_Sonnet 1._ The name of WASHINGTON is in the heart of all Americans.
Fifty years ago, that is in 1809, in the first edition of the American
Biographical Dictionary, I devoted nearly 20 pages to a memoir of
Washington. It may be a convenience to the reader of this little book
to have here collected the dates as to the leading events of his
life.――He was born at Bridges Creek, Westmoreland county, Virginia,
Feb. 22, 1732; and died suddenly, after an illness of one day by an
inflammation of the windpipe, Dec. 14, 1799, nearly 68 years old. He
was in early life a major and colonel of the Virginia troops employed
against the French on the Ohio in 1754 and 1755; and was subsequently
commander in chief. About 1758 he married Mrs. Custis, a wealthy widow,
whom he greatly loved. As a planter he had 9,000 acres of land under
his management, and nearly 1,000 slaves in his employment, living
at Mount Vernon, which was the estate of his deceased older brother
Lawrence: his father's name was Augustine: his great grandfather came
from the north of England about 1657.――He was appointed by congress
commander in chief at the commencement of the war in 1775; and at the
close resigned his commission Dec. 1783.
In 1789 he was chosen the first president of the United States for 4
years and then re-chosen, continuing in office till 1797, when he was
succeeded by John Adams. By his last will he directed, that on the
death of Mrs. Washington (who died May 22, 1802,) his slaves should
be emancipated. As the ladies of Virginia, with the aid of ladies of
other States, have purchased Mount Vernon in reverence to the name of
Washington, will they not honor him if they manage it without obtruding
upon it any slave labor?――Gen. Washington was a constant attendant on
public worship in an episcopal church, which he principally supported.
It is believed, that he every day had his hour of retirement for
private devotion.
_Sonnet 2._ In looking from my eastern window a few evenings since
(Dec. 12th,) I was struck with the magnificent appearance of the
heavens,――the moon just rising in full effulgence, preceded a few
degrees by the splendid planet Jupiter, while still higher and more at
the south was the unequalled constellation Orion, with an uncounted
multitude of stars planted thick in the sky. Jupiter is 1400 times
larger than the earth, being 90,000 miles in diameter: he revolves on
his axis in ten hours, so that a body on his surface flies around at
the rate of 27,000 miles per hour, or 27 times faster than a body on
the earth. It has four satellites. Can it be imagined, that this huge
planet is not furnished with rational inhabitants, like this diminutive
earth? And what reason can be assigned why all the planets and all
the stars should not be inhabited by rational beings? Who can fix the
limits to God's creation? As light flies 192,000 miles every second,
who can say, that the light from the most distant star has yet reached
the earth since the star was created? With what reverence and awe, with
what love and trust and spirit of obedience should Almighty God, the
Creator of the universe, be regarded?
_Sonnet 3._ Wm. H. Prescott, the distinguished historian, died at
Boston of the paralysis after a few hours' illness Jan. 28, 1859, aged
62 years. Knowing that he was about to die, it was his remarkable
request, that in his coffin he might lie for a time with his face
uncovered in his library, surrounded by his cherished Books. From his
library he was carried to his grave Jan. 31st. The next evening the
Historical Society of Massachusetts held a meeting in honor of his
memory. Mr. Winthrop, the president, Mr. Ticknor who introduced some
resolutions, and others made speeches on the occasion, which were
published. As a humble associate member of the society I would not
neglect to mention the following apposite and interesting fact, that
_Petrarch_, the inventor of the Italian _sonetto_, was found dead in
his library with his head _resting on a book_. He died of apoplexy July
18, 1374, aged 74.――Milton's memorable words in relation to books ought
never to be forgotten:――"Many a man lives a burden to the earth; but _a
good book_ is the precious life-blood of a master-spirit, imbalmed and
treasured up on purpose to a life beyond life."――But the book of books
is God's Book, which infinitely transcends all others in value, except
as they borrow truth from its pages, for it reveals to man his pathway
to a blessed immortality. Never should the words of Mr. Chillingworth
be forgotten: "The BIBLE, I say, the BIBLE only is the Religion of
Protestants."
_Sonnet 4._ In the city of Paris, ten years ago, I was one of a large
company of hundreds of the Friends of Peace from different nations. We
presented to the Emperor,――then only a President,――an Address against
War. In the present year by his inroad into Italy and conflict with
Austria he has fixed upon his soul the unmeasurable guilt of several
tens of thousands of murders.
_Sonnet 5._ After the existence of one God there is no truth so
astonishing and holding such a power over the human heart, as the death
of the Son of God on the cross for the sins of men. For who was the Son
of God? He was indeed in the form of a man, born of the virgin Mary;
but he came down from heaven to tabernacle in human flesh. Let us raise
our eyes from the earth to the worlds above us, of enormous magnitude
compared with this little globe of ours. Suppose now the glorious sun
is inhabited by a race of intelligent beings as much exalted above
man, as the sun is greater and more resplendent than the earth. If the
highest of the sun's inhabitants had come to this low world and dwelt
in human flesh――it might have been a most amazing event in our eyes;
yet he would not have been the Son of God. Suppose among the countless
worlds of light there is one world vastly transcending all others and
the dwellers on it transcending in their faculties and endowments
all other world-dwellers; and the first among them had come to dwell
in man's form; yet he would not have been the Son of God. We read of
angels and archangels in heaven――in the place of God's more especial
abode. Suppose the brightest archangel had descended to this ball of
earth and animated a human form, and appeared as a man; yet he would
not have been the Son of God. For the Son of God is he, by whom God
created the sun and moon and stars of light, with all the intelligent
dwellers upon them and the dwellers in the heavenly mansions. It was
this Son of God inconceivably exalted and glorious, who came down
from heaven and appeared as the Son of Mary. And not only so; but he
actually was subject to the evils, which man suffers; he could feel
pain, and anguish, and the agonies of the cross,――and did encounter
them,――if the plain language of scripture is no delusion,――in order to
atone for our sins and to achieve the work of our redemption. Now, did
we believe this: did this most sublime and wonderful truth plant itself
in our inmost persuasion,――unalloyed and unweakened or not destroyed in
its influence by any of our speculative theories;――were we deeply and
thoroughly convinced of this great fact;――then who of us could fail to
exclaim,――"God forbid, that I should glory, save in the cross of our
Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me and I unto
the world?"
_Sonnet 10._ John Tyndale, born in 1484, and educated at Oxford.
Determined to translate the Bible for England, as he could not do it
safely in London he fled to the continent. At Cologne he published
the English New Testament about 1525. England was filled with light.
The popish priests sent over a traitor, by whose means Tyndale was
seized and martyred near Antwerp Friday, Oct. 6, 1536, being strangled
at the stake and burnt. His translation of the New Testament was the
foundation of our present one.
_Sonnet 13._ The four following ex-presidents were all living, when
this sonnet was written in March, 1826.――_John Adams_ died July 4,
1826, aged 90; president from 1797 to 1801.――_Thomas Jefferson_ died
on the same day with Mr. Adams, July 4, 1826, aged 83; president from
1801 to 1809. As a member of congress he drew up the declaration of
Independence in 1776.――_James Madison_ died in 1836, aged 85; president
from 1809 to 1817.――_James Monroe_ died July 4, 1831, aged 83;
president from 1817 to 1825.
_Sonnet 16._ In a sonnet Mr. _Wordsworth_ does not lament the
protestant hurricane, which scattered wide
"The trumpery, that ascends in bare display,
Bulls, pardons, relics, cowls, black, white, and grey,
Upwhirl'd――and flying o'er th' ethereal plain
Fast bound for Limbo lake."
