Voices of the soul answered in God

Front matter

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Preface To The Third Edition

Wirs the exception of a change in a few words. the third edition is the same as the first. A hint respecting the plan of the work, we simply offer in - this place. |

The soul needs a way to reach God, a way to become holy, a way to become happy. Hence the book is divided into three parts ; and it is shown how the wants of the mind can be met in a Redeemer, Restorer and Satisfier. Mediation must come-first, then reste ration, then satisfaction. This is the order of nature, and this we have followed. The treatise is to be taken as a whole, and is to be read from the begin ning to the end, in order to receive the impression that is aimed at. Although the immediate aim is to connect the soul and God together, yet every one can see that that resolves itself into another thought, viz., that the doctrine of the book being true, the Christian religion is the only hope of man. By that he finds a complete ransom, a complete cure, and a complete blessedness. The work, therefore, is really an indirect argument for the truth of Christianity.

I may be asked whether the Voices OF THE SOUL be those of simple nature, or nature as touched by that which is Divine? To answer this, in every case, is not easy. To what extent redemptive agencies affect vi PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION.

the souls of the entire race, no one can tell. It may be that broken and bent rays from a higher world glimmer in the darkest human spirit that is to be found upon this earth. An abstract, natural man — may not exist ; one whose development is carried forward outside of any influence from Calvary may not be found. However this may be, the men. where Christianity is known are manifestly moved by it to © a greater or less extent. What I would say, then, is this: the rwdements of the VOICES OF THE SOUL are found in all; but their strength and peculiar form are the result of redemptive forces. Apart from any change of heart, and before any change of heart, there is a work performed by Divine truth and the Divine Spirit. God leads men to cry and lament, and then he places before them the remedy they xeed.

PREFACE,

THERE are two words that are much used at present—the words infinite and finite. These may be said to characterize modern thinking. The people as yet are content with the words God and man. They sometimes, however, speak of the human and the divine, or the natural and the supernatural, catching these words from a class of minds that are wont to fence with them. It is evident that we are in the midst of a great discussion,—a, discussion that touches upon the highest and holiest themes of existence. Whether we have a Christian redemption and a Christian God are the points that are to be settled. No good man need be afraid that the religion in which he has trusted is about to slip away from beneath him, as if it were like some island of the deep that had been carefully surveyed and its exact place set down in the chart, while all at once it sinks to rise not again. We have no fears respecting the fate of Christianity.

Almost are we thankful for the assaults that are

Vill PREFACE.

_ made upon it, as these tend but to make manifest its divine durability. The fiercer the attack, the more complete and successful the repulse. ;

Calm, considerate thinking is just now much needed. Many are earnest, warlike, but not sufticiently awed and controlled by the tremendous issues of life. A deeper insight into human nature and a more profound conception of the Godhead are the wants of the time. As it respects the ultimate bearing of the present treatise, that will be perceived by an attentive perusal of it. The soul is taken as it is, and the attempt is made to find that in God which will meet and match it.

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CONTENTS,

Chapter I. An Incarnation Of God A Want Of Mind

PAGE

If God can create, he can become incarnate.—The soul views God in two ways,—as an infinite Spirit, and as human-like.— Man wants a person.—Old Testament theophanies.—Mediation in nature a prophecy of mediatorial movement in the Godhead.—Tendency in the Deity to become incarnate.— Man a want; God a fulness.—All intelligences need an incarnation.— Would there be an incarnation if no sin ?—Sin an additional call for an incarnation.—The incarnation of God a fact.—Originality of the New Testament idea of a God-man. —Problem of Christ’s life—Was Jesus always conscioas of his divinity ?—Will the incarnation be eternal?............ 19

CHAPTER I.

DEEP CONVICTION OF SIN: NEED OF A DIVINE SAVIOUR: ?

Small sin, small redemption: great sin, great redemption.— Deep consciousness. of sin by Edwards.—Theology of Augustine had a subjective grounding.—Feeling an aid to faith—

1* x CONTENTS.

