forth abundantly on the first disciples and heralds of the Saviour, imparting to them all necessary wisdom and knowledge, and the power of working miracles in confirmation of the truths which they preached, and in attestation of their commission from Jesus.

IV. * I believe in the resurrection from the dead; that in like manner as Jesus, the prince of life, rose again to life when he had been dead and buried, so all his followers shall.

V. I believe in the life everlasting; that man is designed for an eternal being, of which this present state is but the beginning; that death is the gate of life, and introduces us to new and more glorious scenes,

is come upon you.-ii. 4. And they were filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues, as the spirit gave

them utterance.

* 1 Cor. xv. 20. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept; for since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection from the dead.-23. But every man in his own order: Christ the first-fruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.

+ John v. 24. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life. Rom. vi. 23. The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

John xvii. 34. I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, may be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me.

2 Tim. ii. 10. That they may obtain the salvation which is in Jesus Christ, with eternal glory.

Heb. ix. 4. There remaineth, therefore, a rest for the people of God.-xii. 24. Ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first-born, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant.

to wider fields of knowledge, to new opportunities of virtue, to fresh springs of love and happiness, to the society of the good, to a renewed communion with those whom we have loved, to a nearer knowledge of God and enjoyment of him, and to a perpetual vision of his glories.

VI. * I believe in the retributory state and the judgment day; that being accountable to God for our thoughts, our words, and actions, we must answer for them at his bar, when we shall receive, according to our deeds-eternal life to such as shall have continued patient in well-doing and have obeyed the truth, but indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, unto every soul that shall have done evil. I believe, according to the Scripture, that the punishment of the wicked shall be full of intolerable and inconceivable anguish, to continue for a period of unknown duration, till it shall have answered the end of all God's painful discipline-shall have purged the soul thoroughly of its impurity, and brought it to partake of a divine nature.

Acts xxvii. 31. He hath appointed a day, on the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

Gal. vi. 7, 8. Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap; for he that soweth to his flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption: but he that soweth to the spirit shall of the spirit reap life everlasting.

Mat. xii. 36. But I say unto you, that every word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof iu the day of judgment.-xiii. 49. The angels shall come forth and sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

VII. * I believe in the paternal character of God, and the forgiveness of sins; that God is in and of himself merciful, and ready to forgive; that he has appointed as the condition of salvation, repentance toward God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ; that of his own free grace, and according to his promises in the Gospel, he will accept and pardon the penitent and reformed sinner, him who shall have turned to him by a new life, by a sanctified heart, by holy affections, by an entire devotion to the Divine Will.

VIII. † I believe in the dignity and unalterable ob

* Mat. xxiii. 9. One is your Father which is in Heaven. Rom. ix. 25. But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things.

Ezek. xviii. 21. Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die, and not that he should return from his ways and live.

Ps. ciii. 13. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.

Mat. vi. 14. Your heavenly Father will forgive your trespasses. 2 Cor. i. 3. God is to us the Father of mercies, and God of all comfort.

1 John iv. 16. God is love.-10. Hereiu is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him.

Isaiah lv. 7. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

Heb. xii. 14. Without holiness no man shall see the Lord. Ezek. xviii. 4. The soul that sinneth, it shall die.

1 Tim. iv. 8. Godliness hath the promise of the life that now

is, and of that which is to come.

Mat. v. 8. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Acts x. 35. In every nation, he that feareth God and worketh

righteousness is accepted of him.

Mat. xiii. 43. The righteous shall shine forth as the Sun in the kingdom of their Father.

ligations of virtue; that it is the first law of heaven; the great object of revelation; the chief duty and greatest glory of man; that nothing will be accepted in substitution thereof; that it secures the best happiness of earth; is the only preparation for death, and our sole earnest of a happy futurity and the favour of God.

SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.

No. II.

[From Sparks' Letters to Wyatt.]

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.-Isaiah ix. 6.

THE prophecy in this passage undoubtedly alludes to the Messiah, and consequently, the titles which it contains are to be applied to him. The only question is, whether the titles, or names, which were adopted by king James's translators, have the same meaning as those which were written by the prophet? This can be ascertained only by a critical examination into the meaning of the original words, aided by a profound knowledge of the language in which they were written, and of the ancient translations. Such an examination has been repeatedly made by the most learned men of different religious sentiments, who have almost unanimously concurred in a result, which proves the rendering of our common version to be more or less defective. Is it dealing fairly, therefore, with those, who have not

the means of information, to represent this text as of undoubted authority in its present literal reading? Should they not at least be told what they are to receive with implicit confidence, and what with caution? Is it justifiable thus to confound truth with error, and to give countenance to popular prejudice, by making the Scriptures speak what their writers never intended?

It is not denied, that commentators have found much difficulty in this text, on account of the ambiguity of some of the Hebrew words; yet they almost universally agree in giving it a meaning different from the one retained in our English version.

The application of the two first titles is sufficiently obvious; and there seems to have been very little difference of opinion about them, except that in the judgment of some critics they ought so to be united, and of others, to be taken separately. But whether they should be read Wonderful and Counsellor, or Wonderful Counsellor, is of little consequence in regard to the general meaning and application of the terms. Our Saviour might justly be called wonderful, in the astonishing works he performed; and a counsellor, or a wonderful counsellor, in the admirable system of religion he has published to the world; in its doctrines, precepts, admonitions, directions, and promises; giving evidence, that he was aided, instructed, and empowered from above.

The next title, THE MIGHTY GOD, is allowed to be a false translation, although there have been various opinions in regard to the exact import of the original. Le Clerc, who was a Trinitarian, and as profound a scholar in biblical learning, perhaps, as any other person, renders the passage thus: "Wonderful, Divine Counsellor, Mighty." Christ was a divine counsellor in having derived all his counsels and precepts from