Letters to the Christian public, concerning unscriptural speculations in theology

Letter I

JUDE, 3. — "Beloved, when i gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation,

IT WAS NEEDFUL FOR ME TO WRITE UNTO YOU, AND EXHORT YOU, THAT YE SHOULD EARNESTLY CONTEND FOR THE FAITH ONCE DELIVERED UNTO THE SAINTS."

Peace is always desirable, if it be the right kind ; and if it be obtained and preserved in a right manner. Such is what the apostle calls, " the peace of God," which is the effect of a new heart; and this is the onlykind of peace to be much depended on, in this depraved world.

A warfare of the spiritual kind has been carried on in the universe, ever since some of the angels rebelled in heaven. As soon as Satan enticed our first parents to partake of the forbidden fruit, it could be said in a more extraordinary sense than in the time of Job, '* The earth is given into the hand of the wicked." When the curse was denounced against the serpent, and Jehovah declared, that the seed of the woman should bruise his head, a war was proclaimed in this world, which has raged ever since ; and it will continue to rage, in some form, till the head of the serpent shall be effectually bruised. It is a war between holiness and sin — between truth and error. Christ is the leader on the side of truth and holiness. He has set up his righteous kingdom in the world in opposition to the kingdom of Satan, and he is known as the " Prince of Peace." This title is most appropriate, inasmuch as nothing short of truth and holiness can lay the foundation for perfect peace. As there is no pure, holy peace, for any individual, till he is born of God, so there is no pure, holy peace in any kingdom but that which Christ has set up in the world.

It is important, however, to consider, that though Christ's kingdom is emphatically the kingdom of peace, yet as its holy principles come in contact with sin and error, its effect, till it subdues whatever opposes it, is not peace. It is necessary to bear this thought in mind in order rightly to understand the scriptures on this subject. Thus when our Saviour stated to Pilate the nature of his kingdom, (John 18 ; 36,) he said, " My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews ; but now is my kingdom not from hence." In like manner, Paul said, (Rom. 14 ; 17,) " For the kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost." Accordingly the uniform representation in the scriptures of the prosperity of Christ's kingdom is that of great peace. Yet it is well known, that the Prince of Peace himself has given notice to the world, (Math. 10 ; 34-36,) " Think not I am come to send peace on earth : I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance with his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household." Such are the first effects of the setting up of this kingdom of truth and righteousness, wholly on account of the depravity of man. His heart is opposed to the holy terms which are presented. Holiness is not to be blamed, nor is the Author of holiness to be blamed, for this warfare. The blame must for_ ever rest on those who are unreconciled to truth and holiness. Here the desperate wickedness of the human heart shows itself. When the holy principles of the Saviour's kingdom come in contact with it, the fire is kindled. (See Luke 12; 49.) In accordance with this, we see why the Lord honored Phinehas (Num. 25,) by establishing a covenant of peace with him, after he showed such decision. Indeed the Lord honored him with an everlasting priesthood, in which he was a remarkable type of Christ, on account of his fidelity in endeavoring to establish peace on its proper basis, though it was at the expense of the lives of those who had been the wicked cause of the disturbance.

Since, then, on account of the wickedness of men, there are great and long continued contests in setting up the kingdom of peace on earth, we see why the scriptures so often make use of the language of human warfare, on this subject. Thus Christ is called the Captain of salvation. (Heb. 2 ; 10.) He is represented (Rev. 6 ; 2,) on a white horse with his bow, and going forth "conquering and to conquer." When Paul would show the importance of entire devotedness to Christ in the ministers of the gospel, he says, " No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life ; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. (2 Tim. 2; 4.) Paul, speaking of himself and

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his brethren, (2 Cor. 10: 4,) says, "The weapons of our warfare are not carnal." In exhorting his Ephesian brethren (6th chapter) to " be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might," he makes use of the different instruments of war which were the most common in those days, and spiritualizes them. In this way, Christians must put on the whole armor of God.

