VIEWS OF THE HOLY TRINITY.

VIEWS OF THE HOLY TRINITY

DOCTRINAL

AND

EXPERIMEITAL

fV/avW^>^

v:

CHARLESTON:

JOHN RUSSELL, 256 KING-STREET
1853.

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1853, by

JOHN RUSSELL,

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United State?, for tin
District of South-CaroUna.

CHARLESTON:

STEAM POWER PRESS OF AVALKER <t JAMES,
No. 3 Broad-street.

PREFACE.

The pages of this little volume were written many years
since, at the repeated request of a valued and loved Christian
friend, who desired to have them for her own private use.
Soon after, the writer of these Views of the Holy Trinity
was requested to allow others to peruse the manuscript, and
this request was also granted ; but the result was, that the
manuscript was circulated among Christians of various deno-
minations, far more extensively than the writer of it ever
intended that it should be. And shortly after, letters -were
received from ministers and private Christians, attached to
the Episcopal, Methodist, Presbyterian and Baptist Churches,
requesting that these Views of the Trinity should be printed,
for ihe benefit of Christians generally. Many stated that
tliey had personally received great profit and enlargement of
soul in reading the manuscript, and urged the publication of
it, as a Christian duty.

Repeatedly, within the last ten years, this has been urged
fiom different quarters and denominations of Christians. But
this was invariably refused, from motives of delicacy, which

VI. PREFACE.

could not be overcome till very recently, when a simulta-
neous and urgent request, from Christians of four denomina-
tions, among trhom were two ministers of the Gospel, has
induced the owner of the manuscript to consent to its being
printed. This is consented to from a deep conviction that
Providence seems to call for the publictaion of the manuscript,
and therefore the owner is in duty bound to obey the call, and
make the sacrifice of private feeling which is required, in
throwing before the eye of the public what was originally
•written solely for the use of a Christian friend.

Doubtless there will be many to cavil at the doctrine, and
ridicule the Christian experience recorded in these pages,
though they agree with the holy Scriptures. Those who
will dare to trifle with, and make light of the inspired word
of God, and exalt sceptical reasoning above the truth itself,
have never scrupled to doubt the reality of Christian expe-
rience, and never will scruple to ridicule it, as absurd. With
such we have nothing to do : to their own Master, they must
stand or fall. Rom. xiv., 4.

But these Views of the Trinity are published for the bene-
fit of the people of God, who feel and acknowledge their
need of a divine Saviour, and who desire to be built up in the
most holy faith of the Gospel of Christ.

A Presbyterian minister from a distance writes thus :
" They contain many things -which might with profit be more
extensively diffused, for the comfort and edification of iha
people of God, than is possible without the aid of the press."

PREFACE.

To such, therefore, these pages are addressed in their publi-
cation ; and that the Spirit of God may apply the truths
contained in them to their hearts with power, is the fervent
prayer of your fellow-servant in the Lord.

Jan. \s,t, 1853,

" The Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wis-
dom : but we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stum-
bling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness ; but unto them
which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of
God, and the wisdom of God." I. Cor. i., 22-24.

The proceeds from the publication of this little volume
are to be devoted to furnishing the destitute with the written
word of God, the Holy Bible. It is not designed as a specu-
lation for loorldly gain, but as an investment for spiritual
good.

PART I

2Jim0 nf il)t €xmh]

CHAPTER I.

To Mrs. .

My dear Friend : — Living, as we do, in the
nineteenth century of the Christian era, and
under the ministration of the Gospel by the
Spirit, surely our knowledge of God, and of
the economy of his grace, as exhibited in the
plan of salvation, ought to surpass that of
the fathers, who lived under the compara-
tively dark dispensation of the Old Testa-
ment. ''For if the ministration of death,
written and graven in stones, was glorious,
so that the children of Israel could not stead-
fastly behold the face of Moses, for the glory
of his eountenance, which glory was to bo

VIEWS OF THE TEINITY.

done away : how shall not the ministration
of the Spirit be rather glorious." II. Cor., iii.,
7, 8. " For if that which is done away was
glorious, much more that which remaineth is
glorious." 11 V.

And our knowledge of these things ought,
at least, to be equal to that of the apostles ;
seeing that we live in an advanced age of
the world, possessing the whole Revelation,
and enjoying the accumulated light of nearly
six thousand years. We have collected in
the holy Bible a mass of evidence, to which
each of the prophets, and most of the apos-
tles contributed ; besides this, we have also
the light of authentic history, showing the
fulfilment of many prophecies which they
recorded by the pen of inspiration. And
with the Bible in our hands, mider the min-
istration of the Spirit, surely we ought to
have as just conceptions of Deity, and of
the plan of redemption, as the apostles them-
selves had. But is this the case with the
great majority of Christians ? And why is
it not so ? I answer, It is because Christians

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY.

generally, (io not study the whole Scriptures per -
severingly and with prayer. This is the reason
wh}^ the standard of Christian experience is,
at the present day, so far below what it has
been in some periods of the world.