PAGE Characteristics of deep conviction, and how they reach out for the Divine :—Sadness—Intensified aspirations—Fear— Pain—Sense of weakness—Tendency to despair—these mental states demand an Almighty Saviour........s.ece.sss00 43

Section I, The Working Of Guilt

Guilt connected with a sense of sin and justice.—Guilt retrospective—Prospective—The past and the future meet in a ‘present.—Guilty mind afraid of God.........ccecccesvcee 6]

SECTION ITI.

A DIVINE ATONEMENT NEEDED TO MEET THE CLAIMS OF GUILT,

Atonement must be viewed with reference to guilt as well as government.—First, as guilt arises because of a broken law, law must be kept before conscience can be quieted.—Secondly, as man fears the future because justice is against him, he can only have peace by the satisfaction of justice.—Thirdly, as God is feared, God must be appeased.—A three-fold attempt of man to meet these demands: Makes confession—Tries to make restitution—Offers sacrifice—These not sufficient; hence the need of a divine atonement.....e..ceseseeesseee 14

Chapter IV

LAW BROKEN: THE DIVINE SUSTAINER OF LAW. SECTION I.

MAN A TRANSGRESSOR OF LAW.

Implied that man is a subject of moral law.—Conscrence not character.—A pprobation of conscience not the same as appro»

CONTENTS. x PAGE bation of the heart.—Laws of conscience.—Man under obligation to keep the law.—Laws of obligation.—Man has broken the law.—Man therefore demeritorious......e..cceecee- 85

Section II. The God-man A Sustainer Of Law

Law must be sustained by love. All that the God-man did and suffered was at the bidding of love. Its peculiarities: First, was unique.—Secondly, no finite being could demand the manifestation of this love.—Thirdly, the love is inimitable.— _ How the righteousness of Christ meets the wants of the _ EIOMOF sy et Be ie wheel eae oraehinet Sieuisceats sedi staan ores cane hip

Chapter V. Punishment Apprehended: The Divine Sufferer

SECTION I.

THE SOUL’ PROPHECY OF FUTURE MISERY.

Divine punishment in eternity that the soul fears; not conscience, —Proofs that there is another punishment besides conscience: 1. Belief in divine rewards. 2. In divine punishments. 3. If conscience all, no positive government. 4. Also no accountability to God. 5. Premium offered to crime.—Statement of natural punishment...... Sree ee Ce ree ae cacvee 114

SECTION II.

THE GOD-MAN A SUFFERER,

An innocent person has suffered—How this when God is just? —tThat Christ suffered to show an example does not meet the problem.—The depth of his sufferings.—Must have suffered in the room of the guilty.—Sufferings of the God-man as related to the punishment of man: 1. Most of punishment held back from all upon earth. 2. Faith cancels future punishment. 3. Finally impenitent not saved........cccceseesecrseeveces 129 xi CONTENTS.

Chapter VI. Human Sorrow: The Divine Sympathizer

SECTION I.

THE VOICE OF SORROW.

PACU Import of sorrow seldom reached.—Belongs to the higher na-

ture of man.—Bad circumstances do not cause it: good cir-

cumstances do not remove it.—Solitude in sorrow.—Uncon-

scious sorrow.—Affinity of sorrow for soft sounds.—Joy as

connected with sorrow.—Discipline of sorrow.......se--+. 147 |

SECTION II. = THE GOD-MAN A SYMPATHIZER,

Sympathy of Christ due to a certain delicacy of soul.—Inviting quality of his sympathy.—Manly and womanly elements of Christ’s character as affecting his sympathy.—Symbolism in the life of Christ in its bearings upon the general subject— 163 His temptation.—Solitude of Jesus.—Man of sorrows.—His BELOMIEV US sou. Swern Secs reels e heh ss Touieecas phew eee

PART aie

VOICES OF THE SOUL ANSWERED IN GOD THE RESTORER.