If I mistake not, the foregoing remarks serve to show the force of the passage at the head of this Letter. — " That ye should earnestly contend for the faith once delivered unto the saints." The apostle Jude, in this passage, must have referred to the word of God as preached by him, and the other apostles, after the resurrection of Christ ; and consequently we see how soon great and dangerous errors crept into the church. The book of Jude seems to have been a general epistle, directed to all the ministers and churches, to guard them against the errors and corruptions which were spreading far and wide ; and they were called upon to act with decision. They must earnestly contend for the true faith. I trust no one believes, that the apostle intended the use of carnal weapons by this expression. He had been taught by Christ in person to be " wise as a serpent, and harmless as a dove ;" and he doubtless desired, that all his brethren would walk by the same rule.

But this would be consistent with contending earnestly ; otherwise an inspired apostle would not have given such a direction to the ministers and churches. The setting up of Christ's kingdom, and its progress in this world of opposition to truth and righteousness, require both aggressive and defensive action. The command is plain that the gospel must be published to the nations — " Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." Now it is well known, that though the apostles entered upon the execution of their commission, in the most harmless manner, they excited great commotions and tumults, on account of the desperate depravity of men, and the instigations of Satan, But here was no reason why they should not go forward. And it should never be forgotten, that the first establishment of the gospel, in any given place, does not end the contest. The same opposition to truth and holiness ex ists afterwards, so far as the depraved heart remains unsubdued ; and consequently they must be defended in every way in which they are attacked. The u Captain of the Lord's host" is too wise a commander to leave the stations he has acquired from the enemy without the means of defence. What use will there be in the conquest of whole kingdoms, if they are afterward left unprotected ? Now the contending for the faith once delivered to the saints, necessarily implies, that this faith had been, in some measure at least, established ; but that it was in danger of being lost, and that the greatest efForts were to be made to preserve it.

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Is there not need of caution here, lest this essential part of the Christian warfare be neglected ? The true faith being once established, is there no danger that we may feel too secure, as though it never could be uprooted ? Is it not possible, that we may be misled even by our love of peace; and through fear of making unnecessary excitement, suffer error to creep in, and take an advantage over us, which we cannot reverse ? The question about the necessity of religious controversy should not be settled by fancy, or by the opinions of " wise men after the flesh," but by what is actually going on in the kingdom of Christ. If the word of God is attacked wholly, or in part ; if its great doctrines are undermined, and its precepts and institutions rejected ; or if any thing is added to it as of superior or equal authority, its friends are bound to defend it without any apology for so doing. They must " earnestly contend for" all the truths it contains, nor silently suffer one of them to be rejected or cast into the shade, by the inventions of men. Can any duty be plainer than this ? Hence there is no duty more strongly enjoined upon the disciples of Christ, than that they should watch. "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation." " What I say unto you, I say unto all, watch." " But this know, that if the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up."

If the question be, what is to be watched ? the answer is ready. The soldiers of Christ, in common with the rest of mankind, have " hearts deceitful above all things;" and if they cease watching, they must expect \o fall into sin, error and delusion. And in addition, they must watch the motions of their " adversary the devil," whose business is, " From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it ;" and who, when men sleep, sows tares among the wheat, and goes his way. Thus every soldier of Christ must remember, that he must follow, and obey the commands of, the Great Captain of salvation, whether he is required to act offensively, or defensively. He must be willing to " endure hardness as a good soldier." Nor is he to calculate upon peace and security, (any more than the soldiers of an earthly commander,) till honorably discharged ; and this, in his case, is only by death. He has no reason to expect he shall outlive the time, (unless he lives till the millenium,) when he rrn^ be called upon " earnestly to contend for the faith once delivered unto the saints."

" Ne'er think the victory won, Nor once at ease sit down ; The arduous work will not be done, Till thou hast got thy crown."

Letter II

2 COR. 10; 4, 5. — '"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through

GOD TO THE PULLING DOWN OF STRONG HOLDS. CASTING DOWN IMAGINATIONS AND EVERV HIGH THING THAT EXALTETH ITSELF AGAINST THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD, AND BRINGING INTO CAPTIVITY EVERY THOUGHT TO THE OBEDIENCE OF CHRIST."

These words plainly teaeh us what is one of the great objects of the gospel ministry ; and they describe with perfect definiteness the boundary of all theological systems. Casting down imaginations. All schemes of religion, not founded on the word of God, or on known facts in the works of creation and providence, are of course the inventions of men ; the works of imagination. It was an express object of the apostles to cast down these imaginations ; and so it should be of every minister of Jesus Christ: it is what Christ plainly demands. He demands it as expressly as he demands the surrender of our hearts. Indeed it is a part of such surrender.

