hurried the Savior  
of sinners into the office of King of the Jews, and  
then bowed down to him as the temporal sovereign  
of the Jewish nation. But, notwithstanding this error  
of the Jews and the results to which it would directly  
tend, still it would be necessary, in order to meet the  
constitution of things, that Christ should manifest, by  
exhibitions of miraculous power, the credentials at- 
testing the divinity of his mission. The inquiry,  
then, arises,  How could Jesus perform miracles, and at  
the same time prevent revolt in the  nation ?  
The circumstances of the case would render it  
necessary that his miracles should not be attended by  
* See chap. iii: " On Miracles."


1  
120  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
that publicity and power which would lead those who  
had the influence of the nation in their bands, and  
who were blind to the true design of his mission, into  
revolt and destruction. It was likewise necessary, on  
the other band, that they should be sufficiently fre- 
quent and of sufficient power to convince the candid  
who witnessed them that they were the seal of heaven  
to the mission of Jesus. When Christ wrought mir- 
acles, therefore, he would have to aim at one end, and  
endeavor to prevent another : the end aimed at, that  
the impression might be made on honest minds that  
he was the true Messiah ; the end avoided, that the  
rulers of the nation might not, on account of his  
mighty miracles, rally round him as their temporal 
king, and thus hurry themselves and their nation to  
premature destruction.  
Now, the character and conduct of Jesus accords  
entirely with the foregoing deductions, made out from  
undoubted historical facts. That he performed many  
miracles, and yet suppressed their extensive publicity,  
is frequently noticed in the New Testament. Jesus,  
therefore, had the peculiar marks of the true Messiah;  
and, in view of the peculiar condition of the Jewish  
nation at that time, the true Messiah could have as- 
sumed no other character and pursued no other course  
of conduct than that exhibited in the life of Christ.*  
Another item might be added to this demonstration,  
showing that in order to the ultimation of the Plan of  
Salvation, it was necessary that Jesus should so Manifest  
himself and manage his ministry, that a part of the Jews  
should receive him as the Messiah, and a part reject him.  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  121  
Chapter XII.  
CONCERNING THE CONDITION IN LIFE WHICH IT WAS NECES- 
GARY THE MESSIAH SHOULD ASSUME, IN ORDER TO BEN- 
EFIT THE HUMAN FAMILY IN THE GREATEST DEGREE BY  
HIS EXAMPLE AND INSTRUCTIONS.  
SELFISHNESS is a fundamental evil of human na- 
ture, the existence of which is acknowledged by all  
men. It is not an evil which belongs to any one class  
of human society. It is generic, and moves all ranks ;  
only each individual looks upon those who stand next 
or near him in society, and desires equality with, or  
superiority over, them in wealth or popularity or  
power. The law of reason and of God requires that  
men should endeavor to elevate those below them up  
to their own condition ; selfishness is the opposite prin- 
ciple, which urges men to elevate themselves over  
others. If the militia captain could follow the desires  
- 01 - 11Ts nature, and ascend from one condition to  
another until he stood upon the floor of the Senate  
chamber, he would find that the desire which led him  
to take the first step, had only increased its power by  
gratification, and was still goading him on to rise  
higher ; and he would stop nowhere, while life lasted,  
until he perceived further efforts useless or dangerous.  
This selfish pride and desire for self-aggrandizement is


U  
p.  

122  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
detrimental both to the individual and the social in- 
terests of men. Wherever selfish ambition exists in  
any degree of strength, it generates misery to the in- 
dividual and to others about him. There are not,  
perhaps, any more miserable men in the world than  
are some of those who have gained to some extent  
the object of their ambition, and are seated in the  
halls of legislation. Their minds are constantly  
anxious in making some effort or devising some plan  
by which they may promote schemes in which they are  
engaged. And every time the hopes of one are realized,  
the stings of envy and jealousy and concealed hate rankle  
in the bosoms of some others. In the humbler walks  
of life the evil exists, perhaps, in a less degree; but  
still it exists ; and its existence is the bane of human  
happiness, and the cause of human guilt.  
Now, this wicked desire of human nature to aspire  
after elevated worldly condition, rather than after use- 
fulness of life and goodness of heart, would be either 
fostered or checked by the condition in life which the  
Messiah assumed among men. In proportion as his  
condition was elevated, pride and the desire of eleva- 
tion would be fostered in the hearts of his followers.  
In proportion as his condition was humble and de- 
pressed, pride of heart would be checked in all those  
who received and honored. him as their master and  
teacher.*  
Suppose that the Messiah had presented himself in  
the condition anticipated by the Jews, surrounded by  
See chap. v.  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  123  
the pomp and parade of a powerful temporal prince,  
sustaining the earthly dignity and splendor of the  
ancient monarchs of the dynasty of David. Now, had  
such a Messiah appeared in Judea, it is perfectly cer- 
tain, from the character of human nature, that his  
earthly circumstances would have a tendency to cher- 
ish in the people, as a nation and as individuals, the  
bad principles of pride and ambition. Worldly pomp  
and circumstance would have had the sanction of the  
highest authority in the person of their Messiah ; and  
it would have induced the desire in all hearts to ele- 
vate themselves as nearly as possible to his temporal  
condition. The pride of the human heart would have  
been fostered and not humbled. Instead of causing  
the middle walks of life to be grateful and contented  
in their condition, it would have produced in them an  
anxiety to stretch themselves upwards; and instead of  
causing those already elevated to fellowship and benefit  
the worthy poor, it would have caused them to have  
no sympathy for any of the human family in low es- 
tate, because theirs was a condition the opposite of  
that assumed by the great model which they loved and  
admired ; and instead of causing the poor to feel a  
greater degree of contentment, and to avoid repining  
at their lot, the circumstances of the Messiah would  
have deepened their dejection and rendered them less  
happy in their depressed condition, because their con- 
dition would hinder them from approach to, or fellow- 
ship with, the heaven-sent Instructor. A teacher,  
therefore, believed to be from heaven, )76-o—should


124  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  PLAN OF SALVATION.  '  125  
assume an elevated condition in the world, instead of  
being a spiritual blessing to the whole family of man,  
by promoting in their bosoms humility and sympathy  
fOr each other, would have been a spiritual curse, by  
educing  haughtiness and hardness of heart in the  
rich ambition in the middle classes4nd hopeless de- 
jection in the poor.  
Suppose the Messiah had come in the character  
which the Greeks admired ; that, assuming the seat  
of the philosophers, he had startled the learned world  
by disclosing to them new and sublime truths. Sup- 
pose he had, by the power of far-reaching intellect,  
answered all the questions and solved all the difficul- 
ties which perplexed the minds of the disciples of the  
Porch and the Academy. In such a case his instruc- 
tions would have been adapted to satisfy the minds of  
a few gifted individuals; but they would not have  
been adapted to benefit the minds of many, nor the  
heart of any of the great mass of mankind. Vain of  
their wisdom already, the character of the Messiah  
would have been adapted to make the philosophers  
more so; and instead of blessing them, by humbling  
their pride and giving them a sympathy with their  
fellow-men, it would have led them and their admirers  
to look upon those who were not endowed with supe- 
rior mental qualities as an inferior class of men.  
But if the Messiah could not have appeared in the  
condition desired by the Jews, nor in that admired by  
the Gentiles, the inquiry arises, What condition in life  
would it be necessary that the Messiah should assume   

in order to benefit the human family in the highest  
degree by the influence of that condition ? In view 
of the foregoing deductions the solution is obvious:  In  
that condition which would have the most direct influence 
to  troy selfishness and pride in the human heart, and  
to foster, in their stead, humility, contentment, and be- 
nevolence.  
Now, in view of this result, deduced directly from  
the acknowledged character of human nature, turn  
your attention to the earthly circumstances of Jesus,  
and see how directly he brought the whole weight of  
his condition in life to bear against selfishness and  
pride of heart. He was born in the lowest possible  
circumstances. His life was a constant rebuke to every  
ambitious and proud feeling of the human heart, and  
his death was one esteemed by men the most ignomin- 
ious. No one who openly acknowledged and had fel-
lowship with Jesus of Nazareth as his Teacher and  
Master, could do so until the natural pride of his na- 
ture was subdued. It was impossible for a man to  
find fellowship with Jesus unless he humbled himself,  
because in no other state could his feelings meet those  
of Christ. "Take my yoke upon you," said Jesus,  
"and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart,  
and ye shall find rest for your souls."  
Thus did Jesus place himself in a condition which  
rendered humility absolutely necessary in order to  
sympathy with him—in the condition directly opposed  
to pride of heart, one of the most insidious enemies  
of man's happiness and usefulness. AA as it


Pr  
126  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
acknowledged and experimental fact that the soul finds  
rest only in_ineekness, and never in selfishness and  
aide of mind, therefore the demonstration is perfect,  
that Christ assumed the only condition which it was  
possible for  him to assume, and thereby destroy pride  
and misey, and produce humility and peace, in human  
bosoms.  
Profane history and the New Testament Scriptures  
confirm the foregoing views. Tacitus, speaking of the  
primitive Christians, alludes to them with marked  
contempt as the followers of one who had been cruci- 
fied. His manner evinces clearly not only his own 
feelings, but it is a good index to the feelings of a  
majority of the people of that proud and idolatrous  
age; and it establishes beyond all controversy the fact  
that no one could declare himself a follower of Christ  
until, for truth and for Christ's sake, he was willing  
to be considered base in the estimation of the world.  
The elegant Pliny likewise bears direct testimony to  
the humility and integrity of life which characterized  
the early disciples of Christ.  
A great number of passages in the New Testament  
confirm the preceding views. It is only necessary to  
say that the apostles understood not only the effect of  
their Lord's circumstances, in life and death, upon the  
minds of men, but they understood likewise the phi- 
losophy and the necessity of the case. Says Paul:  
" It became [or was expedient for] him, for whom are  
all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing  
many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  127  
salvation perfect through suffering; for both he that 
sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one,  
for which cause he is not ashamed to call them breth- 
ren." That is, the humble and self-denying life and  
death of Jesus was necessary, because it would have  
a sanctifying effect in counteracting the evils in the  
hearts of men. It was necessary for him to become  
their brother man, and assume a certain character  
and condition, in order that by their becoming one  
with him they might be sanctified and made happy  
and useful.  
Thus while the Jews required a sign and the  
Greeks sought after wisdom, the apostles preached  
Christ crucified, understanding the philosophy, the  
efficiency, and the necessity of their doctrine. And  
so long as the world lasts, every man who reads the  
New Testament, whether saint or sinner, will be pen- 
etrated with the conviction that a vain, aspiring, selfish  
spirit is incompatible with the religion of Jesus.


•  
PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
Chapter XIII.  
CONCERNING THE ESSENTIAL PRINCIPLES WHICH MUST, AC- 
CORDING TO THE NATURE OF THINGS, LIE AT THE FOUN- 
DATION OF THE INSTRUCTION OF CHRIST.  
THE Messiah having come in the proper character,  
displayed the proper credentials, and assumed the nec- 
essary condition, the question arises, What may we  
learn from the character of God and the nature of  
man concerning the fundamental principles which  
would govern the teaching of Jesus?  
God is righteous and benevolent; it therefore fol- 
lows that he would connect happiness with righteous- 
ness and goodness in his creatures. Were he to do  
otherwise it would be causing the happiness of men to  
arise from a character different from his own, which, 
as God is good, would be impossible, because it would  
be wicked.  
Further, man is so constituted that, as a matter of _  
fact, his true happiness depends upon righteousness of  
life and benevolence of heart. When his will accords  
with his knowledge of duty, or when he acts as he  
knows is right towards God and his fellow-men, there  
is peace and even complacency of conscience. Peace  
and complacency of conscience is the happiness which, 
according to man's moral constitution, arises from   

PLAN OF SALVATION.  129  
righteousness, or right acting, in life. And when man  
exercises benevolent feeling, has love in his heart to  
God and men, this exercise of benevolent affection  
produces happiness.  Npw,there  can be no such thing  
as happiness of spirit except it arises from these  
sources. And when these sources are full and flow- 
ing, and thus unite together; when there is perfect  
liwe and a perfect life, the soul is rendered happy. A  
single unrighteous act of will or malevolent feeling of  
heart will destroy this happiness; a single emotion of 
hatred or  or a single evil act, known to be  
such, towards any of God's creatures, will destroy the  
peace of the soul. Even hatred to an enemy, or the  
desire of revenge, or any emotion but good-will, in- 
jures the soul's happiness.  
Thus, in constituting the human soul, God, in ac- 
cordance with his own character, has caused its hap- 
piness to depend upon righteousness and goodness.  
Now, then, a teacher sent from God must recognize  
these fundamental principles, and give his instruction  
in view of them. The happiness of the human soul— 
which is its life, its first and best and only good—could  
be produced in no other way. The whole force, there- 
fore, of divine instruction would be designed and  
adapted to accomplish this necessary end. The legit- 
imate development of God's nature, exercised towards  
man, would produce such instructions and such an  
example; and the best good of the human soul ren- 
dered it necessary that they should be given.  
It is not said that, as in the schools of philosophy,  
9


130  
      
1  PHILOSOPHY. OF THE  

    

  
PLAN OF SALVATION.  131  

      
the constant inquiry and search should be for the  
"greatest good." The very effort to obtain happiness  
in this way would destroy its existence. Happiness is  
not objective but subjective ; no direct effort could  
gain it; it is the   result of the right action of the moral  
powers. It would not be necessary, therefore, that  
those instructed should even understand the principles  
which governed their instructor. It would be suffi- 
cient if the instruction was designed and adapted to  
promote righteousness and goodness: then happiness  
of the soul would follow as a result, whether or not  
the recipient of the instruction understood the princi- 
ples which governed his teacher.  
Now, the whole power of Christ's instruction was  
directed to this point. It was distinguished in this  
respect from all other instruction ever given to man- 
kind : I say unto you, love your enemies. Do good  
to them that despitefully use you. Be anxious about  
no worldly good. The weightier matters of the law  
are righteousness  and the  love of God.  Love and obey  
God, and love and do good to your neighbor ; this is  
the law and the prophets. Seek first the kingdom of  
heaven and its righteousness, and all other things will  
be added to you. ,That is, seek first righteousness and  
the love of God, and the necessary result will grow  
out of these exercises; happiness a   or life, will be added  
as a consequence.   
Thus was the whole force of the Savior's teaching  
and example designed and adapted to produce right- 
eousness and benevolence ; and as these are the only   

exercises from which man's true happiness can arise,  
it follows that the principles involved in the instruc- 
tion of Christ, connecting happiness with holiness, are  
the only principles which can, in accordance with the  
character of God and the constitution of man, pro- 
duce the greatest good of the human soul. Jesus,  
therefore, was the Christ of God ; because the Christ  
of God could found his instructions on no other prin- 
ciples : the principles which are fundamental in his  
teaching being those which alone can produce the  
happiness of the soul in accordance with its own  
moral nature, and in accordance with the moral char- 
acter of God.


132  PHILOSOPHY OF TEE  
Chapter XIV.  
CONCERNING FAITH, AS THE EXERCISE THROUGH WHICH TRUTH  
REACHES AND AFFECTS THE SOUL.  
WHEN Christ, man's perfect and spiritual instruc- 
tor, had come, and introduced the great doctrines of  
the spiritual dispensation, the next necessary step in  
the process was, that those truths should be brought 
to impress the soul and influence the life, and so pro- 
duce their proper effects upon human nature. The  
inquiry then presents itself,  In what way could the  
truths of the Gospel be brought into efficient contact with  
the soul of man?  
There are but two ways in which truth can be  
brought into contact with the mind ; the one is some- 
times called knowledge, the other faith or belief of  
testimony. In the earlier and ruder ages men were  
necessarily moved more by knowledge, derived from  
their own observation and experience through the  
medium of their senses; but as mankind increased in  
number, important truth was conveyed by one man  
or one generation communicating their experience, and  
another man or another generation receiving it by  
belief in their testimony. Perception and faith are  
the only modes by which truth can be brought  
into contact with the soul ; and their effects are nearly  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  133  
the same upon man's conduct and feelings, with the  
following remarkable exception : Facts which are the  
subjects of personal observation, every time they are  
experienced, the effect upon the soul grows less ; while  
on the contrary, those facts which are received by  
faith produce, every time they are realized, a greater  
effect upon the soul. By constant sight, the effect of  
objects seen grows less; by constant faith, the effect  
of objects believed in grows gredter. The probable  
reason of this is, that personal observation does not  
admit of the influence of the imagination in impress- 
ing the fact ; while unseen objects, realized by faith,  
have the auxiliary aid of the imagination, not to ex- 
aggerate them, but to clothe them with living colors, 
and impress them upon the heart. Whether this  
be the reason or not, the fact is true, that the more  
frequently we  see  the less we  feel the power of an ob- 
ject ; while the more frequently we dwell upon an  
object by faith, the more we feel its power. This  
being true, it follows that faith would be the method 
best adapted to bring the sublime truths of the new  
dispensation to bear upon the souls of men. And,  
further, as the dispensation is spiritual, and has rela- 
tion to unseen and eternal things, faith becomes the  
only medium through which they can be conveyed to  
the soul.  
Furthermore, man is so constituted that his faith,  
or belief, has an influence, not only over his conduct  
in life, but likewise over the character and action of  
the moral powers of the soul.


134  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
Faith governs the  Conscience.  
We have said, in another place, that a true con•  
science depends upon a true faith. No proposition in  
morals is more plain. It is not our design to inquire  
what leads, or has led, men to a wrong faith. What- 
ever may be the cause of any particular belief, it is  
incontrovertible that if a man believes a thing to be  
right, conscience can not condemn an act performed  
in view of that belief. Conscience is so modified and 
guided by a man's faith that it will sanction and coin:  
mand an act in one man which it will forbid and con- 
demn in another. A Catholic believes that he ought  
to pray to the Virgin Mary to intercede for him with  
God ; and if a good Catholic were to neglect his  dulia  
to the saints, his conscience would smite him, until, in  
some instances, he confesses his sins with tears. Now,  
if a good Protestant were to pray to saints, or to any  
other being but God, his conscience would smite him  
for doing that which the conscience of the Catholic  
smote him for not doing. So the heathen mother will  
conscientiously throw her infant into the Ganges or  
under the wheels of Juggernaut, while the conscience  
of a Christian mother would convict her of murder  
were she to do the same act. Conscience seldom con- 
victs thole that Christians call impenitent persons for  
neglecting to pray, while the moment a man becomes  
a true believer he will be convicted of guilt if he  
neglects the duty. So certainly and so clearly is  
it true, that a man's conscience is governed by his  
faith.  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  
Faith_g_overnsthe  Affections.  
As man is constituted, no power in the universe  
can move his affections to an object until he believes  
that the object possesses some loveliness or excellency  
of character. The heart is affected just as much by  
the goodness of another if we  believe  that goodness to  
exist as it would be if we  knew that it existed. No  
matter, in the case of the affections, whether the object in  
reality possesses the good qualities or not: if they are  
fully believed to exist, the affections will act just as  
certainly as though they really did exist. The affec- 
tions are constituted to be governed by faith. And  
they act most powerfully, as was demonstrated in a  
previous chapter, in view of good qualities existing in  
another, who under certain circumstances exercises  
those qualities towards us. The fact, then, is ap- 
parent, that the conduct of man's life is influenced by  
what he believes ; and especially that the character  
and action of the moral powers of his nature are  
governed by the principle of faith.  
Another most important fact in connection with  
this subject is, that a man's interests, temporal and  
spiritual, depend upon  what he believes. The nature  
of man and the nature of things are so constituted  
that the belief of falsehood always destroys man's in- 
terests, temporal or spiritual, and the belief of truth  
invariably guides man right, and secures his best and  
highest good.  
Perhaps the most absurd and injurious adage that  
has ever gained currency among mankind is, that " it  

135


136  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
is no difference what a man believes, if he only be  
sincere." Now, the truth is, that the more sincerely a  
man believes falsehood, the more destructive it is to all  
his interests for time and eternity. This statement can  
be confirmed in every mind beyond the reach of doubt.  
First : The influence of believing falsehood on temporal  
and social interests.  
We will state some cases of common and constant  
occurrence, in order that the principle may be made  
obvious:  
A gentleman of property and the highest respec- 
tability, in the course of his business transactions,  
became acquainted with an individual, who, as the  
event showed, was a man destitute in a great degree  
of a conscientious regard for truth. The persuasions  
and false representations of this man led the gentle- 
man referred to, to embark almost his entire fortune  
with him in speculations in which he was at that  
time engaged. While this matter was in progress, the  
friends of the gentleman called upon him, and stated  
their doubts of the individual's integrity who solicited  
his confidence, and likewise of the success of the en- 
terprises in which he was solicited to engage. The  
advice of his friends was rejected. He placed con- 
fidence in the false statements of the individual re- 
ferred to ; he acted upon those statements, and was  
consequently involved in pecuniary distress. In this  
case the gentleman not only sincerely believed the  
falsehood to be the truth, but he had good motives in  
relation to the object which he desired to accomplish.  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  
He was a benevolent man. He had expended con- 
siderable sums for charitable and religious uses, and  
his desire was, by the increase of his property, to be  
enabled to accomplish greater good. In this case he  
was injured, likewise, by believing what others did not  
believe. The individual who seduced him into the  
speculation had endeavored to lead others to take the  
same views and to act in the same way. They did  
not believe the falsehood, and were, consequently,  
saved ; he believed, and was, consequently ruined.  
When the English army under Harold, and the  
Norman under William the Conquerer, were set in  
array for that fearful conflict which decided the fate  
of the two armies and the political destinies of Great  
Britain, William, perceiving that he could not, by a  
fair attack, move the solid columns of the English  
ranks, had recourse to a false movement, in order to  
gain the victory. He gave orders that one flank of  
his army should feign to be flying from the field in  
disorder. The officers of the English army believed  
the falsehood, pursued them, and were cut off. A  
second time, a false movement was made in another  
part of the field. The English again believed, pursued,  
and were cut off. By these movements the fortunes  
of the day were determined. Although the English  
had the evidence of their senses, yet they were led to  
believe a falsehood : they acted in view of it. The  
consequence was the destruction of a great part of  
their army, and the establishment of the Norman  
power in England.  