CHAPTER I. VESTIGES OF THE DIVINE IN MAN NOT SUFFICIENT TO See

DEVELOP HOLINESS APART FROM THE SUPERNATURAL.

Divine relics implied in the following: 1. Craving for rest. 2. Love of truth. 3. Delight in order. 4. Admiration of greatness. 5. Conception of the beautiful. 6, Limitless aspirations, 7, Idea of Religion. 8. Intuitions of right and justice. 9. Call as

CONTENTS, xi

PAGB of the soul for benevolence. 10. Attempts at self-reformation. 11. Remorse. 12. Phantoms of goodness associated with certain sins—The most finished villains have these germs.— Moral deterioration among the cultivated nations of antiquity. —Why have men become savages, if the divine that isin them has such power ?—Power to reform man must come from BPA SONG cabce < 5's %td: o> sure ar ok « esate ae teh gee acakarh ete hae cle ramen

CHAPTER ITI.

NATURAL BENEVOLENCE NOT SUFFICIENT TO CONST? TUTE HOLINESS APART FROM THE SUPERNATURAL.

Traits of natural benevolence: 1. Family affections. 2. Sympathy. 3. Amiability. 4. Honor. 5. Patriotism. 6. Friendship. %. Philanthropy. 8. Gratitude——No holy quality in natural benevolence.—The most wicked men have it.—Natural benevolence frequently corrupted—aA lost feeling.—A divine life needed.—Howard not a specimen of natural benev- Olence, but superiatural, 7. saa <i-s cb ide ve sigs s bisa oiee'e Oe

Chapter III

SIN DEVELOPED, NOT HOLINESS, BY FIXED LAWS OF THE FEELINGS: THE SUPERNATURAL NEEDED TO GIVE A NEW DIRECTION TO THE HEART.

Laws of sin: 1. Attempt to justify self when wrong has been done. 2. Good feelings excited, but not acted out, increase depravity. 3. Bad feelings awakened by good objects. 4. A guilty man unwilling to do good is irritated when his duty is pressed upon him. 5. Sympathy in wickedness unites enemies. 6. False zeal opposed turns to rage. 7. When one hates another, he takes pleasure in hearing the object of his dislike spoken against. 8. When a man is hated, it is natural to oppose his measures. 9. If we would injure a person, we first blacken his character. 10..A favor frequently bestowed xiv CONTENTS.

PAGE produces the feeling in the receiver that he is entitled to it. —Truth cannot change a depraved nature.—Man needs a law OF DONG ces eb ae Geisha Gin via wistnralyWwwisiels wis'e.0 ¥'s8 Weueee wien

Chapter IV. The Soul In Ruins: A Supernatural Restoration Required

Ruin seen by the conflict of mental powers.--Strife between conscience and the heart.—Propensities and appetites oppose conscience.—Reason and the will clash.—So the intuition of the divine and self-idolatry.— Misery of man.—Sin a principle of disharmony.—Another stand-point.—The globe an image of the fall of souls—Human body.—Strange conduct of man, Imperfect views of human destiny.—Soul like a palace in ruins.—Argument from analogy to show the need of supernat- ISD AI eres eee ares y dw oe Py oud einen es sag eee 239

Chapter V. Need Of Redemption: The Supernatual Remedy Found

1, When no need of redemption. 2. A sense of want generated by the changeable events of life. 3. The higher philosovhy as tending to produce a sense of want. 4. Need of redemption developed by the law and Spirit. 5. This need _of redemption leads to the Redeemer. 6. Christ the great animating Presence... . 25.6... teeta gee reece ene eees -e 261

Chapter VI

MAN ESTRANGED FROM GOD: THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE SUPERNATURAL CURE. 1. The initial movement of estrangement back of consciousness.

2. A state of mind. 3. Implies selfdependence, 4. Ess trangement eternal.—The cure shadowed forth in the disease.

- yet.