And every high thing that exalteth itself against the knoivledge of God. All species of philosophy, however ingeniously contrived and sustained, if they do not conform entirely to that knowledge of God which is obtained by searching the scriptures, are to be cast down, totally rejected, as the works of imagination. And bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Obedience to Christ necessarily implies obedience to all his commands, faith in all his revealed will, and a desire to copy his example. The great object of every gospel minister should be, to make captive all the powers of the soul, every thought. Nothing should remain in us creating a desire to incorporate the least thing into our religion, or system of theology, which is not in complete subjection to the word of Christ. Hence the plain, direct, definite object of the gospel ministry, as it was established by the inspired apostles, discarJs entirely on religious subjects, all a priori propositions, positions, statements and reasonings, which are independent of the scriptures ; and all suppositions which are designed directly or indirectly, openly or secretly, to give shape to any part of theology. Also the ministry of the gospel as received from Christ, rejects entirely and forever, vxevy "nature of the case," every " nature of things,'*' all " philosophy oi religion," not founded on known and acknowledged facts, and every notion concerning any laws, out of God, or such as do not come directly under his government, and are not subject, to his perfect control, and in any s~nse whatever, limit or restrict him from doing, in all respects, just as he pleases, in all worlds, in time and in eternity. Such self- contrived schemes, with all the reasonings by which they are sustained, and all the conclusions drawn from them, come under the denomination of that wisdom, which the apostle informs us the Greeks sought after, and which the whole tenor of his writings discountenances. It is the wisdom of this world, (1 Cor. 2; 6,) that cometh to nought. It was not the duty of the acute Greeks, nor any other heathen, while seeking to find out the chief good, to waste their time in establishing curious philosophical theories. Their business was to see and acknowledge the true God by his glorious works with which they were always surrounded. (Rom. 1 ; 20.) " For 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 ; so that they are without excuse."

These words clearly teach us, that had the heathen acted according to the light which the works of God afforded them, they would have understood what of him is the most essential to know — even his eternal power and godhead. In point of conspicuousness, therefore, power takes the lead of all Jehovah's attributes. This passage does not declare the heathen to be without excuse for not discerning the divine omniscience, or omnipresence, or any attribute of God but his power. How strange, then, and how lamentable, that any in this age of boasted wisdom, and with the bible in their hands, should attack the ability of God in their philosophical speculations ! This suggestion becomes more grave still, if we turn our attention to the Lord's prayer, wonderfully comprehensive, and of course the most essential ideas only, are selected. The ascription in the prayer is, " For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever." Here, again, in another of the most essential portions of the sacred scriptures, power is the selected representative of Jehovah's attributes. This is not the work of chance. Such scriptural facts, abstracted from all other proof, are sufficient to render very suspicious the modern speculations on theology. Why do we hear about " a nature of things," never hinted at in the bible, but purely the invention of men, which subjects Jehovah to eternal restraints in his government of moral beings ? Why do we hear of laws, out of God, not under his control, which prevent him from doing as he would be glad to do ? All such teachings, all such insinuations, all such probable, or barely possible suppositions, all such inventions, demonstrate, that the contrivers and propagators of them, are, for some cause or other, unwilling to have all their imaginations, and every high thing in them which exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, cast down ; and to have every thought of theirs brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. They are determined to break the sacred enclosure, and to teach men so.

The Lord's " green pastures," though very extensive, are a bondage to which they cannot submit, and they must leap into the Saharas of philosophy and vain deceit. If we intentionally depart a millionth part of a hair's breadth from the word of God, we enter chaos. We may as well call in question the knowledge of God as his power ; the wisdom of God as his knowledge ; the holiness of God as his wisdom, and the existence of God as his holiness. It is all out of book ; and this consideration alone ought to silence the whole race of men. It does silence the angels of light. But " vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass's colt." Any " nature of things," or other supposed laws, which are pretended to put Jehovah under the least restriction, are infinitely derogatory to him ; they hoist man out of his proper place, and draw away every believer in them from the simplicity that is in Christ. They are an abandonment of Protestantism, which makes the sacred scriptures the only and sufficient rule of faith and practice ; and they are an invitation to go back to the old house of bondage, which Luther and his coadjutors forsook. And when it is considered how tenaciously they are held and 'how zealously they are propagated among the youth by men of great influence ; and that on the other hand there is an unaccountable indifference on the subject among many who do not profess to believe in them, nothing but the supposed near approach of the millennium inspires the hope that the dark ages will not return. This " nature of things," these laws out of God, which it is pretended he cannot control, are substantially the old heathenish doctrine concerning the fates, which the word of God utterly condemns.

