endearment, we must either admit that it had the same effect on the others, or deny that in Immanuel dwelt all the fulness of the God-head; there is no escaping from this dilemma. Let any one try to solve this difficulty if he can. But this is not the only difficulty in which the scope of this hymn involves the understanding of the worshiper; there is another equally formidable which must be noticed. It is this. The singer assumes an absolute impossibility. His words represent him as having had an opportunity of contemplating the character of God previously to his having had any knowledge of the incarnation. At that period, and it must have been very remote indeed, he knew that there were three holy, just, and sacred names above, or in heaven,—but then they were names which produced in his mind only the passion of terror; and it was only when the face of God manifest in human flesh, or Immanuel's face appeared, that his thoughts began to feel some degree of comfort. To an unthinking mind, which came into the world but as yesterday, it may be very pleasant, aided by the excitement of music, to utter words of such import; but when we know of a certainty that so soon as man had sinned, revelations of mercy were made to him as a sinner, what becomes of their truthfulness? Where shall we look for the period at which God ever revealed himself to his creatures as an object of terror ? Every revelation, every manifestation of his character which God has at any time vouchsafed to man, has been an act of condescending mercy, for the purpose of drawing man more closely to himself as the source of all good, and, therefore, of all felicity. The language of the hymn, then, we contend, involves an absolute impossibility; no man can know any thing of God but by revelation, and there is not one word within the whole compass of Divine revelation that teaches man to view his Maker as an object of terror, but the very reverse. But again. We must notice the reasons which the author of the hymn in question had, in his own mind at least, for styling the name of Jesus the "dearest of all the names above," that is to say, so far as he has distinctly avowed them. And the first appears to be this, namely, that the Father being offended with mankind, doubtless in consequence of transgression, that is, in consequence of the fall,—frowned upon them and became full of fury, wrath, vengeance, &c. We know that this is a statement which the more reflecting part of the Orthodox are not very fond of hearing; but so long as we find it standing as part and parcel, so to speak, of their avowed creed, and so long as they sing of it in their professed worship of God, we are bound in all courtesy to give them the full benefit of it, and we do so most willingly; if they do not 66 like it, let them have the candour and honesty to blot it from their standards of faith and books of worship. Well then, the Father, being offended, frowned, became exceedingly angry, armed himself with vengeance, and seated himself on "a throne of burning wrath," whence there issued nothing but "devouring flame." In this terrific state he continued until another produced an entire change upon him; he was actually seen to smile once more; the rich drops of Jesus' blood calmed his frowning face;"-the throne of burning wrath which shot devouring flame was, by the sprinkling of the same blood, converted into a throne of grace, and the "Eternal King lays his fury by." Such was the change produced on him who bare one of the names above," by another who bare another of those names, and hence, no doubt, came the idea into the poet's mind that Jesus deserved the epithet of dearest; hence too, no doubt, he sang, and for the same reason thousands sing after him, Is it possible for the human mind to imagine a change from one state of things to another more real, more striking than is here unequivocally declared to have taken place in the Divine Being, in Him whom we are taught to believe is immutable? Surely writers who compose devotional services for the multitude, whether in prose or poetry, may easily avoid such glaring inconsistencies as the above; inconsistencies which must shock and stultify the weakest understanding. The author of the hymn concludes in words which are far from being unexceptionable : "While Jews on their own law rely, And Greeks of wisdom boast, I love th' incarnate mystery, And there I fix my trust." ་་་ ་ 1 We have searched in vain for any passage of Scripture which seems to countenance this language. The only passage to which we can suppose the poet to have made allusion is 1 Cor. i. 22, 23,-" For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness. Now, we humbly conceive that, if Dr. Watts had this passage in view when he wrote the lines just quoted, he mistook its import in writing as he has done. The words seem plainly to imply that while the Jews relied on their own law, and the Greeks boasted of wisdom, he (the Doctor himself) chose to pursue a path different from either that of the Jew or the Greek; the Jews, as he expresses it, relied on their own law, but he would do no such thing,—he loved the incarnate mystery, and there he fixed his trust. But certainly Paul does not say that the Jews relied on their law; but in very plain terms intimates their want of reliance on it by their requiring a sign, which they often did, from the GREAT AUTHOR of that law when he appeared among them. True it is that they placed too much reliance on the ceremonies of that law, but their want of reliance on the law itself was their ruin. Plain enough, however, it is that Dr. Watts meant to intimate here, as he has done in many other parts of his writings, that he considered the Law of God as laid down by Moses, and enforced by all the prophets, by Jesus Christ and his apostles, as opposed to the doctrines of the Gospel;-a sentiment which we have often protested against, and against which we once more raise our decided testimony, as a sentiment dangerous in its tendency, and contrary to all reason and revelation. As to what the Doctor meant by the incarnate mystery, in which he informs us he fixed his trust in preference to the Law, we may form a tolerably correct idea from what we have already seen of his notions respecting the constituents of the Godhead. The incarnate mystery mentioned by Paul (1 Tim. iii. 16.) was the development, the bringing forth to view, the clearing from all obscurity, the unravelling, the explanation of the love and wisdom of God, which had been hidden for ages under types and shadows, by the manifestation of Jehovah