them forth as the needs of humanity require. Vincent de Paul, to rescue the abandoned offspring of unnatural parents-Howard, to relieve the miseries of the noisome prison-house-Las Casas, to plead for the conquered with the conquerors of the new world-and an Oberlin among the mountains and peasants of our own country. In the religious world it is the same. The great head of the Church drew from the cloisters of Wirtemberg, and the obscure chateau of Noyon, where no glance but his could penetrate adversaries who braved a Leo the tenth, and a Julius the second. A Claude is raised up to refute a Bossuet, and an anonymous pen, whose disguise no human hand has yet removed, at the required moment gives to the world, the Imitation of Christ. Who can deny that the Spirit of God directed these events? Do we not see the finger of God in the circumstance that these great men start into being at the very moment when their presence was required; they appear neither too soon nor too late, and the service they were charged to render to the world would have been useless or impracticable either before or after the actual era of their appearance. Yes! we believe that a divine intelligence is everywhere present in the development of human intelligence, and it is on this account that when a distinguished man appears we ascribe his genius and wisdom directly to God. Notwithstanding, in these things there exists only an unusual development of the faculties with which God has endowed the human soul. Such events are not at variance with the order of the divine government, nor the course of the world. The case is altogether different when we speak of lips purified with fire taken from the altar of God (Isaiah v. 7); or of an ordinary man ascending Sinai and descending a prophet, or of a Jew falling upon the highway to Damascus, and rising a Christian Apostle. It is another thing to say with St. Paul, “I have received from the Lord that which I delivered unto you." Between the most extraordinary productions of human nature, and the teachings of Divine inspiration, there exists the same difference as between a phenomenon and a miracle, between the common order of nature and the reign of God's special grace, between human weakness and Divine infallibility, between the lot of humanity which can only say, I seek truth, and the privilege of saying as the Lord hath said, I am the truth. That the Holy Scriptures, thus referred to their true source, must contain a revelation "sufficient for all and for each" is a consequence of their nature. It is God who speaks, shall he not know all that it is needful to say? It cannot be that a revelation from Heaven should have anything unsaid, or admit anything erroneous, or fail to supply everything needful for the salvation of men. Could such suppositions be admitted, then God would have counteracted his own purposes, and the condemnation of man would not have been his own fault. Either the Holy Scriptures are not a revelation from God, and have imposed upon the Christian Church by claiming an authority to which they are not entitled, or they must be inspired and sufficient for all mankind in general, and for every man in particular. It is admitted by all Christians, that until the end of all terrestrial things—until the final accomplishment of its earthly destiny, the human race shall not again receive a direct communication from Heaven. In the plan of infinite wisdom and infinite goodness, the Almighty has deemed it enough to have spoken twice to man-enough to have made two alliances with humanity-enough that the law has been given by Moses, and grace and truth by Jesus Christ, nothing need be added. How improve that which is completed? How enhance the worth of that which is supremely excellent? Christianity is complete. Christ himself could do nothing more for us than he has done. It is not so with human knowledge. Wisdom has not yet said her last word— perfect knowledge is alone found in the Gospel. There a route is traced which leads forward the human race, vivified by faith, step by step, in a continual progress, from day to day, in Christian knowledge, until the pilgrim reach the tomb. But, adapted for humanity as a whole, the word of God must also suffice for each individual believer. The humblest, the most simple, the most timorous Christian can find in the Scriptures his sanctification and Salvation; his way to approach Christ; his "good part;" his eternal life. The Scriptures may be understood by all if they are read with a docile, a confiding, a prayerful spirit. Doubtless it will sometimes happen that the book of grace, like the book of nature, will offer difficulties to the observation of the reader; the language will at times obscure the sense, and the instructions be concealed by the illustrations; the accomplishment of every prediction will not perhaps be recognized, and the prophetic vision sometimes appear to interpose a cloud, before the brightness of the truth which it offers to our gaze. But, apart from these passing shades, it is impossible but that the Divine torch will afford to each light sufficient to guide to Heaven. Secure in his faith, the true believer will conclude that the page he cannot comprehend was designed for others more highly favoured than himself and endowed with higher knowledge. He will remember, that "if there be diversity of gifts, there is still the same spirit," and content with his lot, happy in his faith, he will, without impatience, wait the day when immortality will change faith into light. In truth we may affirm, that such reflections become us all, for where is the Christian who can say "I understand the whole Bible. It contains not a word obscure to me?" The last point advanced in our statement of general principles, respecting the Holy Scriptures was, that "Inspiration is not