_Sonnet 17._ Christ's own clear, ample, minute, most decisive
instruction concerning the Day of Judgment is in Matt. 25th, and ends
with the words, "And these shall go away into everlasting punishment:
but the righteous into life eternal." He also said of the unbeliever,
in John 3d, "he shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on
him:" he also said, Matt. 18, "It is better for thee to enter into life
with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire."
_Sonnet 20._ Shakespeare in a sonnet says,――
"When to the sessions of sweet, silent thought
I summon up remembrance of things past,
I sigh the lack of many a thing I sought,
And with old woes new wail my dear time's waste:
Then can I drown an eye, unus'd to flow,
For precious friends hid in death's dateless night,"
_Sonnet 22._ Ten years ago, in 1849, I had the satisfaction of visiting
the valley of Chamouni in Switzerland at the foot of Mont Blanc, the
highest point in Europe, 15,600 or 15,673 feet or nearly 3 miles in
height above the sea. Here once lived Jacques Balmat, who, having
discovered a way to the top of the mountain, in his gratitude to Dr.
Paccard, the physician of the village, apprized him of his discovery,
and undertook to conduct him to the summit. After two days' toil the
exploit was accomplished Aug. 8, 1786. The next ascent was by De
Saussure, the elder, of Geneva, accompanied by his servant, by Balmat,
and 17 other guides, Aug. 3, 1787. In 1808 Balmat conducted to the top
15 of the people of Chamouni, one of whom was a woman, Maria Parodis.
Ascents were made by men of different countries in 1802, 1812, and
1818. Two Americans accomplished this ascent in 1819, Dr. Wm. Howard
of Baltimore and Dr. Van Rensselaer, with 9 guides. They reached the
top Monday, July 12th. Remaining more than an hour on the summit, they
reached Chamouni in safety after an absence of 53 hours only.――Capt.
Underhill of England made the ascent in the same year. The lives of
three guides were lost in the attempt of Dr. Hamel in 1820. Since then
there were 27 ascents, to the year 1851, when Albert Smith and other
Englishmen went up with 16 guides Aug. 13th.
_Sonnet 23._ The Christian theologian has this ground of controversy,
that the Bible is a revelation from God, which book therefore
contains no error, but is filled with eternal, infallible truth. No
contradiction in doctrine can possibly exist in holy scripture; and
nothing can reconcile the reason, bestowed upon us, with what is
absurd or impossible. If controversialists may gather some expressions,
which seem to conflict with each other, some patience and diligence
of inquiry may be requisite in order to bring them into harmony; a
knowledge of the ancient languages, in which the scriptures were
written, may prove useful, as may also an acquaintance with eastern
customs and manners, and an attention to the circumstances and design
of the utterance which is under consideration.
_Sonnet 24._ In a sonnet _Wordsworth_ speaks of the new churches in
England, in which the Truth of God might be taught:――
"The wished-for Temples rise!
I hear their Sabbath bell's harmonious chime
Float on the breeze――the heavenliest of all sounds
That hill or vale prolongs or multiplies."
_Sonnet 26._ In the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776, the
Thirteen United States said unanimously――"We hold these truths to be
self-evident:――that all men are created equal; that they are endowed
by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
In his last will Washington ordered the emancipation of his slaves; so
also did John Randolph. Patrick Henry declared, that the principle of
slavery is "as repugnant to humanity, as it is inconsistent with the
Bible, and destructive to liberty." Mr. Jefferson said in his Notes
on Virginia, in reference to the holding of slaves, "I tremble for my
country, when I remember, that God is just!" If the leading minds of
the South should adopt the sentiments of these illustrious Virginians,
it will next be their proper business to devise and execute the best
method for giving to their slaves the blessings of freedom.
_Sonnet 27._ Dr. Cotton Mather of Boston, published in Boston 141 years
ago a new Version of the Psalms from the Hebrew into English blank
verse,――so called from the absence of rhyme,――the measure of the lines
being adapted to the music in vogue. Melancthon said of the Psalms,
"It is the most elegant work extant in the world." Jewell wrote to
Peter Martyr in 1560, that 6,000 people sung the Psalms together at St.
Paul's Cross in London. The following is his version of the 23d Psalm:
"1. My shepherd is the Eternal God;
I shall not be in (any) want:
2. In pastures of a tender grass
He (ever) makes me to lie down:
To waters of tranquillities
He gently carries me (along.)
3. My _feeble and my wandering_ soul
He (kindly) does fetch back again;
In the plain paths of righteousness
He does lead (and guide) me along.
Because of the regard He has
(Ever) unto his glorious name.
4. Yea when I shall walk in the vale
Of the dark (dismal) shade of Death,
I'll of no evil be afraid,
Because thou (ever) art with me.
Thy rod and thy staff, these are what
Yield (constant) comfort unto me.
5. A table thou dost furnish out
Richly (for me) before my face.
'Tis in view of mine enemies;
(And then) my head thou dost anoint
With fatt'ning and perfuming oil;
My cup it (ever) overflows.
6. Most certainly the thing that is
Good, with (most kind) benignity,
This all the days, that I do live,
Shall (still and ever) follow me;
Yea I shall dwell and Sabbatize
Even to (unknown) length of days,
_Lodg'd_ in the house which does belong
To him who's the Eternal God."
_Sonnet 29._ As Christians we are under inexpressible obligations to
God for his book of revealed truth, proved to be divine by the voice
of prophecy, by the wonders of miracles, by the sublimity of its
doctrines, and by the approval of conscience. Every man, who can read,
is bound to examine this book for himself; for otherwise his faith will
rest on a human not a divine teacher.――According to Mr. Chillingworth,
what God requires of us is "to believe the Scripture to be God's word,
to endeavor to find the true sense of it, and to live according to it."
He also says――"I see plainly and with mine own eyes, that there are
popes against popes, Councils against Councils, some Fathers against
others, the same Fathers against themselves, a Consent of Fathers of
one age against a Consent of Fathers of another age, the Church of
one age against the Church of another age. Traditive interpretations
of Scripture are pretended, but there are few or none to be found.
No tradition, but only of Scripture, can derive itself from the
fountain."――"Propose me any thing out of this book, and require
whether I believe it or no; and seem it never so incomprehensible to
human reason, I will subscribe it with hand and heart: As knowing no
demonstration can be stronger than this; God hath said so, therefore it
is true." But then we ought to be well assured, that God hath said what
we attribute to him; that we understand the import of the divine word;
and that no prepossession, or prejudice, or passion, or mental bondage
leads us into an inexcusable misapprehension.
_Sonnet 30._ My wife, MARIA MALLEVILLE, who died very suddenly at
Brunswick in Maine June 3, 1828, aged 40 years, was the only daughter
and child of Dr. John Wheelock, the president of Dartmouth College.
She was of Huguenot descent by her mother, Maria Suhm, the daughter of
Christian Suhm, the Danish commandant and governor of the island of
St. Thomas: he died in 1759, aged 40, being a native of Copenhagen.
Mrs. Suhm's descent was from Thomas Bourdeau of the south or west of
France, a protestant martyr after the revocation of the edict of Nantes
in 1685, as follows. He sent his only daughter Maria at the age of
ten years for safety to the island of St. Thomas. In the same vessel
was a protestant emigrant from the same place, Mr. La Salle, whom she
at the age of 15 married. Their daughter Maria La Salle married John
Malleville of St. Thomas: their daughter, Maria Malleville, married in
1751 governor Suhm, who after his death was succeeded by her brother,
Gov. Thomas Malleville. Her second marriage was to Lucas Von Beverhoudt
of Beverwyck in Parsippany, New Jersey, where she was accustomed to
receive Washington at her house. Their daughter, Adriana, married T.
