Now, although we should admit that those ancient Heathens who, for want of Revelation, entertained false notions of God, but who, nevertheless, lived virtuously according to their light, were accepted by the Almighty; since a man will be judged "according to that which he hath, and not according to that which he hath not ;" yet it by no means follows that we, who enjoy an immediate Revelation from above, shall stand equally excused if we err in this first part of godliness, and refuse to believe because we cannot understand what is revealed to us concerning His nature and His attributes.

Of all the errors which have more or less prevailed in every age of the world; none, perhaps, has proved more fatal and more dangerous than the opinion that our notions of God, and our belief in His Nature have no direct bearing upon our practice, and that whether those notions and that belief be true or false, no difference will arise in the every-day actions of our lives, or in the purity and holiness of our hearts.

The hollowness and falsehood of such an opinion it will take little time to expose; and this, perhaps, cannot better be done than by noticing in the first place the results of false notions of God in the practice of the ancient Heathens.

In turning our attention to this subject, we shall find that if one of the peculiar marks of true Religion is, that it gives men just and exalted ideas of God, the invariable characteristic of all false systems of religion has been the universal prevalence among their votaries of low and unworthy ideas of God; of an attempt to bring the Great Ruler of all things down to their own level; of that "vain imagination" by which "professing themselves wise, they became fools."

Here, if I mistake not, may be discovered the prolific source of all those gross immoralities and unhallowed practices which stained the lives of many of the ancient Heathens, for what other fruit than this could result from believing the world to be governed by Gods many and Lords many "of like passions with themselves," instead of believing themselves under the watchful eye and continual inspection of a Being of Infinite purity, goodness, and truth?" And what other conduct could be expected from those who had "changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like unto corruptible man, and to birds, and to four-footed beasts, and creeping things," than that they should take still lower steps in the downward path, and proceed "to change the truth of God into a lie, and to worship and serve the creature more than the Creator, who is Blessed for ever? Amen."

If we consider, moreover, the example of the children of Israel, we shall invariably find those periods of their history in which they fell into idolatry most strongly marked by the furthest departure from goodness in the every-day practice of their lives.

Seeing then that it is of the highest moment that we rightly believe the nature and existence of God so far as they have been revealed; it becomes of the utmost importance that we obtain a clear notion of what the sacred scriptures teach on the subject; and that we firmly believe that whilst 'the Lord our God is one Lord' there are nevertheless three persons in the Godhead, of glory equal, and majesty co-eternal.

The words which stand at the head of this essay will be found to contain a most remarkable old Testament witness to the doctrine of the sacred Trinity.

This must be considered to be fully proved if it can be shewn that the expression 'Lord of Hosts' here employed by the Cherubim, is applied to more than one of the three persons in the Godhead in the Old Testament, and that the vision of the Lord God sitting upon his throne, as here seen by Isaiah, is applied in the New Testament both to God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost.

The title of Lord of Hosts is applied to the Eternal Father in the 1st of Zachariah, "Turn ye unto me saith the Lord of Hosts, and I will turn unto you saith the Lord of Hosts," and in many other places far too numerous to be cited here.

But this expression 'Lord of Hosts,' a title be it remembered exclusively confined to God, is applied in the Old Testament to God the Son. In the 24th Psalm when the question, who is the King of Glory, is asked the second time. The answer is the Lord of Hosts.' He is the King of Glory.

Now, since it will be admitted that the term 'Lord of Hosts' is applied exclusively to God, and since it will be further admitted that the 24th Psalm applies prophetically to the ascension of the Messiah; it follows at once that He who is there described as the Lord of Hosts' can be no other than God, and that because the very title with which the Cherubim here address the Lord God seated on his throne, is the very title applied by David to Christ in a Psalm prophetic of His ascension.

Now, I would contend that this is an unanswerable Old Testament witness to the Divine nature of the Blessed Saviour.

But the vision of the Lord God seated on His throne as here seen by Isaiah, is applied in the New Testament both to God the Son and God the Holy Ghost.