CONTENTS. xv

PAGE —First, the initial movement of divine life must be back of consciousness.—Secondly, a new state of mind must take the place of estrangement.—Thirdly, dependence on the Redeemer must take the place of self-dependence.—Finally, union with God through Christ is eternal........ccccececcceccee 217

PA he Sar,

VOICES OF THE SOUL ANSWERED IN GOD THE SATISFIER.

Chapter I

HINTS RESPECTING A NEBULOUS REGION IN THE SOUL, AND ITS RELATION TO THE FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS oF GoD. ieee 3

Unconscious knowledge.—Soul in its infancy.—May be undeveloped germs of eternal ideas in the soul.—Generic longings mingling together.—Doubt.—Movements of mind that cannot be expressed in human language.—lIdeas of the future and eternal partly dim. Transcendental element.—The mysterious.—These may form a nebulous region in the soul.—Its relation to the future developments of God.—Latent powers may appear in eternity.—Must ever be a degree of dimness in Hinitesmind: sess sks ee ee @ee@e@eeevees 2? eee #20 @ e@eecoeveaeeatce2e?e ede 299

CHAPTER IL THE FINITE DISSATISFIED WITH LESS THAN THE IN: FINITE.

Vast scenes of nature, music, eloquence, awaken the idea of the infinite —Soul dissa'isfied with less than the infinite because xvi CONTENTS.

PAGE made in the divine image.—Vestiges of God in the soul.— Tendency to change shows that man is dissatisfied —A capacity in the soul which nothing earthly can fill.—Melancholy, dejection, despondency, despair, show that the soul is unhinged.—Significance of guilt—Anxiety—-Fear.—The unbee MOVOE DONOVOS es 5 Css bis hie videie ee eos Voge Che eee ARE LE

Chapter III. The Soul A Prayer Whose Answer Is God

Chis prayer seen from the restlessness, thirst, and sense of vacancy of the soul.—The feeling of insecurity points to the All-sufficient.—Ideas of fate and destiny look Godward.—All nature points upward.—Underneath the common movements of - men see hints of God.—Our very sin and misery point to the skies.—The sense of weariness even in the good is a broken prayer for God.—The attempt to live a moral life brings a degree of rest.—Unconverted men upholding Christianity suggests the divine.—The inner life a prayer....... saicip ele ane eh wae

Chapter IV. God The Home Of The Soul

The earthly home a type.—But %ne home, and that for the soul. —tThe race have had. glimpses of it.—Idea of a home in the past from which the soul has strayed.—A good in the future also thought of_—Satisfaction in immutable truth.—Man goes through life with a sense of uncompleted being.—Souls in their eternal exile will think of home.—Unity in its higher theological aspect.—Rest and blessedness as ultimate states, —These realized by perfect order in the soul, perfect activity,

a sense of perfect safety.— Whole being now satisfied, God is reached, and the soul is at home...ce.sceesssccceeceverere BOG ia ae ci = yim —E———— Se dai ad eel Dea Bs

Voices of the Soul unstvered mm Gov the Acdeemer.

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Chapter I. An Incarnation Of God A Want Of Mind

I po not know but that it is the usual fate of mortals to pass through the most momentous periods of history without any due realization of the magnitude of the scene that is about them, or any correct conception of a future that is always more or less clearly foreshadowed by a present, even as the sun paints and illumines the eastern sky while as yet he is beneath the horizon. The disciples slept while Jesus was in an agony for a fallen race, —a type of all the races of men standing unconsciously in the presence of mighty events and an infinite God. There: are divine doctrines that equally fail to awaken interest and emotion corresponding to their nature. The incarnation of God is one of these. No human soul is all intent to witness those great movements of the Deity, which, like waves of love, roll onward to bless mankind. ‘There is a lethargy of soul touching the whole sphere of divine realities. This lethargy in many cases seems to have taken form, as if it had become a dark prison of unbelief, in the midst of which the human spirit is attempting to live without the eternal Light, and the friendly visitations of eternal Goodness.