Boudinot, the descendant of another Huguenot family from France.――She
died in 1798. Her daughter, Maria Suhm, married, as has been mentioned,
president Wheelock.――My wife, whom I married Jan. 28, 1813, was the
mother of 8 children.
_Sonnet 32._ About 50 years ago, when the neighborhood of Sackett's
Harbor was a wilderness, a little child of one of the new settlers aged
4 years was lost in the woods. The father's house was 6 miles from the
Harbor. All possible aid in the search was of course called together
under the regulation and with the success described in this sonnet.
_Sonnet 35._ As Spenser says of the Lamb;――
"His sceptre is the rod of righteousness,
With which he bruiseth all his foes to dust,
And the great Dragon strongly doth repress
Under the rigor of his judgment just;
His seat is Truth, to which the faithful trust,
From whence proceed her beams so pure and bright,
That all about him sheddeth glorious light."
_Sonnet 36._ Dr. John Codman died at Dorchester, where he was long
the pastor of a church, Dec. 23, 1847, aged 65. Graduating at Harvard
college in 1802, he pursued his theological studies in Edinburgh from
1805 to 1808, in which year he was ordained. His subsequent life was
devoted to the faithful preaching of the gospel. Among his last words
he said,――"I am willing to be in God's hands." His Memoirs and Sermons
were published in 1853.
_Sonnet 37._ The grave-yard of Northampton, laid out in 1661, is one
of peculiar beauty and rich in the deposit of the dead disciples of
Christ; among whom were my own ancestors of several generations. Four
of the earlier and eminent ministers sleep here; Eleazer Mather,
who died in 1669, aged 32; Solomon Stoddard, died 1729, aged 85;
John Hooker, died 1777, aged 48; Solomon Williams, died 1834, aged
82. Another tenant of this grave-yard is Rev. David Brainerd, the
missionary, who died Oct. 9, 1747, aged 29.――In this year, 1859, some
unknown person has erected a handsome marble monument to Rev. E.
Mather, who died 190 years ago.
_Sonnet 39._ Spenser in his Hymn on heavenly beauty says;――
"For far above these heav'ns, which here we see,
Be others far exceeding these in light,
Not bounded, not corrupt, as these same be,
But infiniteness in largeness and in height,
Unmoving, uncorrupt, and spotless bright,
That need no sun t' illuminate their spheres,
But their own native light far passing theirs."
_Sonnet 40._ The record of the first minister of a flourishing American
town and a brave patriot of the revolution is a matter of interest.
Thomas Allen was born in Northampton and was a descendant of Samuel,
one of the first settlers, whose father――dying at Windsor in 1648――is
supposed to have come over from the west of England with the Dorchester
people in the ship Mary and John in 1630.――His grandfather, named also
Samuel, was an unswerving friend of Jonathan Edwards and a deacon
in his church. Mr. Allen graduated at Harvard college in 1762 in a
distinguished class, among whose members were Gov. Gerry, Judge F.
Dana, and Drs. Eliot and Belknap. He was ordained at Pittsfield in
Berkshire county, Mass., April 18, 1764, and here passed the remainder
of his life; he died after a ministry of 45 years Feb. 11, 1810, aged
67 years: I was ordained his successor Oct. 10, 1810.――He was not
only a faithful and eloquent minister; but a patriot, and a chaplain
in the army, and on one occasion he played the part of a soldier. He
marched Aug. 15, 1777 with a company of his own people in a three days'
campaign to Bennington to check the advance of Burgoyne:――the next
day he shared in the assault and the victory;――and the third day he
returned home to preach the gospel to his rejoicing people Aug. 18th.
His trophies often delighted my eyes in subsequent years,――two large,
square, white flint-glass bottles, which he captured with a Hessian
surgeon's horse, and gave the wine to the wounded.
His wife was Elizabeth, the daughter of Rev. Jonathan Lee, the first
minister of Salisbury, Conn.; she was descended from Gov. Bradford of
Plymouth; she died in 1830, aged 82. Of their 12 children the writer
of this is the only survivor.――On the death of his eldest daughter,
Mrs. White in London, he went to England in 1799 in order to bring his
little grand-child to his house: in London he became acquainted with
the eminent ministers Newton, Haweis, Rowland Hill, and Bogue, and
from them caught a pious zeal for the promotion of foreign missions.
He published sermons on the death of his daughter, E. White, 1798; of
Moses Allen, 1801; of his son Thomas, 1806; Massachusetts election
sermon, 1808.
_Sonnet 41._ The sublime passage of scripture, which is here versified,
may admonish us, that we are travelling rapidly to the end of time in
respect to its being our period of probation for eternity. It is the
solemn voice of the Gospel,――"Behold, now is the accepted time! Behold,
now is the day of salvation!"
_Sonnet 42._ Paul teaches us, that "the wrath of God is revealed
from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men," and
that "the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are
clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his
eternal power and Godhead." All men therefore, whose "foolish heart is
darkened," are "without excuse."
_Sonnet 43._ In the words of Spenser,――
"Ah! wretched World! the den of wickedness,
Deform'd with filth and foul iniquity;
Ah! wretched World! the house of heaviness,
Fill'd with the wrecks of mortal misery;
Ah! wretched World! and all that is therein,
The vassals of God's wrath and slaves of sin."
_Sonnet 44._ My eldest daughter, Maria Malleville Allen, died Jan. 30,
1833, aged 17. Through God's great goodness this is the only instance
of death, which has occurred among my children; and through his grace
and infinite mercy she died in the hope of immortal life in heaven
through the mediation of her Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. What
greater blessing can I supplicate for all my descendants, than that God
will give them at the hour of their death her Christian faith and hope?
_Sonnet 47._ On a church-yard Mr. Wordsworth has the following lines:――
"Encincture small,
But infinite its grasp of joy and woe!
Hopes, fears, in never-ending ebb and flow――
The spousal trembling――and the "dust to dust"――
The prayers――the contrite struggle――and the trust,
That to the Almighty Father looks through all!"
_Sonnet 49._ Even Beattie addresses Nature as follows;――
"O Nature, how in every charm supreme!
Whose votaries feast on raptures ever new!
O for the voice and fire of seraphim
To sing thy glories with devotion due!"
_Sonnet 50._ As it is a year since this sonnet was written, my present
very ill state of health teaches me and may teach others, that a
recovery from illness, though most gratefully to be acknowledged, may
be a transient blessing. While I was sick, others have fallen around
me. Living or dying, it is my prayer, that I may acquiesce in God's
will, and that I may participate with all penitent believers in the
salvation purchased by the blood of his Son.
_Sonnet 51._ One all-important method of God's communicating good to
man is described by Milton;
"God hath now sent his living oracle
Into the world to teach his final will,
And sends his Spirit of Truth henceforth to dwell
In pious hearts an inward oracle
To all truth requisite for men to know."
_Sonnet 52._ Our class, which graduated at Harvard college in 1802, was
larger than any previous class,――consisting of 60 members, an unusual
number of whom became men of distinction, and one quarter part of whom
after 57 years are still living. To my esteemed surviving Brothers
I bid farewell, wishing them faith in the Son of God, who is "the
resurrection and the life."
_Sonnet 53._ From a Sonnet by Montgomery, on Nature praising God:
"The fountain purling, and the river strong,
The rocks, the trees, the mountains raise one song;
"Glory to God!" re-echoes in mine ear:――
Faithless were I, in willful error blind,
Did I not Him in all his creatures find,
His voice through heav'n, and earth, and ocean hear."