137


138  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
How often does it occur that the young female,  
possessing warm affections and being inexperienced in  
the wiles of villains, is led to believe falsehood, which  
destroys her prospects and her happiness while life  
lasts! Under other circumstances she might have  
been virtuous, useful, happy. By false indications of  
affection her heart is won ; by false promises of faith- 
fulness and future good her assent to marry is gained;  
and then, when too late, she discovers that her hus- 
band is a villain, and she is forsaken, with a broken  
heart, to the cold sympathies of a. selfish world. No  
matter how many hearts besides her own are broken  
by her error! No matter how sincere, or how guile- 
less, or how young : she sincerely believed the false- 
hood, and is thereby ruined. Nothing in heaven or  
on earth will avert the consequences. If she had  
doubted, she would have been saved. She believed,  
and is consigned to sorrow till she sinks into her grave.  
Second: The belief of falsehood in relation to spiritual  
things destroys man's spiritual interests.  
It is an incontrovertible fact that the whole heathen  
world, ancient and modern, have believed in and wor-  
shiped unholy beings as gods. Now, from the neces-  
sitities of the case, as demonstrated in the introductory  
chapter, the worshiper becomes assimilated to the char-  
acter of the object worshiped. In consequence of  
believing falsehood concerning the character of God,  
all heathendom, at the present hour, is filled with ig-  
norance, impurity, and crime. As a mass of corrup- 
tion spreads contagion and death among all those who  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  139  
approach it, so certainly does the worship of unholy  
beings attaint the soul, and spread moral corruption  
through the world. " Can a man take coals into his  
bosom and not be burned?" Neither can the soul hold  
communion with beings believed to be unholy and not  
itself become corrupt. The fact is so plain that it is  
not necessary to detail again the impurities, the vices,  
the tortures, the self-murders, and the unnatural affec- 
tions of the heathen world, in order to show the  
deadly evils, both to the body and soul, which arise  
from the belief of falsehood in relation to spiritual  
things. It must be obvious to every one that if the  
heathen believed in one holy and benevolent God,  
their abominable and cruel rites would cease. It fol- 
lows, therefore, that it is the belief of falsehood that  
causes their ignorance and corruption.  
Thus it is invariably and eternally true that the  
belief of truth •will lead a man right, and secure his  
temporal, spiritual, and eternal interests ; and, on the  
contrary, the belief of falsehood will lead a man  
wrong, and destroy his interests in relation to what- 
ever the falsehood pertains, whether it be temporal  
or eternal.  
The preceding premises being established, the fol- 
lowing conclusions result:  
1. That the entire man, in his body and soul, his  
actions and moral feelings, is governed by what he  
believes; and that, in relation to things that should  
have a constantly increasing influence over the spirit,  
faith is a more powerful actuating cause than sight,


141  1  140  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  PLAN OF SALVATION.  
because the one gains while the other loses power over  
the soul by repetition.  
That the belief of falsehood concerning any  
human interest is fatally injurious, while the belief of  
truth is eternally beneficial; and that the more sin- 
cerely any one believes error, the more certainly he  
destroys his interests, whether temporal or spiritual ;  
while, on the contrary, the more sincerely a man be- 
lieves truth, the more certainly and powerfully are his 
interests advanced. The living God has connected  
evil with the belief of falsehood, and good with the  
belief of truth; it is a part of the constitutional law  
of the moral universe, and there is no power in exist- 
ence that will stop the consequence from following the  
antecedent.  
Mark it: That doctrine which rectifies the con- 
science, purifies the heart, and produces love to God  
and men,  is necessarily true : because, as it has been  
demonstrated that righteousness and benevolence is  
the greatest good of the soul, and likewise that the  
greatest good must depend on the belief of truth,  
therefore the conclusion is inevitable, that that doc- 
trine which, being believek,destroys sin in the heart  
and life of man, and produces righteousness and be- 
nevolence, is the truth of God. No matter whether  
men can comprehend all its de the and relations or  
not: if it destroys sin wherever it takes effect by faith,  
and makes happiness grow out of  right living  and  right  
loving, from the constitution of things—from the char- 
acter of God, from the nature of man—that doctrine   

is the TRUTH OF GOD. And that doctrine which hin- 
ders this result, or produces a contrary result, is the  
falsehood of the devil.*  
Therefore Christ laid, at the foundation of the  
Christian system, this vital and necessary principle :  
" He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved,  
and he that believeth not shall be damned:" saved in 
accordance with the moral constitution of the uni- 
verse, and damned from the absolute necessities exist- 
ing in the nature of things.  
* John viii, 44.


142  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  PLAN OF SALVATION.  143  
Chapter XV.  
CONCERNING THE MANIFESTATIONS OF GOD WHICH WOULD  
BE NECESSARY, UNDER THE NEW AND SPIRITUAL DIS- 
PENSATION, TO PRODUCE IN THE SOUL OF MAN AFFEC- 
TIONATE OBEDIENCE.  
MAN'S mental and moral constitution was the same  
under the New as under the Old Testament dispensa-  
tion.  The same methods, therefore, which were  
adapted to move man's nature under the one, would  
be adapted to do so under the other. The difference  
between the two dispensations was: the first was a  
preparatory dispensation, its manifestations, for the  
most part, being seen and temporal; the second, a per- 
fect system of truth, spiritual in its character and in  
the method of its communication. But whether the 
truths were temporal or spiritual, and whether they  
were brought to view by faith or sight, in order to  
produce a given effect upon the soul or any of its  
powers, the same methods under all dispensations  
would be necessary, varied only to suit the advance- 
ment of the mind in knowledge, the differences exist- 
ing in the habits and circumstances of men and the  
character of the dispensation to be introduced. For  
instance, under one dispensation—it being iu a great  
measure temporal, preparatory, and imperfect—love   

might be produced by making men feel temporal want,  
and by God granting temporal benefits; while under a  
spiritual and universal system men must likewise feel  
the want and receive the benefit, in order to love; but 
the want felt and the benefit conferred must be of a  
spiritual character.  
Under all dispensations, an essential requisite, after  
the way for its introduction was prepared, would be  
such manifestations of God to men as would produce  
love in the human heart for the object of worship  
and obedience. " Love the Lord thy God with all  
thy heart" is the first great law of the universe ; and  
God can not be honored, nor man made happy, unless  
his obedience be- actuated by love to the object of  
obedience.* Now, the manifestations of mercy under  
tile old dispensation were mainly temporal in their  
character, and limited in their application to the Jews.  
But God's special goodness to them could not produce  
love in the hearts of the Gentiles. The manifesta- 
tions in Egypt were, therefore, neither adapted in 
their character nor in the extent of their design, to  
the spiritual and universal religion of Jesus Christ.  
But one part of the Mosaic economy was universal  
and immutable in its character. The moral law is /he  
same forever    
in the universe. It is plain to reason that whatever  
means may be adapted to bring men to rectitude of  
conduct, or to pardon them for offenses, the rule of  
right itself, founded upon the justice and holiness and  
See chap. iv, on "Affectionate Obedience."


PLAN OF SALVATION.  145  
tion of the soul; and the pleasure that arises from  
affectionate compliance with the will of a worthy 
and loved object does not arise because it is sought  
for, but from the constitution the Maker has given  
to the human soul ; it is the result of its activity, pro- 
duced in accordance with the law of love.  
All  happy obedience must arise from affection ex- 
ercised towards the object obeyed.   Obedience which  
arises from affection blesses the spirit which yields it,  
if the conscience approve of the object obeyed ; while,  
on the contrary,  no being can be  happy in  obeying   
one  whom he  does   not love. To_obey  a parent or to obey  
God  from interested motives would be  sin. The devil  
might be obeyed for the same reasons. All en- 
lightened minds agree to what the Bible confirms, and  
what reason can clearly perceive without argument,  
that love for God is essential to every act of religious  
duty. To tender obedience or homage to God while  
we had no love for him in our hearts would be dis- 
honorable to the Maker, and doing violence to our own  
nature.  
When an object presents itself to the attention,  
whose character engages the heart, then the affections  
flow out, and the soul acts sweetly in this new rela- 
tion. There is a bond of sympathy between the hearts  
of the two beings, and those things which affect the 
one affect the other, in proportion to the strength of  
the cherished affection. One meets the desires and  
conforms to the will of the other, not from a sense  
of obligation merely, but from choice. And in thus  
10  

144  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
sustained by the conscience of the Eternal, must be  
immutable and eternal as its author ; and the means,  
manifestations, and influences under the different dis- 
pensations are expedients of mercy, designed and  
adapted to bring men to act in conformity with its  
requirements.  
'How, then, under the new dispensation, and in  
nformity with its spiritual and universal character,  
Could love for God be produced in the human heart?  
We will here, again, as the subject in hand is  
most important, notice some of the conditions upon  
which affection for an object may be produced in the 
heart.  
The will is influenced by motives and by affection ;  
and all acts of will  produced entirely by pure affec- 
tion are disinterested acts. There is, probably, no one  
living who  has attained to maturity of years, but has,  
at some period of life, felt affection for another, so  
that it was more gratifying to please the object of his  
affection than to please himself. Jove fog another  
always influences the will to do those things which  
please   the object loved ;and the acts which proceed  
from affectiOn-are disinterested, not being done with  
any selfish end in view, but to conform to the will  
and meet the desires of another. The moment the  
affections are fixed upon an object, the will is drawn  
into union with the will of the object loved ; and if  
that object be regarded as superior, in proportion as  
he rises above us in the scale of being, to obey his  
will and secure his regard becomes a spontaneous voli-


146  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
giving and receiving affection, the soul experiences  
its highest enjoyment, its greatest good ; and when  
the understanding perceives in the object loved per- 
fections of the highest character, and affection of the  
purest kind for those that love him, the conscience  
sanctions the action of the heart and the obedience of  
the will, and all the moral powers of the soul unite  
in happy and harmonious action.  
We return, now, to the problem : Under the spir- 
itual dispensation of Christ, how could the affections  
of the soul be awakened by faith, and fixed upon  
God, their proper object?  
The principle has been stated, which every one  
will recognize as true in his own experience, that the  
more we feel the want of a benefactor, temporal or  
spiritual, and the more we feel our inability to rescue  
ourselves from existing difficulties and impending  
dangers, the more grateful love will the heart feel for  
the being who, moved by kindness, and in despite of  
personal sacrifices, interposes to assist and save us.  
Under the Old Testament dispensation, the affec- 
tions of the Israelites were educed and fixed upon  
God in accordance with this law of the soul. They  
were placed in circumstances of abject need ; and  
from this condition of suffering and sorrow God de- 
livered them, and thus drew their hearts to himself.  
Now, the Jews, as has been noticed, supposed that the  
Messiah would appear, and again confer upon them  
similar favors, by delivering them from their state of  
dependence and subjection as a nation. But a tem-  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  147  
poral deliverance of this kind, as has been shown,  
was not consistent with the design of Christ's perfect  
and spiritual dispensation, which was designed to save  
men from sin and spiritual bondage, and restore them  
to spiritual happiness by restoring them to affectionate  
obedience to the only living and true God.  
The inquiry then presents itself: As a feeling of  
want was necessary in order that the soul might love  
the being that supplied that want, and as Jesus came 
to bestow spiritual mercies upon mankind,  How could  
men be brought to feel the want of a spiritual Benefactor  
and Savior?  
Allow the thought to be repeated again : Accord- 
ing to the constitution which God has given the soul, 
it must feel the want of spiritual mercies before it can  
feel love for the giver of those mercies; and just in  
proportion as the soul feels its lost, guilty, and danger- 
ous condition, in the same proportion will it exercise  
love to the being who grants spiritual favor and salva- 
tion. How, then, could the spiritual want be produced  
in the souls of men in order that they might love the  
spiritual benefactor?  
Not by temporal  bondage and   temporal suffering,  
because these would lead men to desire a  temporal de- 
liverance. The only possible way by which man could  
be made to hope for and appreciate spiritual mercies  
and to love a spiritual deliverer, would be to produce 
a conviction in the soul itself of its evil condition, its  
danger as a spiritual being, and its inability, unaided,  
to satisfy the requirements of a  spiritual law, or to


r -  
149  PLAN OF SALVATION.  148  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
escape its just and spiritual penalty. If man could  
be made to perceive that he was guilty and needy ;  
that his soul was under the condemnation of the holy  
law of a holy God, he would then, necessarily, feel the  
need of a deliverance from sin and its consequences;  
and in this way only could the soul of man be led to  
appreciate spiritual mercies or love a spiritual bene- 
factor.  
Mark another fact in connection with the foregoing,  
which is to be especially noticed, and which will be  
developed fully in subsequent pages : the  greater the   
kindness and self-denial of a benefactor manifested in  
our behalf, the warmer and the stronger will be the  
affection which his goodness will produce in the human  
heart.   
Here, then, are two facts growing out of the con- 
stitution of human nature: First, the soul must feel  
its evil and lost estate, as the prerequisite condition  
upon which alone it can love a deliverer; second, the  
degree of kindness and self-denial in a benefactor,  
temporal or spiritual, graduates the degree of affection  
and gratitude that will be awakened for him.  
Now, in view of these necessary conditions, mark  
the means which God has used, and the manifestations  
which he has made of himself, in order to secure the  
supreme love of the human soul.  
In the first place, the soul is brought to see and feel its  
evil and lost condition, and its need  of deliverance.  
At the advent of Jesus the Roman world was in  
precisely the condition which was necessary to prepare  

it for his doctrines. The Jews had the moral law  
written in their Scriptures, and recognized it as the  
will of Jehovah; and the Gentiles had its require- 
ments, concerning their duty to each other and their  
duty to worship, written upon their hearts. Both the  
doctors among the Jews and the schools of philosophy  
among the Gentiles, especially those of the Stoics,  
taught the obligatory nature of many of the important  
moral duties which man owes to man. No period  in  
the history of the heathen mind ever existed, before or  
since, when man's relations to man were so clearly per- 
ceived.* The Jews, hoWever, had these advantages,  
that while the few intelligent Gentiles received the in- 
struction of the philosophers in relation 'to morals as  
truth, it was truth without any higher sanction than  
that of having been spoken by wise men, and therefore  
it contained in itself no authority or weight of obligation  
to bind the conscience; whte they had the moral law as  
a rule cf duty, sanctioned by the authority and infinite  
justice of Jehovah. Thus the moral virtues assumed  
the sanction of religious duties; and they had not only  
the moral precepts thus sanctioned, but, having been 
taught the true character of God, their religious duties  
were likewise united in the same sacred Decalogue.  
There was, however, in the application of the law  
one most important and vital mistake in relation to  
* For the views of the different schools of Grecian and  
Roman philosophy at this period, and the amount of their  
indebtedness to the Jewish Scriptures, see Enfield's His- 
tory of Philosophy.


150  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
what constituted human guilt. The moral law was  
generally applied as the civil law, not to the acts of  
the spirit, but to the acts of the body. It was applied 
to the external conduct of men, not to the internal  
life. If there was conformity to the letter of the law  
in external manners, there was a fulfillment, in the  
eyes of the Jew and the Gentile, of the highest claims  
that God or man held upon the spirit. No matter  
how dark or damning were the exercises of the soul :  
if it only kept its sin in its own habitation, and did  
not develop it in action, the penalty of the law was 
not laid to its charge. The character of the spirit it- 
self might be criminal, and all its exercises of thought  
and feeling sensual and selfish, yet if it added hypoc- 
risy to its guilt, and maintained an outward conformity  
to the law—a conformity itself produced by selfish- 
ness—man judged himself, and others adjudged him,  
guiltless. 'Man could not, therefore, understand his  
own guilt as a spiritual being, nor feel his condemned  
and lost condition, until the requirements of the holy  
law were applied to the exercises of his soul.  
Now, Jesus applied the divine law directly to the  
soul, and laid its obligation upon the movements of  
the will, and the desires. He taught that all wrong  
thoughts and feelings were acts of transgression against  
God, and as such would be visited with the penalty  
of the divine law. Thus he made the law spiritual  
and its penalty spiritual, and appealing to the author- 
ity of the supreme God, he laid its claims upon the  
naked soul. He entered the secret recesses of the  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  151  
spirit's tabernacle; he flashed the light of the divine  
law upon the awful secrets known only to the soul it- 
self; and with the voice of God he spoke to the " I"  
of the mind: Thou shalt not  will, nor desire, nor  feel  
wickedly!  
When he had thus shown that all the wrong exer- 
cises of the soul were sin against God, and that the  
soul was in a guilty condition, under the condemna- 
tion of the divine law, he then directed the attention  
to the spiritual consequences of this guilt. These he  
declared to be exclusion from the kingdom and pres- 
ence of God, and penalty which involved either end- 
less spiritual suffering or destruction of the soul itself.  
The punishment which he declared to be impending  
over the unbelieving and impenitent spirit, he por- 
trayed by using all those figures which would lead men  
to apprehend the most fearful and unmitigated spirit- 
ual misery.  
Before the impenitent and unpardoned sinner there  
was the destruction of the soul and body in hell; con- 
signment to a state of darkness, where the worm dieth  
not, and the fire is not quenced; cursed, and banished  
from God into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil  
and his angels; agonizing in flame, and refused a drop  
of water to mitigate the agony. Now, these figures,  
to the minds both of Jews and Gentiles, must have  
conveyed a most appalling impression of the misery  
that was impending over the soul, unless it was re- 
lieved from sin and the consequent curse of the law.  
Jesus knew that the Jews, especially, would under-


152  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  PLAN OF SALVATION.  153  

    
stand these figures as implying fearful future punish- 
ment. He therefore designed to do what was un- 
doubtedly accomplished in the mind of every one that  
believed his instruction: which was, to produce a con- 
viction of sin in the soul, by applying to it the require-
ments of the spiritual law of God, and by showing  
that the penalty consequent upon sin was fearful and  
everlasting destruction. We say, then, what every  
one who has followed these thoughts must perceive to  
be true, that the instruction of Jesus would necessa- 
rily produce, in the mind of every one that  believed,  a  
conviction that he was a guilty and condemned crea- 
ture, and that an awful doom awaited his soul unless  
he received pardon and spiritual deliverance.  
Thus, then, by the instruction of Jesus Christ,  
showing the spirituality and holiness of the divine law,  
and applying it, with its infinite sanctions, to the exer- 
cises of the soul, that condition of mind was produced  
which alone could prepare man to love a spiritual de- 
liverer; and there is no other way in which the soul  
could have been prepared, in accordance with truth  
and the constitution of its own nature, to appreciate  
the spiritual mercies of God and love him as a spirit- 
ual Savior.  
The law and the truth being exhibited by Christ  
in the manner adapted to produce the condition of  
soul prereqisite to the exercise of affection for spiritual  
deliverance, now, as God was the author of the law,  
and as he is the only proper object both of supreme  
love and obedience, and as man could not be happy in   

obeying the law without loving its author, it follows  
that the thing now necessary in order that man's af- 
fections might be fixed upon, the proper object of love  
and obedience was, that the supreme God should, by  
self-denying kindness, manifest spiritual mercy to those  
who felt their spiritual wants, and thus draw to him- 
self the love and worship of mankind. If any other  
being should supply the  need,  that being would receive  
the love; it was therefore necessary that  God  HIMSELF  
should do it, in order that the affection of believers  
might center upon the proper object.  
But notice that, in order to the accomplishment of  
this end without violating the moral constitution of 
the universe, it would be essentially necessary that the  
holiness of id's law should be maintained. This  
would be necessary, because  the law is, in itself, the 
witOribe Godhead, and God himself must be unholy  
-Wore his will can be. And whatever God may over- 
look in those who know not their duty, yet when he  
reveals hiserfect law, that law can  the  
nature of its author, allow the commission of a single  
But besides, if its holiness were notinaintained,  
man is so constituted that lw could never become holy.  
Every change to a better course in man's life must be  
preceded by a conviction of error; man can not repent  
and turn from sin till he is convicted of sin in him-  
self. Now, if the holiness of the law as a standard  
of duty was maintained, man might thus be enlight-  
ened and convicted of sin, until he has seen and felt  
the last sin in his soul ; and if the law allowed one  

pr  7


154  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
sin, there would be no way of convicting man of that 
sin, or of converting him from it. He would there- 
fore remain, in some degree, a sinner forever. But,  
finally and conclusively, if the holiness of the law was  
not maintained, that sense of guilt and danger could 
not be produced which is necessary in order that man  
may love a spiritual Savior. Jesus produced that con- 
dition by applying to the soul the authority, the claims,  
and the sanctions of the holy law. It is impossible,  
therefore, in the nature of things, for a sinful being to  
appreciate God's mercy unless he first feel his justice 
as manifested in the holy law. Love in the soul is pro- 
duced by the joint influence of the justice and mercy  
of God. The integrity of the eternal law, therefore,  
must be forever maintained.*  
* The preceding views are confirmed, both by the  
character of the moral law and by its design and exposition,  
as given by the apostles of Christ. The moral law, or the  
rule and obligation of moral rectitude in the sight of God,  
which is revealed in the Scriptures and interpreted by  
Christ as obligatory upon the thoughts and feelings of the  
soul, is not only, in its nature, of perpetual and universal  
obligation and adapted to produce conviction of sin in  
every soul that is sensible of transgressing its requirements,  
but the Scriptures expressly declare that it was designed to  
produce conviction of sin in the soul, in order to prepare it  
to receive the gospel.  
The moral law is set forth in the Scriptures as holy,  
just, and good in its character; and whatever may be its  
effects upon the soul itself, that its character is such no  
intelligent being in the universe can doubt, because it re- 
quires of every one perfect holiness, justice, and good- 
ness; it requires that the soul should be perfectly free from   

PLAN OF SALVATION.  155  
How, then, could God manifest that mercy to sin- 
ners, by which love to himself and to his law would be  
sin in the sight of God. And, as we have seen, God ought  
not to allow one sin; if he did, the law would not be holy, 
nor adapted to make men holy. But the more holy the  
law, the more conviction it would produce in the mind of  
sinners. If the law extended only to external conduct,  
men would not feel guilty for their wrong thoughts, de- 
sires, or designs; and if it extended only to certain classes  
of spiritual exercises, men would not feel guilty for those  
which it did not condemn ; but, if it required that the soul  
itself—the spiritual agent, the " I" of the mind—should  
be holy, and all its thoughts and feelings in accordance  
with the law of love and righteousness, then the soul  
-would be convicted of guilt for a single wrong exercise, be- 
cause while it felt that the law was holy, just, and good, it  
could not but feel condemned in breaking it. When Christ  
came, therefore, every soul that was taught its spirituality  
would be convicted of sin. One of two things men had to  
do : either shut out its light from their soul and refuse to  
believe its spiritual and perfect requirements, or judge and  
condemn themselves by those requirements. And while  
the law thus showed sin to exist in the soul, and con- 
demned the soul as guilty and liable to its penalty, it im- 
parted no strength to the sinner to enable him to fulfill its  
requirements; it merely sets forth the true standard,  
which is holy in itself, and which God must maintain, and  
by its light it shows sinners their guilt, condemns then),  
and leaves them under its curse.  
Now, the Scriptures declare that this is the end which,  
by its nature, it is adapted to .accomplish, and that it was  
revealed to men with the design to accomplish this end,  
and thus lead men to see and feel the necessity of justifi- 
cation and pardon by Jesus Christ. The Scripture saith:  
"It is easier for heaven and earth to pass than one tittle


156  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
produced, while his infinite holiness and justice would  
be obtained ?  
We answer, in no way possible but by some ex- 
pedient by which his justice and mercy would both be  
exalted. If, in the wisdom of the Godhead, such a  
of the law to fail ;" "The law worketh wrath; where there  
is no law, there is no transgression ;" "Moreover, the law  
entered that the offense might abound: for where sin  
abounded, grace did much more abound ; that as sin had  
reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through  
righteousness, unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord."  
Mark the following: "Now we know that what things so- 
ever the law saith, it saith to them that are under the  
law; that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world  
become  guilty  before God ; therefore by the deeds of the  
law shall no flesh be justified: for by the law is the knowl- 
edge of sin."  
The argument of the apostle in vindicating the holi- 
ness of the law, while it, at the same time, produced con- 
viction and condemnation, is conclusive. "What shall we  
say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not  
known sin but by the law: for I had not known lust, ex- 
cept the law had said, Thou shalt not covet [i.  e., I would  
not have felt covetousness to be sin, except the law had  
condemned it as such]. For I was alive  [i. e., not con- 
sciously condemned] without the law once: but when the  
commandment came, sin revived, and I died. And the  
commandment which was ordained to life  [i. e.,  which re- 
quired the soul to be holy, and therefore alive to God], I  
found to be unto death. For sin, taking occasion by the  
commandment [or acts shown to be sin by the command- 
ment], deceived me, and by it slew me. Wherefore the  
law is holy, and the commandment is holy, and just, and  
good. Was then that which is good made death unto me?  
God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin  [i. e., sin   

PLAN OF SALVATION.  157  
way could be devised by which God himself could  
save the soul from the consequences of its guilt ; by  
which he himself could in some way suffer and make  
self-denials for its good, and, by his own interposition,  
open a way for the soul to recover from its lost and  
which did exist in the soul was made to appear in its true  
evil character], working death in me by that which is good  
[i.  e., the holiness of the law showed the evil of sin]: that  
sin by the commandment might become exceedingly sin- 
ful. For we know that the law is spiritual : but I am car- 
nal, sold under sin." And then, for deliverance from this  
bondage he looks to Christ: " For the law of the spirit of  
life in Christ Jesus bath made me free from the law of sin  
and death," etc. And mark again : "Is the law then against  
the promises of God? GO forbid; for if there had been  
a law given that could have given life, verily righteous- 
ness would have been of the law  [i. e.; while the law  
showed the soul to be unholy and condemned to spiritual  
death, it provided no means for the relief of the sinner;  
no influence by which love and holiness could be produced  
in the heart]. But the Scriptures [that is, the revelation  
of law in the Scriptures] hath concluded all under sin, that  
the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to  
them that believe. But before faith came we were kept  
under the law, shut up unto the faith which should after- 
wards be revealed ; wherefore the law was our school- 
master to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified  
by faith."  
Now, from the above Scriptures, it is evident that the  
apostle understood the law not only to be adapted, hut de- 
signed by its author, to show the soul its guilty and lost  
condition, its inability to free itself from the condemnation  
to which it was liable, and to prepare it, at the proper  
time, to trust in and love Christ for salvation from sin, and  
spiritual death, the consequence of sin.