It will not do to say that an incarnation of God is impossible. That point cannot be proved. If God can create, he also can become incarnate. Creation shows that the Timeless. has entered into time, that the Infinite has connected himself with the finite. If he can thus act, why may he not also assume human nature? That there is mystery here is admitted. Creation is a mystery; the incarnation of a divine person is a mystery. It makes no difference whether we trace back matter to the time when it may have been a fiery cloud covering space, as if it were a curtain to the tabernacle of God. Go back as we may, creation had a beginning. Science and Scripture make that certain. How God could begin to create is the puzzle. We take the fact; we leave the mystery. If one should affirm that the whole universe came out of God as vapor from the sea, the difficulty is only increased. This is the same as putting to death the Divine Being, and then making the universe his tombstone. The creation of the first man is really a prophecy of the God-man. In that first man is seen the Creator in the creature, the Divine in the human. The first man was supernatural—he was a miracle. Let God become man, and the act would be no more than supernatural, no more than a miracle.

Man really thinks of God in two ways. On the one hand, he is thought of as an infinite Spirit ; on the other hand, he is made to appear human-like. Whatever objections some may have against the doctrine of an incarnation of God, these objections really avail nothing, because every man, who thinks of God at all, throws around him a human drapery. Language is proof of that. Let an essay be written respecting the Divine Being, and that essay will have words which imply the human; there is a figurative incarnation. Those who cannot bear the thought of an incarnation, sometimes run to the utmost length in their figures of speech. Take the following: ‘The Infinite Mother spreads wide her arms to fold us to

_ that universal breast, ready to inspire your — soul.”* Here is a figurative God-woman! This

* Theodore Parker's “Sermons of Religion,” p. 392, is metaphor run mad. The human reason may affirm that God is formless, yet the common working of the mind will bring him down into a sphere of being where he is made to assume form. Whether this be right or wrong, it is a fact of mind. God does appear as divinehuman; mentally there is a God-man. This 3 two-fold method of viewing the Deity is seen in the Bible. With one utterance, “ God is Spirit ;” with another, “the Lord is a man Bs war.” ‘‘He is the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity,” yet “he is not far from every one of us.” Now the statement is, “I am the Lord, 1 change not;’ and agai, “it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth.” Indeed, while the Bible gives us the most exact ideas respecting God, yet a cold, abstract Deity is not to its taste. God is brought near to us in everything. The highest theology is made practical, and it ap- ‘pears in a human dress.

We sometimes say that man wants a person. The thought is correct. There is not a man that lives but that inclines to a person. The child leans on the bosom of the parent, and the parent lives in the advancing life of the shild. The scholar looks to the teacher, the subject to the ruler, and the friend to the friend. But after all, a mere human person does not match the totality of man’s nature. There are divine wants that are not satisfied. To satisfy these, sometimes man has gone to men, thinking of them as great, as wise, yea, as divine. Hence nations and races have had their heroes, poets, orators, statesmen, philosophers, priests and prophets. The hunger of souls not yet appeased, they have deified the dead. Driven to desperation, not willing togo where they ought to go, nor do what they - ought to do, they have even made the whole universe divine. Reaching this height, personality is lost, God is lost; and a vast Something to take the place of God is all that remains. But.all have not acted in this way. Wanting a person of matchless worth, some have thought of the Eternal One himself. There is great power here. The fact cannot be questioned. Yet God standing alone and man standing alone, the soul falters, trembles, turns pale. ‘The vastness of the Deity is oppressive. The purity of an infinite Presence strikes souls dumb. JDirect and absolute Divinity has a tendency to consume the creaturely mind. The glory needs to be softened, shaded, lessened and lowered to meet man. One who is divine and human is the central demand of the soul.