But the minds of many in our midst are
aroused to reflection on this subject, and it
is with pleasure, my dear friend, that I now
comply with your request, and write out for
your use my views of the holy Trinity, as
manifested to my soul in my Christian expe-
rience. In doing so, I shall bear my testi-
mony to the deep communion and fellowship
which Christians ma}" enjoy with the triune
God, through a right apprehension of his
character, as it is manifested in the offices of
Father, Son and Spirit.

But first, I will give the ground of my faith
in believing the • existence of Three Persons
in the Godhead, as I draw it from the holy
Scriptures.

From a careful investigation of the Scrip-
tures, I am convinced that the Old Testament

VIEWS OF THE TEIXITY.

repeatedly mentions a Trinity of Persons in
the Godhead, speaking of God in distinct
offices, as Father, Son and Spirit. But the
more express declaration of the unity of these
three Persons in One, was reserved for the
teaching of Christ, as made known to us in
the New Testament.

The Old Testament opens with the an-
nouncement of a plurality of persons in the
Godhead, thus : " And God said. Let us make
man in our image, after our likeness." Gen.,
i., 26. Next, God gave an intimation of the
coming of Christ, and of his vicarious suffer-
ings, in the curse pronounced against the
serpent. Gen. iii., 15. And in the appoint-
ment of lambs for sacrifice, Gen. iv., 4.
After this, we find God assuming the appear-
ance of the human form, and in this form
conversing with the men Abraham, Jacob,
Moses and Joshua, as follows : " And the
Lord appeared unto him (Abraham) in the
plains of Mamre, and he lifted up his eyes
and looked, and lo, three men stood b}' him."
Gen. xviii., 1,2. "And the Lord said, vShall

VIEWS OF THE TEIjSTITY.

I hide from Abraham that thing which I do ?
17 V. And the Lord said, Because the cry
of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and be-
cause their sin is very grievous, I will go
down now and see whether they have done
altogether according to the cry of it. 20, 21
vs. And the men turned their faces from
thence, and went towards Sodom; but Abra-
ham stood yet before the Lord." 22 v.

In the next chapter we read, " And there
came two cmgels to Sodom at even," 1 v., who
evidently w^ere the men spoken of in the 22d
verse of the 18th chapter, and who were also
called '*the men," by the men of Sodom.
Leaving these two angels, or men, as they
appeared to be, engaged in fulfilling their
mission to Lot and his famil}^ by bringing
them out of Sodom and conducting them to
a place of safety, we return to the third of
the men, who remained with Abraham after
the other two had gone on their way to So-
dom. This third man was evidently the
Lo7^d, as the narrative teaches, thus : " But
Abraham stood yet before the Lord. And

6 VIEWS OF THE TEINITY.

Abraham drew near and said, Wilt thou also
destroy the righteous with the wicked ? Per-
adventure there be fifty righteous in the city.
Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?
And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty
righteous within the citj', then I will spare
all the place for their sakes. And Abraham
said, Behold now I have taken upon me to
speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and
ashes. Peradventure there shall lack five of
the fifty righteous : wilt thou destroy all the
cit}^ for the lack of five ? And he said, If I
find there forty and five, I will not destroy
it." Gen. xviii., 22-28 vs., and so on to the
end of the 33d verse : " And the Lord went
his wa}', as soon as he had left communing
with Abraham : and Abraham returned to
his place."

The language of these chapters evidently
teaches that the Lord, accompanied by two
created angels, appeared to iibraham in the
forms of men — that two of these men, called
in the next chapter " two angels," were sent
forward on their mission to Lot, in Sodom,

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY.

while the third, who was the Lord himself,
remained with Abraham. And Abraham, in
interceding with him for Sodom, addressed
him as '' the Lord," and " the Judge of all
the earth ;" while he, in the language of
omniscience and omnipotence, declared, " If /
find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city,
then / loill spare all the place for their sakes."
26 V. This is strong and definite language.