158  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
condemned condition, then the result would follow  
inevitably that every one of the human family who  
had been led to see and feel his guilty condition before  
God, and who believed in God thus manifesting him- 
self to rescue his soul from spiritual death—every one,  
thus believing, would, from the necessities of his na- 
ture, be led to love God his Savior; and—mark—the  
greater the self-denial and the suffering on the part of  
the Savior in ransoming the soul, the stronger would  
be the affection felt for him.  
This is the central and vital doctrine of the Plan  
of Salvation. We will now, by throwing light and  
accumulating strength upon this doctrine from differ- 
ent points, illustrate and establish it beyond the possi- 
bility of rational doubt.  
I.  
THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS THAT IT WAS NECESSARY MAN  
SHOULD FEEL THE WANT IN ORDER TO EXERCISE THE  
LOVE.  
Jesus uniformly speaks of it as being necessary  
that, previously to accepting him as a Savior, the soul  
should feel the need of salvation. He does not even  
invite the thoughtless sinner, or the godless worldling,  
who has no sense of the evil or the guilt of sin, to  
come to him. Said Jesus: " I came not to call the  
righteous, but sinners to repentance;" " The whole  
need not a physician, but they who are sick;" " Come  
unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and  
I will give you rest;" " If any man thirst, let him  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  159  
come unto me and drink ;" " Blessed are they that  
hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be  
filled." Thus the points which have been shown to  
be necessary, from the constitution of things, iu order  
to the soul's loving God, are presented in the same  
light by Jesus himself; and upon the principle which  
they involve, he acted during his ministry.  
II.  
THE TESTIMONY OF THE SCRIPTURES THAT GOD DID THUS  
MANIFEST HIMSELF AS SUFFERING AND MAKING SELF- 
DENIALS FOR THE SPIRITUAL GOOD OF MEN.  
God was in Christ, says the apostle, reconciling  
the world to himself; that is, God was in Christ doing  
those things that would restore to himself the obedi..  
once and affection of every one that believed. Christ  
represents himself as a ransom for the soul—as laying  
down his life for believers. He is represented as de- 
scending from an estate of the highest felicity ; taking  
upon him the nature of man, and humbling himself even  
to the death of the cross—a death of the most excru- 
ciating torture—and thus bearing the sins of men in  
his own body on the tree, that through his death God  
might be just, and the justifier of every one that be- 
lieveth in Jesus.  
It was thus, by a self-denial surpassing description,  
by a life of labor for human good, accomplished by  
constant personal sacrifices, and tending at every step  
towards the center of the vortex, he went on until,  
finally, life closed to a crisis by the passion in the  

-V


                            

                            

                            

                            

                            

                      
160  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
garden, the rebuke, and the buffet, and the cruel  
mockery of the Jews and the Romans; and then, bear- 
ing his cross, faint with former agony of spirit, and  
his flesh quivering with recent scourging, he goes to  
Calvary, where the agonized sufferer for human sin  
cried, "IT IS FINISHED," and gave up the ghost.  
Such is the testimony of the Scriptures; and it  
may be affirmed, without hesitancy, that  it would be  
impossible  for the human soul to exercise full faith in  
the testimony that it was a guilty and needy creature,  
condemned by the holy law of a holy God, and that  
from this condition of spiritual guilt and danger Jesus  
Christ suffered and died to accomplish its ransom,—we  
say a human being could not exercise full faith in  
these truths and not love the Savior.  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  161  
barbarism, yet there was a class in society during the  
Augustan and 'Periclean age, and even at some pe- 
riods before that time, that was cultivated in mind and  
manners. From this class individuals at times arose  
who were truly great; men distinguished alike for the  
strength, compass, and discrimination of their intel- 
lect. In all the efforts of these men, with the excep- 
tion of those who applied themselves exclusively to  
the study of physical phenomena, the great end sought  
was the means or secret of human happiness. All  
admitted that human nature, as they found it, was in  
an imperfect or depraved condition, and not in the  
enjoyment of its chief good ; and the plans which they  
proposed by which to obtain that happiness of which  
they believed the soul susceptible, were as various and  
diverse from each other as can be imagined. No one  
of these plans ever accomplished, in any degree, the  
end desired. And no one of them was ever adapted  
to, or embraced by, the common people. The phi- 
losophers themselves, after wrangling for the honor of  
having discovered truth, and making themselves mis- 
erable in the pursuit of happiness, died; and man  
was left unsatisfied and unhappy, philosophy having  
shed only sufficient light upon his mind to disclose  
more fully the guilty and wretched state of his heart.  
There are, perhaps, two exceptions to these re- 
marks as applied to the great minds of antiquity :  
those are Socrates and his pupil Plato. These men,  
with a far-penetrating insight into the constitutional 
wants of man, contemplating the disordered and  
11  

  

                        

                        

                          

                      
THE ATONEMENT OF CHRIST PRODUCES THE NECESSARY EF- 
FECT UPON THE HUMAN SOUL, IN RESTORING IT TO  
AFFECTIONATE OBEDIENCE, WHICH NEITHER PHILOSOPHY,  
LAW, NOR PRECEPTIVE TRUTH COULD ACCOMPLISH.  
The wisdom of Divine Providence was conspicuous  
in the fact that previously to the introduction of  
Christianity all the resources of human wisdom• had  
been exhausted in efforts to confer upon man true  
knowledge and true happiness. Although most of the  
great names of antiquity were conspicuous rather for  
those properties which reLdered them a terror and a  
scourge to mankind, and although society among the  
ancients, in its best estate, was little better than semi-  

  

                        

          
I  

            

                      

                        

                        

                        

                        

                        

                        

                        

                        

                        

                        

                        

                        

                        

                            




162  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
unhappy condition of human nature, and inquiring  
for a remedy adequate to enlighten the mind and give  
the heart a satisfying good, perceived that there was  
not in the resources of philosophy, nor within the  
compass of human means, any power that could reach  
the source of the difficulty, and rectify the evil of  
human nature, which consisted in a want of benevolent  
affection.* Inferring from the nature of man what  
would be necessary, and trusting in the goodness of  
the Deity to grant the requisite aid, they expressed  
their belief that a divine teacher would come from  
heaven, who would restore truth and happiness to the  
human soul.t  
It is strange that among philosophers of succeeding  
ages there has not been wisdom sufficient to discover,  
from the constitutional necessities of the human spirit,  
that demand for the instruction and aid of the Mes-  
That Plato had some idea of the want, and none of  
what was necessary to supply it, may be seen in the fact  
that in order to make men love as brethren, which he saw  
to be necessary, he recommended a community of wives  
to the members of his ideal republic.  
t In Plato's Dialogue upon the Duties of Religious  
Worship, a passage occurs, the design of which appears to  
be to show that man could not, of himself, learn either  
the nature of the gods or the proper manner of worship- 
ing them, unless an instructor should come from heaven.  
The following remarkable passage occurs between Socrates  
and Alcibiades :  
"Socrates.—To  me it appears best to be patient. It is  
necessary to wait till you learn how you ought to  act to- 
wards the  gods,  and towards men.  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  163  
siah, which Socrates and Plato discovered, even in a  
comparatively dark age.  
There are two insuperable difficulties, which would  
forever hinder the restoration of mankind to truth  
and happiness from being accomplished by hump  
means. The first, which.has been already alluded to,  
is, that human instruction, as such, has no power to  
bind the conscience. Even if man were competent to  
discover all the truth necessary for a perfect rule of   
conduct, yet that truth would have no reformatory  
power, because men cola never feel that truth,  
was obligatory which proceeded from merely human  
sources. It is an obvious principle of our nature that  
the conscience will not charge guilt on the soul for  
disobedience, when the command proceeds from a  
fellow-man, who is not recognized as having the pre- 
rogative and the right to require submission. And,  
besides, as men's minds are variously constituted and  
of various capacities, there could be no agreement in  
"Alcibiades.—When,  0 Socrates, shall that time be?  
and  who will instruct me?  for most willingly would I see  
this person, who he is.  
"Socrates.—He  is one who  cares for you; but, as Homer  
represents Minerva as taking away darkness from the eyes  
of Diomedes, that he might  distinguish.  a god from a  MAN,  
SO it  is necessary that he should first take away the dark- 
ness from your mind, and then  bring near those things by  
which you shall know good and evil.  
"Alcibiades.—Let  him take away the darkness, or any  
other thing, if he will ; for whoever this man is, I am pre- 
peed to refuse none of the things which he commands, if  
I shall be made better."—Platonis  Alcibiad. ii.


* From an observation of one of the Fathers, it would  
seem that after the Gospel had been preached among the  
Greeks many of them perceived its adaptedness to accom-  

164  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
such a case   concerning the question,  What is truth?"  61  
As well might we expect two school-boys to reform  
each other's manners in school without the aid of the  
teacher's authority, as that men can reform their fel- 
lows without the sanction of that authority which will  
quicken and bind the conscience.  The human con- 
science was made to recognize and enforce the authority  
of God, and unless there is belief in the divine obliga- 
tion of truth, conscience refuses to perform its office.  
But the grand difficulty is this : Truth, whether  
sanctioned by conscience or not, has no power, as has  
been shown, to produce love in the heart. The law may  
convict and  guide the mind, but it has no power to  
soften or to change the  affections. This was the pre- 
cise thing necessary, and this necessary end the wisdom  
of the world could not accomplish. All the wisdom  
of all the philosophers in  all ages  could never cause  
the affections of the soul to rise to the holy, blessed  
God. To destroy selfish pride and produce humility— 
to eradicate the evil passions, and produce in the soul  
desires for the universal good, and love for the uni- 
versal Parent—was beyond the reach of earthly wis- 
dom and power. The wisdom of the world in their  
efforts to give truth and happiness to the human soul,  
was foolishness with God; and the wisdom of God— 
CHRIST CRUCIFIED—was foolishness with the  
philosophers, in relation to the same subject ;* yet it     

PLAN OF SALVATION.  165  
was divine philosophy: an adapted means, and the  
only adequate means, to accomplish the necessary end. •  
Said an apostle in  speaking upon this subject : "The  
Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wis- 
dom: but  we preach Christ crucified,  unto the Jews a  
stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but  
to them who are called, both Jews and Greeks,  Christ  
the power of God, and the wisdom of God."  The Jews,  
while they required a sign, did not perceive that mira- 
cles, in themselves, were not adapted to produce affec- 
tion. And the Greeks, while they sought after wisdom,  
did not perceive that all the wisdom of the Gentiles  
would never work love in the heart. But the  apostle  
preached CHRIST CRUCIFIED, an exhibition of  ) 
self-denial, of suffering, and of self-sacrificing love and  
mercy, endured in behalf of men, which, when re- 
' ceived by faith, became the _power of God and the  
wi sdom _   of God to produce love and obedience in _the  
human soul. Paul understood the  efficacy  of the  
plish the end for which they had sought in vain. " Phi- 
losophy," says Clemens of Alexandria, " led the Greeks to  
Christ, as the law did the Jews."  
Concluding paragraph of the apology of M. Minucius  
Felix in defense of Christianity, A. D. 250: " To conclude:  
the sum of our boasting is, that we are got into possession  
of what the philosophers have been always in quest of, and  
what, with all their application, they could never find.  
Why, then, so much  stirring against us? If divine  
truth is come to perfection in our time, let us make a  
good use of the blessing ; let us govern our knowledge with  
discretion; let superstition and impiety be no more ; and  
let true religion triumph in their stead."


166  PHILOSOPHY 
PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
cross. He looked to Calvary and beheld Christ cru-
cified as the sun of the Gospel system. Not as the  
moon, reflecting cold and borrowed rays ; but as the  
Sun of righteousness, glowing; with radiant mercy, and  
pouring  beams of life and love into the open  
bosom of the believer.  
Iv.  
ANALOGY BETWEEN THE MORAL AND PHYSICAL LAWS OF  
THE UNIVERSE.  
The laws which govern physical nature are analo- 
gous to those which the Gospel introduces into the  
spiritual world. The earth is held to the sun by the  
power of attraction, and performs regularly its circuit  
around the central, sustaining luminary, maintaining  
at the same time its equal relations with its sister plan- 
ets. But the moral system upon the earth is a chaos  
of derangement. The attraction of  affection,  which  
holds the soul to God, has been broken, and the soul  
of man, actuated by selfishness, revolving upon its own  
center only, jars in its course with its fellow-spirits,  
and crosses their orbits; and the whole system of the  
spiritual world upon earth revolves in disorder, the  
orbs wandering and rolling away from that center of  
moral life and power which alone could hold them in  
harmonious and happy motion. Into the midst of this   
chaos of disordered spirits, God, the Sun of the spir- 
itual world, came down. He shed light upon the   
moral darkness, and by coming near, like the ap- 
proaches of a mighty magnet, the attraction of his  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  167  
mercy, as manifested in Christ crucified, became so  
powerful that many spirits, rolling away into darkness  
and destruction, felt the efficacy, and were drawn back, 
and caused to move again, in their regular orbits,    
around the " Light" and " Life" and " Love" of the  
spiritual system.  
If free agency could be predicated of the bodies of  
the solar system, the great law which governs their  
movements 'might be expressed thus:  Thou shalt at- 
tract the sun with all thy might, and thy sister planets as  
thyself.  The same expression gives the great law of  
the spiritual world. "Thou shalt love the Lord with  
all thy soul, and thy neighbor as thyself." Now, if ,    
a Janet had broken awa from its orbit it would  
have a tendency to fly off forever, and it never could  
be restored, unless the sun, the great center of attrac- 
tion, could, in some way, follow it in its wanderings,  
and thus by the increased power of his attraction, as  
be a roached nearer to the Men planet, attach it to  
himself, and then draw it back again to its on inal  
orbit. So with the human s irit: its affections were  
iritual attraction,    
could never have been restored, unless God  
the increased  
melsz,amanifested  in the self-denial, sufferings, and  
death of Christ, united man again to himself by the  
ower of affection t  he nai ht thus draw him u  
frona his miser and'  to revolve around him in har-  
and love forever.  

alienated from God the center of s  
and the  
had a roached, and b  ower of his  
MOD  If this earth had, by some means, broken away


PLAN OF SALVATION.  169  1  
from the sun, there would be no way possible of recov- 
ering it again to its place in the system but that which  
has been mentioned,—that the sun should leave his  
central position, and approach the wandering orb, and  
thus, by the increased power of his attraction, draw  
back the earth to its original position. But the sun  
could not thus leave the center of the system without  
drawing all the other planets from their orbits by the  
movement to recover the lost one. The relations of  
the system would be broken up, and the whole solar  
economy sacrificed, if the universal and equal law of  
gravitation was infringed by the sun changing his  
position and his relations in the system.  
Further: the established laws of the physical uni- 
verse would render it impossible that any other planet  
should be the instrument of recovering the earth to  
the sun. If another planet should approach the earth  
while thus wandering, the increased power of attrac- 
tion would cause the two globes to revolve around each  
other; or if the approaching planet was of greater  
magnitude, the earth would revolve, as a satellite,  
around it. But this would not be to restore the earth  
to its place in the system, nor to its movement around  
the sun, but to fix it in a wrong position and a wrong  
movement, and thus alienate it forever from the cen- 
tral source of light and heat. It follows, therefore,  
that in accordance with the established laws of the  
solar system, the earth could never be recovered, but  
would fly off forever, or be broken into asteroids.  
There would, therefore, be no way possible for the   

recovery of the earth, unless God should adopt an  
expedient unknown to the physical laws of the uni- 
verse. (This, all who believe that God is almighty,  
and himself the author of those laws, will allow that  
he might do.) That expedient must not destroy the  
great laws of the system, upon which the safety of all  
its parts depend, but an augmented force of attraction  
must be thrown upon the earth from the sun itself,  
which would be sufficient to check the force of its  
departing momentum and gradually draw it back to  
its place. If a portion of the magnetic power of the  
sun could be thrown into the earth, an adhesion would  
take place between it and the earth; and then, after  
the cord was fastened, if that body of attractive mat-
ter could ascend again to the body of the sun, the  
earth would receive the returning impulse, and a new  
and peculiar influence would be created to draw it  
back to its allegiance to the sun. If, as has been said,  
the power came from any other body but the sun it- 
self, or attracted towards any other body, the earth  
would lose its place in the system forever.*  
So in the moral world : God's relations to the  
moral universe must be sustained. The infinite jus- 
tice and holiness of the divine law must not be corn-  
* These illustrations are not to be applied to the mode  
of existence, or subsistence, in the Godhead, but as God  
is the author of both the physical and moral laws, and as  
the attraction of gravitation in physics corresponds with  
the attraction of affection in morals, an analogy of what  
would be necessary under one is taken to what was accom- 
plished by Christ under the other.  

168  PHILOSOPHY OF THE


170  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
promised. The end to be gained is to draw man, as  
a revolted sinner, back to God, while the integrity of  
God's moral government is maintained. Now,  affec- 
tion is the attraction of the moral universe; and, in ac- 
cordance with the foregoing deduction, to reclaim  
alienated man to God would be impossible, unless  
there should be a manifestation of the Godhead in   
the world, to attract to himself man's estranged affec-
tions, and then, after the affinity was fastened by faith,  
phis ascending again to the bosom of the Deity, man- 
kind would thus be gradually drawn back to allegiance   
to Jehovah.  
V.  
ILLUSTRATIONS FROM NATURE AND THE SCRIPTURES.  
The Plan of Salvation is likened unto a vine which  
has fallen down from the boughs of an oak. It lies  
prone upon the ground; it crawls in the dust, and all  
its tendrils and claspers, which were formed to hold it 
in the lofty place from which it had fallen, are twined  
around the weed and the bramble; and having no  
strength to raise itself, it lies fruitless and corrupting,  
tied down to the base things of the earth. Now, how  
shall the vine arise from its fallen condition? But one  
way is possible for the vine to rise again to the place  
from whence it had fallen. The bough of the lofty  
oak must be let down, or some communication must  
be formed connected with the top of the oak and, at  
the same time, with the earth. Then, when the bough  
of the oak was let down to the place where the vine  

ICI  

1  PLAN OF SALVATION.  171  
lay, its tender claspers might fasten upon it, and, thus  
supported, it might raise itself up, and bloom and bear  
fruit again in the lofty place from whence it fell.  
So with map: his affections had fallen from God, and  
were fastened to the base things of the earth. Jesus  
Christ came down, and by his humalliystood upon  
the earth, and  by his divinity raised_ his haEaraTA  
united himself with the Deity of the everJQ!tl  _......   
Father. Thus the fallen affections of man may fasten  
upon him, and twine around him, until they again  
ascend to the b l osom of the Godhead from whence  
they fell.  
It was thus that prophets, evangelists, apostles, and  
the Son of God himself, presented the divine scheme  
of human redemption. Christ is the " Branch" by  
which the vine may recover itself from its prone and  
base condition ; he is the "Arm of the Lord," by  
which he reaches down and rescues sinful men from  --.  
the ruins of the fall: " through whom," says Peter,  _   
"ye believe in 0oc   57 —i. e.,  believe in God manifested  
through Christ—" that raised him up from the dead,  
and gave him glory, that your  faith and hope might  
be in God."   Says Paul, " Your life is hid with Christ  
in God." Jesus himself proclaimed that the believer  
should have within him "a well of water, springing  
up into everlasting life ;" that is, he that believeth in  
Christ crucified, the hard heart within him will be  
struck by the rod of faith, and in his soul there will  
be a well of pure and living affection, springing up to  
God forever. And again: "Jesus cried, and said, He  
..  .