As we look through the Old Testament, we are arrested by what seems like an appearance of God in human form. After Adam and Eve had sinned, “they hear the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden,” and they make an attempt to hide themselves from his presence. The fair inference here is, that the Divine had a human dress. Three persons appear to Abraham. They all have the human form, so that they are supposed to be three men. One of these differs from the other two. This one is called Jehovah. ere is Jehovah, then, in the ferm of man. Again, while Jacob is returning to his father’s house, a mysterious visitor draws near to him on a certain night. This strange being is called a man; and Jacob wrestles with him till daybreak. It is evident, however, that he was more than man; for Jacob says, “I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.” At another time, a lofty personage appears to Moses. He is. styled “the Angel of the Lord.” He is also called Jehovah, God, the Lord God, I Am. An Angel is spoken of as the leader of the ehildren of Israel. Th:s was doubtless the

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same divine person that appeared to Moses ; for the people are charged to obey his voice, not to provoke him, inasmuch as he will not pardon their transgressions. To pardon sin is an act of God. Still, again, Daniel saw in vision “one like the Son of man.” “ And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and lanzuages, should serve him.” The implication here is that this was a divine man. Thus, without farther specification, we meet with the human element in connection with God. :

But let us just glance at what may be called the medial principle in nature. What is the universe but a medium through which we learn something about God. Indeed, everything seems to be carried forward upon the medial principle. What is there that we reach directly? . Man, himself is mediatorial: the type of what is above him; the culmination of what is beneath him. ‘The soul reaches the outer world through the medium of the body; while the body itself in its whole working is dependent upon a most intricate system of medial relations. Mediation is linked to mediation, running through the entire being of man. There are wheels within wheels to such an extent that the mind is baffled in its efforts to comprehend such an intricate system of dependency. If we look to any creature, the same fact of mediation is apparent. It interpenetrates the whole kingdom of creaturely existence, from the animalcule to the archangel. Even the vegetable realm is arranged upon the same principle; and simple inorganic matter has the same characteristic. To a thoughtful mind this principle of mediation is exceedingly suggestive. Is it not possible that even in the Godhead there may be found this medial arrangement? May not the all-connecting principle of mediation in nature be both an echo and prophecy of a mediatorial movement in the Godhead? To say the least, the thought is reasonable.

May there not be a tendency in the Divine Being towards an incarnation? We know that there is a tendency in God to create, for he has created; and the point is settled that the Infinite One will never exist without a creation. To God it is better to have a universe than not to have one. The divine ultimate end is self-manifestation. Such a chief end is desirable; itis worthy of God. Since his desisn is to manifest himself, why should he not bevame oe.)

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v. e ’ - An incarnate? The treasures of the Godhead could be unfolded in a more complete manner by an incarnation than by any other means whatever. ‘The only true conception of God is one which, so far from being incompatible with, involves his being determined to an incarnation, by his own eternal moral nature; and any conception of humanity is false, which, either in a spirit of defiance or a spirit of pu-

- sullanimity, would regard the tabernacling of

God in man as a thing either unnecessary or too lofty.’*

The most characteristic conception of man is, that he is a want; of God, that he is a fulness. The one hungers: the other satisfies the hunger. Man wants an incarnation: God is eager to provide an incarnation. The idea of Luther touching this matter, as expressed by Dorner, is the following : “ The deity is the subject of a motion out of itself, which, without involving the loss of itself, desiderates humanity as its goal or object: humanity no less is the subject of a like yearning after God or the Word. ~ In the one case, humanity is the ‘forma’ which God, as the ‘materia,’ lovingly

* Dorner, “Doct. of the Person of Christ,” Divis, ii. vol. 1.

seeks: accordingly, God not merely has flesh or humanity, but becomes and is man. Inthe other case, humanity is the ‘materia,’ which longs for the deity as its goal, even as matter desires and strives after its form; and, accordingly, man becomes God. Both, humanity and deity, remain what they were, and yet they become what they were not; but each, agreeably to its inner yparning, becomes that which relatively to each is the other, so that the result in both cases is nothing else than the Godmanhood. Naturally the movement is conceived to originate with the deity, not with the humanity.” *

~If the arguments from God and man alike show the necessity of a divine incarnation, may we not go a step further, and say, that an incarnation is a want of all intelligences through- — out the universe? Do not all need an incarnation of God just because they are creatures,— creatures who never can reach an absolute Spirit? This would seem to be so. It is not merely finite man upon earth that calls for an - incarnate Deity, but it is finite mind everywhere. The training of all worlds prior to an incarnation may be but the training of infancy. —

* “Doct. of the Person of Christ,” Divis. ii. vol. ii. p. 75.