God appeared also to Jacob in human form,
thus : " And Jacob was left alone ; and there
wrestled a man with him until the breaking
of the day." Gen. xxxii., 24. " And Jacob
called the name of the place Peniel : for I
have seen God face to face, and my life is
preserved." 30 v. And in allusion to this
event, the inspired prophet Hosea says of
Jacob, " By his strength he had power with
God : yea, he had power over the angel, and
prevailed : he wept and made supplication
unto him : he found him in Bethel, and there
he spake with us ; even the Lord God of
hosts ; the Lord is his memorial." Hosea,
xii., 3-5.

8 VIEWS OF THE TEINITY.

Moses said, '' Hear, O Israel, the Lord our
God is one Lord." Deut. vi., 4. And God,
speaking to Moses, said, " Thou canst not
see my face : for there shall no man see
me, and live." Ex. xxxiii., 20. Yet, speak-
ing of Moses, God said to Aaron and Miriam,
" With him will I speak mouth to mouth,
even apparenth^ and not in dark speeches ;
and the similitude of the Lord shall he beholdJ^
Num. xii., 8.

"And it came to pass when Joshua was
by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and
looked, and behold, there stood a man over
against him, with his sword drawn in his
hand ; and Joshua went unto him, and said
unto him. Art thou for us, or for our adver-
saries ? And he said. Nay ; but as captain
of the host of the Lord am I now come.
And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and
did worship, and said unto him, What saith
mv lord unto his servant ? And the captain
of the Lord's host said unto Joshua, Loose
thy shoe from off thy foot, for the place
whereon thou standest is holy : and Joshua
did so." Josh, v., 13-15.

VIEWS OF THE TEINITY. 9

Now, if no man could see God and live,
as God expressly deelared to Moses, in Ex.
xxxiii., 20 : and yet the Lord did appear to
Abraham, Jacob, Moses and Joshua, all of
whom not only saw him with the eyes of the
body, but conversed with him " face to face,"
as Jacob said. Gen. xxxii., SO : then it is
evident that God did not appear to Abraham,
Jacob, Moses and Joshua in his essential na-
ture, for that could not be seen by any living
man ; but in the likeness of liiunan jiesli, here
called "a man" — "the similitude of the
Lord " — " the captain of the host of the
Lord" — and elsewhere named the "Messen-
ger of the covenant." Mai. iii., L "And the
angel of his j}resence saved them : in his love
and in his pity he redeemed them : and he
bare them and carried them all the days of
old. But they rebelled and vexed his Holy
Spirit." Isa. Ixiii., 9. In this verse, and to
the end of the chapter, the inspired penman
is referring to the deliverance of Israel from
Egypt, and their forty years wanderings
through the wilderness, during which the

10 VIEWS OF THE TEINITY.

captain of their salvation led them. In II.
Chronicles, xiii., 12, it is said, " And behold
God himself is with us for our captain, and
his priests with sounding trumpets." And
Paul says, in Heb. ii., 9-18, "But we see
Jesus, who was made a little low^er than the
angels, for the suffering of death, crowned
with glory and honour ; that he, by the grace
of God, should taste death for every man.
For it became him, for whom are all things,
and by whom are all things, in bringing
many sons to glory, to make the Captain of
their salvation perfect through sufferings.
9, 10 vs. For verily he took not on him the
nature of angels ; but he took on him the
seed of Abraham." 16 v. This language
plainly infers that this " Jesus," '' the Cap-
tain of their salvation," must have existed
in another nature before " he took on him the
seed of Abraham ;" and it is expressly said,
" For verily he took not on him the nature of
angels." What nature, then, had the Cap-
tain of salvation, before he humbled himself
to be born of a virgin, and w^as named Jesus ?

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. 11

Hear what the Jewish Chronicles assert :
" And behold God himself is with us for our
captain." Then St. Paul testifies that "Jesus
is the Captain of their salvation," and that
^' he took upon him the seed of Abraham."

From the consideration of the above pas-
sages of Scripture, with many others, it is
very evident to my mind that it was Christ,
the second person of the Godhead, whom St.
John calls the Word, that assumed by anti-
cipation the human form of the " only begot-
ten Son of God," and appeared to Abraham
as a man. Gen. xviii. ch. Also to Jacob as
a man, with whom he wrestled, and of whom
Jacob said, " I have seen God face to face,
and my life is preserved." Gen. xxxii., 30.
Afterwards to Moses, as " the Angel of the
Lord." Ex. iii., 2. Then also to Joshua, as
" a man with a drawn sword in his hand,"
Josh, v., 13, this man announced himself to
be the " Captain of the host of the Lord,"
bidding Joshua, " Loose thy shoe from off
thy foot, for the place whereon thou standest
is holy^ Now observe, this was the very