172  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
that believeth on me, believeth not ciri me, but on  
him that sent me; and he that seeth me, seeth him  
that sent me ;" that is, Christ was  God acting, devel- 
oping the divine attributes through human nature,   so  
that men might apprehend and realize them. God  
might have been as merciful as he is if Christ had  
never died; but man could never have known the  
extent, nor felt the power, of his mercy, but by the 
exhibition on the cross. His mercy could have been  
manifested to man's  HEART  in no other way. And  
men can not love God for what he truly is, unless they  
love him as manifested in the suffering and death o?  
Christ Jesus. "I am the way, the truth, and the  
life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me ;"  
"If ye had known me, ye would have known my  
Father also, and from henceforth ye know him, and  
have seen him."  
VI.  
THE PRECEDING VIEWS ESTABLISHED BY REDUCTIO AD  
ABSURDUM.  
It is necessary that man should know the character  
of the true God, and feel the influence of that char- 
acter upon his mind and heart. But human nature, 
as at present constituted, could not be made to feel  
the goodness of God's mercy, unless God (blessed be  
his name!) should make self-denials for man's benefit  
either by assuming human nature, or in some other  
way.  (And is it not true that God could make se  
denials for men in no other way that would be plain to  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  173  
their apprehension, except by embodying his Godhead in  
human nature?)   Mercy can be manifested to man, so  
as to make an impression upon his heart, in no other  
way than by labor and self-denial. This principle is  
obvious. Suppose an individual is confined under  
condemnation of the law, and the governor in the exer- 
cise of his powers pardons him: this act of clemency  
would produce upon the heart of the criminal no par- 
ticular effect, either to make him grateful or to make  
him better. He might, perhaps, be sensible of a com- 
placent feeling for the release granted ; but so long as  
he knew that his release cost the governor nothing but  
a volition of his will, there would be no basis in the  
prisoner's mind for gratitude and love. The liberated  
man would feel more gratitude to  one  of   his friends  
who had labored to get petitions before the governor  
for his release than he would to the governor who re- 
leased him.  
I  To vary the illustration: Suppose that two persons  
who are liable to be destroyed in the flames of a  
burning dwelling are rescued by two separate individ- 
uals. The one is enabled to escape by an individual  
who, perceiving his danger, steps up to the door and  
opens it without any effort or self-denial on his part.  
The other is rescued in a different manner. An indi- 
vidual, perceiving his danger and liability to death,  
ascends to him, and by a severe effort, and while he is  
himself suffering from the flams, holds open the door  
until the inmate escapes for his.life. Now, the one  
who opened the door without self-denial may have been


174  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
merciful, and the individual relieved would recognize  
the act as a kindness done to one in peril; but no one  
would feel that  that act proved that the man who de- 
livered the other manifested any special mercy, be- 
cause any man would have done the same act. But  
the one who ascended the ladder and rescued, by peril  
and by personal suffering, the individual liable to  
death, would manifest special mercy, and all who ob- 
served it would acknowledge the claim; and the indi- 
vidual rescued would feel the mercy of the act, melt- 
ing his heart into gratitude to his deliverer, unless his  
heart was a moral petrifaction.  
What are, in reality, the facts by which alone men  
may know that any being possesses a benevolent na- 
ture ? Not, certainly, by that being conferring ben- 
efits upon others which cost him neither personal  
labor nor self-denial; because we could not tell but  
these favors would cease the moment they involved 
the least degree of sacrifice, or the moment they  
interfered with his selfish interests. But when it re- 
quires a sacrifice on the part of a benefactor to bestow  
a favor, and that sacrifice is made, then benevolence  
of heart is made evidently manifest. Now mark: any  
being who is prompted by benevolence of heart to  
make sacrifices may not lose happiness, in the aggre- 
gate, by so doing, for a benevolent nature finds hap- 
piness in performing benevolent acts.  Self-denials are,  
therefore, not only the moropriate method of manifestinv  
benevolence to men, but they are likewise the appropriate  
manife.5tations of a benevolent nature.  Now, suppose  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  175  
God is perfectly benevolent; then it follows, in view  
of the fore iig deductions, in order to manifest his  
true nature to men, self-denials would be necessa  
in order that men might see and  feel that "God is  
love."  
It is clear, therefore, that those who reject the divin- 
ity of Christ as connected with the atonement, can not  
believe in God's benevolence, because God is really as  
benevolent as the self-denials of Christ (believed in as  
divine) will lead men to feel that he is ; nor can they  
believe in the mercy of God in any way that will  
produce an effect upon their hearts. To say that the  
human heart can be deeply affected by mercy that is  
not manifested by self-denial is to show but little  
knowledge of the springs which move the inner life  
of the human soul. Man will feel a degree of love  
and gratitude for a benefactor who manifests an inter- 
est in his wants, and labors to supply them ; but he  
will feel a greater degree of grateful love for the ben•  
efactor who manifests an interest in his wants, and  
makes self-denials to aid him. To deny, therefore, the  
divine and meritorious character of the atonement is  
to shut out both the evidence and the effect of God's  
mercy from the soul.  
In accordance with this view is the teaching of the  
Scriptures. There is but one thing which is charged  
against men in the New Testament as a fundamental  
and soul-destroying heresy,  and that is not denying the  
Lord, but " denying the Lord that  bought  them." It  
is rejecting the purchase of Christ by his self-denying


176  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
atonement which causes the destruction of the soul,  
because it rejects the truth which alone can produce  
love to the God of love.  
But further : the facts have been fully proved that  
God Jehovah, by taking a personal interest in the  
well-being of the Israelites and laboring to secure their  
redemption, secured their affections to himself; and  
that his acts of mercy produced this effect was mani- 
fested by their song after their final deliverance at the  
Red Sea: "0 sing unto Jehovah, for he has triumphed  
gloriously ; the horse and his rider he has thrown into  
the sea. Jehovah is my strength and song, and has  
become my salvation." In like manner Jesus Christ  
secured to himself, in a greater degree, the affections  
of Christians, by his self-denying life and death, to  
ransom them from  spiritual  bondage and misery. The  
Israelites in Egypt were under a  temporal law so se- 
vere that, while they suffered in the greatest degree,  
they could not fulfill its requirements ; they therefore  
loved Jehovah for  temporal  deliverance. The believer  
was under a  spiritual law, the requirements of which  
he could not fulfill, and therefore he loved Christ for  
spiritual deliverance. This fact, that the supreme  
affection of believers was thus fixed upon Christ, and  
fixed upon him in view of his self-sacrificing love for  
them, is manifest throughout the whole New Testa- 
ment—even more manifest than that the Jews loved  
Jehovah for temporal deliverance. "The love of  
Christ constrains me," says one: thus manifesting that  
his very life was actuated by affection for Jesus.  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  177  
Says another, speaking of early Christians generally,  
" Whom [Christ] having not seen,  ye love;  and in  
whom, though now you see him not, yet believing, ye  
rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory." The  
Bible requires men to perform their religious duties,  
moved by love to Christ: "And whatsoever ye do, do  
it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men: know- 
ing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of  
the inheritance : for ye serve the Lord Christ." Mark : 
these Christians were moved in what they  did,  what  
they  said, and what they  felt, by love to Christ. Love  
to Jesus actuated their whole being, body, and soul;  
it governed them.  
Now, suppose that Jesus Christ was not God, nor  
a true manifestation of the Godhead in human nature,  
but a man, or angel, authorized by God to accom- 
plish the redemption of the human race from sin and  
misery. In doing this, it appears, from the nature of  
things and from the Scriptures, that he did what was  
adapted to, and what  does,  draw the heart of every  
true believer—as in the case of the apostle and the  
early Christians—unto himself, as the supreme or gov- 
erning object of affection. Their will is governed by  
the will of Christ; and love to him moves their heart  
and hands. Now, if it be true that Jesus Christ  
is not God, then he has devised and executed a plan  
by which the supreme affections of the human heart  
are drawn to himself, and alienated from God, the  
proper object of love and worship; and God having  
authorized this plan, he has devised means to make  
12


178  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
man love Christ, the creature, more than the Creator,  
who is God over all, blessed for evermore.  
But is it said that, Christ having taught and suf- 
fered by the will and authority of God, we are under  
obligation to love God for what Christ has done for  
us? It is answered that this is impossible. We can  
not love one being for what another does or suffers in  
our behalf. We can love no being for labors and self-
denials in our behalf but that being who voluntarily  
labors and denies himself. It  is the kindness  and mercy{  
exhibited in the self-denial that moves the affections; ajad  
the affections can move to no being but the one that  
makes the self-denials, because it it the self-denials  
that draw out the love of the heart.   
Is it still said that Christ was sent by God to do  
his will, and not his own-, and therefore we ought to  
love God, as the being to whom gratitude and love is  
due for what Christ said and suffered? Then it is  
answered: If God willed that Christ, as a creature  
of his, should come, and by his sufferings and death  
redeem sinners, we ought not to love Christ for it,  
because he did it as a creature, in obedience to the  
commands of God, and was not self-moved nor meri- 
torious in the work; and we can not love God for it,  
for the labor and the self-denial were not borne   
by him.  
And further, if one being, by an act of his authority,  
should cause another innocent being to suffer in order  
that he might be loved who had imposed the suffering  
but not borne it, it would render him unworthy of  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  179  
love. If God had caused Jesus Christ, being his  
creature, to suffer that he might be loved himself for  
Christ's sufferings, while he had no connection with  
them, instead of such an exhibition on the part of  
God producing love to him, it would produce pity for  
Christ, and aversion towards God. So that neither  
God nor Christ, nor any other being, can be loved for  
mercy extended by self-denials to the needy, unless  
those self-denials were produced by a voluntary act of  
mercy upon the part of the being who suffers them.  
And no being but the one who made the sacrifices  
could be meritorious in the case. It follows, there- 
fore, uncontrovertibly, that if Christ was a creature— 
no matter of how exalted worth—and not God, and  
if God approved of his work in saving sinners, he  
approved of treason against his own government: be- 
cause, in that case, the work of Christ was adapted to  
draw, and did necessarily draw, the affections of the  
human soul to himself as its spiritual Savior, and thus  
alienate them from God, their rightful object. And  
Jesus Christ himself had the design of drawing men's  
affections to himself in view by his crucifixion. Says  
he, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw  
all men unto me." This he said, signifying what  
death he should die: thus distinctly stating that it was  
the self-denials and mercy exhibited in the crucifixion  
that would draw out the affections of the human soul,  
and that those affections would  be drawn to himself  
as the suffering Savior. But that God ivould sanction 
a scheme which would involve treason against him-


180  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
self, and that Christ should participate in it, is absurd  
and impossible, and therefore can not be true.  
But if the divine nature was united with the  
human, in the teaching and work of Christ; if "God  
was in Christ," drawing the affections of men, or  
" reconciling the world to himself;" if, when Christ  
was lifted up, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the  
wilderness, he drew, as he said he would, the affec- 
tions of all believers to himself; and then if he as- 
cended, as the second person of the Trinity, into the  
bosom of the eternal Godhead,—he thereby, after he  
had engaged, by his work on earth, the affections of  
the human soul, bore them up to the bosom of the  
Father, from whence they had fallen. Thus the ruins  
of the fall were rebuilt, and the affections of the hu- 
man soul again restored to God, the Creator and  
proper object of supreme love. 0, the length and the  
breadth, and the depth and the height of the divine  
wisdom and goodness, as manifested in the wonderful  
Plan of Salvation! "Great is the mystery of godli-  
ness. God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the  
spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, be- 
lieved on in the world, received up into glory."  
Amen. Blessing and honor, dominion and power, be  
unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the  
Lamb, for ever and ever! Amen and amen.  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  181  
Chapter XVI.  
CONCERNING THE INFLUENCE OF FAITH IN CHRIST UPON  
THE MORAL DISPOSITION AND MORAL  
POWERS OF THE SOUL.  
IT  has been demonstrated that the teaching and  
atonement of God the Savior would draw to him, by  
faith, the affections of the human heart. We will  
now inquire what particular effect that faith in Christ,  
which works by love, has upon the moral disposition,  
the conscience, the imagination, and the life of believ- 
ers. Would faith in Christ, as a divine, suffering  
Savior, quicken and regulate and harmonize the moral  
powers of the soul?  
I.  
THE INFLUENCE OF FAITH IN CHRIST UPON THE MORAL  
DISPOSITION OF THE SOUL.  
When its disposition is affected, the soul is affected  
to the center of its being. By disposition is meant 
the desires or predilections of the heart, which in- 
fluence the choice of the will to good or evil. The  
radical difference of character in spirits depends upon  
their disposition. The spirit that has a settled love  
for sin and hatred for holiness is a devil, whether it


182  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
be in time or eternity, embodied or disembodied.  
And that spirit which has a settled love for holiness  
is a benevolent spirit, in whatever condition it exists.  
A devil, or malignant spirit, is one that seeks its grat- 
ification in habitually doing evil. A holy being, or  
benevolent spirit, is one that finds its gratification in  
habitually doing good. Whatever, therefore, affects  
the moral disposition of the soul, affects radically the  
character of the soul. It becomes, therefore, a ques- 
tion of the deepest interest: What effect will faith in  
Christ have upon man's moral disposition?  
The solution of this inquiry is not difficult.  Is  
Jesus Christ holy?  All Christendom,. skeptics and be- 
lievers, answer in the affirmative. Now, the love of  
a holy being will, as a necessary result, conteract  
unholiness in the heart. Holiness is the antagonist  
principle of sin. The soul can not love a holy being,  
and at the same time cherish those principles and exer- 
cises which it is conscious are offensive to the soul of  
the beloved object. From the nature of the case, love  
to holiness will produce opposition to sin. Love is  
the fulfilling of the law, and sin is the transgression  
of the law ; so that, while the soul is entirely actuated  
in all its exercises by pure love to Christ, those exer- 
cises of the heart can not be sinful.  
When the heart is attached to any being, especially  
when that being is lovely and pure in his character,  
it becomes averse to every thing which, from its evil  
nature, causes suffering to the object of its affections.  
There are few things which will cause one to feel so  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  183  
sensibly the evil of sin as to see that his sins are caus- 
ing anguish to one that he loves.  
It is said of Zeleucus, a king of the ancient Locri,  
that he enacted a law the penalty of which was that  
the offender should lose both his eyes. One of his  
sons became a transgressor of that law. The father  
had his attachment to his son, and the law he himself  
had promulgated as righteous in its requirements and  
in its penalty. The lawgiver, it is said, ordered his  
son into his presence, and required that one of his  
eyes should be taken out ; and then, in order to show  
mercy to his son, and at the same time maintain the  
penalty of the law, he sacrificed one of his own eyes as  
a ransom for the remaining eye of his child. Now, we  
do not refer to this case as a perfect analogy, but to  
show the moral effect of such an exhibition of justice  
and self-sacrificing mercy. As man is constituted, it is  
perfectly certain that this transaction would produce  
two effects.: one upon the subjects of the king, which  
would be to impress upon every heart that the law  
was sacred, and that the lawgiver thus regarded it.  
This impression would be made much more strongly  
than it would have been if the king had ordered that  
his son should lose both his eyes;  because it mani-  
feated, in the strongest  manner   possible, his love for  
his son and his sacred regard  for his law. If he had  
allowed his son to escape, it  would have exhibited to  
his subjects less love for his law i and if he had executed  
the whole penalty of the law upon the son, instead of  
bearing a portion of it himself, he would have mani-


184  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
fested less love for his son. The king was the law- 
giver; he therefore had the power to pardon his son,  
without inflicting the penalty upon him, and without  
enduring any sacrifice himself. Every mind, there- 
fore, would feel that it was  a voluntary act on the  
dart of the king; and such an exhibition of justice  
And __mercy, maintaining the law and saving; his  son by  
his own  sacrifice, would  impress all minds with the  
deepest  reverence for the character of the  lawgiver  
and for the sacredness of the law.  
But another effect, deep  and lasting in its character,  
would be produced upon the son who had transgressed  
the law. Every time that he looked upon his fathei_,  
or remembered what he had suffered for his trans- 
gressiopjt would increase his love for him, increase  his  
reverence for the law, and cause  an abhorrence of his  
crime to arise in his soul. His feelings would be more  
kind towards his sire,  more submissive to the law_, and  
more averse to transgression.  
Now, this is precisely the effect necessary to be pro-  
duced in order that pardon may be extended to trans- 
gressors, and yet just and righteous government be  
maintained. If civil law had some expedient by  
which, with the offer of pardon, some influence could  
be exerted upon the heart of the transgressor which  
would entirely change his character, an influence which  
would make him love the law he had transgressed, hate  
the crime he had committed, hate himself for commit-  
ting it, and implant within him the spirit of an obe- 
dient and faithful subject—if such an effect could be  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  185  
produced  by pardon, then pardon would be safe ; be- 
cause there would be some means, or some moral  
power connected with it, that would, at the same time  
that the pardon was granted, change the moral dispo- 
sition of the criminal from that of a rebellious to that  
of a faithful and affectionate subject. This expedient  
the civil law can never have. Such an expedient was 
that of Zeleucus, the self-sacrificed *lawgiver and father.  
Such an expedient, in some respects, in the moral gov- 
ernment of God, is the atoning sacrifice of Jesus  
Christ. "Christ," says the prophet, " was bruised for  
our iniquities;" says the apostle, " He bore our sins in  
his own body on the tree;" says himself, "This is my  
body, broken for you." Now,  two effects would follow  
this exhibition of the self-sacrificing love of Christ.  
One in the heart of the believing sinner: every time  
he realized by faith that the divine Savior suffered the  
rebuke, the scorn, and the  cross, as a sacrifice for  his  
sins, he would regard the Savior with greater love ;  
and sin, which caused the suffering of his divine Bene- 
factor, he would regard in himself and others with  
greater abhorrence.  Another effect which would result,  
would be, that all  the   holy beings in the universe, if  
they had knowledge of the self-sacrifice of God the  
Savior  as an atonement to maintain the law  and re- 
deem sinners, would be inspired with greater  rever- 
ence for the eternal law,  and  greater aversion to  sin.  
Thus would the faith of  Christ affect the moral dispo- 
sition of believers, and of all holy beings throughout  
the universe ; drawing the believer back to holiness


186  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
and obedience, and adding a new motive to confirm  
holy beings in happy allegiance.  
The language of the apostle confirms this view:  
"What the law could not do, in that it was weak  
through the flesh, God, sending his own Son in the  
likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in  
the flesh ;" that is, the law, although it had power to  
show to the mind the evil and the guilt of sin, had no  
power to produce in the heart an aversion to it; but  
Christ, coming in the body and dying for sin, in that   
way reaches.man's moral feelings, and creates a senti- 
ment of condemnation of, or aversion to, sin in the    
heart of every believer.  
A feeling cannot be manifested by intellect or will.  
A communication of knowledge, or law, does not man- 
ifest feeling so that it produces feeling in others. The  
moral feelings of God were manifested by the sacrifice  
of Christ; and that manifestation, through the flesh,  
affects the moral feelings of man, assimilates them to 
God, and produces an aversion to sin, the abominable  
thing which God hates. Blessed faith! which, while  
it purifies the heart, works by the sweet influence of  
love in accomplishing the believer's sanctification.  
II.  
THE INFLUENCE OF FAITH IN CHRIST UPON THE MORAL.    
SENSE OR CONSCIENCE OF BELIEVERS.  
To a mind endowed with the higher qualities of  
reason there can be no more interesting thought than  
that noticed in a previous demonstration ; which was,  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  187  
that a man's conscience is guided by his faith. Con- 
science is the highest moral faculty, or rather the  
governing moral power of the soul, and this govern- 
ing faculty is regulated and controlled by faith.  
Man's conscience always follows his religious belief,  
and changes with it,  and grows weak or strong  
w _ ith it.  
Now, God has so constituted the soul that the  
affections, and likewise the conscience, are affected and  
controlled by faith, and the purity of the one and the  
integrity of the other, and the activity of both, depend  
upon what man,.believes; this being true, no mind can  
avoid the conviction that the principle of  FAITH,  
which Christ has laid at the foundation of the Chris-  
tian  
--  =  
system is, from the nature of things, the only  
principle through the operation of which man's moral  
powers can be brought into happy, harmonious, and  - -  
perfect activity. But this happy effect, as has been  
shown, can be produced only by faith in the Truth ;  
and, besides, it is an intuition of reason that God cer- 
tainly would not make the soul so that  its moral pow- 
ers would be controlled by faith, and then cause that  
faith  in falsehood should perfect and make happy those  
powers. Such a supposition would be a violation of  
reason, as well as an impiety. In searching, there- 
fore, for the answer to the inquiry,  What is Truth?  as  
it concerns the spiritual interests of man, the direct  
process of solution would be to inquire what effect  
certain facts, or supposed facts, ‘vould have upon the  
moral disposition and moral powers of the soul ; and


188  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
that faith which quickens and rectifies those powers,  
as we have noticed, is necessarily truth.  
We come now to the inquiry,  W hat effect has faith  
in Christ—in the divinity of his person, in his teaching,  
and in his atonement for sin—upon the conscience of  
believe&  
The answer is plain. Those who received Christ  
as possessing supreme authority as a divine teacher— 
their faith would so affect their conscience that it  
would reprove for every neglect of conformity to the  
example of Jesus. The moment faith recognizes  
Christ as a divine instructor, that moment conscience  
recognizes his instruction and his example as obliga- 
tory to be received and practiced. To the believer 
the teachings and example of Christ have not only  
the force of truth, recognized as such by the under- 
standing, but they have likewise the authority of su- 
preme law, as coming from that Divine Being who is  
the rightful lawgiver of the soul. Now, then, if faith  
in Christ would regulate the conscience according to  
his example and precepts, the only inquiry which re- 
mains is, Were the example and precepts of Christ a  
perfect rule of duty towards God and men? This in- 
quiry has been the subject of examination in another  
chapter, in which the fact was shown—which has been  
generally admitted by all men, believers and skep- 
tics—that Christ's example of piety towards God and  
kindness towards men was perfect. When this is ad- 
mitted, the consecutive fact follows, whether men per- 
ceive it or not, that in the case of all who receive him  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  189  
as their Lord and lawgiver, the conscience' would be  
regulated according to a perfect standard, and guided  
by a perfect rule.  
But further: While it is true that a knowledge of  
duty guides the conscience, and a knowledge of the 
divine authority of the lawgiver binds it by imposing  
a sense of obligation, it is likewise true that faith in  
Christ's atoning sacrifice has peculiar efficacy to  
strengthen this sense of obligation. Two men may  
have an equal knowledge of duty, and yet one feel,  
much more than the other, a sense of obligation to  
perform it: whatever, therefore, increases the sense of  
obligation increases the power of conscience, and  
thereby promotes in a greater degree active conformity  
of the life to the rule of duty.  
The atonement of Christ increases the sense of  
obligation by waking into exercise gratitude and hope  
in the soul of the believer. Gratitude gives the con- 
science a power in the soul where it exists, which  
could arise from no other source. Conscience reproves  
for the neglect of known duty; but to neglect duty,  
when it involves the sense of gratitude to the kindest  
of benefactors, is to arm the moral sense of the soul  
with a two-edged sword. When the lawgiver is like-
wise the benefactor, conscience rebukes, not only for 
wrong doing, but for ingratitude.  
One step further: When the being who claims our  
obedience is not only our benefactor, but the object 
of all our hopes, the power of obligation is still further  
increased. To disobey a being whom we ought to


190  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
obey would be wrong; to disobey that being if he was 
our self-denying benefactor would be ingratitude added  
to the wrong;  and  to disobey that being if from him  
we hoped for all future good would  be to add unwor- 
thiness to wrong and ingratitude. Thus faith in Christ  
Jesus combines the sense of wrong, of ingratitude,  
and unworthiness, in the rebuke which conscience  
gives to the delinquent believer; and obedience to the    
Redeemer's  example and precepts is enforced by the    
united power of duty, gratitude, and hope.   
Further, and finally: Conscience recognizes the  
fact that our obligation to gratitude is in proportion  
to the benefit conferred. If a benefactor has endured  
great sacrifices and self-denials to benefit us, the obli- 
gation of gratitude binds us the more strongly to re- 
spect the will and feelings of that individual. Con- 
science feels the obligation of gratitude just in pro- 
portion to the self-denials and sacrifices made iu our  
behalf. If a friend risks his interest to the amount  
of a dollar or an hour of time to benefit us, the obli- 
gation of gratitude upon the conscience is light, but  
still there is a sense of obligation ; but if a friend risks  
his life, and wades through deep afflictions to confer  
benefits, the universal conscience of man would affirm  
the obligation, and would reprobate the conduct of  
the individual benefited as base and unnatural if he  
did not ever after manifest au affectionate regard for  
the interests and the desires of his benefactor.  
Thus by faith in Jesus Christ the conscience is not  
only guided by a perfect rule, but it is likewise quick-  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  191  
eyed and empowered by a perfect sense of obligation.  
Christ is the divine lawgiver; therefore it is right to  
o ey him.  e is our benefactor; gratitude, therefore,  
requires obedience. But, as our benefactor, he has  
endured the utmost self-denial and sacrifice for our  
sake; therefore we are under the utmost obligation of  
gratitude to return self-denial and sacrifice for his sake.  
Or, in the words of an apostle, "He died for all, that  
they which live should not henceforth live unto them- 
selves, but unto him who died for them, and rose  
again ;" and, added to this, our hope of all future good  
rests in the same Being that right and gratitude re- 
quire—us to obey and love. Thus does a perfect faith  
in Christ perfect the conscience of believers, by guid-
ing, quickening, and by producing a perfect sense of  
obligation.  
THE INFLUENCE OF FAITH IN CHRIST UPON THE  
IMAGINATION.  
There are few exercises of the mind fraught with  
so much evil, and yet so little regarded, as that of an  
evil imagination. Many individuals spend much of  
their time in a labor of spirit which is vain and use- 
less, and often very hurtful to the moral character of  
the soul. The spirit is borne off upon the wings of  
an active imagination, and expatiates among ideal con- 
ceptions that are improbable, absurd, and sinful. Some  
people spend about as much time in day-dreams as  
they do in night-dreams. Imaginations of popularity,


PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
pleasure, or wealth, employ the minds of worldly men;  
and perchance the Christian dreams of wealth and of  
magnificent plans of benevolence, or of schemes less  
pious in their character. It is difficult to convey a  
distinct idea of the evil under consideration, without  
supposing a case like the following:  
One day, while a young man was employed silently  
about his usual pursuits, he imagined a train of circum- 
stances by which he supposed himself to be put in pos- 
session of great wealth ; and then he imagined that he  
would be the master of a splendid mansion, surrounded  
with grounds devoted to profit and amusement; he  
would keep horses and conveyances that would be per- 
fect in all points, and servants that would want noth- 
ing iu faithfulness or affection; he would be great in  
the eyes of men, and associate with the great among  
men, and render himself admired or honored by his  
generation. Thus his soul wandered for hours amid  
the ideal creations of his own fancy.  
Now, much of men's time, when their attention  
might be employed by useful topics of thought, is  
thus spent in building " castles in the air." Some  
extraordinary circumstance is thought of by which  
they might be enriched, and then hours are wasted  
in foolishly imagining the manner in which they would  
expend their imaginary funds. Such excursions of  
the fancy may be said to be comparatively inno- 
cent ; and they are so, compared with the more guilty  
exercises of a great portion of mankind. The mind  
of the politician and the partisan divine is employed  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  193  
in forming schemes of triumph over their opponents.  
The minds of the votaries of fashion, of both sexes,  
are employed in imagining displays and triumphs at  
home and abroad ; and those of them who are vicious  
at heart, not having their attention engaged by any  
useful occupation, pollute their souls by cherishing  
imaginary scenes of folly and lewdness. And not  
only the worthless votaries of the world, but likewise  
the followers of the holy Jesus, are sometimes led  
captive by an unsanctified imagination. Not that  
they indulge in the sinful reveries which characterize  
the unregenerate sons and daughters of time and sense ;  
but their thoughts wander to unprofitable topics, and  
wander at times when they should be fixed on those  
truths which have a sanctifying efficacy upon the  
heart. In the solemn assemblies for public worship,  
many of those whose bodies are bowed and their eyes  
closed in token of reverence for God are yet mocking  
their Maker by assuming the external semblance of  
worshipers, while their souls are away wandering  
amid a labyrinth of irrelevant and sinful thought.  
It is not affirmed that the exercises of the imagi- 
nation are necessarily evil. Imagination is one of the 
noblest attributes of the human spirit ; and there is  
something in the fact that the soul has power to create,  
by its own combinations, scenes of rare beauty and  
of perfect happiness, unsullied by the imperfections  
which pertain to earthly things, that indicates not  
only its nobility, but perhaps its future life. When  
the imagination is employed in painting the beauties  
13  

192


Pir  
194  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
of nature, or in collecting the beauties of sentiment  
and devotion, and in grouping them together by the  
sweet measures of poetry, its exercises have a benign  
influence upon the spirit. It is like presenting  
" apples of gold in pictures of silver " for the survey  
of the soul. The imagination may degrade and cor- 
rupt., or it may elevate and refine, the feelings of the  
heart. The inquiry, then, is important, How may  
the exercises of the imagination be controlled and  
directed so that their influence upon the soul shall not  
be injurious, but ennobling and purifying? Would  
faith in Christ turn the sympathies of the soul away  
from those gifted but guilty minds,  
" Whose poisoned song  
Would blend the bounds of right and wrong;  
And hold, with sweet but cursed art,  
Their incantations o'er the heart,  
Till every pulse of pure desire  
Throbs with the glow of passion's fire,  
And love, and reason's mild control,  
Yield to the simoom of the soul?"  
When the conscience had become purified and  
quickened, it would be a check upon the erratic  
movements of the imagination ; and when the dis- 
position was corrected, it would be disinclined to  
every unholy exercise ; so that, in the believer, the  
disinclination of the will and the disapprobation of the  
conscience would be powerful aids in bringing into  
subjection the imaginative faculty. But, more than  
this, faith in Christ would have a direct influence in  
correcting the evils of the imagination. It is a law  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  195  
of mind that the subject which interests an individual  
most, subordinates all other subjects to itself, or re-
moves them from the mind and assumes their place.  
As a group of persons, who might be socially con- 
versing upon a variety of topics, if some venerable  
individual should enter and introduce an absorbing  
subject, in which all felt interested, minor topics  
would be forgotten in the interest created by the  
master subject : so when " Christ crucified " enters  
the presence-chamber of the believer's soul, the high  
moral powers of the mind bow around in obeisance,  
and even imagination folds her starry wings around  
her face, and bows before Immanuel. When the cross  
of Christ becomes the central subject of the soul, it  
has power to chasten the imagination and subdue its  
waywardness by the sublime exhibition of the bleeding  
mercy in the atonement. The apostle perceived the  
efficacy of the cross in subduing vain reasoning and  
an evil imagination, and alludes to it in language pos- 
sessing both strength and beauty, as " casting down  
imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself  
against the knowledge of God, and (mark) bringing  
into captivity  every thought  to the OBEDIENCE  of Christ."  
That these views are not idle speculations, but  
truthful realities, is affirmed by the experience of  
every Christian. When the imagination is wandering  
to unprofitable or forbidden subjects, all that is neces- 
sary in order to break the chain of evil suggestion,  
and introduce into the mind a profitable train of  
thought, is to turn the eye of the soul upon the


196  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
" Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the  
world." By the presence of this delightful and sacred  
idea every unworthy and hurtful thought will be awed  
out of the mind.  
Thua does faith in the blessed Jesus control and  
purify the imagination of believers.  
IV.  
THE INFLUENCE OF FAITH IN CHRIST UPON THE LIFE, LEAD- 
ING MAN TO SUCH CONDUCT AS WILL EVENTUALLY  
ACCOMPLISH THE SALVATION OF THE WHOLE HUMAN  
FAMILY.  
It is certain that men have all the faculties which,  
if rightly directed, would be necessary to enable them  
to benefit and bless each other. Suppose one indi- 
vidual did all in his power to do others good and  
make them happy, who can limit the amount of con- 
solation which that man might impart to the children  
of want and sorrow, or the amount of light he might  
shed upon the minds of the ignorant, or the rebukes  
and warnings he might sound in the ears of those who  
persisted in sin ? Suppose a whole community of such  
individuals, denying themselves the selfish ease and  
worldly pleasures which the children of this world  
seek after, and devoting their lives to spread around  
them the blessings and benefits of the Gospel—should  
individuals or communities desire thus to devote their 
lives to benevolence instead of selfish effort—it is cer- 
tain the Creator has endowed them with every faculty  
necessary to the accomplaMent, of such a work.  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  197  
They have hearts to love their fellow-men ; they have  
reason and language to learn themselves, and then to  
instruct others. They can travel to where the ignorant  
and the needy dwell, either at home or abroad; or, if  
they feel disqualified personally to do this, they have  
hands to labor fir the means to send others on errands  
of benevolence throughout the world. That men  
have been created with the faculties, therefore, to dif- 
fuse the blessings which they possess, throughout the  
world, no one can doubt.  
But, second, men are so constituted that the exer- 
cise of these faculties in a manner that would bless  
others would likewise produce a blessing in their own  
souls. It is a fact in experience  Nell as philosophy  
that the exercise of any power of the soul gives in- 
creased strength to that power. By exercising their  
mifrsir-and malevolent feelings men become contin- 
ually more selfish and malevolent, while, on the con- 
trary, by exercising self-denial and the benevolent  
feelings men — become continually more benevolent.  
Sefishness, all admit, is an evil in the heart. Self-denial  
is its antagonist principle; and it is by invigorating the  
latter by exercise that the former evil principle is to be  
eradicated. It would, therefore, be the greatest benefit  
to those who possessed blessings to induce them to ex- 
ercise benevolence by communicating them to others.  
It follows, therefore, that not only the_greatest good  
of the guilty and the ignorant  requires self-denying  
benevolence in those who have the means and the  
power to enlighten and guide them to truth and happi-


198  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
ness, but likewise that the greatest good  of those pos- 
sessing blessings is to impart them to others. "It is  
more blessed to give than to receive," because, by the  
exercise of self-denial to do good, benevolence is  
strengthened in the soul; and from benevolent exer- 
cises arises the blessedness of the spirit. Men are  
constantly making sacrifices to advance their own ag- 
grandizeinent, and thus, by increasing their own sel- 
fishness, they make themselves more miserable. The  
great end to be gained is to lead them to make sacri- 
fices for others, and thus, with others, bless themselves.  
Now, no one doubts that the whole human family  
in the days of Christ needed the blessing of an en- 
lightening and purifying religion. And  no  one doubts  
that the ultimate end of a religion from heaven would  
be the greatest ultimate good of the entire race.  
Three things, then, are obvious: 1. That a  religion  
from heaven would be designed ultimately to bless the  •  whole world ; 2. That the best good of mankind, as a  
family, required that they should be the instruments  
in disseminating this religion among themselves ;  3.  
That the principle of self-denial, or denying ourself  
the ease and pleasures of selfishness in order to perform  
acts of benevolence, is the great principle by which  
the Aeration  of spreading this religion would be car- 
ried on.  
Now, Jesus Christ professed to give  a  universal  
spiritual religion, one which encircled in its design,  
and was to bless by its influence, the whole family of  
man, and faith  he set forth as the great motive-power  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  199  
of the whole plan.  The question then is: Would  
faith in Christ lead men to that method of living and  
acting, and to the possession of those views and feel- 
ings which would make them instrumental in benefit- 
ing each other, and which would destroy selfishness  
and promote the happiness and interest of the whole  
family of man, in accordance with the three princi- 
ples above specified?  
1. It has been shown that the example and pre- 
cepts of Christ become the guide to conscience, and  
the rule of faith and practice for all believers. What,  
then, has Christ said and done to induce men to do  
each other good, and to unite the race of man in one  
harmonious and happy family?  
The Gospel of Christ possesses all the characteris- 
tics of  a  universal religion.  It is adapted to human  
nature; not to an particular country or class of men,  
but, as has been shown, to the  NATURE  of the race.  Its  
truths are intelligible, and may be understood by  all  
men, and transferred into all languages. It is spirit- 
ual in its character, designed to affect the mind and  
heart of man; so that wherever intelligent beings are  
to be found, there it may be introduced into the heart  
by faith, to correct the spiritual evils of their nature,  
and produce happiness in the soul.*  
The precepts and teaching of Jesus are designed  
and adapted to harmonize the race of man into one  
happy family. Instead of the abominations and folly  
of  polytheism, he presented before the minds of men  
See Reinhard's Plan, sec. 17, 22.


200  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
one common object of worship; and so exhibited the  
character of that object, by presenting before the world  
a grand spectacle of self-denying mercy, that the ex- 
hibition was adapted  to attract the attention of all and  
draw all hearts to one center of affection.  
In all his instructions to regulate the conduct of  
men, he viewed them as brethren of the same great  
family, and taught them to consider themselves as  
such. No retaliation was to be offered for injuries  
received, but the injured child was to appeal only to  
the Great Parent of the family. No one might treat  
another as his enemy, and DO one was to cease in efforts  
to do good to another, unless be perceived that those  
efforts were treated with contempt, and instead of ben-
efiting had a hardening effect upon the heart.  
2. Their lives were to be spent in efforts to impart  
those blessings which they possessed to their brethren  
of the human family who possessed them not. Instead 
of the unhallowed and anxious struggle which worldly  
men manifest to raise themselves to power over their  
fellows, their efforts were to be directed to the opposite  
end—to raise the ignorant and the needy to the enjoy- 
_ment of the blessings and privileges which they  
possessed.  
This active and constant effort to extend the bless- 
ings which they possessed to others, and to relieve men  
from their vices and ignorance, was not to stop with  
their own kindred or nation or tongue, nor to be re- 
stricted to the grateful or the deserving; in this respect  
their philanthropy was to be modeled after that of  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  201  
their Heavenly Father, who causeth his sun to shine  
upon the just and the unjust. It was to continue dur- 
ing life, and to extend to the ends of the earth. And 
in proportion as men were found in a condition of ig- 
norance and want, in the same proportion they were to  
make benevolent exertions to elevate and bless them.  
Now, every one can see that if these precepts were  
obeyed, strife between individuals and nations would  
cease, and the glorious process of benevolent effort  
would go  on,  until the last benighted mind was en- 
lightened and the last corrupted heart purified by the  
power of the faith of Christ.  
It  was  necessary, in connection with these pi ecepts,  
that some motive should be presented to cause men to deny 
themselves in order to act in accordance with them.  Now,  
it has been shown that the believer acts in view of  
the character and will of Jesus. Christ, therefore,  in  
order to give these precepts moving power upon the  
souls of men, identified himself with his needy crea- 
tures, and sanctioned the duty which he prescribed to  
others by conformity to it himself; so that these pre- 
cepts, given to govern men's conduct in this life, he  
made the rule of judgment in heaven's court of equity,  
and by them the decision will be made out, which will  
settle, finally, the spiritual destiny of men. " Inas- 
much as ye did it not to one of the least of these my  
brethren, ye did it not unto me." Thus Christ iden- 
tifies himself with the most needy of mankind, and  
receives an act of kindness done to them as done to 
himself. When the love of Christ, therefore, constrains


-Tr   
202  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
men, he has so exhibited his will that it constrains  
them to act for the good of each other. Those that  
love Jesus, therefore, and expect his favor, must serve  
him by doing good to others.  
Moreover, Christ has sanctioned these precepts by  
his own example. • His life was a life of self-denying  
labor for the benefit of our race ; and his command  
to every one is : Deny thyself; take up thy cross, and  
follow me.  Thus, by Christ's precepts, by his ex- 
ample, and especially by his identifying himself with  
those in need,   that method  of life  is sanctioned which   
alone could make man the benefactor of his fellows,  
unite the human family in one happy brotherhood, and  
make them blessed   in  doing each other . good, in the  
faith of Christ.  
Those   that  love Jesus will desire  to do his . will,  
will find   their   happiness in obeying him;  and that Will   
is, that they should labor to benefit his creatures.  
Those who believe in and love Jesus will have their  
conscience regulated by his precepts and example.  
Thus the conscience of believers is set, if I may so  
express it, so that it will regulate the movement of  
their life in such a manner as finally to work out the  
salvation of a world lying in wickedness.  
It follows, therefore, that faith in Jesus Christ is  
directly designed and adapted to strengthen men's  
benevolent affections, and to produce in believers that  
active desire and effort for the good of others which will  
necessarily produce the dissemination of the light and  
love of the Gospel throughout the habitable world.  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  203  
Chapter XVII.  
CONCERNING THE DESIGN AND THE IMPORTANCE OF THE  
MEANS OF GRACE.  
I.-PRAYER.  
IT has been shown that, constituted as we are, the  
manifestations made of the character and attributes  
of God in the Scriptures are adapted to produce the  
greatest good in the human spirit ; and in order that  
that good may be effected it is necessary that the truths  
of the Scripture be brought into contact with the  
soul, that it may be impressed and influenced by them.  
The truths and manifestations of Revelation are the  
elements of moral power, which, apprehended by  
faith, are effective in purifying the fountain of life  
in the soul, and in rectifying and regulating its ex- 
ercises ; it follows, therefore, that the requirement to  
bring those truths before the mind in a particular  
manner would be a duty necessarily connected with  
the revelation of the doctrines, as directions for taking 
the medicine are connected with the prescription of a  
physician into whose hands a patient has submitted  
himself.  Now, prayer, or worship,  is one method b  
which the truths and manifestations of Revelation are  
directly  brought before the contemplation of the soul.  
Prayer brings the mind to the   immediate contem la- 
tion of God's character, and holds it there, till by


204  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
comparison and aspiration the believer's soul is properly  
impressed, and his wants properly felt. The more  
subtle physical processes and affinities become, the  
better are the analogies which they furnish of pro- 
cesses in the spiritual world. The influence of be- 
lieving prayer has a good analogy in the modern in- 
vention of the photograph. By means of this process  
the features of natural objects are thrown upon a  
sensitive sheet through a lens, and leave their impres- 
sion upon that sheet. So when the character of God  
is, by means of prayer, brought  to bear upon the   
_   mind of  the believer—that  mind being rendered sensi- 
tive  by the Holy   Spirit—it impresses there the divine  
image. In this manner the   image of  Christ is formed  
in the soul,  the existence of which   the  Scriptures rep- 
resent  
  
as inspiring the believer   with the hop_eef    
In  the introductory chapter it is shown that the  
impulse which leads men to worship proves a curse to  
the soul, where the objects worshiped are unholy, and  
that the only remedy for the evil is the revelation of  
a holy object for the supreme homage of the human  
soul. So soon as a righteous and benevolent God is  
presented before the mind, then prayer becomes a  
blessing instead of a curse to the soul. Look at the  
subject in the form of a syllogism :  
Man, by worshiping, becomes assimilated to the  
moral character of the object that he worships:  
The God of the Bible, as manifest in Christ Jesus,  
is the only perfectly righteous and perfectly benevo- 
lent Being ever worshiped by  man  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  205  
Therefore, man  can become righteous and benevo- 
lent in no other  way than by   that  worship which will  
assimilate him to the God of  the Bible.  
And, further, as it has been demonstrated that  
righteousness and benevolence produce the rectitude  
and the happiness—the greatest good—of the soul,  
man can gain the great end of his being only by that  
worship which assimilates his nature to the moral  
image of God.  
It follows, therefore, that prayer is a necessary  
and most important means of grace—a duty growing  
out of the nature of the case, and a duty upon which  
depends, in a great measure, the well-being of the  
human spirit. The apostle understood the philosophy  
of this subject when he said, " But we all, with open  
face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are  
changed into the same image, from glory to glory,  
even as by the Spirit of the Lord." Therefore it is  
that the commandment that men should pray is pre- 
sented in the Bible in every variety of language ; and  
it is constantly repeated by the inspired writers and  
by the Son of God himself, who commended, by his  
precepts and example, private, social, and public 
prayer, and who taught by a parable that " men  
ought always to pray and not to faint."  
THE IMPORTANCE OF STRONG DESIRE AND IMPORTUNITY IN  
PRAYER.  
It is impossible to produce grateful feelings by  
granting a benefit for which the recipient has no


206  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
desire. If a child asked for bread when it was not  
hungry, and if, while the child had no feeling of want,  
its unfelt request was answered by its father, it could  
neither appreciate the gift nor be grateful for it. The  
soul is so constituted, as has been fully shown that it  
must really feel the need of the benefit before it can  
Appreciate its importance, or be grateful for the  favor  
received.  So it  is in the case of the suppliant in  
prayer : if he has an anxious desire, a spirit of im- 
portunate solicitude, for the blessing which he asks,  
when he receives it, gratitude and praise will, as the  
consequence of gratified desire, spring up in the heart.  
Now  mark : if there was not a feeling of importunate  
desire in the mind of the  suppliant, God could   not  be  
glorified nor  the creature benefited by an answer to  
prayer. God could not be glorified, because  his good- 
ness   would not be felt and acknowlnl ed in the  
answer; and the creature could not be  benefited, be- 
cause it is the feeling of  gratitude and praise in his  
own heart which constitutes the spiritual blessing, so  
far forth as the suppliant himself is concerned; and  
this exercise is never produced, only   in so far  as it is  
preceded by dependent and anxious desire for the bless- 
ing sought. When the supplication is for spiritual  
blessing upon another individual, two minds are  
blessed by the answer—the individual prayed for, and  
the individual who prays. And if a thousand in- 
dividuals desired spiritual mercies for that soul, God  
would be glorified by a thousand hearts, and a thousand  
hearts would be reciprocally blessed by the answer.  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  207  
The time may come when all the angels in heaven  
and all the saints upon earth will be blessed by mercy  
bestowed upon a single individual. When the last  
unregenerated sinner stands in solitary and awful re- 
bellion upon the earth, should tidings be circulated  
through earth and heaven that he had submitted himself 
to God, and that his affections began to take hold on  
Christ, every being in the universe who had strongly  
desired the conversion of the last sinner would feel  
the thrill of " glory to God and good-will to men "  
arise in his soul. It follows, therefore, that a fervent,  
importunate state of mind is, from the nature of the  
case, necessary, in order that God may be glorified  
and man blessed by the duty of prayer. It was in  
view of these constitutional principles that Jesus con- 
stantly taught the necessity of desire and importunity, in  
order that mercies might be received in answer to the  
supplication of saints.*  
THE IMPORTANCE OF FAITH AND A SPIRIT OF DEPENDENCE  
UPON GOD AS CONCOMITANTS OF ACCEPTABLE PRAYER.  
The necessity of faith, as a primary element in all  
acceptable religious exercises, has already been noticed.  
A feeling of entire dependence upon God for spiritual  
mercies is the only right feeling, because it is the only  
true feeling. As a matter of fact, the soul is entirely  
dependent upon God for spiritual mercies ; truth,  
therefore, requires that our dependence should be ac- 
knowledged  and felt.  
* Matt. v;  6 ; Luke xi, 5-10, and xviii, 1-14.