Letter III

PSALMS, 135; 6. — "Whatsoever the lord pleased, that did he in heaves, and in earth, in

THE SEAS, AND ALL DEEP PLACES."

This is a declarationjhat the Lord was perfectly supreme over all worlds up to a certain time. Accordingly as he is absolutely unchangeable, he will do whatsoever he pleases in all worlds to all eternity. Such unlimited supremacy and independence in God, are as clearly and abundantly revealed in the bible, as any thing else pertaining to him.

By a little examination of the scriptures, more than forty distinct classes of texts may be found, which most unequivocally teach this glorious doctrine ; while each class contains as many as two texts, and most of them many more, on this fundamental point of all religion.

Now if we confine our thoughts to what God has said concerning his own name, we shall not want evidence of his absolute independence and unlimited supremacy over all worlds, in time and in eternity. In the third chapter of Exodus, where we read of the Lord's appearing to Moses in the burning bush near Mount Sinai, Moses was directed to go back to Egypt, and lead the children of Israel out of that place. " And Moses said unto God, when I come to the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, the God of your fathers hath sent me unto you, and they shall say unto me, what is his name ? what shall I say unto them ?" This was a very proper question for Moses to ask, for so the Lord treated it, by giving a prompt and decisive answer in the following words : " I am that i am : and he said, thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I am hath sent me unto thee.' , We have here the most significant and the strongest expression, which language can employ to describe the selfexistence, eternity, immutability, independence, supreme authority, and all-sufficiency of Jehovah. And it should not be forgotten, that this glorious name was not assumed merely for a particular occasion, for in the next verse it is added, " The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob hath sent me unto you; this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations." Accordingly, many years afterwards, (Exodus 33,) when Moses besought the Lord to show him his glory, the Lord said to him, " I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee." And what is the Lord's name now 1 It is this, " And will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy." Twelve or fourteen hundred years afterwards, the Lord, by the mouth of an inspired apostle, claimed the same name. (Rom. 9 ; 18,) " Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth." Theorizers would do well to remember, that God will never forget his name. " This is my name forever, and this is my memorial unto all generations." The name of a being always indicates his character. This is true, whether the being has only one name, or many. Thus the character of him, whom we have been wont to call the father of his country, is always brought to view clearly, whether we call him Washington, George Washington, General Washington, or President Washington ; or whether we use the phrase, " The father of his country." The same may be said in relation to all other beings. Accordingly, when we read those names in the bible, which we know are designed to

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apply to the true God, we never need be at a loss to ascertain what they signify. Each one means just what is intended by, " I am that I am." Some of these names are, Jehovah, Lord, God, Creator, Father, Son, Holy Ghost, Spirit, Holy Spirit, Immanuel, Jesus, Christ, Saviour, Redeemer, Comforter, King, Judge. Also, there are many different terms and phrases in the bible which express the same name. Some of this description are the following. Most High ; High and lofty One ; King of kings ; First and the Last ; Alpha and Omega ; Almighty. That we may have some idea how often this glorious name is brought to view in the scriptures, it is ascertained, that in the Psalms alone, the words Lord, God, and Jehovah, occur more than 1200 times. Also, to the various terms and phrases in the bible, designating the great I am that i am, must be added all the personal, relative and adjective pronouns, which refer to this same infinite Being. In the hundred and thirty-sixth Psalm, which contains but twenty-six verses, this same self-existent, eternal, immutable, independent, supreme, all-sufficient God is clearly brought to view fifty times. It must be, then, that this venerable and fearful name, in one form or other, presents itself many thousands of times id the bible, and at each time, it is a solemn attestation to the whole world, of what Jehovah said of himself to Moses, This is my name forever.