Saint John after citing that part of this vision of Isaiah, where the Lord God gives a message to the prophet, and speaks of the blindness and dulness of hearing of the Jews, adds-" these things spake Esaias when he saw His Glory.'

Now, the glory which Esaias then saw was the proper glory of the Lord God seated on his throne, and therefore it follows at once from the Evangelists testimony that Christ is God.

But lastly, the Divinity of the Holy Ghost may be proved from this vision. In the 28th ch. Acts of Apostles, where mention is made of the Jews going to the lodging of St. Paul, whilst he was a prisoner at Rome, we are told that the apostle persuaded them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses and out of the prophets from morning till evening, and some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not. And when they agreed not among themselves they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word. Well, spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet, saying go unto this people, &c. Now, these are again the very words of the Lord God to the prophet in the vision of Isaiah; and therefore, on the testimony of St. Paul, the Holy Ghost is God.

If, then, a passage of scripture which but indirectly proves the doctrine of the Trinity is found, on examination, to contain such convincing evidence of its truth; how does our faith become strengthened when we find it thus interwoven in the Old and New Testaments, and with what unshaken confidence do we receive those passages of scripture in which it is more plainly and directly asserted.

As when in asserting the Godhead of the eternal Father, He is spoken of as the God and Father of us all;' as when he is described as the Creator and Preserver of all things; and as when it is said that " in His hand is the breath of every living thing, and that in Him we live, and move, and have our being."

We receive the doctrine of the Godhead of the Eternal Son as when it is directly asserted—“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God;' as when it is said, "whose are the Fathers and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever ;" and as when it is said, "great is the mystery of godliness, God was manifest in the flesh," and in another place, "But unto the Son he saith thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever.

We receive the doctrine of the Godhead of the Holy Ghost, as when it is said, "Know ye not that ye are the temples of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you, and elsewhere, know ye not that your bodies are the temples of the Holy Ghost." As when it is said all scripture is given by inspiration of God; and again, "Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost; "and as when St. Peter said to Ananias, "Why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie unto the Holy Ghost," and afterwards, "thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.”

But it may be said we cannot understand the doctrine of the Trinity, we cannot comprehend how three persons exist in one God and, therefore, we cannot think the belief of it to be necessary.

To this it may be at once replied-this circumstance by no means proves the belief in this doctrine to be unnecessary.

And if any persons should complain of the hardship of being obliged to believe anything which they do not understand, I would remind them that if it be a hardship, it is one which is inseparable from us in the present very limited state of our faculties, and that it is no greater hardship than we are compelled to undergo every day of our lives in matters of far less importance than that under consideration.

Will a man refuse to believe that the soul is united to the body because he does not understand how it is so?

Will a man talk of the hardship of believing that the planets are kept in their orbits round the sun although so many millions of miles distant without visible connection; because he is utterly unable to comprehend how they are so ?

Shall we hear any complaints of the hardship of believing that the sun is the great and unfailing source of light and heat, because we have no faculties to understand how so vast a body can continually pour forth such immense supplies of both, without any apparent diminution or exhaustion?

If, then, those things which are open to the inspection of the bodily senses contain mysteries which the most profound intellects are utterly unable to fathom, is it to be expected that there would be less mystery connected with the Great Being who made all these things; and can we suppose the nature of the Almighty Creator to contain smaller difficulties than that of the things created by him?

Till, therefore, the objectors can explain how the planets are kept in their orbits; how the soul is united to the body; how the sun can send

forth such continued and inexhaustible supplies of light and heat; or to take a more simple case still, till they are prepared to state how when a man has cast seed into his field it springs and grows up, he knoweth not how,'-let them at least refrain from talking too confidently about things above reason, and things contrary to reason, when the subject is the Nature of the Almighty Creator; and let them receive with humble faith the facts revealed in scripture, without attempting either to explore or explain how the Almighty exists.

Canst thou by searching find out God-canst thou find out the Almighty to perfection? Higher than heaven, what canst thou do? deeper than hell, what canst thou know?