_Sonnet 56._ The Compact, entered into by the Pilgrims, was signed on
board the Mayflower Nov. 11, 1620; on which day they anchored in Cape
Cod harbor. More than a month afterwards they landed at Plymouth. They
had in view "the glory of God and the advancement of the christian
faith." Forty-one men signed the paper, forming themselves into "a
civil body-politic," in order to enact, constitute, and frame "just and
equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices."
_Sonnet 57._ When Jesus said, John 10, "I and my Father are one,"
the Jews accused him of blasphemy, for making himself "God." He
replied, "If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and
the scripture cannot be broken; say ye of him whom the Father hath
sanctified and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest, because I said, I
am the Son of God?"
_Sonnet 58._ In the providence of God I am the oldest living member in
Massachusetts of the American Board for Foreign Missions, which was
established by a vote of its General Association in 1810, the year of
my settlement in the ministry. Multitudes of missionaries have died;
and the missionaries living, scattered over the world, are 170 with 230
assistants: native laborers are 500, of whom 222 are preachers: in all
900. The churches 153, and members 23,500; free schools 313.
_Sonnet 59._ Milton, in a sonnet, speaks of submission to God in his
blindness, when of three years' continuance:――
"Yet I argue not
Against Heav'n's hand or will, nor bate a jot
Of heart or hope; but still bear up and steer
Right onward."
_Sonnet 62._ Mr. Robinson, born in England in 1585 and educated at
Cambridge, becoming a protestant minister, was driven by persecution
with his people into Holland. His church at Leyden consisted of 300
communicants. He zealously promoted the emigration under elder Brewster
to Plymouth in 1620, intending to follow; but he died in 1625. It was
his memorable remark――"I am very confident the Lord has more truth yet
to break forth out of his holy word."
_Sonnet 64._ When Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life,"
he announced to us the infinite value of truth as the path-way to
immortal life. Truth is immutable and eternal; it is most pure and
purifying, the source of joy and the foundation of hope; and the denial
of truth is more or less perilous and implies more or less of guilt.
All falsehood is injurious. As the Bible reveals to us divine truth,
how can we doubt, whether we are bound to study it with our own eyes?
For otherwise we must accept for the teachings of the holy word the
faith of some one of the authors of a hundred different creeds; and we
may perchance have for our great teacher and master some bewildered
lunatic, or some hungry impostor, or some proud and boastful promoter
of the purposes of the father of lies.
The catholic may use the term _mystery_ as a cover for absurdity and
contempt of reason, or in support of a contradiction, and as an excuse
for idolatry; but surely God's Bible contains nothing but truth, and
that revealed in a manner adapted to the human understanding. But
what says archbishop Fenelon in defending transubstantiation or the
imagined change of the bread in the sacrament into the body of Christ?
He says of the doctrine――"in believing its mysteries one immolates
his ideas [or sacrifices his common sense] out of respect to eternal
truth." Thus his blunder, his misunderstanding of Christ's words, "this
is my body," he represents as "eternal truth." So Bourdaloue says――"I
make to God a sacrifice of the most noble part of myself, which is my
reason:" and he professes to believe a mystery "although it seems to be
directly repugnant to my reason;"――or one "which shocks reason itself
and contradicts all its lights," referring to the received doctrine
concerning God's nature. Massillon thinks it is "necessary to believe
certain apparent contradictions:" he says, "it is faith and not reason,
which makes us Christians." All this in my view is a pernicious error:
for _reason_ is the intellectual power, which discerns truth. God
himself is perfect reason, pure intellect, infinite understanding.
To him the universe is all light. But our reason is restricted: man
may grow in knowledge forever; yet he never will know an absurdity or
contradiction to be true. To us one great source of truth is God's
testimony or revelation. _Faith_ is the belief of God's testimony. As
to the word _mystery_, the common meaning of it in scripture, is not
something unintelligible, but a _doctrine, once hidden or secret, which
is now revealed and intelligible_. Thus in teaching the resurrection
Paul says, "Behold, I _shew_ you a mystery; we shall not all sleep,"
&c. 1 Cor. 15:51. See also Rom. 16:25.
It is clear beyond a question, that there cannot be two contradictory
truths; for truth is one; it is but an expression of the reality of
things. But some metaphysicians have lent their aid to the catholic
theologians by asserting that, there are contradictory truths in
philosophy; but the instances adduced are all fallacious, as Achilles
walking 20 times as fast as the turtle, but never able to overtake him.
A lately deceased philosopher of Scotland, Sir W. Hamilton, seems
to concur in the catholic notion of the contradiction of faith and
reason. He lays down a certain new, strange, unproved, incredible
principle, called "the law of the conditioned," that "the conceivable
always lies between two contradictory extremes;" and then concludes
as "the one true and only orthodox inference" that we must believe
in the infinity of God, which by us cannot be comprehended or
conceived. "Faith,――Belief,――is the organ, by which we apprehend
what is beyond our knowledge." But how can this be correct? When we
exercise _faith_ in God's testimony,――when we exercise _belief_ in
his word,――when we receive the very truth, which he presents to our
understanding or reason and brings to our knowledge,――do we not _know_
it? Do we thus apprehend any thing "beyond our knowledge?" When Christ
prayed――"sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth;"――did he
not refer to truth _known_? What God reveals must be revealed to our
belief, to our reason. Although we pretend not to comprehend perfectly
the attributes and ways of the infinite God; yet what he has disclosed
we may know; and we may know the meaning of right and wrong, of truth
and falsehood, of faith and unbelief, of reason and contradiction or
absurdity. It cannot then be a right inference――if the author had such
a meaning――that any doctrine concerning the nature of God may be true,
although not _conceivable_, because God is _infinite_.
God's scheme of mercy towards sinful man is accomplished by the
wide-spread power and triumphs of Truth. But what are the Truths,
that bear intimately on human welfare? Surely it is not a matter of
indifference what is received for truth; men are not safe, because
they think they are so. No bigoted despotism; no boasted liberalism;
no banded relationships of interest or honor; no infidel companionship
or self-applauses can convert error into truth or render it harmless.
Whatever monstrous or astounding notions, whatever wild, fanatical,
profligate, misleading doctrine may be sent forth, no glozing words can
render it otherwise, than that error and falsehood are God's abhorrence
and a delusion of the devil.
As I have in other notes dwelt upon the character and offices of the
Son of God, the Mediator and Redeemer, I desire now to advert to the
all-important divine teaching concerning God's Spirit, grace, and power
in renewing and sanctifying the depraved and lost soul of man. "God
hath mercy on whom he will have mercy." Rom. 9th. Christ taught, John
3d, the necessity of being "born of the Spirit" in order to salvation.
John the Baptist predicted of Christ, that he should baptize men "with
the Holy Spirit;" and thus his coming was signalized by "the Spirit
like a dove descending upon him," and God's voice from heaven said,
"Thou art my beloved Son." All the powers therefore, prophetical,
miraculous, renovating, and sanctifying, implied in the full endowment
of the Holy Spirit, were possessed by Christ.
The primitive meaning of the word Spirit is air or breath. Some of its
meanings in scripture are wind; the living soul in man and animals;
the mind, or man's intelligent part and also its various faculties and
powers; an intelligent spirit, simple, superior to man's, not allied
to matter; it is applied to angels good and evil; and also to God,
as we read, "God is a spirit." It means also the divine power, given
to Christ, by which he wrought miracles and fulfilled God's purposes
on the earth, as Matt. 12:28, "if I cast out devils by the spirit of
God," compared with Luke 11:20, "if I with the finger of God cast out
devils." In the same sense is "holy spirit," with which Jesus was
filled used, Luke 4:1.――"The holy spirit" and "spirit" alone relating
to the same matter are found in Mark 12:36, and Matt. 22:43: "doth
David _in spirit_ call him Lord;" that is, David was under divine
_inspiration_ is the one meaning of the two expressions.