12 VIEWS OF THE TRINITY.

same command given to Moses, when God
appeared to him in the burning bush : " And
the Angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a
flame of fire, out of the midst of a bush;
and he looked, and behold, the bush burned
with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
And Moses said, I will now turn aside and
see this great sight, why the bush is not
burnt. • And when tlie Lord saw that he
turned aside to see, God called unto him out
of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses !
Moses ! And he said, Here am I. And he
said. Draw not nigh hither: put ofi" thy shoes
from off* thy feet : for the place whereon thou
standest is holy ground. Moreover he said,
I am the God of thy father, the God of Abra-
ham, the God of Isaac, p^nd the God of Jacob.
And Moses hid his face ; for he was afraid
to look upon Gody Ex. iii., 2-6.

Neither did the man who appeared to
Joshua, as the " Captain of the host of the
Lord," refuse the worship, of Joshua, '' and
Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did
worship." When created angels appeared

VIEWS OF THE TRmiTY. 13

on earth to men, the}^ always refused to ac-
cept the worship of men. For instance :
" And I, John, saw these things and heard
them. And when I heard, and saw, I fell down
to worship before the feet of the angel which
showed me these things. Then said he unto
me, See thou do it not : for I am thy fellow-
servant, and of thy brethren the prophets :
worship Gody Rev. xxii., 8, 9. And the pro-
phet Hosea, speaking of the man with whom
Jacob wrestled, calls him " the angel," and
then adds, " Even the Lord God of hosts, the
Lord is his memorial." Hos. xii., 3-5.

Thus it is evident to my mind that God
does exist in a way that man cannot behold
and live ; and yet, that he has revealed him-
self to man, from the earliest ages of the
world, in a way that man could behold and
live. He has declared that his essential ex-
istence or glory is greater than any living
man can behold.; but it is equally evident
that God did appear to Abraham, Jacob,
Moses and Joshua, in a form, and in the hu-
man form ; whether that form was material

14 VIEWS or THE TRIIS^ITY.

or immaterial we do not know ; but we do
know that in that form called " a man," and
" the angel," he both claimed the prerogative
of Deity, and exercised the attributes of Je-
hovah. And in this fact I discover a plain
intimation of the existence of two persons
and offices in the Godhead, though it is
clothed in mystery. The intimation given
was like unto the glimmering of a distant
star ; or like the first beams of the rising
sun, which only serve to render darkness
visible : — afterwards, the light steadily ad-
vanced towards the perfect day.

Next we hear holy Job exclaiming, in the
assurance of a perspective faith : " For I
know that my Redeemer iiveth, and that he
shall stand at the latter day upon the earth :
and though after my skin worms destroy this
body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.^^ Job
xix., 25.

David also exclaims, in the xlv. Psalm:
"Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever:
the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right scep-
tre. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest

VIEWS OF THE TEINITY. 15

wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath
anointed thee with the oil of gladness above
thy fellows." 6, 7 vs. And the Apostle Paul,
in the first chapter to the Hebrews, quotes
the words of the Psalmist as prophetic of
Christ, and in proof of his Deity : "God, who
at sundry times and in divers manners, spake
in time past unto the fathers by the pro-
phets, hath in these last days spoken unto us
by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of
all things, hy whom also lie made the worlds ;
who, being the brightness of his glory, and
the express image of his person, and uphold-
ing all things by the word of his power,
when he had by himself purged our sins, sat
down on the right hand of the Majesty on
high ; being made so much better than the
angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a
more excellent name than they. For unto
which of the angels said he at any time
Thou art my Son ; this day have I begotten
thee ? (Ps. ii., 7.) And again, I will be to
him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son.
(II. Sam., vii., 14.) And again, When he

16 YIEWS OF THE TEIlSnTY^

bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he
saith, And let all the angels of God worship
him. (Ps. xcvii., 7-9.) And of the angels
he saith, Who maketh the angels spirits, and
his ministers a flame of fire. (Ps. civ., 4.)
But unto the Son he saith. Thy throne, O
God, is for ever and ever : a sceptre of right-
eousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom : thou
hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity ;
therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed
thee with the oil of gladness above thy fel-
lows. (Ps. xlv., 6, 7.) But thou, Lord, in
the beginning, hast laid the foundations of
the earth, and the heavens are the work of
thy hands. (Gen. i., 1.) They shall perish ;
but thou remainest : and they all shall wax
old, as doth a garment : and as a vesture
shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be
changed ; but thou art the same, and thy
years shall not fail. (Ps. cii., 25-27.) But
to which of the angels said he at any time,
Sit on my right hand, till I make thine ene-
mies thy footstool ? Are they not all minis-
tering spirits, sent forth to minister for them