208  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
But, further, without faith in God as the imme- 
diate bestower of mercies in answer to prayer, he  
could not be honored for blessings received. Suppose  
two individuals desired with equally strong feelings 
the same blessing, and that both received it : each  
would rejoice alike in its reception. But suppose  
there was this difference in their state of mind : one  
regarded the blessing as coming immediately from  
God in answer to prayer, the other did not. The re- 
sult  would be, that the one who had faith in God  
would be filled with love to his Maker for the mercy,  
the other would rejoice in himself; or, at least, he  
would not rejoice in God.  In the one case, God  
would be honored and praised for his acts of grace ;  
in the other, he would neither be honored nor loved  
for his goodness. We do not present this illustration  
as applicable in all its bearings, because we do not sup- 
pose that the unregenerate ever truly desire spiritual  
blessing till they are convicted of sin ; but it will  
make the point clear to the reason of every one, that  
God can not be honored without faith ; and, there- 
fore, " without faith it is impossible to please him."  
It is necessary, according to the foregoing view of  
the subject, in order to offer acceptable prayer, that  
men should possess a spirit of faith and dependence  
upon Christ. The principle upon which Christ acted  
in relation to this subject, as well as his instruction  
concerning the duty of prayer, fully confirm the pre-
ceding thoughts. He seldom performed an act of  
mercy, by miracle or otherwise, unless those who  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  209  
received the mercy could see the hand of God in the  
blessing. " If thou canst believe, thou mayest be  
cleansed," was his habitual sentiment; as if he had  
said, Your desire for the blessing is manifest by your  
urgent requests; now, if you can have faith to see  
God in the blessing, so that he will be honored and  
praised for conferring it, I will grant it; but  if you  
have no faith, you can receive no favor.  
And, again, in order that the believer might be  
brought into a state of dependence, and have his faith  
quickened every time that he presented his supplica- 
tions to God, Jesus said, looking forward to the time  
when he would have perfected his ministry and atone- 
ment, " Hereafter ye shall ask me nothing ; but what- 
soever ye ask the Father in my name," that is, de- 
pending on me, the atoning, interceding Savior, " he  
will do it." And in another place he promised,  
" Whatsoever ye ask the Father in my name I will  
do it." Thus does the instruction of the Savior make  
the believer entirely dependent upon himself when he  
approaches the mercy-seat of the Most High. As the  
Jews were constantly to call to mind the deliverance  
from Egypt, in order that their feelings might be moved  
to love, dependence, and faith towards their temporal  
Deliverer, so Christians are  to call to mind   the deliver- 
ance from spiritual bondage by the  sacrifice of   Christ, in  
order that they may realize their dependence, and be    
inspired with a spirit of faith and love towards their  
spiritual Deliverer. And  because believers can  thus  
depend upon Christ, and feel the mercy of God as it  
14


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1  210  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
is manifested in the atonement, they are constituted  
" priests to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to  
God through Jesus Christ."  
H.-PRAISE.  
The truth which has been demonstrated in previous  
chapters is again assumed, that the manifestations of  
God in Christ Jesus would, when brought into efficient  
contact with the soul, produce that active holiness in  
the heart which is man's greatest good. And as the  
end to be accomplished depends, under God, on those  
truths which are developed in the great plan of mercy  
being impressed upon the mind and the heart, it  
follows that those means would be used which, from  
their nature, are best adapted to give influence and  
impressiveness to the great truths of Revelation.  
The influence of music upon the emotions of the  
soul is well known to every one:  
"There is in souls a sympathy with sounds."  
The soul is awakened, and invited by the spirit of the  
melody to receive the sentiment uttered in the song.  
Sweet, affecting music—not the tone of the piano, nor  
the peals of the organ, but a melodious air, sung by  
strong and well-disciplined voices, and accompanied  
by the flute and viol—such music reaches the foun- 
tains of thought and feeling, and,  
"Untwisting all the links that tie  
The hidden soul of harmony,"  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  211  
it tinges the emotions with its own hues, whether  
plaintive or joyous; and it fosters in the heart the sen- 
timent which it conveys, whether it be love of country  
or of God, admiration of noble achievement or of de- 
voted and self-sacrificing affection.  
The power of music to fix in the memory the sen- 
timent with which it is connected, and to foster it in 
the heart, has been understood in all ages of the world.  
Some of the early legislators wrote their laws in verse,  
and sung them in public places. And many of the  
earliest sketches of primitive history are in the meas- 
ures of lyric poetry. In this manner the memory was  
aided in retaining the facts; the ear was invited to  
attend to them ; imagination threw around them the  
drapery of beauty, dignity, or power; and then music  
conveyed the sentiment, and mingled it with the emo- 
tions of the soul. It was in view of the power of  
music, when united with sentiment adapted to affect  
the heart, that one has said, "Permit me to write  
the ballads of a nation, and I care not who makes  
her laws."  
When the effects of music and poetry upon the soul  
are considered, we can perceive their importance as a  
means of fostering the Christian virtues in the soul  
of the believer. They should be used to convey to  
the mind sublime and elevating conceptions of the  
attributes of Jehovah—to impress the memory with  
the most affecting truths of revelation ; and especially  
to cherish in the heart tender and vivid emotions of  
love to Christ, in view of the manifestations of divine


212  PHILOSOPHY -OF THE  
justice and mercy exhibited in his ministry, his pas- 
sion, and his sacrifice.*  
There can not be found, in all the resources of  
thought, material which would furnish sentiment for  
music so subduing and overpowering as the history of  
Redemption. There is the life of Jesus, a series of  
acts, godlike in their benevolence; connected at times  
with exhibitions of divine power and of human char- 
acter in their most affecting aspects. And as the  
scenes of Christ's eventful ministry converge to the  
catastrophe, there is the tenderness of his love for the  
disciples; the last supper; the scene in Gethsemane;  
the Mediator in the Hall of Judgment, exhibiting the  
dignity of truth and conscious virtue, amidst the tem- 
pest of human passion by which he is surrounded.  
Then the awful moral and elemental grandeur of the  
crucifixion—the Savior, nailed to the cross by his own 
creatures, crying, "Father, forgive them, for they  
know not what they do ;" and then, while darkness  
shrouds the sun, and "nature through all her works  
gives signs of woe," he cries, "It is finished ! and  
gave up the ghost." Thus did the dark stream of  
human depravity roll,  
"Till a rainbow broke upon its gloom,  
Which spanned the portals of the Savior's tomb."  
Such exhibitions of sublimity and power, when  
clothed with the influence of music, and impressed  
* "The proper drapery for music is truth. It is its  
only apparel, whether as applied to God, or as used for  
the cultivation of man."—Erasmus.  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  213  
upon a heart rendered sensitive by divine influence,  
are adapted to make the most abiding and blessed  
impressions :  
" My heart, awake !—to feel is to be fired ;  
And to believe, Lorenzo, is to feel."  
It follows, from the preceding views, that in select- 
ing the means to impress the mind with religious  
truth and the heart with pious sentiment, music and  
poetry could not be neglected. There is not in nature  
another means which would compensate for the loss  
of their influence. We do not mean to say that their  
influence is as great as some other means in impress- 
ing the truths of Revelation upon the soul; but their  
influence is peculiar and delightful, and without it the  
system of means would not be perfect.  
We see, therefore, the reasons why music and  
poetry were introduced as a means of impressing re- 
vealed truth, both under the old and the new dispen- 
sations. Moses not only made the laws, but he made,  
likewise, the songs of the nation ; these songs, iu some 
instances, all the people were required to learn, in  
order that their memory might retain, and their heart  
feel, the influence of the events recorded in their na- 
tional anthems.  
Music held a conspicuous place in the worship of  
the Temple; and under the new dispensation it is  
sanctioned by the express example of Jesus, and spe- 
cifically commanded by the apostles. The example is  
given in connection with the institution of the eucha-


fi  
214  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
rist, which was to commemorate the most affecting  
scene in the history of God's love; and the command  
is in such words as indicate the effects of music upon  
the heart: "Speaking to yourselves in psalms, and  
hymns, and spiritual songs, singing, and making mel- 
ody in your heart to the Lord ; giving thanks always,  
for all things, unto God and the Father, in the name  
of our Lord Jesus Christ." Upon this subject, as  
upon some others, the apostolic Churches fell into  
some abuses; yet the high praises of God and the  
Lamb have always been celebrated in poetry and  
music by the Church of Christ. One of the first no- 
tices of the Christians by pagan writers speaks of them  
as " singing a hymn to Christ, as to a god ;" thus  
showing that the principles established in the preced- 
ing views were recognized by the early disciples, who  
used music as a means of fostering in their hearts  
love to the Savior.  
As in the case of the primitive Christians, so every  
regenerated heart delights in such spiritual songs as  
speak of Christ as an atoning Savior. And those  
only are qualified to write hymns for the Church  
whose hearts are affected by the love of Jesus. On  
this account some of the hymns of Cowper, Charles  
Wesley, Watts, and Newton, will last while the Church  
on earth lasts, and  perhaps longer.  Thousands of  
Christian hearts have glowed with emotion, while they  
sung—  
"There is a fountain filled with blood,  
Drawn from Immanuel's veins;  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  215  
And sinners plunged beneath that flood  
Lose all their guilty stains."  
Or,  
" Rock of Ages, cleft for me, •  
Let me hide myself in thee."  
Thousands have been awakened to duty and to prayer  
by that solemn hymn—  
" Lo, on a narrow neck of land,  
'Twixt two unbounded seas I stand,  
Secure, insensible!"  
And it would not have been possible for any but a  
Christian poet to have written the lines—  
" Her noblest life my spirit draws  
From his dear wounds and bleeding side."  
M.-PREACHING.  
It has been said that the truths and manifestations  
of Revelation are the elements of moral power, which,  
being brought into efficient contact with the soul, are  
effective in rectifying and regulating its exercises. A  
medicine may be prepared in which are inherent qual- 
ities adapted to remove a particular disease; but in  
order to the accomplishment of its appropriate effect  
it must be brought to act upon the body of the pa- 
tient. And if the disease has rendered the patient  
not only unconscious of his danger, but has induced  
upon him a deep lethargy of mind, it would be nec- 
essary that the physician should arouse his dormant  
faculties in order that he might receive the medicine


216  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  PLAN OF SALVATION.  217  
which would restore him to health. So with the  
moral diseases of the soul: the attention and sensibil- 
ities of men must be awakened, in order that the  
truth may affect their understanding, their conscience,  
and their heart. Whatever, therefore, is adapted to 
attract the attention and move the sensibilities, at the  
same time that it conveys truth to the mind, would  
be a means peculiarly efficient to impress the Gospel  
upon the soul.  
There are but two avenues through which moral  
truth reaches the soul; and there are but two methods  
by which it can be conveyed through those avenues.  
By the living voice, truth is communicated through  
the ear; and by the signs of language' it is commu- 
nicated through the eye. The first of these methods,  
the living voice, has many advantages over all other  
means in conveying and impressing truth. It is nec- 
essary that an individual should read with ease in  
order to be benefited by what he reads. The efforts  
which a bad reader has to make, both disincline him  
to the task of reading and hinder his appreciation of  
truth. Besides, a large proportion of the human fam- 
ily can not read, but all can understand their own  
language when spoken. In order, therefore, that the  
whole human family might be instructed, the living  
speaker would be the first and best, and the natural  
method.  
The living speaker has power to arrest attention,  
to adapt his language and illustrations to the charac- 
ter and occupation of his audience, and to accompany   

his communications with those emotions and gestures 
which are adapted to arouse and impress his hearers.  
It is evident from these considerations that among  
the means which God would appoint to disseminate  
his truth through the world, the living teacher would  
hold a first and important place. This result is in  
conformity with the arrangements of Jesus. He ap- 
pointed a living ministry, endowed them with the  
ability to speak the languages of other nations, and  
commissioned them to go into all the world and preach  
the Gospel to every creature.  
In connection with this subject there is one other  
inquiry of importance. It concerns not only the har- 
mony of the Gospel system with the nature of things,  
but likewise the harmony of apostolic practice with  
what has been shown to be necessary in order that the  
truths of the Gospel might produce their legitimate  
effect upon the mind.  
It has been demonstrated that a sense of man's guilt  
and danger must exist in the mind before there can  
be gratitude and love to the being who removes the  
guilt and rescues from the danger. It has likewise  
been noticed, as a self-evident principle, that before  
repentance there must be conviction of sin. A sense  
of guilt and error must necessarily precede reforma- 
tion of life. A man can not conscientiously turn from  
a course of life and repent of past conduct unless he  
sees and feels the error and the evil of that course  
from which he turns. To suppose that a man would  
turn from a course of life which he neither thought  
ANN


219  PLAN OF SALVATION.  
nor felt to be wrong or dangerous is to suppose an  
absurdity. It follows, therefore, that the preacher's  
first duty in endeavoring to reclaim men to holiness  
and to God would be, in all cases, to present such  
truths as are adapted to convict their hearers of their  
spiritual guilt and danger. As God has constituted the  
mind, repentance from sin and attainment to holiness  
would forever be impossible on any other conditions.  
But the same truths would not convict all men of  
sin. In order to convict any particular man, or class  
of men, of sin, those facts must be fastened upon with  
which they have associated the idea of moral good and  
evil, and concerning which they are particularly guilty.  
Thus, in the days of the apostles the Gentiles could  
not be convicted of sin for rejecting and crucifying  
Christ; but, it being a fact in the case of the Jews  
that all their ideas of good and evil, both temporal  
and spiritual, were associated with the Messiah, noth- 
ing in all the catalogue of guilt would be adapted to  
convict them of sin so powerfully as the thought that  
they had despised and crucified the Messiah of God.  
On the other hand, the heathen, upon whom the  
charge of rejecting Christ would have no influence,  
could be convicted of sin only by showing them the  
falsehood and folly of their idolatry, the holy charac- 
ter of the true God, and the righteous and spiritual  
nature of the law which they were bound to obey,  
and by which they would finally be judged. The first  
preachers of the Gospel, therefore, in conformity with  
these principles, would aim first, and directly, to con-  

vince their hearers of their sins, and in accomplishing  
this end they would fasten upon those facts in which  
the guilt of their hearers more particularly consisted.  
And then, when men were thus convicted of their  
guilt, the salvation through Christ from sin and its  
penalty would be pressed upon their anxious souls ;  
and they would be taught to exercise faith in Jesus as  
the meritorious cause of life, pardon, and happiness.  
Now, the apostolical histories fully confirm the fact  
that this course—the only one consistent with truth,  
philosophy, and the nature of man—was the course 
pursued by the primitive preachers.  
The first movement after they were endowed with  
the gift of tongues and filled with the Holy Ghost,  
was the sermon by Peter on the day of Pentecost, in 
which he directly charged the Jews with the murder  
of the Messiah, and produced in thousands of minds  
conviction of the most pungent and overwhelming  
description. At Athens, Paul, in preaching to the  
Gentiles, pursued a different course. He exposed the  
folly of their idolatry, by appealing to their reason  
and their own acknowledged authorities. He spoke  
to them of the guilt which they would incur if they  
refused, under the light of the Gospel, to forsake the  
errors, which God, on account of past ignorance, had  
overlooked. He then closed by turning their atten- 
tion to the righteous retributions of the eternal world,  
and to the appointed day when men would be judged  
by Jesus Christ according to his Gospel.  
The manner in which the apostles presented Christ  

218  PHILOSOPHY OF THE


220  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  PLAN OF SALVATION.  221  

•  
crucified to the penitent and convicted sinner, as the  
object of faith and the means of pardon and the hope  
of glory, is abundantly exhibited in the Acts of the  
Apostles, and in their several epistles to the Churches.  
Thus did God, by the appointment of the living  
preacher as a means of spreading the Gospel, adapt  
himself to the constitution of his creatures; and the  
apostles, moved by divine guidance, likewise adapted  
the truth which they preached to the peculiar necessi- 
ties and circumstances of men.  

Chapter XVIII.  
CONCERNING THE AGENCY OF GOD IN CARRYING ON THE  
WORK OF REDEMPTION, AND THE MANNER IN WHICH  
THAT AGENCY IS EXERTED.  
GOD having thus devised the plan, and manifested  
the truth, and instituted the means of redemption,  
the inquiry naturally presents itself: In what way  
would he put the plan into operation, and give effi- 
ciency to the means of grace?  
We can not suppose that God would put his own  
institution beyond his power, or that he would leave  
it to be managed by the imperfect wisdom, and the  
limited power of human instruments. God would not  
prepare the material, devise the plan, adapt the parts  
to each other, furnish the instruments for building,  
and then neglect to supervise and complete the struc- 
ture. God has put none of his works beyond his  
power ; and especially, in a plan of which he is the  
author and architect, reason suggests that he would  
guide it to its accomplishment. The inquiry is : By  
what agency, and in what way, would the power of  
God be exerted, in carrying into efficient operation  
upon the souls of men the system of saving mercy ?  
In relation to the character of the agency, the  
solution is clear. The agency by which the Plan of  

iL


222  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
Salvation would be carried forward to its ultimate  
consummation would be spiritual iu its nature; because  
God is a spirit, and the soul of man is a spirit, and  
the end to be accomplished is to lead men to worship  
God " in spirit and in truth."  
In relation to the mode of the Spirit's operation,  
some things belong to that class of inquiries upon  
which the mind may exert its powers in vain. The  
mode by which God communicates life to any thing in  
the vegetable, animal, or spiritual world, lies beyond  
the reach of the human intellect. But although man  
can not understand the  modus operandi  of the divine  
mind in communicating life, yet the manifestations of  
life and the medium through which it operates are  
subjects open to human examination. Whether the  
influence of the Spirit be directly upon the soul, or  
mediately by means of truth, the end accomplished  
would be the same. The soul might be quickened to  
see and feel the power of the truth ; or, by the Spirit,  
truth might be rendered powerful to affect the soul.  
The wax might be softened to receive the impression,  
or the seal heated, or a power exerted upon it, to  
make the impression on the wax ; or both might be  
done, and still the result would be the same. It is not  
only necessary that the metal should be prepared  
to receive the impression of a die, but it is like- 
wise necessary that the die should be prepared and  
adapted to the particular kind of metal, the image  
and superscription of the king put upon it, the ma- 
chinery prepared and adapted to hold the die and  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  223  
apply it to the metal ; and after all these necessary  
things are done, the coin can never be made unless  
power is exerted to strike the die into the metal, or  
the metal into the die. So it is in the processes of  
the spiritual world : the material  (mankind)  must be  
prepared ; the die  (the truth of the Gospel system)  must  
be revealed and adapted to the material ; and the  
image to be impressed upon human nature  (the Lord  
Jesus Christ) and the superscription  (glory to God and  
good-will to men)  must be cut upon the die ; then the  
means  of bringing the truth into contact with the  
material must be provided ; and after all these prepa- 
rations and adaptations, there must be the power of the  
Holy Spirit to guide the whole process, and to form  
the image of Christ in the soul.  
The foregoing is a complicated analogy, but not  
more complicated than are the processes of the animal  
and spiritual world. Look at the human body, with  
its thousands of adaptations, all of them necessary to  
the system, the whole dependent upon the use of  
means for the supply of animal life ; and yet deriving  
from God its rational life, which operates through and  
actuates the whole. In like manner the Spirit of God  
operates through and guides the processes of the Plan 
of Salvation.  
The Scriptures reveal the truth clearly, that the  
Spirit of God gives efficiency to the means of grace.  
And not only this, but he operates in accordance with  
those necessary principles which have been developed  
in the progress of these chapters. Christ instructed


    

    

224  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
PLAN OF SALVATION.  225  
his disciples to expect that he would send the Holy  
Spirit ; and when he is come, said Jesus, " He will  
reprove the world of sin, of righteousness, and of  
judgment;" that is, the Holy Spirit will produce con- 
viction of sin in the hearts of the unsanctified and  
impenitent—the office-work of the Spirit of God in  
relation to the world is to convince of sin. In rela- 
tion to the saints he exercises a different office. He  
is their Comforter. He takes of the things that be. 
long to Jesus and shows them to his people ;* that is,  
he causes the people of God to see more and more of  
the excellency and the glory and the mercy manifested  
in a crucified Savior ; and by this blessed influence  
they " grow in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus  
Christ." Christ, by his ministry and death, furnished  
the facts necessary for human salvation ; the Holy  
Spirit uses those facts to convict and sanctify the  
heart. Paul, in a passage already noticed, alludes to  
the influence of the Spirit operating by the appointed  
means of prayer or devout meditation : " But we  
all, with open face, beholding as in a glass the glory  
of the Lord, are changed into the same image, from  
glory to glory,  even as by the Spirit of the Lord."  
Further : At what juncture in the progress of the  
great Plan of Salvation would this agency be most  
powerfully exerted? We answer, at the time when  
the whole moral machinery of the dispensation, through  
which the effect was to be produced, was completed.  
Whatever is designed and adapted to produce a  
John xvi, 7-14.   

definite result as an instrument must be completed  
before it is put into operation, otherwise it will not  
produce the definite effect required. An imperfect  
system put into operation would produce an imperfect  
result. Here a special effect was to be produced ; it  
was necessary, therefore, that the truth should be re- 
vealed and the manifestations all made before the  
power was imparted to give them effect.  
Under the new dispensation the greatest and most  
imposing manifestations were the death, resurrection,  
and ascension of Jesus. Had the system been put  
into operation before these crowning manifestations  
were made, the great end of the Gospel would not  
have been accomplished. It follows, then, that the  
material would be first prepared, the manifestations 
made and adapted to the material, the appropriate 
means ordained, and then the agency of the Spirit  
would be introduced to guide the dispensation to its  
ultimate triumphs, and to give efficiency to its oper- 
ations.  
These deductions harmonize with the teachings of  
the Scriptures :  
First.  They expressly teach, that without the agency  
of .God, no perfect result is accomplished.  
Second.  They everywhere represent that the divine  
agency is exerted through the truth upon the soul, or  
exerted to awaken the soul to apprehend and receive  
the truth.  
Third.  The Spirit was not fully communicated  
until the whole economy of the Gospel Dispensation  
15


226  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
was completed. The apostles were instructed to as- 
semble at Jerusalem after the ascension, and wait till  
they were endued with power from on high. On the  
day of Pentecost the promised Spirit descended. The  
apostles at once perceived the spiritual nature of  
Christ's kingdom. They spoke in demonstration of  
the Spirit, and with power. Men were convicted  
of sin in their hearts ; sinners were converted to  
Christ by repentance and faith; and under the guid- 
ance of that Divine Spirit the Plan of Salvation  
moves on to its high and glorious consummation, when  
the " kingdoms of this world shall become the king- 
doms of our Lord and his Christ." " Amen : even  
so, come Lord Jesus !"  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  227  
Chapter XIX.  
CONCERNING THE PRACTICAL EFFECTS OF THE SYSTEM.  
THE evidence which the Lord Jesus Christ pro- 
posed as proof of the divinity of the Gospel system  
was its practical effect upon individuals who receive  
and obey the truth. " If ye do of the works, ye shall  
know of the doctrine, whether it be of God." If a  
sick man calls a physician, who prescribes a certain  
medicine, which, by his receiving it according to the  
directions, cures him, he then knows both the efficacy 
of the medicine and the skill of the physician.  Ex- 
perience i  evidence to the saints of the divinity of the  
system. And its effect in restoring the soul to moral  
health is evidence to the world of the divine efficacy  
and power of its doctrines. " By their fruits ye shall  
know them." In closing our volume, therefore, we  
have now only briefly to inquire : What are the ascer- 
tained practical effects of faith in Christ?  
We shall not refer to the moral condition of man  
in countries under the influence of the Gospel, com- 
pared with his condition in pagan lands. We will not  
dwell upon the fact which, of itself, is sufficient to  
establish at once and forever the divine origin of evan  
gelical religion and the truth of the 'distinctive views  

111


228  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
developed in the preceding chapters—that the most  
holy men and women that have ever lived have been  
those who exercised most constant and implicit faith  
in Christ. Passing these facts, important in them- 
selves, we will close our volume by a statement of  
facts concerning the present influence of faith in  
Christ upon 'individuals now living, and subject to the  
examination of any one who might be skeptical upon  
the subject.  
The following is a true statement of the influence  
of the religion of Jesus upon several individual mem- 
bers of a village Church in one of the United States.  
It is composed of members of common intelligence,  
and those in the common walks of life. Other  
Churches might have been selected, in which, per- 
haps, a greater number of interesting cases might  
have been found ; and there are other individuals in  
this Church that would furnish as good an illustration  
of the power of the Gospel as some of those which  
are noticed below. This Church has been selected be- 
cause the writer had a better opportunity of visiting it,  
in order to obtain the facts, than any other in which  
he knew the power of the religion of Christ was  
experienced.  
With the individuals spoken of I am well ac- 
quainted, having frequently conversed with them all  
on the subjects of which I shall speak. Their words  
in all cases may not have been remembered, but the  
sense is truly given.  
CASE  1.—An  old man who has been a professor  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  229  
of religion from early life. He was once a deacon or  
elder of the Church. Twenty years ago he was struck  
with paralysis, by which he has been ever since con- 
fined almost entirely to his room. His situation is  
one that, to a mind which had no inward consolation,  
would be irksome in the extreme. His books are the  
Bible and one or two volumes of the old divines. He  
is patient and happy ; and speaking of the love of  
Christ almost invariably suffuses his eyes with tears.  
He delights to dwell on religious subjects ; and to  
talk with a pious friend of the topics which his heart  
loves gives him evident delight. Recently his aged  
companion, who had trodden the path of life with  
him from youth to old age, died in his presence. She  
died what is called by Christians a triumphant death.  
Her last words Were addressed to her children who  
stood around : " I see the cross." A gleam of pleasure  
passed over her features, her eyes lighted up with  
peculiar brightness; she said, "Blessed Jesus, the last  
hour is come ; I am ready !" and thus she departed.  
At her death the old man wept freely and wept  
aloud ; but his sorrow, he said, was mingled with a  
sweet joy. How desolate would have been the condi- 
tion of this poor cripple for the last twenty years  
without the consolations of faith in Christ ! And 
when his aged companion died, who had for years sat  
by his side, how appalling would have been the  
gloom that would have settled upon his soul, had not  
his mind been sustained by heavenly hope! His case  
shows that the religion of Christ will keep the affec-