In our inquiry concerning the import of the phrase, "the holy spirit,"
in scripture it may be of some consequence to bear in mind, that there
is one peculiarity in our English Bible, which distinguishes it from
other modern European translations; that while the Greek testament
has but one word for Spirit, which is translated by one word,――in
German by Geist, in Dutch by Geest, in French by Esprit,――the same is
rendered by our translators into English by two words at their option,
namely, _Spirit_ and _Ghost_. And in what cases did they choose the
latter word? It would seem that they translated by Holy Ghost and not
by holy spirit whenever they supposed the phrase had reference to
an intelligent, divine Being and not to a gift, endowment, or power
received from God. Thus it is, that the phrase has got an established
meaning; which shows indeed the judgment of our old translators 250
years ago, but proves nothing as to the true meaning. It might then
be well, if the old word Ghost were laid aside. Indeed they have not
chosen to say, Gala. 4:6, "the Ghost of his Son," nor in v. 27, "born
after the Ghost," but have used the word "Spirit." If one should take
up his New Testament and read in English in Matthew's first chapter
concerning Mary,――"she was found with child of the _Holy Ghost_," and
then again, "that which is conceived of her is of the _Holy Ghost_,"
he would be likely to attach a meaning to the scripture, which he
reads, different from the truth. For as the Testament was written in
Greek, we may learn from that language, the translation should not
have been "the Holy Ghost," and not even "_the_ Holy Spirit," but "_a_
holy spirit," for here the word for spirit has no article before it in
the Greek, as would be requisite if "_the_ Spirit" were meant; and the
meaning is, as learned critics have showed, simply, "a divine energy
or power." Just so in Mark 1:8 and Luke 1:35, the same Greek phrase
has no article; and the apostles do not allude to a great personage
or supposed well known, mighty Being, called "_the_ Holy Ghost," but
refer only to God's miraculous power in respect to the birth of Christ.
The verse in Luke 1, proves this――"a holy spirit shall come upon thee
and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee,"――both phrases
referring to the same energy of almighty God.
The English translators, although they have employed the phrase, "the
Holy Ghost" about 90 times in scripture, have not once in the Old
Testament, although they have three times there used "the holy spirit"
relating to God's gift, or endowment, or power bestowed: Ps. 51:1.
Isa. 63:10, 11. The same phrase, meaning God's gift to believers, is
in the New Testament: Luke 11:13. Eph. 1:13-4:30. 1st Thess. 4:8. God
gave "his spirit without measure" to Christ; John 3:34; and he also
gave "the spirit of his Son," "the holy spirit," to believers: Gal.
4:6. The "gifts of the Holy Ghost," in Heb. 2:4, should have been,
"distributions of _a_ holy spirit or divine power;" for the phrase has
no article in the Greek, so that the verse might properly read, "God
bearing them witness both with signs, and wonders, and with divers
miracles, and distributions of a divine power." In like manner there
is no article in Acts 11:16, and 24, and other passages, translated
"the Holy Ghost." The meaning is plain, v. 24, "a good man, and full
of a divine power and of faith,"――Yet for the purpose of emphasis the
article is often used.
The importance of the doctrine concerning the spirit or the holy spirit
in the gospel scheme, importing God's holy influence on the soul, is
evident by the injunction of Christ as to baptism in the faith of it:
"teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, &c."
Matt. 28:19, does not indeed present a form of words to be used,
nor does it relate to the authority, by which baptism is to be
administered, for the Greek preposition is not _en_, "_in_ the name,"
but _eis_, _into_; which is the same as "to baptize _into_ Christ,"
Rom. 6:3, i.e. into a profession of faith in Christ, as taught by
bishop Pearce. That he had himself all authority was first asserted by
Christ; then he enjoined baptism under a profession of belief in the
three great points of his teaching,――as to the one God of Israel,――as
to himself, God's Son from heaven,――and as to the Spirit, which "God
gave to him without measure,"――giving it also to his disciples,――making
him indeed the great teacher and Savior of the world. He finally
commanded his apostles, not only thus to baptize, but also to teach
all nations to observe whatever he had enjoined. A passage of similar
import is at the close of II Corinth., where Paul wishes his brethren
may experience the grace of Christ, and the love of God, and might
have a common participation of the holy spirit, of the miraculous and
sanctifying divine power.
It is worthy of remark, that while Paul begins each of his Epistles,
written to brethren of very different nations on the earth, with
asserting, that his authority as an apostle was derived from God and
from his Son, or with wishing his brethren grace, mercy and peace from
God the Father, and from his Son, by whom he created, and governs, and
will judge the world; yet he never in this manner connects "the holy
spirit" with the name of God and of his Son our Lord Jesus Christ: no
prayer is thus addressed to a holy spirit or to the holy spirit, or
Holy Ghost, although we find the translation "the Holy Ghost," nearly
100 times. This is called a gift of God, and God is prayed to for it;
and it is declared, that God anointed Jesus with the holy spirit, that
is, with the wonderful powers expressed by the phrase. A multitude
of passages speak of the Spirit as a divine power and a divine gift:
the following are some of the expressions used――"the Spirit of your
Father;"――"the Spirit of God;"――"God hath sent forth the Spirit of his
Son into your hearts;"――"how much more shall your heavenly Father give
the Holy Spirit to them that ask him;"――"he shall give you another
Comforter, that he may abide with you forever;"――"renewing of the Holy
Ghost (or of a holy spirit or the divine power) which he shed on us
abundantly;"――"how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost
and with power;"――"upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending
and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy
Ghost: John 1:33." Therefore one plain meaning of the holy spirit is
a miraculous and wonderful power, communicated by God from heaven
to Jesus Christ when he appeared on the earth in the form of a man,
designating him to be the promised Messiah.
Concerning the Holy Spirit the creed of the ancient Council of Nice,
A. D. 325, says nothing except "we believe in the Holy Spirit." Of
Christ it declares, that he was "the Son of God, the only begotten
of the Father, God of God,――begotten, not made, &c." Soon after that
council a learned father, _Eunomius_, who was made bishop of Cyzicum
A. D. 360, advanced the doctrine, that after God had created his Son
before the universe was formed, giving him divine dignity and creative
power, he next created the Holy Spirit, the first and greatest of all
spirits, by his own power indeed but by the immediate agency also
of his Son, giving him power to sanctify and teach. Afterwards he
created all things in heaven and earth. More modern creeds, which adopt
much the same faith with Eunomius, use the word "proceed" instead of
"create," as the New England Confession of Faith of 1680, which says,
"the Holy Ghost eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son." But
Milton, in his learned Treatise on the Christian doctrine, has shewn
that "proceedeth" in John 15:26, relates to the mission,――the sending
from God to the earth, not to the nature, of the Spirit: yet his own
faith was, that "the Holy Spirit, inasmuch as he is a minister of God,
and therefore a creature, was created or produced of the substance of
God, not by a natural necessity, but by the free will of the agent,
probably before the foundations of the world were laid, but later than
the Son, and far inferior to him." Dr. Samuel Clarke of England has
taught the same doctrine.――But the reader is requested to form his
opinion on the chief subject of this note, not from any human creed or
learned man's teaching, but from his own study of the Bible with his
own endowment of reason. The practical application of the doctrine of
the Holy Spirit has claims to our earnest attention.