VIEWS OF THE TEINITY. 1^

who shall be heirs of salvation ? (Ps. ex., 1.)
Heb. i. ch. In this chapter the inspired
apostle, Paul, quotes passages from various
parts of Scripture, to prove the divinity of
Christ, and that Jesus Christ was '• the Son
of God," of whom David prophecied. Here-
in he asserts that Christ the Son was a co-
worker with the Father, when he laid the
foundations of the earth, and that the hea-
vens are the work of his hands, making him
equal with God the Creator. He also de-
clares his equality with the Father in glory,
" being the brightness of his glory and the
express image of his person." In this last
clause the apostle speaks of two distinct
persons in the Godhead, and ascribes omni-
potence to the Son, when he says that he
"upholds all things by the word of his
power."

Isaiah prophecied, saying, " I saw also the
Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted
up, and his train filled the temple. Above it
stood the seraphims : — And one cried unto
another and said. Holy, holy, holy is the

18 VIEWS OF THE TEINITY.

Lord of hosts : the whole eai th is full of his
glory." Is. vi., 1-3. And the apostle John
tells us, speaking of Jesus Christ, "These
things said Esaias, when he saw his glory
and spake of him." John xii., 41.

Ezekiel also saj'S, " And upon the likeness
of the throne was the likeness as the ap-
pearance of a man above upon it. And I
saw, as the colour of amber, as the appear-
ance of fire round about within it, from the
appearance of his loins even upward, and
from the appearance of his loins even down-
ward, I saw as it w^ere the appearance of
fire, and it had brightness round about. This
was the appearance of the likeness of the
glory of the Lord." Ezek. i., 2G-28. Isaiah
says more boldly, "Therefore the Lord him-
self shall give you a sign : Behold, a virgin
shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call
his name Immanuel." Isa. vii., 14. Imma-
nuel, being interpreted, God with us, agrees
with what Paul wrote to the Romans, viii., 3.
*' For what the law could not do, in that it
w^as weak through the flesh, God sending his

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. 19

Son ill the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin
condemned sin in the flesh : that the right-
eousness of the law might be fulfilled in us,
who walk not after the flesh, but after the
Spirit." 4 V.

Isaiah again says, " For unto us a child is
born, unto us a son is given : and the govern-
ment shall be upon his shoulder : and his
name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor,
the Might}^ God, the Everlasting Father, the
Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his
government and peace there shall be no
end." Isa. ix., 6, 7. And Paul, writing to the
Colossians, says of the " Son," '' Who is the
image of the invisible God, the first-born of
every creature : for by him were all things
created, that are in heaven, and that are in
earth, visible and invisible, whether they be
thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or
powers : all things were created hy him, and
for him : and he is before all things, and by
him all things consist. And he is the head
of the body, the church." Col. i., 15-18.
" And Jesus cried, saying, He that believ-

20 VIEWS OF THE TEII^ITY.

eth on me, believeth not on me, but on him
that sent me : and he that seeth me, seeth
him that sent me." John xii., 44, 45. Paul,
writing to the Philippians, says, " Let this
mind be in 3'ou, which was also in Christ
Jesus : who being in the form of God, thought
it not robbery to be equal with God: but
made himself of no reputation, and took upon
him the form of a servant, and was made in
the likeness of men : and being found in
fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and
became obedient unto death, even the death
of the cross. Wherefore God hath also highly
exalted him, and given him a name which is
above every name : that at the name of Je-
sus every knee shall bow, of things in hea-
ven, and things in earth, and things under
the earth ; and that every tongue should
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory
of God the Father." Phil, ii., S-IL

John also bare record, saying, " In the he-
ginning was the Word, and the Word, was
with God, and the Word was God. The same
was in the beginning with God. All things

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. 21

were made by him ; and without him was
not any thing made that was made. In him
was life ; and the life was the light of men.
And the light shineth in darkness ; and the
darkness comprehended it not. There was a
man sent from God, whose name was John.
The same came for a witness, to bear wit-
ness of the Light, that all men through him
might believe. He was not that Light, but
was sent to bear witness of that Light. That
was the true Light which lighteth every man
that cometh into the w^orld. He was in the
world, and the world was made by Mm, and
the world knew him not. He came unto his
own, and his own received him not. But as
many as received him, to them gave he pow-
er to become the sons of God, even to them
that believe on his name: w^hich were born,
not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor
of the will of man, but of God. And the
Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us,
(and- we beheld his glory, the glory as of the
only begotten of the Father,) full of grace
and truth.

