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(Acts ii. 36). And the Lordship of Christ is one; and if it is not manifested now as at the first, it is not that it hath changed, but that we have ceased to 66 hold fast his name," and to ask him to stretch forth his hand to heal, and that "signs and wonders may be done in his name: for "Whatsoever ye shall ask," saith our Lord, " in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son," and these also are the words of Jesus, which no man dare limit to time or place, seeing that He who spake them hath not done so : "These signs shall follow them that believe: In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover" (Mark xvi. 16-18).

The faith of the church is also one: "One faith." The body being one, and that one body being filled by one Spirit, there cannot be throughout the whole body but one faith. That such was the unity of faith in the days of the Apostles, when the voice of the living God was heard in the church, no one will deny. If any difference of opinion existed among any of the members of Christ, it did not lead to division, but to union and oneness of faith: for "God revealed even this unto them ". (Acts xi. 1-24; xv. 1-29). How earnestly did the Apostle Paul exhort the Corinthians in respect of this: "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing; and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind, and in the same judgment" (I Cor. i. 10). A departure from this oneness of faith was not to be endured, or countenanced, even for a moment (11, 12). The Apostle asks, with holy indig nation, "Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?" As long as the Headship of Christ was acknowledged, and the voice of the living God was heard in the church, so long were the members of his body kept in" one faith," even as the Spirit is one. The presence and voice of the living God was indispensably necessary to the keeping of the members of the body in one faith. If the Apostles had spoken with the enticing words of man's wisdom, there would have been as great a variety of opinion as there are members in the body; but their speech and their preaching was in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that the faith of the church should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. To what, I would ask, must we ascribe the innumerable differences of opinion in the church in these days, but to the teaching in the words of man's wisdom, instead of the words which the Holy Ghost teacheth? God has shewn us, by long and woeful experience, that He alone can keep the church in

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unity of faith; and he will shew that this is His prerogative, when the Spirit of the Lord shall again move upon the face of the deep, and bring order and union out of the confused chaos. The enemy has indeed come in like a flood, and now shall the Spirit of the Lord lift up a standard against him. When this unction from the Holy One is poured forth, and all the garments of the bride and her attendants are perfumed with its incense (Psa. xlv. 7, 8), then it shall be said, "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard; that went down to the skirts of his garments; as the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore."

There is also " one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." The whole Christ—the Head, and body, and members-are subordinate to the Father, and arranged in order under Him. The Head of the church and of every man, is Christ; and the Head of Christ is God; and the day will come when this shall be manifested. "Then cometh the end, when he shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father....And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.” And through eternal ages shall He stand at the head of the worshippers, the great High Priest of our profession, even the High Priest after the order of Melchizedec; and lead them on in the worship of the invisible Godhead, the one God of our salvation, the Father of us all; of whom our Lord said, "I ascend unto my Father and your Father, to my God and your God." Even now are we taught to trace up our salvation to the eternal counsels of the Almighty Father: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ." For of him, and to him, and through him are all things; to whom be glory and dominion for ever and ever.'

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The Father also "is through all," pervading the whole body by his presence; discerning the thoughts and intents of the heart; shedding abroad his love in their hearts; writing his name on their foreheads, and uniting them to each other in the bonds of holy love. He is, moreover, " in all;" dwelling in them as in a temple. "What, know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you?" (1 Cor. v. 19.) "It is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you" (Matt. x. 20). Mark has it, "It is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost" (xiii. 11). He indeed that hath received the promise of the Father, being baptized with the

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Holy Ghost, hath both the Father and the Son (John xiv. 16-23); and the great mark of the indwelling of the Father is love. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him" (1 John iv. 16). All pretensions to piety without holy love, are vain. "Though I speak with the tongues of men and angels, and have not love, I am become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profiteth me nothing." And if this heavenly gift is to be judged of by the unerring standard of God's word, where is it to be found in these our days? For "Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Love never faileth." Oh! let us humble ourselves at the Throne of Grace, and bow our knees in solemn and fervent prayer unto the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, "that he would grant us, according to the riches of his grace, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith; that we, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend, with all saints, what is the breadth and length and depth and height, and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge; that we might be filled with all the fulness of God."

Finally; let no one divide the body of Christ, or the Spirit of Christ, or the lordship of Christ, or the Christian faith, or the baptism of the Holy Ghost, or the God and Father of us all for He who is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever, hath declared, that "there is but one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all."

Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be glory in the church, by Christ Jesus, throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

J. H.

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ON THE VARIOUS WAYS OF GOD'S MANIFESTING HIMSELF

TO MAN.

In our sixth volume (p. 212, &c.) we briefly noticed the republication of a curious treatise, first issued in 1713, under the title, "The general Delusion of Christians touching the Ways of God's revealing Himself," &c. We have now before us an able tract, written by Bromley, and published in 1761, on the same subject. Of the author's view of what are termed the “extraordinary dispensations,” and the leading arguments by which he sustains his opinion, we shall present our readers with a somewhat extended abridgment, retaining as far as we can the author's own language. His work is entitled "An Account of the various Ways of God's manifesting Himself to Man; with Observations on those Dispensations called extraordinary.” These "Observations" he commences thus :

"Various have been the ways in which God hath dispensed himself to his church since the fall of Adam. But my chief design is here to discourse of those now called extraordinary; of which are, revelations; infallible prophecies; responses from the mercy-seat; answers from the high priest's pectoral, named the judgment of Urim; together with angelical dreams, miracles, voices, visions, &c. Now visions, of which I shall discourse more particularly than of the rest, were chiefly those of representation of angels, of the internal heavens, of Christ's glorified humanity, and of the similitude of God. Voices were either internal, which we may call inspeakings, or external; which were either from angels, or from the persons in the Trinity; some instances of which, and other extraordinary ways of God's discoveries in his saints, so far as they suit to the present design, I shall give in the Scriptures I have collected; which I intend first to present into view; and afterward on them, as the foundation, to build my observations, which I shall conclude with a vindication of some, who at this time enjoy many of these extraordinary things."

The author begins with God's discoveries of himself before the Law, which were ordinarily in visions and voices. As to Adam, Gen. iii. ; to Noah, Gen. vi. vii. viii. ; to Abram, Gen. xii. and onwards; to Isaac, Gen. xxvi. ; to Jacob, Gen. xxviii. and xxxii.; to Joseph, Gen. xxxvii.; and to Moses, Exod. iii. &c. He proceeds in like manner to open God's discoveries of himself under the Law and by the Prophets, raised up from time to time for the special purpose of calling upon the people to repent and turn to God, and endowed for this end with extraordinary power from God, to convince the people and to declare the purposes about to be manifested openly.

"After the re-edifying of the temple, Malachi was raised up an extraordinary ambassador from God, who denounceth a curse against the priests for breaking their covenant, and reproves the idolatry of the people. This was the last before John the Baptist, of whom he prophesieth, whose office was to preach repentance to the Israelites; who by this time were much corrupted in doctrine, discipline, and conversation; though in the intermediate space, they had sometimes, though rarely, experience of extraordinary dispensations, as church histories record.

"But now I shall pass to the writers of the New Testament, who give a fair and luculent testimony to these great, and at that time extraordinary dispensations. We read, Luke i. That there appeared to Zacharias an angel of the Lord, standing on the right side of the altar of incense, which struck him into fear; but the angel prohibits it, predicts the birth of John Baptist, gives his name, and shews his office : ver. 19, the angel discovers that his name was Gabriel: ver. 20, Zacharias is struck dumb for his unbelief: ver. 26, The same angel is sent from God to Nazareth, where he found the Virgin Mary, and saluted her in these sweet expressions, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women: afterwards he comforts her, speaks of her sacred conception, of the birth of Christ, and names him Jesus; speaks of the eternity of his kingdom; and reports to Mary the conception of Elizabeth: ver. 41, Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Ghost, prophesieth: ver. 46, Mary answers in the same spiritual language: ver. 67, Zacharias prophesieth: Matt. i. 20, The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, and informed him concerning Mary's holy conception, foretelling the birth of Jesus. The Magi were directed from the East by a miraculous star, and arriving at the place where he was born, worshipped him, and presented their gifts, and so returned as the Lord admonished them in a dream, Luke ii. The poor shepherds also had news of this by one of God's messengers; for whilst they were watching their flocks by night, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and the angel discovered to them the blessed news of Christ's birth in Bethlehem; upon which there suddenly appeared a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men: ver. 25, The Holy Ghost was upon Simeon, and he had it revealed he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ; who, coming into the temple, took Christ into his arms and prophesied. Anna, the prophetess, gave her prophetic testimony also to the Messiah. Matt. ii. 13, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, and commanded him

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