In the judgment of Dr. Cotton Mather it is through the Spirit of God,
that Christians find such affections as the following working in their
minds:――a flaming love towards God and men; a lively faith in God and
in the Savior, the Mediator; a longing desire and hope of spiritual
blessings; a mighty hatred of sin; a bitter sorrow for sin and its
miseries; a noble courage; a total despair of help in creatures; a fear
of the judgments of wickedness; a triumphant joy in God and in his
Christ; a rapturous admiration of the Maker and Ruler of the world and
of his glories. "All true piety," he says, "is begun by the enkindling
of these affections in the soul:" and the Spirit, enkindling them,
should be sought from God in the constancy of prayer.
_Sonnet 68._ The monument to the pilgrim forefathers, whose corner
was laid Aug. 2d, is designed to consist of a pedestal 80 feet high,
supporting a colossal female figure of Faith; her feet rest on Plymouth
rock, her left hand is to hold an open Bible, and her right points to
heaven. On the pedestal are to be Morality, Education, Law, and Liberty.
_Sonnet 72._ Since this sonnet has passed through the press, I have
been glad to read a description of Donati's comet and to see a
telescopic view of it in the Family Christian Almanac for 1860. The
comet is named after Donati, the discoverer, who first saw it at
Florence, June 2, 1858. It was seen several months in great splendor
in our country until about Oct. 20th, when it disappeared. When first
observed, it was 200 millions of miles distant from the sun. Its curved
train extended 60 degrees or 51 millions of miles. When nearest the
earth it was 52 millions of miles distant, moving at the rate of 123
thousand miles an hour. Its greatest distance from the sun is supposed
to be 143 thousand millions of miles; and astronomers have calculated
its period of revolution at nearly 2,000 years, so that its last
previous visit to the earth was before the Christian era. Yet from the
extreme point of its journey to the nearest fixed star who can measure
the distance? Who will not say, "Great and marvellous are thy works,
Lord God Almighty?"
It is worthy of remark, that in respect to the inhabitants of the
various worlds, with which our skies are filled, the revealed word
of God, communicated to man upon the earth, gives us no information.
If beyond a doubt the sun, the moon, the stars, and the comets are
inhabited by intelligent beings; yet of what rank and in what condition
we know nothing. But as we are taught, that there is a world of "fire,"
prepared "for the devil and his angels," it may be that comets are the
destined abodes of the wicked and lost.
_Sonnet 73._ It is a false and pernicious charity, of which some men
boast, that for no crime would they touch the life of man. But God is
smiting every day the life of guilty man by a thousand diseases; and
in his revealed word he has commanded, that the murderer shall be put
to death in the administration of public law. In this way not only the
divine justice but the divine wisdom is manifested by this protecting
shield of terror spread over man's life.
_Sonnet 77._ The name of John Hooper will ever be held in the
highest honor in England. Born in 1495, and educated at Oxford, he
was appointed bishop of Gloucester; but was a martyr to the truth
under the popish reign of queen Mary in 1555 at the age of 60. With
most wonderful fortitude he endured the flames at the stake for
three-quarters of an hour.
_Sonnet 78._ To an old man the recollection of a youthful brother
preacher in the far-back period of fifty or more years, who still
preaches the gospel, is replete with interest. It is attended with the
memory of men, who at that period were the fathers in the ministry,――as
Rogers, Livingston, Mason, and Miller of New York; Dwight of New Haven;
and S. Spring, Morse, Eckley, and Griffin of Massachusetts.
_Sonnet 80._ The leading truth of the gospel, dear to my heart since I
first began to preach it 56 years ago, is that Jesus Christ was the Son
of God, by whom God made the worlds, and who came down from heaven and
in human flesh was himself the sufferer on the cross for the sins of
men. I use language as men of reason should use it. I dare not, on the
peril of my soul, explain it away by saying, that the Son of God from
heaven united himself to another spirit or intelligent being, which
latter spirit or mind bore the suffering, ascribed to the Son from
heaven. That Christ had two spirits is the teaching of human theory but
not of divine scripture.
Every man is conscious, that he is one,――one existence, one intelligent
being, one human being, or an intellect or mind now dwelling in a human
body; and he acknowledges every other man to be a similar being. He
also regards every angel, that comes to his knowledge by revelation,
as one being. God, the Creator of the universe, we view necessarily as
one being. The idea of a duplicate intellectual being is beyond our
thought; it is inconceivable, an absurdity, a contradiction. Jesus
Christ then was either man or the one Son of God in the form of a man.
That there is "one God and one Mediator between God and men, the man
Christ Jesus" is Paul's teaching. The reason of calling Christ _man_
is, that "God sent his son in the _likeness_ of sinful flesh," Rom.
8:3. The Son's intelligent spirit was enough to be the tenant of one
human body without a co-tenancy with a human spirit, and enough to
suffer for the sins of the world.
When Paul speaks of Christ as being once "in the form of God," he did
not mean, that he was God himself, in whose form or likeness he was,
Phil. 2:6. Then in the next verses, by his being "in the form of a
servant," "in the likeness of men," "in fashion as a man," he could not
mean, that Christ was a real, perfect man. But did he first live in
heaven, and thence come to the earth to tabernacle in human flesh and
to offer himself as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the race of
men?
In the first chapter of John's gospel we are taught, that Christ or the
Son of God, called the Word, existed in the beginning with God and that
all things were made by him. At the very commencement of all created
existences in the universe, he existed with God, and by him all created
things in the universe were created. Here then was a high and glorious
dignity in heaven, the Son of God, before he dwelt in human flesh.
In the third chapter of John we read, that Christ said to
Nicodemus,――"If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not;
how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? And no man
hath ascended up to heaven, but he, that came down from heaven, even
the Son of Man, which is in heaven." The express contrast of the
words――"ascended up to heaven, came down from heaven," seems to fix
the meaning beyond any possible doubt.――In the 6th chapter of John
Christ said, as we read, "I came down from heaven, not to do mine
own will, but the will of him, that sent me."――"Moses gave you not
that bread from heaven, but my Father giveth you the true bread from
heaven. For the bread of God is he, which cometh from heaven, and
giveth life unto the world." When the Jews murmured at his discourse,
because he said, "I am the bread, which came down from heaven," Jesus
repeated his plain teaching――"I am the living bread, which came down
from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever:
and the bread, that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for
the life of the world." That is, he who came down from God in heaven
would give his flesh, his human body to the agonies of crucifixion for
the salvation of men. Many of his disciples said, "this is an hard
saying: who can hear it?" What was the reply of Christ? It was this:
"does this offend you? What and if ye shall see the Son of Man ascend
up where he was before?" In the 16th chapter of John we read Christ's
words――"The Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and
have believed, that I came out from God. I came forth from the Father
and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the
Father." Here again the contrast of expressions shows the meaning of
the phrase, "I am come into the world." I will adduce only one other
passage:――In Ephesians 4th we read――"Now that he ascended, what is it
but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?"