:22 VIEWS OF THE TEimTY.

John bare witness of him, and cried, say-
ing, This was he of whom I spake, He that
cometh after me is preferred before me : for
he was before me. And of his fulness have
all we received, and grace for grace. For
the law came by Moses, but grace and truth
came by Jesus Christ. No man hath seen
God at any time ; the only begotten Son,
which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath
declared him. And this is the record of
John, when the Jews sent Priests and Levites
from Jerusalem, to ask him. Who art thou ?
And he confessed and denied not ; but con-
fessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked
him. What then? Art thou Elias ? And he
said, I am not. Art thou that prophet ?
And he answered. No. Then said they unto
him. Who art thou ? that we may give an
answer to them that sent us. What sayest
thou of thyself? He said, I am the voice of
one crying in the wilderness. Make straight
the way of the Lord, as said the prophet
Esaias." (See Isa. xl., 3.) John i., 1-23.

What language can be more decidedly de-

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. 23

clarative of the divinity of Christ ? Surely
nothing but wilful unbelief can misinterpret
such plain assertions. Here the Evangelist
John, the beloved disciple, asserts plainly
that " the Word was God. The same was
in the beginning with God. That all things
were made by him ; and without him was
not any thing made that was made." 1, 2, 3
vs. Then he says, in 14 v., "And the Word
was made flesh, and dwelt among us." And
he goes on to tell us that, " No man hath
seen God at any time ; the only begotten
Son (whom he name's Jesus Christ in 17 v.)
which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath
declared him." 18 v. John Baptist also tes-
tified, that Jesus Christ came after himself,
but was before him : " The next day John
seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saitli. Be-
hold the Lamb of God, which taketh away
the sin of the world ! This is he of whom
I said, After me cometh a man which is
preferi^ed before me, for he was before me.
29, 30 vs. And I saw and bare record, that
this is the Son of God." 34 v.

24 VIEWS OF THE TRINITY.

From these Scriptures 1 am assured that
when God appeared to, and conversed with
Abraham, Jacob, Moses and Joshua, it was
not God existing as the Father, or essence
of Deity, which appeared to their bodily-
senses, and also spoke to them ; but it was
God the Word or Son, whose presence they
beheld in the human form ; and who ap-
peared to them in the character of God, both
claiming and exercising the attributes of
Deity, while seemingly but a man.

God said to Moses, at the burning bush,
when he appeared as the Angel of the Lord,
*' I am that I am. And he said. Thus shalt
thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am
hath sent me unto you. And God said more-
over unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto
the children of Israel, 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. Go,
and gather the elders of Israel together, and
say unto them, The Lord God of your fath-

VIEWS OF THE TRmiTTo i^D

ers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of
Jacob, hath appeared unto me, saying," etc,
Ex. iii., 14-16. It was in allusion to this
appearance of God to Moses, that Christ
spake to the Jews, when they asked him,
" Art thou greater than our father Abraham,
and the prophets that are dead ? Whom
makest thou thyself? Jesus answered, If I
honour myself my honour is nothing: it is my
Father that honoureth me, of whom ye say,
that he is your God. Yet ye have not known
him ; but I know him : and if I should
say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like
unto you : but I know him and keep his say-
ing. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see
my day ; and he saw it, and w^as glad. Then
said the Jews unto him. Thou art not yet
fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?
Jesus said unto them. Verily, verily, I say
unto you, Before Abraham was^ I am. Then
took they up stones to cast at him ; but Je-
sus hid himself." John viii., 53-59. Agai.i
soon after, Jesus said to the Jews, " I and
my Father are one. Then the Jews took up

26 VIEWS OF THE TRINITY.

stones again to stone him. Jesus answered
them, Many good works have I showed you
from my Father ; for which of these works
do ye stone me ? The Jews answered him,
saying, For a good work we stone thee not ;
but for blasphemy, and because that thou,
heirii^ a man, makest thyself God. Jesus an-
sw^ered them. Is it not written in your law,
I said. Ye are gods ? If he called them gods,
unto W'hom the word of God came, and the
Scripture cannot be broken : say ye of him
whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent
into the world. Thou blasphemest, because I
said, I am the Son of God ? If I do not the
works of my Father, believe me not. But
if I do, though you believe not me, believe
the works : that ye may know and believe
that the Father is in me, and I in him.
Therefore they sought again to take him ;
but he escaped out of their hands." John x.,
30-39.