literal." In other words, that inspiration is in the thoughts and not in the words; in the substance, and not in the form. This is a subject too extensive to be fully treated in this brief outline of our faith-it must suffice to state our opinion in a few words, and leave it to the farther study and meditation of the reader. God addressing men must use the language of men. The most intelligent theologians and commentators of all sects are now agreed, that the Bible cannot possibly have been dictated word for word, and that the choice of its language and its arrangement must have been left by the spirit of God to the judgment of man. The order and subject of the sacred books-the connexion of the different writings -the language, differing at different times-the various styles of the different books-the individuality of each author, stamped upon his respective portions of the Bible. The clear distinction which is seen between those portions of Scripture, which are narratives of facts witnessed by the writers, and those which record facts on the testimony of others, an attentive comparison of the book of Deuteronomy, with the parallel passages in the three books which precede it, of the different books of the Old Testament among themselves, and of the four Evangelists with each other; all are so many convincing arguments against the theory of a verbal inspiration. In truth, this is a mere question of fact, which little concerns the certainty or security of our faith. If God has inspired the sacred writers with the thoughts only, and not with the language in which these thoughts are expressed, it is because he judged this inspiration to be sufficient. But the question is of the greater importance as regards the defence of our common faith, seeing that while there is not a single objection against the truth, the authenticity and the integrity of the Scriptures, which our theory of inspiration does not furnish us with the means of refuting, the determination to maintain the inspiration of every word and phrase, is to give to infidelity the sanction of reason-to deliver up the Christian faith to the tender mercies of scepticism-to put the Bible in contradiction with itself -to call into existence a long list of objections grounded upon reason, feeling, and history; in a word, to sacrifice the Bible, in clear disregard of its own profound and sagacious injunctions, and to prefer "The letter which killeth to the spirit which giveth life." SELECTED POETRY. A HAPPY LIFE. BY SIR HENRY WOTTON. Sir Henry Wotton was born at Bocton Hall, in Kent, in 1568. He was educated at Winchester and Oxford, and afterwards attached himself to the Earl of Essex, the favourite of Elizabeth. After the fall of Essex, Wotton was sent by James the First, as Ambassador to Venice. It was he who defined an Ambassador as being "an honest gentleman sent to lie abroad for the good of his country." Wotton died in 1639, and a memoir of his life has been published by the famous Izaak Walton. How happy is he born and taught, Whose passions not his masters are, Of public fame, or private breath ; Who envies none that chance doth raise, Who hath his life from rumours freed, Who God doth late and early pray This man is freed from servile bands POPULAR FALLACIES OF TRINITARIANISM. I. TRINITARIAN FALLACY CONCERNING MYSTERY; OR, MYSTERY NO ARGUMENT IN PROOF OF THE TRINITY. As to what is called "the mystery of the Trinity," though strictly a religious matter, and pretended to be purely a matter of divine revelation, it is yet a thing confessedly nowhere so much as once named in Scripture, either as a mystery or not a mystery. It is freely confessed, as it must be by all its abettors, to be purely a matter of inference-a theory which they have assumed to explain certain things in Scripture which they think cannot be rightly accounted for otherwise; and because we cannot comprehend the works of God-and far less God himself-so they think the nature of God being so much a mystery, we should just believe as they do, and not presume to question their opinion concerning that mystery. This, under whatever plausible garb it may be put forward, is always the real amount of the argument which is attempted to be passed off in every one of those stale appeals that are made to mystery in behalf of Trinitarianism; and as it is a conclusion between which, and the premises, we certainly cannot see the least connexion, so it is one to which we at once demur, and maintain that we have a right and a duty upon us to prove all things, and hold fast only that which is good. 1 Thess. v. 21. In speaking of mystery-just as if that could solve and silence every objection to the Trinity-they sometimes affect to be very rational and philosophical, arguing, in very plausible terms, how we must admit mystery in the works of God; and how much more reason have we to admit it in God himself. Now, we must freely admit it in both; but we tell them that whatever mysteries may be in nature, no philosopher appeals to mystery for the support of any notion or theory which he may form of the laws of nature; nor, if he did so, would he be allowed, for a moment, the right of such an appeal? What, for example, is more mysterious in nature than the principle of gravitation? Now, we have a theory on this subject, as applied, for instance, in the science of astronomy, to account for the motions of the heavenly bodies. But what rational defender of this theory would pretend to answer any objections that might be brought against it by saying, that it is a mystery-that we should not presume to question the received theory of this principle, because, forsooth, it is one of deep and impenetrable mystery? What man of science is there who would not spurn, with contempt, such a plea? and if the theory could not be defended altogether without such a |