The necessity of an unfeigned belief in the doctrine of the Trinity will further appear, when we consider, that unless the three divine persons be absolutely and essentially God, no flesh could be saved.

Unless the Eternal Father be God, the atonement of the Eternal Son could not have been accepted.

Unless the Eternal Son be God, He could not have made a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world.

And unless the Holy Ghost be God, it would be impossible that He should be every where present to renew and sanctify us to confirm and strengthen us in all goodness-to comfort us in tribulation-and to help our infirmities.

And if it is asked, what do the scriptures teach us about the form which corresponds to the power in this first duty of godliness? The answer is, it is doubtless the open profession before men of our stedfast belief in this foundation doctrine of the faith, according to the words,"with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

And now let the appeal be made to the fidelity with which the Church of England has executed this part of her trust-to the care with which she has guarded this foundation-stone of the catholic faith; and to the noble barriers she has set round it to prevent most awful heresies from undermining the goodly temple of godliness, and so causing the whole fabric of true Religion to fall down an irreparable ruin.

How faithfully this has always been done by her, will appear when we call to mind that she requires the form of this part of godliness, I mean the public confession of the true faith to be made before she allows her ministers to administer either of the Holy Sacraments.

This confession of the true faith, as taught in the Apostle's creed, is required from infants, by their sureties, before baptism is administered; and the confession of the same faith as taught in the Nicene creed is required of all communicants before she permits them to partake of the Sacrament of the Saviour's most Blessed Body and Blood.

The like confession of the true faith is required from the sick person in the Service for the Visitation of the Sick, and the very words which stand at the head of this essay, and which have always been considered by the Church, from the threefold repetition of the word Holy, to refer to the doctrine of the Trinity, are used in the Te-Deum as well as in the most solemn office in the Holy Communion, before those holy mysteries are administered. Besides, the ancient badge of orthodoxy, the 'Gloria Patri' at

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the end of every Psalm is invariably used; and the creed called the creed of St. Athanasius has been retained, wherein the fact of three persons in one God is clearly stated to be the sense of the Catholic Church in all ages, although the manner of such existence is as clearly stated to be incomprehensible.

ESSAY THE FOURTH.

"Canst thou by searching find out God? Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? It is as high as heaven, what canst thou do? deeper than hell, what canst thou know ?"-Job xi. 7. 8.

THAT God is we have seen to be a truth which has been implanted in the minds of all, and which is forced upon their conviction by the unanswerable evidence of their senses; evidence be it remembered which even those who pretend to disbelieve Revelation find it impossible fairly to evade, since before the force of it can be set aside they must deny the existence of every thing above them, around them, and in them, which bears the infallible stamp of the handy work of the Almighty.

Some facts, however, there are, which are revealed in scripture concerning the nature of God; and which it is necessary that all those who would enter into life should firmly believe, even although from the nature of the case, they are without the faculties to understand them.

How God exists, however, has not been revealed, and therefore such a subject is not one which worms of the earth like ourselves have any right to presume either to explore or explain.

The question next in order is that which leads us to enquire what God is? And although fully to answer this question is impossible since we have neither faculties to comprehend nor words to express His attributes and perfections; yet it is of the utmost importance that we set continually before our eyes those attributes and perfections as far as we are able to understand them.

Here, however, it must be premised that all the expressions employed in scripture to describe them are made use of in condescension to the weakness of our faculties; that they cannot give us any adequate ideas of the infinite perfection of God, because in our present state we are incapable of receiving them; but that the ideas which we may gain of the perfections of God from a due consideration of His word and His works are abundantly sufficient to enable us to secure our present and future happiness, though not sufficient to satisfy the presumptuous curiosity of a vain and undutiful reason.

The mischief which has arisen from men neglecting to consider the divine perfections, so far as they are revealed in God's Holy Word, and are declared in His works, and so far as we are capable of understanding them, is not to be computed. For it is only by men's having continually before their eyes a perfect standard of mercy, judgment, and truth, that they can effectually perform the duties which they owe to God and their neighbour, and can advance in the practice of personal holiness" without which no man shall see the Lord.”