Thus we perceive, that however modern
wise men explain away the words of Christ,

VIEWS OF THE TRmiTY. 27

and assert that he never meant to teach that
he was God ; we are here assured that the
ancient Jews, to whom he spake, understood
him to say, that he claimed equality with
God the Father, and accused him of blas-
phemy, " because that thou, heing a man^
makest thyself God.'' 33 v. And Christ did
not tell them that they misunderstood his
meaning, but went on with his argument, to
prove that he had not been guilty of blas-
phemy in asserting that he and the Father
are one. 30 v. And it was in virtue of the
in-dwelling Deity's being united to the hu-
man nature of Jesus Christ, that he said to
the Jews, " He that believeth on me, believ-
eth not on me, but on him that sent me : and
he that seeth me, feeeth him that sent me."
John xii., 44, 45. Again, " Jesus saith unto
Thomas, I am the way, and the truth, and
the life : no man cometh unto the Father,
but by me. If ye had known me, ye should
have known my Father also : and from
henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the

28 VIEWS OF THE TEmiTY.

Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto
him, Have I been so long time with you, and
yet hast thou not known me, Philip ? He that
hath seen me, hath seen the Father ; and
how sayest thou then, Show us the Father ?
Believest thou not that I am in the Father,
and the Father in me ? The words that T
speak unto you I speak not of myself; but
the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the
works. Believe me that I am in the Father,
and the Father in me ; or else believe me for
the very work's sake." John xiv., 6-11. And
so fully were John and Philip convinced by
the teaching of Jesus Christ, on this occasion
of the institution of the Lord's Supper, that
we hear no more questions asked by them on
this point of doctrine ; but we hear Thomas,
a few days afterwards, when Christ appeared
in the midst of his disciples, eight days after
his resurrection, thus, " Then came Jesus,
the doors being shut, and stood in the midst
and said, Peace be unto you. Then said he
to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and be-
hold my hands ; and reach hither thy hand,

VIEWS OF THE TRIiNITT. 29

and thrust it into my side ; and be not faith-
less, but believing. And Thomas answered
and said unto him, My Lord and my God !
Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou
hast seen me, thou hast believed ; blessed
are they that have not seen, and yet have
believed." John xx., 26-29.

The Spirit of the Lord is also expressly
mentioned in the Old Testament, as acting
in distinct personality, and holding a distinct
office in the Godhead, as a few select pas-
sages will show : " Who hath directed the
Spirit of the Lord, or being his counsellor,
hath taught him ? With whom took he
counsel, and who instructed him, and taught
him in the path of judgment, and taught him
knowledge, and showed to him the way of
understanding?" Isa. xl., 13, 14. Here he
claims to be infinite in wisdom and know-
ledge, two attributes of Jehovah.

In the history of the creation, contained in
the very first chapter of the Bible, it is writ-
ten, " In the beginning God created the hea-
ven and the earth. And the earth was with-

3*

30 VIEWS OF THE TRimTY.

out form, and void ; and darkness was upon
the face of the deep ; and the Spuit of God
moved upon the face of the waters. And
God said, Let there be light : and there was
light." Gen. i., 1-3. Here, in the very open-
ing of Revelation, the Spirit of God is named
as performing an office in the work of crea-
tion. And the history of creation goes on

with, " And God said, Let there be " •

" and it was so ;" until all was created ex-
cepting man. Then, when God was about to
create man in his own image, he says, speak-
ing in a plurality of consultation, "And God
said, Let us make man in our image, after
our likeuess : and let them have dominion
over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of
the air, and over the cattle, and over all the
earth, and over every creeping thing that
creepeth upon the earth. So God created
man in his own image, in the image of God
created he him : male and female created he
them." 26, 27 v. Man, then, in his myste-
rious union of body, soul and spirit, was a
creation after the likeness of his Creator,

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. 31

for, " in the image of God created he him."
27 V. " And the Lord God formed man of
the dust of the ground, and breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life, and man became
a living soul." Gen. ii., 7.

The prophet Ezekiel speaks much of the
personality of the Holy Spirit, throughout all
his writings : " Then the Spirit took me up,
and I heard behind me a voice of great rush-
ing, saying, Blessed be the glory of the Lord
from his place." Ezek. iii., 12. "So the Spi-
rit lifted me up, and took me away, and I
w^ent in the bitterness, in the heat of my
spirit ; but the hand of the Lord was strong
upon me. Then I came to them of the cap-
tivity at Tel-abib, that dwelt by the river
Chebar." 14, 15 vs. "And the hand of the
Lord was there upon me : and he said unto
me, Arise, go forth into the plain, and I will
there talk with thee. Then I arose and went
forth into the plain : and behold the glory of
the Lord stood there, as the glory which I
saw by the river Chebar : and I fell on my
face. Then the Spirit entered into me, and