230  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
tions warm and tender even to the latest periods of  
old age, and give happiness to the soul under circum- 
stances of the most severe temporal bereavement.  
CASE 2.—A converted atheist. I knew that there  
were those in the world who professed to doubt the  
existence of a God ; but I had met with no one in all  
my intercourse with mankind who seemed so sincerely  
and so entirely an atheist as the individual whose  
case is now introduced. The first time that I met  
him was at the house of his son-in-law, a gentleman  
of piety and intelligence. His appearance was that  
of a decrepit, disconsolate old man. In the course  
of conversation he unhesitatingly expressed his un- 
belief of the existence of a God, and his suspicion  
of the motives of most of those who professed religion.  
I learned from others that he had ceased in some  
measure to have intercourse with men ; had become  
misanthropic in his feelings, regarding mankind in the  
light of a family of sharks preying upon each other ;  
and his own duty, in such a state of things, he sup- 
posed to be to make all  honest  endeavors to wrest from  
the grasp of others as much as he could. He used  
profane language, opposed the temperance reforma- 
tion, and looked with the deepest hatred upon the  
ministers of religion. His social affections seemed to  
be withered, and his body, sympathizing, was dis- 
torted and diseased by rheumatic pains.  
1. This old man had for years been the subject of  
special prayer on the part of his pious daughter and  
his son-in-law ; and he was finally persuaded by them  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  231  
to attend a season of religious worship in the Church  
of which they were members. During these services,  
which lasted several days, he passed from a state of  
atheism to a state of faith. The change seemed to  
surprise every one, and himself as much as any other.  
From being an atheist, he became the most simple  
and implicit believer. He seemed like a being who  
had waked up in another world, the sensations of  
which were all new to him ; and although a man  
of sound sense in business affairs, when he began to  
express his religious ideas his language seemed strange  
and incongruous, from the fact that, while his soul  
was now filled with new thoughts and feelings, he had  
no knowledge of the language by which such thoughts  
are usually expressed. The effects produced by his  
conversion were as follows, stated at one time to myself,  
and upon another occasion to one of the most eminent  
medical practitioners in this country : One of the first  
things which he did after his conversion was to love,  
in a practical manner, his worst enemy. There was  
one man in the village who had, as he supposed dealt  
treacherously with him in some money transactions  
which had occurred between them. On this account,  
personal enmity had long existed between the two indi- 
viduals. When converted, he sought his old enemy,  
asked his forgiveness, and endeavored to benefit him  
by bringing him under the influence of the Gospel.  
2. His benevolent feelings were awakened and ex- 
panded. His first benevolent offering was twenty-five  
cents, in a collection for charitable uses. He now  

Pr


232  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  PLAN OF SALVATION.  231 1  
gives very liberally, in proportion to his means, to all  
objects which he thinks will advance the interest of  
the Gospel of Christ. Besides supporting his own  
Church and her benevolent institutions, no enterprise  
of any denomination which he really believes will do  
good  fails to receive something from him, if he has  
the means. During the last year he has given more  
with the design of benefiting his fellow-men than he  
had done in his whole life-time before.  
His affections have received new life. He said  
to  me, in conversation upon the subject: " One part  
of the Scriptures I feel to be true—that which says,  
will take away the stony heart out of your flesh,  
and I will give you a heart of flesh.' Once I seemed  
to have no feeling; now, thank God, I can feel. I  
have buried two wives and six children, but I never  
shed a tear—I felt hard and unhappy—now my tears  
flow at the recollection of these things." The tears  
at that time wet the old man's cheeks. It is not  
probable that, since his conversion, there has been  
a single week that he has not shed tears ; before con- 
version he had not wept since the age of manhood.  
An exhibition of the love of Christ will, at any time,  
move his feelings with gratitude and love, until the  
tears moisten his eyes.  
Effect upon his life. Since his conversion he  
has not ceased to do good as he has had opportunity.  
Several individuals have been led to repent and be- 
lieve in Christ through his instrumentality. Some  
of these were individuals whose former habits  ren-  

dered a change of character very improbable in the  
eyes of most individuals. (One of them, who had  
fallen into the habit of intemperance, is now a re- 
spectable and happy father of a respectable Christian  
family.) He has been known to go to several fami- 
lies on the same day, pray with them, and invite  
them to attend religious worship on the Sabbath.  
And when some difficulty was stated as a hindrance  
to their attendance, he has assisted them to buy  
shoes, and granted other little aids of the kind, in  
order that they might be induced to attend divine  
service.*  
Effect upon his happiness. In a social meeting  
of the Church where he worships I heard him make  
Since the first edition of this volume was issued, a  
most remarkable fact concerning this old man has come  
to the knowledge of the author. When converted one  
of his first acts, although he had heard nothing of any  
such act in others, was to make out a list of all his old  
associates then living within reach of his influence. For  
the conversion of these he determined to labor as he  
had opportunity, and pray daily. On his list were one 
hundred and sixteen names, among whom were skep- 
tics, drunkards, and other individuals as little likely to  
be reached by Christian influence as any other men in the  
region. Within two years from the period of the old  
man's conversion one hundred of these individuals had  
made a profession of religion. We can hardly suppose  
that the old man was instrumental in the conversion  
of all these persons; yet the fact is one of the most  
remarkable that has been developed in the progress of  
Christianity.  
—A


234  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
such an expression as this: " I have rejoiced but once 
since I trusted in Christ—that has been all the time."  
His state of mind may be best described in his own  
characteristic language. One day he was repairing  
his fence. An individual passing addressed him : " Mr.  
—, you are at work all alone." "Not alone," said  
the old man, " God is with me." He said that his work  
seemed easy to him, and his peace of mind continued  
with scarcely an interruption. I saw him at a time  
when he had just received intelligence that a son,  
who had gone to the South, had been shot in a per- 
sonal altercation in one of the Southern cities. The  
old man's parental feelings were moved ; but he  
seemed, even under this sudden and most distress- 
ing affliction, to derive strong consolation from trust 
in God.  
6. Physical effects of the moral change. As soon  
as his moral nature had undergone a change, his body,  
by sympathy felt the benign influence. His counte- 
nance assumed a milder and more intelligent aspect.  
He became more tidy in his apparel, and his "thou- 
sand pains," in a good measure, left him. In his  
case, there seemed to be a renovation both of soul  
and body.  
This case is not exaggerated. The old man is liv- 
ing, and there are a thousand living witnesses to this  
testimony, among whom is an intelligent physician,  
who learned the old man's history of his feelings; and 
having known him personally for years, the obvious  
effects which the faith in Christ had produced in this  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  235  
case, combined with other influences by which he was  
surrounded, led him seriously to examine the subject  
of religion as it concerned his own spiritual interest.  
By this examination he was led to relinquish the sys- 
tem of " rational religion," as the Socinian system is  
most inappropriately called by its adherents, and pro- 
fess his faith in orthodox religion.  
CASE 3.—Two individuals who have always been  
poor in this world's goods, but who are rich in faith.  
Many years ago they lived in a new settlement,  
where there were no religious services. The neigh- 
borhood, at the suggestion of one of its members, met  
together on the Sabbath, to sing sacred music and 
to hear a sermon read. Those sermons were the  
means of the conversion of the mother of the family.  
She lived an exemplary life ; but her husband still  
continued impenitent, and became somewhat addicted  
to intemperance. Some of the children of the family,  
as they reached mature years, were converted ; the  
husband, and finally, after a few years, all the remain-  
ing children, embraced religion. From the day of the  
husband's conversion he drank no more liquor, and,  
he says, he always, afterwards thought of the habit  
with abhorrence. The old people live alone. The  
old woman's sense of hearing has so failed that she  
hears but imperfectly. When the weather will allow,  
she attends Church regularly, but sometimes hears but  
little of the sermon. She sits on the Sabbath, and  
looks up at the minister, with a countenance glowing  
with an interested and happy expression. She has


PLAN OF SALVATION.  237  
now loved to pray, and found happiness in obeying  
the Savior." She made, as she believes, at that time  
an entire surrender of all her interests, for time and  
eternity, to Christ, and since then her labors in his  
service have been happy labors. Before they were  
constrained by conscience, now they are prompted by  
the affections. She does not think she was not a  
Christian before. She had repented in view. of the  
lam ; but she had not, till the time mentioned, exer- 
cised affectionate faith in Christ.* She now often  
prays most solicitously for the conversion of sinners  
and the sanctification of the Church. She loves to  
meet weekly in the female circle for prayer, and  
labors to induce others to attend with her. Her little  
son, nine years of age, is, as she hopes, a Christian ; and  
her daughter, just approaching the years of woman-
hood, has recently united with the Church. Two years  
since her husband died under circumstances peculiarly  
afflicting. She prayed for resignation, and never felt  
any disposition to murmur against the providence of  
God. She sometimes blamed herself that she had  
not thought of other expedients to prolong, if pos- 
sible, the life of one that she loved so tenderly ; but  
to God she looked up with submission, and said in  
spirit, " The cup that my Father bath mingled for  
me, shall I not drink it ?" Her husband she views as  
Are there not many in all the Churches who have  
been convicted of sin, and who have perhaps repented,  
but have not exercised full faith in Christ?  

236  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
joy to know that the minister is preaching about  
Christ. The minister once described religion pos- 
sessed, as a spring of living water flowing from the  
rock by the way-side, which yields to the weary trav- 
eler refreshment and delight ; the old lady, at the  
close, remarked, with meekness, " I hope I have  
drank, many times, of those sweet waters."  
Except what concerns their particular domestic  
duties, the conversation of this aged pair is almost  
entirely religious. They are devout, and very happy  
in each other's society. And sometimes, in their family  
devotions and religious conversations, their hearts  
glow with love to God. They look forward to death  
with the consoling hope that they will awake in the  
likeness of the glorious Savior, and so " be forever with  
the Lord."  
CASE 4.—A female who early in life united with  
the Church, and conscientiously performed the exter- 
nal duties of Christian life. She had, for many years,  
little if any happiness in the performance of her  
religious duties, yet would have been more unhappy  
if she had not performed them. She married a gen- 
tleman who, during the last years of his life, was  
peculiarly devoted. During this period, in attending  
upon the means• of grace, she experienced an entire  
change in her religious feelings. She felt, as she  
says, that " now she gave up all for Christ. She felt  
averse to every thing which she believed to be contrary  
to his will. To the will of Jesus she could now sub- 
mit forever, with joyful and entire confidence. She


238  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
a departed saint, whom she expects to meet in a better  
world. She cherishes his memory with an affection  
that seems peculiarly sacred ; and the remembrance  
of his piety is a consoling association connected with  
the recollections of one  now  in heaven.*  
A single incident develops the secret of that piety  
which gives her peace and makes her useful. One  
of the last times I saw her she stated, in conversation  
upon the subject, that a short time before she had  
read a Sabbath-school book which one of her children 
had received, in which was a representation of Christ  
bearing his cross to Calvary. While contemplating  
this scene, love and gratitude sprang up in her heart,  
which were subduing, sweet, and peaceful beyond ex- 
pression! How is it, reader, that the contemplation  
of such a scene of  suffering  should cause such blessed  
emotions to spread like a rich fragrance through the  
soul, and rise in sweet incense to God? It is the  
holy secret of the cross of Christ, which none but the  
saints know, and even they can not communicate.f  
That the marriage bond becomes more sacred, and  
the reciprocal duties of affection more tender, between 
two hearts that both love Jesus, I have no doubt. The  
feelings of this pious widow favor the supposition, and the 
facts recorded in the biographies of Edwards Fletcher and  
Carvosso, fully confirm it.  
t Thomas a Kempis endeavored to give expression to  
the consciousness of the divine life in the soul: "Fre- 
quens Christi visitatio cum homine interno, dulcis, sermo- 
cinatio, grata consolatio, multa pax," etc.  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  239  
Supplementary Chapter.  
AN OBJECTIVE REVELATION NECESSARY, AS A MEANS OF THE  
MORAL CULTURE OF MANKIND.  
SINCE the first publicatio ❑   of this volume, the  
question between those who receive the Christian  
Scriptures as an authoritative divine revelation, and  
those who do not, has somewhat varied its form.  
The discussion for the past few years, both in Europe  
and America, has been mainly between those who  
believe in the divine authority of the Christian Reve- 
lation as a rule of duty, and those who believe in the  
authority of Conscience and Reason as the highest  
guides of man. Neither class altogether rejects the  
Scriptures; but one receives the Messiah and his  
teachings as of God ; the other receives them as  
of man.  
The arguments by which the inspiration of the sacred  
Scriptures are usually maintained are well known ;  
and but little can be added to them in their common  
forms. There is, however, another view which may  
be taken of the subject—a view which considers a  
written Revelation in the light of the moral wants of  
man, and as an adapted and necessary means in order  
to human development. Such a train of thought


240  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
would correspond with the tenor of the argument in  
the preceding chapters, and would meet, directly, the  
position of the transcendental school—that all the  
moral light which God gives to man is revealed  
subjectively in the human consciousness, or derived  
by the unaided reason.  
If it can be shown that the moral constitution of  
man demands a revelation  ab extra—from without—as  
its complement, and that the Christian Revelation is  
the adequate and adapted means by which the moral  
development of man as a being, and of men as a  
family, must be secured : if these positions can be  
established, they will place the Bible upon the basis  
of moral necessity, because the moral constitution of  
man implies, in order to its development, a  written  
Revelation.  
We propose, then, for ourselves and our readers,  
this inquiry : Is man so constituted by his Creator, 
that a revelation of  objective truth (i. e., truth revealed  
to  him, not in him) is demanded, in order to the  
right and full development of his moral faculties?  
In the first chapters of this volume the fact that  
man is by nature a religious being is stated and  
proved ; and in succeeding chapters the adaptation  
of some of the processes by which truth is revealed  
in the Scriptures is discussed. We propose now to  
direct our attention to the single inquiry, Whether  
a  written  Revelation be a demand of man's moral  
constitution, without which his moral culture is  
impossible.  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  241  
There is a  FIRST FACT  connected with this inquiry  
which might be assumed ; but it will be more satis- 
factory to exhibit its ground and its relations to our  
discussion.  
Man is a  cultivating  and a  cultivable  being.  
Culture improves nature. There is a certain de- 
gree of perfection attained, or attainable, by the  
species of the vegetable and animal kingdoms, which  
nature of herself produces. Unusual circumstances  
may produce choice individuals, which are in advance  
of the natural average ; but in succeeding generations,  
without culture, these will return again to the nat- 
ural level.  
No species of things can improve itself. Culture  
must in all cases come from man. By his agency  
individuals of the vegetable and animal kingdoms may  
be advanced far beyond what is possible for them in  
their natural state. Most species of fruits are " flat,  
stale, and unprofitable" by nature, and would always  
have continued so, unless they had received the aid  
of human culture. So the domestic animals are  
molded to beauty and utility only by human culture.  
All things below man that have valuable qualities  
are created capable of culture ; but the culture must  
come, in all cases, from a nature higher than their  
own. Man is the lord of the lower creation. He  
advances and improves such species as are profitable  
for his use, and destroys others. Man is the only cul  
tivator, and for his use and benefit nature is made  
capable of improvement.  
16  
1


242  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
But let us mark especially the correlated fact with  
which we have especially to do in this discussion.  
Man is not only a cultivating, but he is a  culti- 
vable being. Like the other animal species, there is a  
certain natural level above which he can not  rise  
without aid from a  Being higher than himself.  (See  
chap. i.) This is true of him  especially as a  moral  
being.  In intellectual attainment, and in the  percep- 
tion of moral principles, individuals among men have  
achieved a high position without, as some have sup- 
posed, aid from an external revelation. We will con- 
cede, if it be desired, that some of the moral precepts  
of Confucius, Socrates, and Seneca are similar to those  
of the New Testament. Whatever may be conceded 
on this point, the fact is historically demonstrated  
and,  as  we  think, philosophically demonstrated (see  
" God Revealed in the Process of Creation," etc.,  
Book  II),  that without aid from above himself, man  
does not attain to a knowledge of the character of  
God as his Father, nor to a knowledge of self-denying  
duty due to all men as his brethren. In this respect  
man is not an exception to the law that no species can  
raise itself above its natural condition. The Greeks  
and Romans had many excellent moral precepts; but  
in the knowledge of God and of self-denial for the  
good of men they were never in advance of those  
whom they designated as barbarians. A knowledge  
of the true character of God and of benevolent labor  
for men as brothers is absolutely essential, as we shall  
see, to human culture and human progress ; but all  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  
human history and human experience testify that  
man, unaided, can no more attain to this .   knowledge  
than an .animal can subdue and discipline itself for  
domestic uses.  
Leaving the preceding observations for the consid- 
eration of the reader, we assume again the fact, which  
will be granted even by those who may doubt in  
relation to some of the preceding statements, God  
has created man a  cultivating  and a  cultivable  being,  
and he is the only being created that possesses the  
double capability to receive and to impart culture. By  
his ability as a cultivator, he may elevate others up  
to the level of his own attainment, and by his ca- 
pacity for culture the cultivator may himself be culti- 
vated by a superior being. We inquire, then, for the  
necessary  and  adapted  means, in order to the full devel- 
opment of man's moral faculties.  
We will notice three endowments by which men  
are particularly distinguished from irrational beings.  
The union of the three is requisite in producing hu- 
man development ; but the effect of the whole will be  
perceived more distinctly by first noticing them sep- 
arately. These distinguishing endowments are  Written  
Language, Faith, and  Conscience.  
A sign-language is characteristic of man. Although  
it may not be manifest at the lowest stages of social  
condition, it is always necessary as the basis of social  
progress. Beasts make, to a considerable extent,  
sounds and gestures which are intelligible to each  
other ; but they  can not impress upon matter a perma-


244  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
neat sign of their thought.  This is an endowment pos- 
sessed by humanity alone.  
It is not necessary to our argument to discuss the  
forms of the primitive sign-languages, or whether  
there were an original language which was the basis  
of all others.* Whether the process be by one  
method or another, every settled nation with whose  
history we are acquainted formed or possessed a sign- 
language. As nations advance in age, language im- 
proves, and the people improve  intellectually  with the  
language. Colonies carry the parent language into new  
regions of the world. In the lapse of time, by the in- 
termingling of peoples, ,old forms and sounds are modi- 
fied—some words are lost and new ones are admitted ;  
but the attribute of a sign-making and sign-reading  
being is characteristic of man in all ages, after he  
leaves the lowest stages of barbarism.  
The fact is fairly settled, that without aiding him- 
self by a written language, man can not ascend even  
to the first stages of civilization. But, when time  
and settled condition  will  allow, he makes for him- 
self signs of thought ; and although the methods may  
vary, the result is the same ;  the signs written by the  
If the present languages of the world be derived  
from a common origin (which neither reason nor Scripture  
requires us to suppose), the various streams must run  
back to the parent source before the two distinct forms of  
alphabetic and syllabic writing were originated. The rudi- 
mental structure of the alphabetic and syllabic languages  
are so diverse that they could in no way have been derived  
the one from the other.  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  245  
hand of one communicate his thoughts through the eye to the  
minds of others.  
After the language of any people has taken its  
form, the degree of civilization attained at arty time  
can be ascertained with perfect accuracy by the co- 
piousness of their vocabulary and the shades of dis- 
crimination in their definitions. In their written  
language they accumulate the history, science, and  
sentiments of the past, and add .to these the achieve- 
ments and experiences of the present. Their words,  
with fixed definitions, are susceptible of authentication  
as media of commercial and civil transactions ; and,  
as these are conditions of civilization, nothing can be  
more apparent than the statement that without a  
written language civilization is impossible ; and if  civ- 
ilization is impossible  without a written  language,  
we can not suppose that high moral culture can be  
attained without an aid which is necessary to the  
lowest stages of social progress.  
As certainly, therefore, as man is constituted to  
ascend from lower to higher  stages of progress, written  
language is designed as the medium of his social and  
moral culture; but as neither God nor man, so far as  
we can see,  can use signs  in any other waLthan as  
objective to the mind itself, hence, if man receives  
moral culture at all, it must be by fixed signs of  
thought, presented objectively to the human soul.  
Signs are the creations of the human mind in which  
man  embodies his logos;  they are the medium by which  
the thought of one is conveyed to others; and hence  
j


246  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
they must be the adapted and only means of moral  
culture, when man is to act as an instrument in  
elevating his race.  
Written language connects  man with the past and  
the future. In it he must store all he holds valuable  
or sacred in knowledge. 'Without it he would be an  
undeveloped moral being ; an infant in knowledge,  
while old in years and in crime ; a being with- 
out science, living mostly in the present, haunted  
by demons of the imagination, and a prey to hu- 
man tyrants, as ignorant but more powerful than  
himself.  
But suppose it be granted that without written  
language man can not receive moral culture ; yet are  
not the signs of that language, and the ideas that they  
contain, originated by man ? And hence while a  
written language in order to moral culture may be  
admitted, a revelation of truth other than that origi- 
nated by man may be denied.  
It will be seen, when we come to consider the  
subject of faith, that, in order that truth may affect  
the moral character of man and exert upon him an  
elevating and purifying influence, he must receive it  
as coming from God, the Lawgiver and Judge of men.  
But apart from this consideration, which is a vital one  
in its relation to the subject of moral culture, there  
are plain evidences which prove that man can not  
of himself attain to the true idea of the divine char- 
acter ; and hence, if  God be ever truly known to  
men u  he must  reveal himself in such forms and by  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  247  
such signs as will communicate a true knowledge  of  
his character to the human mind.  
We are aware that there are those who believe and  
teach that the  character  of God, as well as the  being  
of a  God, is revealed subjectively in men. We will  
notice the superficial and injurious character of this  
philosophy in another place ; but here we affirm that  
all history, and the common experience and reason of  
men, prove the fallacy of such an opinion.  A sense,  
or intuition, or conception (call it what you will of  
the existence  of a God, is found in all ages, existing  
in all races of men. It is  a universal conviction, and  
belongs to man as man. But no two men have pre- 
cisely the same idea of God's  character.  The diversity  
in one case is as perfect as the unity of the other.  
Without  a revelation men believe that there is a  
God ; but their views of the divine character are as  
diverse as their languages, and have never risen  
above the level of heroism, naturalism, and lust, in  
connection with the natural attributes of wisdom and  
power.   The  idea of the existence of God  is the  idea  
of being. The idea of character implies quality ; to  
suppose that man has intuitive ideas of either the  
physical or spiritual qualities of things is absurd.  
Again, every man is conscious that he has not  
himself got an intuitive idea of the character of God.  
Every man believes that God  is;  but what he is, is with  
every man matter of reflection, or of faith. The con- 
scious experience of every man is testimony in  this case.  
It is a fact admitted almost universally, that the