How weak, then, and insufficient, are all the attempts of men to destroy the unlimited independence of God ! He has thousands of witnesses at his command to annihilate all the babbling of worldly wisdom concerning the reality of such a nature of things, or of laws uncontrollable by him, as are brought forward to prove his weakness. Since we can know but little, why is it not best to confine our researches to what God has made accessable in his word and works ? Here alone is a field far more extensive than we shall explore in this life. And even if it were not so, it is better to exhaust the universe of truth before we enter the universe of fiction : for indeed all schemes founded on an unrevealed nature of things, or on laws which it is said Jehovah cannot control, are as purely fictitious as the novels and romances of this or any other age. This is a truth with which those ought to be acquainted, who hear from the pulpit on one Sabbath, a theology founded in fiction, and perhaps the next Sabbath are warned against tolerating fictitious writings on other subjects. The ministers of the gospel should be the last class of men to imitate Eve, who partook of the forbidden fruit, when she saw it was a " tree to he desired to make one wise." She has had so many imitators in this respect among her descendants, that even if we were to confine our thoughts to this one view, there would be sufficient reason to believe, that a sinful bias, (original sin,) has descended from her.

Letter IV. The Same Subject Continued

DEUT. 28; 58. — "That thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY god;-

Every attentive reader of the Bible must be struck with the special care of Jehovah to make us all deeply venerate his name. The words just quoted are near the close of that chapter, which contains a greater number of awful threatenings than any -other chapter in the Bible ; and in such a connection, that they present the most awful, overwhelming sense of the infinite power and majesty and displeasure of God. Such a sense all the ancient saints had, whose writings or sayings form a part of the divine revelation. It will comport with the limits of this letter to select but a very few, among the numerous specimens found in the Bible. In the 13th chapter of Job, he reproves his three friends for what he considers their wrong doings, and says : " Shall not his excellency make you afraid 1 and his dread fail upon you V In the same chapter, Job entreats Jehovah thus : " Only do not two things unto me ; then will I not hide myself from thee. Withdraw thine hand far from me; and let not thy dread make me afraid." These views of God, which Job had, correspond with what he says of himself, Matthew, 1 ; 14 : " For I am a great king, saith the Lord of Hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen." So he intends the whole world shall view his name.

In the tenth chapter of Daniel, he had such a view of the Son of God, that he said : " There remained no strength in me ; for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength."

Isaiah had such a view of God in a vision, (Chap. 6.) that he exclaimed : " Woe is me, for I am undone ; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips : for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts." And what else did he notice in this glorious vision ? It was the worship, which the seraphim, a high order of angels, paid to God. Nothing can exceed the reverence which they expressed. " Each one had six wings : with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said : Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts ; the whole earth is full of his glory." Now if this highest order of holy angels, as is believed by many, if these burning ones, as their name imports, manifest such profound reverence and awe of God as to hide their faces with their wings and cry one to another, as though they dare not speak directly to Jehovah, " Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts ; the whole earth is full of his glory ;" how humble a place ought the sinful children of men to take before this glorious Being ; what exalting thoughts of him, and what abasing thoughts of themselves, ought they forever to entertain ; and how careful and respectful ought they to be in the choice of their words concerning him ! How much to be admired is the example of Sir Matthew Hale, whose reverence of God was such, that he was in the habit of making a pause both before and after he used a term which expressed that " glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY GOD."

On the other hand, how far from scriptural reverence of God, is the language employed of late in hypothetical theology ! How much has been said, and preached, and written, to show the straits into which the Almighty is supposed to be thrown in his attempts to govern the universe as he would desire ! How much has been said to show what God cannot do, in relation to what he would do if he could ! — that he has as much on hand as he can accomplish ! — that he has done all he can do for sinners while they are remaining in impenitence ! — that, at least, he has done all he can for them, up to the present time ! (Does any one know what is the use of such a qualification ?) There is such a contrast between all insinuations of Jehovah's inability, and the whole current of the Scriptures, embracing the reverence of the heavenly hosts, that every old-fashioned Bible Christian can be at no loss why all should be cautioned to " beware of philosophy and vain deceit."