"He that descended is the same also, that ascended up far above all
heavens, that he might fill all things." I think it thus most clearly
and amply established in scripture, that the Lamb of God came down to
the earth from the presence of God and laying aside his high dignity
dwelt in a human body, as a man dwells in a body, and died in agony on
the cross. There may be various high inquiries, which may here spring
up. But surely no theory can be true, which contradicts and overthrows
the divine teaching. No scheme of theology can be true, which denies,
that he, who came down from heaven, could die and did die as a lamb of
sacrifice to God for the sins of the world,――for this is a denial of
the great doctrine of the atonement, and thus withers up all the hopes
of sinful men. Who can prove, that God could not have a Son derived
from Him before time began, by whom he created the universe, and who in
his most amazing love to us abased himself to man's condition and died
in our stead on this little globe of his own creation? If we find in
the Bible any plain, intelligible teaching of God, will it do to set
up our reason against the teaching of Him, who is infinite reason and
infinite wisdom?
If any truth is plain in the Bible, is it not that Jesus Christ, the
Son of God, in human flesh or in fashion as a man by his sufferings
on the cross _made_ atonement for the sins of the world? Paul says,
Rom. 5:11;――"We joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we
have received the atonement; and that God hath translated us into the
kingdom of his dear Son, in whom we have redemption through his blood,
even the forgiveness of sins: who is the image of the invisible God:"
Coloss. 1:13.――Peter says, that his brethren were "redeemed with the
precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without
spot." Other expressions are these, Christ "after he had offered one
sacrifice for sins forever, [that is, for perpetuity,] sat down on
the right hand of God:" Heb. 10:12, "Whom God hath set forth to be a
propitiation through faith in his blood:" Rom. 3:25, "Unto him, that
loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood:" Rev. 1:5.――That
the Son of God, who came down from heaven, was himself a sufferer and
sacrifice on the cross for our sins is every where taught in scripture.
Without believing this how can we regard Christ as a Redeemer and
Savior?
_Sonnet 81._ In order that revealed truths may beam upon the mind
of man and produce their proper effect it is necessary, that God's
revelation be understood and not misapprehended. If two men attach a
different and contradictory meaning to the same passage of scripture,
one of them is in error and fault; and if the error relates to the
character of God and to some very important doctrine, it may be
perilous.
For instance, two of our theologians have taught a contradictory
doctrine, drawn as they thought from scripture, as follows; Jonathan
Edwards maintained, that sin was "not the fruit of any positive agency
or influence of the Most High;"――"it would be a reproach and blasphemy
to suppose God to be the author of sin" in the sense of the agent,
actor, or doer of a wicked thing. But Dr. Emmons maintained, that God
"produced all the free, voluntary, moral exercises" of man; that God
"creates evil when and where the good of the universe requires;" that
"Satan placed certain motives before man's mind, which by a certain
divine energy took hold of his heart and led him into sin." This
teaching seems blasphemous, and contradictory to all notions of free,
voluntary agency, as well as to the tenor of scripture. He relies for
scripture proof on Exodus 4:21, where God says in respect to Pharaoh,
"I will harden his heart." But this, rightly understood, is only a
prediction of a certain event, that Pharaoh would harden his own heart
as it is declared he did in ch. 9:34. So in respect to other quoted
passages, it might be shown, that they were misunderstood and perverted
from their proper meaning. We all know by common sense, by reason, and
conscience, that we are free agents; therefore justly accountable to a
holy, sin-hating God. But if God made, created, produced all our wicked
volitions and acts; how can we regard him as just in punishing us for
the very acts, which he produced? And what can such passages as James
1:13, mean, "God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any
man?"
_Sonnet 82._ The following seem to be clear and prominent points of
instruction in the divine Word.
1. There is ONE GOD, eternal, infinite, all-wise, perfect in goodness,
the creator of the universe. Hence all the gods and idols of the
heathen are vanity and a lie.――"There is one God the Father of all, who
is above all, and through all, and in you all." Ephes. 2:5.――"The Lord
our God is one Lord."――"God is one."――"One God and one Mediator." Mark
12:29. Galatians 3:20. I Tim. 2:5. Thus throughout the whole scripture
the unity of God is asserted or implied. The name of God occurs 500
or 600 times in the Bible. "God is one;" one conscious, intelligent
being and voluntary agent. No man in the exercise of his reason has any
doubts as to his own oneness, or as to the oneness of any brother man
or of any angel, of whom he may think or speak. If I am conscious, that
I am a single intellectual being, and necessarily regard every other
man as such; then it cannot enter my thoughts, that the one God is a
compound being.
2. God has a SON in heaven, by whom he made the worlds, and whom he
sent from heaven to earth, to tabernacle for a while in human flesh,
voluntarily abased in his powers to the condition of a man, to be a
Mediator and Savior. In John, chapter 1, Jesus Christ is called "the
Son of God," "the only-begotten of the Father," "the Lamb of God," who
was "in the beginning with God," and "by whom all things were made."
3. That the Son of God is a being distinct from God is most obvious
from the whole New Testament. In Phil. I, Paul prays for grace and
peace "from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ." He adds, "I
thank my God upon every remembrance of you." So throughout his epistle
God and Jesus Christ are most plainly distinct beings. He says, that
Christ condescended to come in fashion "as a man," on which account God
highly exalted him: here are two beings: and Christ will be extolled
at last to "the glory of God the Father."――He "worshipped God in the
spirit and rejoiced in Christ Jesus."――Here are again two beings. Near
the close of the epistle he says――"my God shall supply all your need
according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." How strange to Paul
must have been the doctrine, that Christ was one of several beings
making up one God?
But the same distinction is clearly and fully set forth by Paul in
all his other epistles as well as in that to the Philippians. He
begins most of them with a prayer like that in the epistle to the
Romans,――"Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ." Then he "thanks God through Jesus Christ for them all;"
the God, whom he serves "in the gospel of his Son." Read also,――"the
righteousness of God by faith of Jesus Christ;"――"we have peace with
God through our Lord Jesus Christ;"――"we were reconciled to God by the
death of his Son;"――"the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus
Christ our Lord;"――nothing can "separate us from the love of God which
is in Christ Jesus our Lord;"――Paul prays, that his brethren may
"glorify God even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ;"――and after more
of similar language he ends this epistle,――"To God only wise be glory
through Jesus Christ forever. Amen."
If it be asked, in what sense is Christ God's "_Son_, whom he hath
appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds?" I
answer, the word doubtless means, that he was derived from God, that
he sprung from God, that he received his being from God before the
creation of the universe. He is called God's "first-begotten" and
"only-begotten." It is unnecessary and may be useless for us to enter
into any inquiries and discussions concerning hypostasis, person,
nature, being, essence, substance, and other logical and metaphysical
terms employed by theologians, which do not afford a particle of light;
but we must believe, that Christ was derived from God and possesses
the very attributes and endured the sufferings, ascribed to him in
the scriptures. If we ascribe to him a nature not ascribed to him in
the Bible, one incapable of suffering, and then deny the sufferings,
which are ascribed to him; what do we but contradict the word of God
and reject the doctrine of the Atonement by the sufferings of Christ,
which is the foundation of the sinner's hope? If a learned doctor
should assert, that if Christ was the agent of God in the creation of
the universe, and is his agent in its government, then he could not be
derived from God; the learned man puts forth only the words of folly.
As derived from God, why might not the Son be as much superior to the
highest angel, as man is superior in knowledge and powers to the beetle
under our foot? Why could he not derive from God and exercise under God
the powers of creation?
"He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of every
creature; for by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and
that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or
dominions, or principalities or powers: all things were created by him
and for him:"――"it pleased the father, that in him should all fullness
dwell." Col. 1:15, 16. So in Heb. 1:3, Christ is called "the express
image of God's person;" where the Greek word, translated person, means
nature, essence, or being, and the assertion is, that Christ is "a
clear and strong image of the essence or nature of the divine majesty."