in the person of Jesus;-but Dr. Watts seems to use the term to signify something which is incomprehensible, and of which we can form no definite idea whatever. In this view of the subject he is supported by many, nay by most, of the most celebrated divines of the Church of England, as well as by other writers of celebrity; but of what avail is such a notion to an anxious, an earnestly inquiring mind? If we are not to attach something like definite ideas to the INCONTROVERTIBLE and fundamental doctrine of Christianity, it can be but of comparatively little importance that we should attach them to any thing else. But the "Incarnate Mystery" of the Gospel is not a dark, obscure, or unintelligible subject; -on the contrary, it is the very SUN of the Christian system; and happy, thrice happy is the man who turns himself to that true light and life, and walks in its enlivening rays;--with him "the darkness is past, and the true light shineth;" he is thus enabled with facility to distinguish between GENUINE TRUTH and the mere appearances of truth, and hence to avoid those numerous occasions of stumbling which so prominently characterize the modern theology. In conclusion, we would offer a remark or two on the title of the - hymn to which we have called attention. It is this:- "God reconciled in Christ." There is more in this title than meets the eye of the superficial reader, though certainly not more than is expressed in the strongest terms throughout the hymn. Doubtless many well-meaning persons who sing this hymn with great comfort to themselves, would be shocked at our impiety should we propose to alter the title into "God CHANGED in Christ." And yet what else does the word signify but change? Let the reader, if he entertain the slightest doubt on the subject, examine with the most rigid scrutiny every passage in either the sacred or the profane writings in which the verb aλλaoow (allasso) or any of its derivatives can be found, and he will be constrained to admit that the primary signification every where is change, and that such change, in every passage in the New Testament in which it is mentioned, is predicated of man, and in no one instance of God. We might illustrate this most important truth at great length, but do not think it at all necessary; and shall therefore only observe that the grand theme of the apostolic preaching was the doctrine of RECONCILIATION, and what was that? It was that Jehovah, in the one person of Jesus Christ, was reconciling the world to Himself, that is, changing, turning, converting man from a state of alienation and enmity to a state of nearness and love. What did the apostles, in the execution of their commission as ambassadors of Christ, but beseech men to repent, to turn from their iniquities, to renounce all the hidden works of darkness, to allow themselves to be translated from the kingdom of Satan into the kingdom of the Son of God, or, in one word, to receive Karaλλayn (katallage) the atonement, that is, to be at one with God. And in as far as their message of reconciliation was received, in so far was the grand moral change so often predicted by the prophets effected. If, then, such be the proper and legitimate signification of the term reconciliation, how absurd, to use the mildest word we can, is the common practice of applying it to the IMMUTABLE JEHOVAH! With great propriety might the question be put to any one singing such hymns as those we have had occasion to refer to,- Understandest thou what thou singest?"* 66 ΙΑΚΩΒΟΣ. * It was intimated above that a reason would be assigned for selecting the 148th hymn of the 2nd Book of Dr. Watts' Hymns, as the subject of our remarks. It is this: We had the pleasure of listening, very recently, to an able discourse, by a truly learned and amiable Doctor of Divinity, on Heb. xiii. 8,-"Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever." Throughout the discourse the Lord's Divinity and immutability were ably advocated, and supported by the most appropriate quotations from Scripture, and yet this very hymn, chosen by himself, was sung immediately preceding the delivery of his discourse. THE DIVINE FAITHFULNESS. To the Editor of the INTELLECTUAL REPOSITORY. 4 66 It appears to me that a New Churchman, if he overlooks the context of Psalm cxxxviii., verse 2, where the words occur, Thou host magnified thy word above all thy name," may be very liable to misconstrue its meaning, by attaching to the phrase "thy word" a signification not intended, namely, that of the whole Word of Divine Truth, whereas it means only that portion of the Word which consists of Divine promises of help and mercy in time of need. The true sense of the phrase is seen in an expression which is not unusual in common life when speaking of one who has performed his promise,—that “he has kept his word." The Psalmist says, (Clowes's Translation,) "I will praise thy name for thy mercy and truth [for this is the name of the Lord spiritually, that is, his Divine quality]; for thou hast magnified thy word [that is, thy faithfulness in performing thy promises] above all thy name, [or above all the other forms of thy mercy and truth, for] in the day when I call, thou answerest me; thou dost strengthen me with strength in my soul." Such a conclusion, under the circumstances adverted to, is the most natural possible. In states of spiritual temptation, even to despair, as the feeling of hopelessness increases during the temptation, the Divine promises appear more and more to lose their power of supporting and comforting; and when to the state of despair in which the temptation terminates, succeeds the surprise and joy of deliverance, the contrast between despair of God's fulfilment of his promises to " deliver out of the hand of the enemy," and the actual experience of his faithfulness in having effectually delivered, and thus performed his promise, naturally leads to the exclamation,-" He has kept his word!" all his Divine perfections, his faithfulness stands preeminent! The faithful may fail from among the children of men; but "the words of the Lord are pure words; as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times." Above Born, as man is, and too commonly trained, into self-confidence, before regeneration he has no proper idea of the reality of the Divine faithfulness. He believes, because the Word declares it, that “God is Love," and that his tender mercies are over all his works;" but he does not yet know, and he can only learn from actual experience, the infinite faithfulness of that Love and Mercy, and, consequently, the 66 |