adds, "the glory which thou gavest me, I have given them; that they may be one, as we are one. I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know, that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me."

It is undoubtedly in the language made use of by Christ and his apostles, in its plain and obvious meaning, that we are to learn in what manner it becomes us to think and to speak of him, whom we acknowledge as our Lord and Master;-of his nature, his character, his offices, and his relation to God and

to man.

"He was a man," said Peter, "approved of God, by wonders and miracles, which God did by him." He speaks of God as his Father; prays to him, as a · Being upon whom he depends; speaks of being sent into the world by him, in the same manner as he himself sent his disciples; of doing always, not his own will, but the will of the Father who sent him; of receiving and communicating his commands; and that his Father is greater than he.

Is all power in heaven and upon earth in his hands? he declares it given to him of the Father. Is he the Judge of the world? it is because the Father bath committed all judgment to the Son. And this judgment is declared to be committed to him, because he is Son of man. He is constituted the judge of men, because he possesses the same nature, as those, whom he is appointed to judge. A similar reason is on another occasion assigned for the office to which he was appointed. "It behoved him," says

the apostle to the Hebrews, "to be made like unto his brethren." Why?" that he might be a compassionate and faithful high priest;" "that having suffered trial himself, he might be able to succor those who are tried." For without partaking of the same nature, and being subjected to the same trials, he could not have been touched with the feeling of our infirmities, could not have had the sympathy which was necessary to make him a compassionate high priest, and a merciful judge. "It suited the ends," as has been well said, "of divine wisdom, that the judge as well as the saviour of men should himself be man. Are divine honors to be paid to the Son of God? it is because the Father hath commanded, that all men honor the Son, even as they honor the Father."

In the subject of this discourse, and the inquiries into which it leads, it is hardly possible for a reflecting mind not to feel a lively interest. One sincerely desirous of knowing what is his duty, must desire earnestly to know. What are we to think, and how are we to speak on this subject, so as not, on the one hand, to withhold from the Saviour the honors which are due to him, nor, on the other hand, to give to him. the honor and the prerogatives which belong to God only? Against each of these extremes we ought undoubtedly to be equally on our guard.

Now, to think of the Author of our religion as we ought, is certainly to think of him precisely as he is represented by the Evangelists and Apostles. It is to ground our faith and model our opinions upon the plain and intelligible language of the sacred writers;

and to give him the honor that is due to him, is to give him that which the Scriptures clearly teach.

Of the obligations, that we owe to the Saviour, the serious and devout Christian will think that he can hardly entertain too exalted a sense. Of his nature and his person it certainly becomes him to think and to speak with a cautious reserve, and only as the sacred writers have clearly taught; to say neither more nor less, than they have distinctly said; and especially to avoid the use of language to express his ideas, which Christ and his apostles seem to have carefully avoided.

The Scriptures, which should be our guide, speak of the Son of God, and of the holy spirit of God; but they never speak of God the Son, or of God the holy spirit. In proclaiming also the blessings conferred upon us by the ministry of Christ, they speak of his having reconciled men to God; but never that he reconciled God to men. Men are alienated from God and enemies to him by wicked works; but we are never told, that God is alienated from men, or has become their enemy. On the contrary, the greatest manifestation of his love, and favor, and kindness to men, was that of sending his Son into the world, as the messenger of his love, "to reconcile the world to himself," and this he did, while they were yet sinners, and "enemies to him by their wicked works."

In speaking, then, of him, by whose name we are called, let us be contented to use the language, which Peter used, and which was approved by Jesus him

self," the Christ, the Son of the living God." And let us use ourselves to speak rather of the titles by which he is called, of his character, of his actions, and of the relations he sustains, of his example and of the purposes of his mission, about which we know something, than to speculate upon those high questions respecting his nature, about which we can know nothing.

CHAPTER XV.

THE ORIGINAL STATE OF MAN.

No questions are adapted to excite a deeper interest, at least none have a higher claim upon the reflecting mind, than those, which relate to human nature and the human condition. On these great and interesting questions, what does our religion, or rather what do the books containing our religion, teach us? What do they say of man's primitive state, and his condition as he came from the hands of the Creator? and what of the early changes which took place from the loss of original innocence and happiness, and of the train of consequences which followed to the first parents of the race, and to their descendants in all succeeding time?

As to the primitive condition of man, that it was that of innocence and purity, there can be no doubt; and as little can there be, that it is not such now. The wickedness of the world has in all ages and nations been the subject of mournful experience. Neither its prevalence, nor its deplorable effects, can be called in question. But how, under the government of an almighty, wise, and benevolent Being, it was first introduced, when it commenced its fatal reign, and why it was permitted to mar the beauty and impair the happiness and the perfection of his