It may be, that for this reason the title of god is given to him; and
with very obvious propriety may we ascribe to him divinity or call him
a divine being, without contending for the impossibility that he is
the very being, whose image he is, or that his own is the very nature,
person, hypostasis, or substance, of which he stands the express
character.
According to our English Bible the Son of God under the name of the
Word seems to be called God by the apostle John, ch. 1, v. 1. But it
was not the purpose of John to represent the Word as the infinite,
supreme, almighty God. ORIGEN, who wrote in Greek, in the third
century, and understood the language better than any modern critic,
says, that John's assertion is that, "the _logos_, or word, was _a
god_," using the word god in its inferior, well-known sense, as is
proved by his omission of the article. If he had inserted the article,
he would have said, that "the logos was _the_ God, the supreme God,
Jehovah." The plain teaching is, there is one God. With him was the
_logos_ in the beginning, an exalted, glorious being; a second,
inferior God; a being derived from God; and in this sense a divine
being.――Besides Origen, Philo and several other fathers of the three
first centuries speak of John's omission of the article here as a proof
that by the word god he did not mean the Supreme God. Consider also,
that if the logos existed "_with_ God," then he was not the very God,
with whom he existed.――On the other hand, it is a matter of no weight
that when the supreme God is meant, yet the article is often omitted;
for it is an established principle that it may be omitted when the
name of God is sufficiently definite without it. In John 1:6,――"a man
sent from God:" here is an omission of it as unnecessary. So v. 12,
13, 18. Origen again says,――"Angels are called gods because they are
divine; but we are not commanded to worship them in the place of God,
and hence they are not really gods." He says, the article is withheld,
when what is called god is a being different "from the self-existent
God, having a communicated divinity, being a divine person." Such also
was the opinion of Clemens Alexandrinus and Eusebius; and they were
men more competent to decide a matter concerning the construction of
the Greek language than any modern critic.――In several of the first
centuries it was the judgment of such Fathers as Justin, Athenagoras,
Tatian, Theophilus, Clemens, Origen, &c., that the word god as applied
to Christ denoted a celestial nature, superior to all creatures, but
inferior to the Supreme God. But the authority of Christ himself
is more decisive,――"My Father is greater than I:" and the whole of
scripture shows, that the one perfect God and his Son are two distinct
intelligent Beings. As the word in Greek, Acts 28:6, has no article
our translators have very properly said "a god." If any one will
look at 2 Thess. 2:4, he will see, that the word God occurs four
times and undistinguished in the English Testament, but in the Greek
the word for God appears once――"in the temple of God"――_with_ the
article, showing that the true Supreme God is meant,――and three times
_without_ the article, showing, that the word is used in an inferior
sense, that a false god was intended. Dr. Macknight's translation is
as follows,――"above every one, who is called _a god_ or an object of
worship. So that he, in the temple of GOD, as _a god_ sitteth, openly
shewing himself, that he is _a god_." It is thus, that the Word in John
1st is called a god, and not God the Supreme, the Almighty Jehovah.
When _Tatian_, about A. D. 165 speaks of "a god, who was born in the
form of man" and of "the suffering God," he certainly did not mean,
that Christ was the Supreme God, incapable of suffering. It was the
doctrine of Apollinaris, two hundred years later, that Christ assumed
a human body with a sentient soul like that of the inferior animals,
but not assuming an intelligent or rational human spirit. He could
see no reason why Christ should have two intelligent natures and two
free wills. In his judgment the Son of God, who came down from heaven,
was the only rational tenant of his human body, and the only rational
sufferer on the cross, making a real atonement for sin. For scriptural
proof he rested on John 1:14, "the Word was made flesh." His doctrine
was doubtless this,――that the Son of God in his high spiritual nature,
in which he came down from heaven in order to suffer, was the real
sufferer on the cross: not that he was God incapable of suffering, and
incapable of making any atonement.
On the distinction between Almighty God and his Son, derived from
him before the creation, the Creed of the Church of England is very
explicit:――"I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven
and earth, and of all things visible and invisible: and in one Lord
Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of his Father
before all worlds, &c."――"Who for us men and for our salvation came
down from heaven, &c."
The doctrine of the New England Synod at Boston in 1680 was the same:
"The Father is of none, neither begotten nor proceeding; the Son is
eternally begotten of the Father." If many of our American theologians
at the present day reject the doctrine of the derivation of the Son
from God, they are not responsible to the Synod's Confession or Creed,
but certainly they are to holy Scripture and to Reason.
_Sonnet 84._ In a sonnet Milton speaks of the popish massacre in
Piedmont:
"Their moans
The vales redoubled to the hills, and they
To Heav'n. Their martyr'd blood and ashes sow
O'er all th' Italian fields, where still doth sway
The triple tyrant; that from these may grow
A hundred fold, who having learned the way
Early may fly the Babylonian woe."
_Sonnet 86._ Occom was a distinguished Indian preacher, the first who
visited England. Born at Mohegan near Norwich, Conn., he was educated 4
years in Wheelock's Indian School at Lebanon, and was himself a school
teacher of the Montauk Indians 10 or 12 years. In 1759, at the age
of 36, he was ordained by a presbytery. He preached in Great Britain
in 1766, 1767, and 1768, between 300 and 400 sermons, employed by
Mr. Wheelock. For the remaining 24 years of his life he continued to
preach; and he died at New Stockbridge, near Utica, in July 1792, aged
69. The author has prepared for the press a Memoir of Occom, drawn from
the papers of Dr. Wheelock which are in his hands and from Occom's own
manuscript journals.
_Sonnet 93._ As an old medal had on it for a device a bullock
standing between a plough and an altar, with the inscription, _Ready
for Either_, the device was thought very appropriate to express the
disposition of the true Christian missionary, ready for toil and ready
also to be a sacrifice, if called to die in his master's service, "not
holding his life dear unto himself."
_Sonnet 96._ Sickness prevented me from visiting my nephew and meeting
with his guests on an interesting occasion. The old house, the home
of my childhood and my dwelling for seven years of my ministry,――the
house built by my father, the first minister of Pittsfield, in the
wilderness,――was superseded by an elegant mansion, built by his
grandson bearing his own name, Thomas Allen. The event was commemorated
by a select and happy company of aged men.
_Sonnet 98._ I first visited Niagara Falls 56 years ago. Having just
been licensed by the ministers of Berkshire county to preach the
gospel, I mounted my horse in Aug. 1804 and rode out more than 400
miles through the western wilderness of New York as far as Lake Erie
and Niagara river, preaching in various places to little assemblies
in log cabins. Buffalo, now a great city, was then a village of 19
houses. Three miles below there was the ferry at Black Rock; and
there I saw the famous Indian chief, Red Jacket, attending his little
grand-daughter as from a rock she threw her hook into the great stream.
Thence I rode down on the Canada side 15 miles to the wondrous Falls.
Besides the lesson of solemn warning and terror another of a character
acceptable and gladdening was offered to my thoughts, as I stood on the
river's bank at the Falls; for I beheld a rainbow of a full semi-circle
or more, the ends almost under my feet, stretching over the awful
chasm, deepest in color low down at each extremity, where the turmoil
of mist was the thickest. This lesson I here put in rhyme, and with it,
in accordance with the sentiment of the hundredth sonnet which a few
days ago passed through the press, I now close this little book.
If the reader will consider, that my threatening illness has now had
a continuance of many months and that to-day closes seventy-six years
of my life, he will find reason to conclude, that my thoughts here
expressed, although in verse, are utterances in the sincerity of faith
and the honesty of truth: and so I bid him farewell, wishing him "a
happy New Year" and a blessed Eternity!
Jan. 1, 1860.