When the fullness of time comes for the God-man to appear, then begins the period of manhood. The grand ideal of life in man is that it be divine and human; and, perhaps, the grand ideal of life in God is that it show itself in one who is divine and human. The incarnation of God thus becomes the basis of a universal theology; and that without which a universal philosophy is impossible. It is the central doctrine of the universe; the royal way that leads to God.

Would there be an incarnation of God if there were no sin? We are inclined to think that there would. An incarnation is necessary to bridge the gulf that separates the Infinite from the finite, and equally necessary to form the medium of a high divine manifestation. It seems fit and proper that there should be One at the very summit of creation who shall

_ be the exact counterpart of God, and who shall at the same time represent in himself the highest form of creaturely life. All created intelligences could then look up to him as the model; he would be the prince of spirits; the crown and glory of the universe; the one great archetypal Being. “The question, whether Christ would have assumed the nature of map if there had been no sin, was not discussed until the middle ages, being started, as it appears, for the first time by Rupertus, Abbot of Duitz, in the 12th century.” He says, that “men and angels were created for the sake of the one man, Jesus Christ; he, the head and king of all elect angels and men, did not need sin in order to become incarnate.” Wessel adopted the same view. “In his opinion the final cause of the incarnation of the Son of God is not to be found in the human race, but in the Son of God himself. He became man for his own sake; it was not the entrance of sin into the world which called forth this determination of the divine will; Christ would have assumed humanity even if Adam had never sinned.” Raymund Lulli says, that “the incarnation is indeed a work of free love; and - that we cannot say that it was only brought about by sin, but that God owed it to himself.” *

There are two objections to the above, which may just be glanced at. vst, it is thought that a theophany is necessary in a holy universe, but not an incarnation. No doubt a theophany has its place in the system of God.

* Hagenbach, “ Hist. of Doctrines,” vol, il. pp. 53, 54,

It forms a connecting link between the creature and the Creater. Still it is a question whether it is not simply a preparatory measure, designed to pass away when a more perfect method has been adopted. A theophany has a degree -of vagueness about it. A man seems to stand ‘before you, but no man is there. A theophany is impersonal. ‘This is one great objection. to it. What the kingdom of mind wants is an ‘ exemplar to whom it may look, and a divinehuman head to complete the creation and connect that creation with God. <A theophany also lacks durability. To-day it may be in existence; to-morrow it may not. Besides, it can never be more than a means to an end. It is thus one-sided, and coldly instrumental. A God-man is both means and end. He unfolds the glories of Deity; yet is worshipped by all creatures, and is forever happy in the exercise of a life that is divine and human. Secondly, it is said that an incarnation pre-supposes the humiliation of God, which cannot be deemed a requirement of sinless mind. The following things should be noted: A divine man, in a perfectly holy system, would have no weakness of bodily nature; the servantform would not be his; he would neither suffer nor die; fhe man simply he would be. Cer-— tainly the stoop of Deity is not nearly so great when these facts are taken into the.account; not nearly so great as when laying hold of a lapsed and lost race in order to save them. Is it possible for us to conceive of any objective movement of God whatsoever without beholding in that a degree of condescension? I apprehend that the Supreme Majesty had _ to humble himself when he called into existence the first particle of matter that settled upon the bosom of space. The fact of divine -huimiliation is written upon the whole face of nature, and different degrees of it strike the mind that. attentively considers the infinite variety of creation. This very fact makes reasonable any bending down of God that necessarily belongs to an incarnation. In so far as God will never be able to show himself as he is, in so far he is humbled. The objections, therefore, do not break up the line of argument that has been adopted. :