248  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  PLAN OF SALVATION.  
present state of the creation, both moral and phys- 
ical, is imperfect. Allowing, then (if it be desired),  
that man has an intuitive idea that a Divine Being,  
or Beings, exist—how could he get the conception  
of a perfect character from an imperfect _world? If  
man forms a conception of God's character without  
revelation, in the present state of things, he must  
necessarily forma wrnag one. Man is imperfect, and  
nature is imperfect, and therefore there is no arche- 
type from which a true sign of the divine character  
can be drawn. Hence the histories of man's theolo- 
gies, in all ages are histories of errors.  
Now, it is a fact which is marked and peculiar  
that the character of God revealed in the Old Testa- 
ment is revealed in accordance with the laws by  
which signs are made to communicate first ideas, and  
in accordance with the nature of man as a sign-reading  
being. We have shown in chapters vii and viii that  
the word Jehovah, signifying merely  divine being— 
without character—was  clothed with attributes by a  
process of signs or hieroglyphics which formed the  
true character of God in the Jewish mind, so far as 
that character was known under the introductory dis- 
pensation. Moses was a sign-maker. His dispensa- 
tion was one of types.* From the processes and hiero-  
*Ex. xxv, 40: "Make them after the  pattern  that  
was showed thee in the mount." See also Acts vii, 44.  
The Mosaic ceremonies generally are declared to be " pat- 
terns [pictures, hieroglyphics] of things in the heavens."  
(Heb. ix, 23.)   

glyphics of his dispensation the ideas of heavenly  
things were produced. This is expressly affirmed in  
the New Testament, as it is likewise in the Old.  
Under the New Testament Dispensation we have  
a manifestation of  duty, in the life of Christ, and of  
love in his  SELF-SACRIFICE,  which have given new  
ideas to the human mind. These are rendered per- 
manent in the written language of the New Testa- 
ment. In Christ's death " was the love of God mani- 
fested "—and man could never have had the idea but  
by the cross of Christ.  The cross of Christ  is the  sign  
of divine love for men. The life of Christ is the  
sign of human duty. These manifestations are ob- 
jective to the soul. These ideas, embodied in sign- 
language, are the material of the highest moral cul- 
ture. But in order to elevate and purify the soul,  
they must become subjective  in the heart, and authori- 
tative with the conscience and the will.  
This brings us to the connected subject of faith,  by  
which objective Divine Truth becomes subjective in  
the soul.  
Faith, or Credence, like sign-language, distin- 
guishes between man and irrational beings. (The  
word Credence may be more appropriate as a general  
term, while we apply the word Faith in a moral  
sense.) Animals receive knowledge by sensation only ;  
man receives knowledge by sense and by credence.  
Almost the whole of man's acquired knowledge he  
obtains by crediting the testimony of others.  
In relation to God and the objects of the spiritual


250  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
world, faith is  the only exercise by which we can know  
them. These are not cognizable by the senses. The  
being of God may be admitted intuitively, but the  
character of God can be known only by faith ; and it  is  
the character of God,  NOT THE BEING OF GOD, that is  
the element of moral culture. In order to the moral  
effect of the divine character upon the soul, we " must  
believe not only that  God is,  but that he is a  rewarder  
of those who diligently seelc him."  
God has so made man that his moral nature is  
moved and his moral character controlled by faith.  
If he believes (whether falsely or not) that his neigh- 
bor is a bad man, he will feel towards him as if. it  
were so. If he believes with an assured faith certain  
things in relation to God and duty, he will feel and act  
as he believes. If a man has faith in truth, he will have  
a true conscience ; but in so far as his faith is false, his  
conscience will be false ; and in relation to duties due  
to God, if a man has no faith at all, he will have no  
conscience at all. A man without faith is influenced no  
more in his character or conduct by the existence and  
character of God than if there were no God. In the  
light of such truth, every sound mind ought to see  
that transcendentalism is a  moral lie.  
God has made the soul of man to recognize him as  
sovereign, and his will as obligatory. The animal  
mind reaches up to man, and knows no higher lord.  
The mind of man by faith reaches up to the Supreme  
Being, and recognizes duty and obligation to him.  
Thus man by  faith  and  conscience  becomes responsible  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  251  
as a subject of the divine government, and is thus  
separated from all inferior things.  
Sign-language and  Faith  are correlated in the moral  
tuition of man. All human progress depends upon  
faith exercised in testimony, fixed by the settled im- 
port of written language. Without credence vocal  
language might exist, and men might communicate  
to each other their experiences and observations ; but  
credence alone, in connection with fixed signs of  
thought, raises man to the contemplation of the past,  
the future, the spiritual, and the divine.  
But all the objects upon which moral culture de- 
pends are without the soul. They are not subjective,  
but objective. Say, if you will, that the idea of a  
God is an intuition ; but what God is has been mat- 
ter of credence in all time, and with all men. It is  
unnatural, it is impossible, for man to look into him- 
self for objects of credence. The idea is a preposte- 
rous one. Man is created a believing being, and  
Faith looks out of self for its objects, as naturally as  
the eye looks out of self to the phenomena of the  
world of sense.  
But in order that the objects of Faith may have  
subjective efficiency over the affections, the will, and  
the conscience, man must recognize not only the  rec- 
titude  but the  authority of the truth presented for cre- 
dence. This brings us to consider, in connection with  
Faith, the office, of Conscience, without the rectitude  
and efficiency of which there can be no moral culture.  
There are two elements in efficient faith ; one


                                                        

                                                        

                                                        

                                                        

                                                        

                                                        

                                                        

                                                    
PLAN OF SALVATION.  253  

  

                                                
252  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
the  form  of the fact, the other the  authority of the  
fact. The fact, in order to be efficient within men,  
must be perceived not only as  truth, but as  authorita- 
tive truth;  that is, perceived as proceeding from a  
being whose character we love, and whose authority  
to command we recognize.  The perception of truth  
does not impart the moral power or the moral disposition  
to obey the truth.  No man in his senses will say that  
the man who perceives truth obtains  thereby  a disposi- 
tion to obey it. Truth has little efficiency for moral  
culture, unless it be recognized by faith, as grounded  
in the character and communicated to man by the  
will of God. Whatever is believed by the soul to be  
the will of the Divine Lawgiver revealed for man, 
that conscience will enforce upon the life.  
Socrates, Plato, and Seneca uttered much valuable  
truth, and truth that was  recognized  among the people  
as coming from the  highest human sources.  But what  
cared men for the utterances of philosophers? Whose  
conscience troubles him in our day for not obeying  
the maxims of the author of Lacon, or the precepts of  
living or dead moralists? Men are equals; and truth    
from  merelLhuman sources can rise no higher than the  
opinions  of equals. It may be, it generally is, believed  
as truth ; but it can have no moral sanction as obliga- 
tory upon the life, and therefore can have little in- 
fluence upon the soul as an element of moral culture.  
The greatest difficulty with men is not that they  
do not perceive truth. Men perceive much moral  
truth by the force of their own reason ; and they  

    

                                                      

                                                      

                                                  
assent to much more that is perceived by others.  
Colton wrote more moral maxims than any man of his  
age, and violated them all. Instead of the perception  
of truth being moral culture in his case, it was, as in  
many other cases, only a light that revealed a deeper  
debasement. A revelation of truth concerning God  
and human duty is necessary ; but power or disposition  
to obey the truth is the greater want—is an  absolute  
necessity—in  order to the moral culture of the soul.  
perception of truth without love and obedience is  
demoralizing. A perception of truth which moves the  
heart and the will is the process of moral culture.  
Both experience and revelation agree in the things  
which have been said. The teachings of the Messiah  
himself had no reformatory or sanctifying power, until  
men believed that they were sanctioned by the God- 
head. This Jesus frequently affirmed. The disciples  
were taught to expect that  when the resurrection and  
the advent of the Comforter should have attested the  
divinity of his mission,  THEN  men would be " convinced  
of  sin, righteousness,  and  judgment ;"  that is, when they  
saw God in the truth which he taught, they would feel  
that it was sin to disobey. The words which he had  
spoken unto them would become spirit and life to their  
souls, when they were received as the  word of God.  
Now, let us condense and remember the facts  
which we have considered. The character of Con- 
science in all religious duties depends upon Faith.  
Without faith it has no life; with a false faith it is  
corrupted, and therefore a curse ; with a true faith it  

  

                                                    

                                                    

                                                    

                                                    

                                                    

                                                    

                                                    

                                                    

                                                    

                                                    

                                                    

                                                    

                                                    

                                                    

                                                    

                                                    

                                                    

                                                    

                                                    

                                  
Li  

                

                                                    

                                                    

                                                    

                                                    

                                                    

                                                    

                                                    

                                                    

                                                    

                                                    

                                                    

                                                    

                                                    

                                                    

                                                        

                                                        

                                                        

                                                        

                                                        

                                                        

                                                        

                                                        

                                                        




254  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
is living and pure. Conscience in itself is a most po- 
tent power, but it is a .blind power. It enforces the  
conduct dictated by a man's faith,  whatever that may be.  
But its power for good or evil comes only with a sense  
of the authority of God. It will enforce no duty nor  
produce remorse for any neglect of duty, in regard to  
God, unless faith affirms the act to be sanctioned by the  
will and authority of God. A sense of right exists in  
most minds and consciences—so enjoins a right practice  
towards men—until the mind becomes darkened by a  
false credence or a wrong practice. But where no faith  
exists,  conscience never enforces a wrong towards man as  
a sin against God.  And even in relation to the duties  
in life which we learn by experience, the conviction of  
right is often very inefficient ; and in relation to the  
highest social duties, a false credence often makes  
wrong to be a duty or a privilege.  
In relation to God, therefore, and religious duty,  
faith is the only guide of conscience; and in relation  
to the practice of right towards men, and more espe- 
cially the maintenance of right social principles, man  
is a weak and wandering spirit; and when his con- 
science dies or is perverted by a false credence or a  
wrong practice, he has hope of rescue and purity only  
in a revelation which faith may receive as the will of  
God, and which conscience will then enforce as duty;  
the violation of which is sin.*  
*A fact of importance in this connection it may be  
profitable to notice—a fact both in revelation and in   

PLAN OF SALVATION.  255  
From the preceding considerations we might at  
once deduce a conclusion in favor of an objective rev- 
elation, as a necessary requisite in order to human  
culture. But this conclusion would be a general one,  
and many who would assent to the general conclusion  
might not agree that the New Testament is the only  
perfect and the ultimate revelation of Divine Truth.  
Before, therefore, we endeavor to show the adapt- 
edness of the Christian Scriptures as the  only system  
of Truth,  by which man's moral nature can be rightly  
human experience. It is not a link in the argument, but it  
may aid our conviction of the vital importance of the  
subject. It shows, likewise, the relation of this subject  
of Divine Culture to the fact stated in an introductory  
paragraph, that culture of one being must come from  
another superior to itself. Thus man cultivates nature 
and God cultivates man.  
It is a law of man's nature, that when the truth is  
perceived in the mind, and its obligation acknowledged,  
if obedience be not yielded, the conscience grows less po- 
tential to enforce the duty. It is a retributive principle  
incorporated into man's moral constitution, that sin being  
persisted in against light and obligation, the light becomes  
darkness in the mind, and the sense of obligation dies in  
the soul.  This is a natural law.  But a sense of God's  
special presence reverses this law. The influence of the  
Holy Spirit awakens again the dying conscience, and illu- 
mines again the darkening mind. The evil of sin is again  
seen and felt. The dead conscience is awakened by the  
presence of God, and the soul that was sinking under the  
moral paralysis of sin is offered rescue and called to  
heaven. Reader, this is your hope—the  miraculous inter- 
position  of the Divine Spirit.  

4


257  
256  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
and fully developed, let us notice, in connection, some  
of the views by which we have argued the necessity of  
an objective revealment of Divine Truth, in opposition  
to the false notion that a knowledge of the divine  
character and of human duty are revealed subjectively  
in the soul.  
Man is created conscious of imperfection and capa- 
ble of culture.  
Man can receive moral culture only by the aid of  
signs of moral truth embodied in written language.  
Man may have by nature an intuition of the being  
of God, but he has no knowledge of the  character of  
God; but that character has been revealed in accord- 
ance with the process of linguistic development, and  
in adaptation to man's nature and wants, in the Old  
and New Testaments.  
Man is a being of Faith, and can be affected by  
the character and will of God only by the exercise  
of faith. Faith naturally looks out of self for its ob- 
jects. The past, the future, God and the spiritual  
world are without the soul, as revealed by faith.  
Man is a being of Conscience; but the character  
of conscience is determined by faith. Unless faith  
sees God in truth, conscience will not enforce it on  
the soul. But it will enforce whatever faith dictates  
as the character and will of God, whether right or  
wrong.  
Faith is in itself blind. It does not know truth  
from error ; and reason has never had power without  
revelation to correct its false affirmations. The highest  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  
effort of reason is to produce doubt. (See chap. i.)  
It can not substitute truth for falsehood.  
Conscience is blind. It is a potential force, but it  
follows faith right or wrong; and when faith is false  
it enforces falsehood in the soul.  
Both faith and conscience look to God for author-  
ity; and until faith sees God in Truth, Conscience will  
not convict the soul of guilt for disobedience.  
Hence, in the moral culture of the soul, every thing  
depends on the revealment of truth. But this truth must  
come to the soul, not as human opinion, or as the utter-  
Ffs._,2Lphilosophy, but as Truth which Faith and  
Conscience recognize as rendered obligatory upon man,  
1/IA91... yin and authority of God.  Without revealed  
Truth,  Reason has  no  data, Faith is false, and Conscience   
is corrupt.  The erring nature of man's moral powers,  
without Revealed Truth,  requires a revelation from  
the Maker. As there can be no moral culture with a  
false faith and a corrupt  or dead conscience, hence a  
revelation of objective Truth, rendered efficient by the  
perceived presence and authority f God,  is  a  moral  
necessity,  in order to the culture of the human soul.  
But in order to the moral culttireOr man it is not  
only necessary, as we have seen, that man should  
receive from a personal God, by faith, a revelation  
of Truth; but certain characteristics in that truth  
itself are necessary—characteristics which as we shall  
now show, mark the New Testament as the inspired,  
adapted, and final revelation of God to man.  
In view, then, of man's character and condition,  
17


258  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  PLAN OF SALVATION.  259  
notice some characteristics necessary in revealed truth,  
in order to his perfect and ultimate culture.  
A first requisite in the truth itself, in order to moral  
culture, is, that it should be ultimate and perfect, so  
that the standard may always be in advance of man's  
present attainment; and that it should be so revealed  
as to awaken and encourage aspiration and struggle  
for conformity to the revealed standard.  
Every one will allow that a determination of the  
soul from evil to good, and a struggle upward, is the  
only method by which man can possibly attain to a  
better moral condition.  
But in order to awaken interest and promote effort  
for moral advancement, truth must be so exhibited as  
to show us our present moral delinquencies and dere- 
lictions. This can be done only by presenting precept  
and example which are above the present moral con- 
dition of the soul. It is self-evident that man can  
not advance to a higher position until he is convinced  
that his present state is a wrong one, and below attain- 
ments which he is under obligation to make. Divine  
precept and example stand as the embodied model.  
The effort, by divine aid, for a higher attainment in  
holy living is the process by which the attainment is  
secured; and the attainment in which the soul finds its  
happiness in a spirit of love for Christ and labor of  
love for man, is the culture that the soul needs; and  
when divinely illumined by truth, it is the culture  
which the soul seeks.  
Now, do the precepts and examples of the New   

Testament furnish authoritative objective truth of this  
character? Are they such, that while they encourage  
and aid, they will always be in advance of the soul,  
leading it up to moral perfection?  
About this question there can be no controversy.  
No man dare deny that if the spirit of the New Testa- 
ment prevailed on earth, vice and crime and want would  
cease among men. Neither atheists nor skeptics dare  
deny that the spirit of the Christian Scriptures is rev- 
erent love for God and self-denying, happy love-labor  
for man. The ultimate pod of all men can only be  
attained by those who possess good of any kind, deny- 
ing themselves to bring those below them   up  to the  
good they enjoy. The New Testament spirit and ex- 
ample is a perfect fulfillment of this requirement.  It  
stands alone, and high as heaven above every thing  
else known to the human mind in the spirit and prac- 
tic of self-denying love for the equal temporal and  
spiritual good of all men. The devil dare not deny  
that the labor and sacrifice of Christ for the good of  
men is ultimate. Nothing can be higher, holier, or in  
any respect better than the precept, the spirit, and the  
example of the New Testament. It has ever been in  
advance of human character, and will be till the end  
of time. It is ultimate in spirit, in precept, and in  
example; and it is not profane to say that, if there  
be any other revelation, or if God give any other, it  
must be a worse one, because there can not be a better.  
There is another requisite in the character of reve- 
lation necessary to human culture, which we have


                          

                      

                      

                      

                      

                      
260  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  PLAN OP SALVATION.  261  

                      
assumed, but which we will now notice more fully-.  
That requisite is, that the ultimate standard of duty  
should be given in the form of example.  
We need to know not only what we ought to do,  
but we need to understand the spirit in which a duty  
should be discharged. A good  act  may become evil,  
and have no influence for moral culture,  because it is  
not done in a good spirit. Those who have not the  
Spirit of Christ are none of his. But an example of  
forbearance, of firmness, of self-denial, of reproof, of  
comparison, of forgiveness, of the  manner  of  conduct  in  
particular circumstances, is necessary, in order to lead  
men to understand, and by faith enable them to dis- 
charge right duties in a right spirit. (See chap. xvi.)  
But example, in order that we may understand the  
motive and the spirit of duty, is necessary in another  
particular. General precepts have specific applica- 
tions; and the best minds are liable to err in the ap- 
plication of general precepts to the varying every-day  
duties of life. Man is so constituted that perfect  
knowledge of duty in all specific cases is impossible;  
he needs, therefore, an ever-present guide, to which he  
can refer the decision of what is duty in specific cases.  
There can be no such guide except it be a  model char- 
acter acting in our circumstances.  The life of Christ is  
the infallible standard of reference for sinful men act- 
ing in a world of sinners. Suppose an absent father  
should leave his son to manage his affairs during his  
absence. It would be impossible for him to leave his  
son specific directions in relation to all cases that might  

arise in the varied duties of the farm during a long 
absence. The son, however, has seen the example of  
his father; he knows perfectly the motives which gov- 
erned him, and the spirit he manifested. In the appli- 
cation, therefore, of his father's general precepts to  
specific cases, he involuntarily, naturally, dutifully asks  
himself, What would my father do in this case? What  
would he have me do?  Thus the knowledge of his  
father's character, life, and spirit, guides him in the  
application of precept to  practice; while at the same  
time, it reveals the motive and the spirit in  which the  
act should be done.  
Other requisites in the character of revealed truth  
might be added to these; but we will not prolong the  
chapter. We might show that there should be ele- 
ments to awaken hope and courage in those who seek  
the " mark of the prize of the high  culture,"  given in  
the life and spirit of Jesus; and that these elements  
accompany the precept of the New Testament.  
We might show that the question, " What is  
Truth ?" on moral subjects, can never be settled in any  
individual mind, except by faith and divine authority,  
and an ultimate example; and that these are given in  
the written Scriptures.  
We might show that there can be no culture of the  
soul except the motive to action be benevolent; that  
love of Christ makes God the motive—takes it out of  
self; and hence acts for Christ's sake are necessarily  
unselfish acts, and that unselfish action is necessary to  
moral culture.  

                      

                      

                      

                      

                      

                      
                      

                      

                          

                          




262  PHILOSOPHY OF THE  
We have, we trust, already said enough to aid can- 
did minds to the conclusion that the moral culture of  
the soul must be accomplished by a system of Truth,  
revealed objectively in written language, by divine au- 
thority ; and that the Christian Scriptures contain that  
system of Truth.  
The Scriptures alone possess the characteristics  
which adapt truth to the ends of moral culture. The  
believer is made humble by the perfection of Christ's  
example of love and labor and sacrifice for men—a  
perfect standard, yet so far in advance of his attain.  
ment. Gospel faith, which realizes in the soul that  
Christ's sacrifice was for him,  will mingle gratitude and  
love with his humility.  The offer of aid in the moral  
conflict, of pardon to the penitent, and of divine favor  
to every one who denies himself and exercises a spirit  
of affectionate obedience, inspires hope and courage,  
and gives joy by the way; and, then, Divine Authority,  
as well as Divine Love, being in the Truth, these  
govern in harmony the  af fections, the  conscience,  and  
the will.  
No man can ever make so high an attainment in  
moral culture that Christ will not be before him still,  
as an example and a guide ; and yet no man can be so  
low in moral culture but that the Gospel faith brings  
to him hope, impulse, direction, and a spiritual bene- 
diction ; and in whatever stage of progress the Chris- 
tian may be, whether near the beginning of the race,  
or so far advanced that temptation has little influence,  
and habits of holy action are mostly confirmed—at  

PLAN OF SALVATION.  263  
whatever stage of attainment those who lay aside  
every known sin, and looking to the character of  
Christ as the goal of moral perfection, run  with what  
strength they have  for the prize of the high calling of  
God in Christ Jesus—all  such will receive divine aid  
and favor by the way.* Progress  is the order of the  
moral as well as the physical world (see " God Re-
vealed in the Process of Creation," etc.), perfection  
is its end, and the manifestation of God in Christ,  
revealed in the New Testament, is a necessary element  
in order to the final consummation.  
Leave, then, reader, the transcendental folly of  
those who would find the perfect character of God  
revealed subjectively in themselves ; or who seek a  
perfect. example in an imperfect humanity. Such a 
philosophy is shallow and sinful; it is engendered by  
selfishness, in union with aspiring intellect. Its glare  
has poison in it ; and it dazzles to blind the conceited  
The question of perfection, about which good men  
have often misconceived each other, ought to be consid- 
ered obsolete.  Men can do what they can do, in the circum- 
stances, and God requires no more.  The call of God is no  
more.  The  requirement is not ultimated perfection, but  
progressive perfection.-- Men are called to aim and strive  
for the moral perfection set before them in the life of  
Christ; and he who, like Paul, is a perfect runner toward  
the goal, is perfect tin in one sense; while not having yet  
attained the goal, he is imperfect in another.  
t This is the plain and undoubted sense of the Scrip- 
tures. (See Phil. iii, 7-16.) "Let us, therefore, as many  
as are perfect, be thus minded."


and superficial thinker. Believe in the Lord Jesus,  
repent from selfishness, cross your own will, and fol- 
low Christ in filial piety to God and love-labor for man,  
and thou shalt be saved.  
ALLOW the author to say, in closing, that it is his  
opinion, that in view of the reasonings and facts pre- 
sented in the preceding pages, every individual, who  
reads the book intelligently, and who is in possession  
of a sound and unprejudiced reason, will come to the  
conclusion, that  the religion of the Bible is from God,  
and divinely adapted to produce the greatest present and  
eternal spiritual good of the human family.  And if any  
one should doubt its divine origin (which, in view of  
its adaptations and its effects as herein developed,  
would involve the absurdity of doubting whether au  
intelligent design had an intelligent designer), still, be  
the origin of the Gospel where it may, in heaven, earth,  
or hell, the demonstration is conclusive, that it is the 
only religion possible for man, in order to perfect his  
nature, and restore his lapsed powers to harmony and  
holiness.


~ The philosophy of the plan 
~ of salvation