32 VIEWS OF THE TRINITY.

set me upon my feet, and spake with me,
and said unto me, Go, shut thyself within thy
house." 22-24 vs. "And I will make thy
tongue cleave unto the roof of thy mouth,
that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to
them a reprover : for they are a rebellious
house. But when I speak with thee I will
open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto
them, Thus saith the Lord God." 26, 27 vs.
Again, "As I sat in mine house, and the
elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand
of the Lord God fell there upon me. Then
I beheld, and lo a likeness as the appear-
ance of fire : from the appearance of his
loins even downward, fire ; and from his
loins .even upwards, as the appearance of
brightness, as the colour of amber. And he
put forth the form of an hand, and took me
by a lock of my head : and the Spirit lifted
me up between the earth and the heaven,
and brought me in the visions of God to Je-
rusalem." viii., 1-3. "Moreover, the Spirit
lifted me up, and brought me unto the east
gate of the Lord's house." Ezek. xi., 1.

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. 33

" And the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me,
and said unto me, Speak : Thus saith the
Lord ; Thus have ye said, O house of Israel ;
for I know the things that come into your
mind, every one of them." 5 v. "After-
v^^ards the Spirit took me up, and brought
me in a vision by the Spirit of God into Chal-
dea, to them of the captivity. So the vision
I had seen went up from me. Then I spake
to them of the captivity all the things that
the Lord had showed me." 24, 25 vs.

In these verses, it is the Holy Spirit that
speaks to the prophet, commanding Ezekiel
to repeat his w^ords, saying, '' Thus saith the
Lord God." iii., 27. Here, also, he claims
the attributes of omniscience and omnipre-
sence, and exercises omnipotence in con-
straining the prophet to go, even in the heat
and bitterness of his spirit, ivhen and where the
hand of the Lord God pleased ; and to speak,
or not to speak, as the Spirit directed. Here,
then, we find the Spirit acting in distinct
personality, and yet claiming to be the Lord

34 YIEWS OF THE TEmiTY.

God. Who, then, will venture to deny the
personality of the Holy Spirit ?

Isaiah, prophecying of the coming of Christ,
speaks of both the Son and Spirit, in distinct
personality, thus : " And there shall come
forth a rod out of the stem of Jessie, and a
branch shall grow out of his roots : And the
Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the
spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spi-
rit of counsel and might, the spirit of know-
ledge and of fear of the Lord." Isa. xi., 1, 2.
Hear John's testimony of the fulfilment of
this, ages after : " And John bare record,
saying, I saw the Spirit descending from hea-
ven like a dove, and it abode upon him (Je-
sus). And I knew him not ; but he that sent
me to baptize with water, the same said unto
me. Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit
descending and remaining on him, the same
is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
And I saw and bare record, that this is the
Son of God." John i., 32-34.

Jeremiah too, prophecied of Christ thus :

VIEWS OF TIIE TRINITY. 35

"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that
I will raise unto David a righteous Branch,
and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall
execute judgment and justice in the earth.
In his da3^s Judah shall be saved, and Israel
shall dwell safely : and this is his name
whereby he shall be called, the Lord our
Righteousness." Jer. xxiii., 5, 6. Zechariah
prophecied : " Hear now, O Joshua, the high
priest, thou and thy fellows that sit before
thee : for they are men wondered at : for
behold, I will bring forth my servant, the
Branch." Zech. iii., 8.

The Apostle John farther testifies : " Who
is he that overcometh the world, but he that
believeth that Jesus is the Son of God ? This
is he that came by water and blood, even
Jesus Christ : not by water only, but by wa-
ter and blood." (I understand this of the
water of baptism which he received by John
Baptist, and the blood of atonement which
he shed in Gethsemane, and upon the cross.)
" And it is the Spirit that beareth witness,
because the Spirit is truth. For there are

36 VIEWS OF THE TEINTTY.

three that bear record in heaven, the Father,
the Word, and the Holy Ghost : and these
three are one. And there are three that bear
witness in the earth, the Spirit, and the wa-
ter, and the blood : and these three agree in
one. If we receive the witness of men, the
witness of God is greater : for this is the
witness of God which he hath testified of his
Son. He that belie veth on the Son of God
hath the witness in himself: he that believeth
not God hath made him a liar, because he
believeth not the record that God gave of
his son. And this is the record, that God
hath given to us eternal life : and this life is
in his Son. He that hath the Son, hath life :
and he that hath not the Son, hath not life.
These things have I written unto you that be-
lieve on the name of the Son of God, that ye
may know that ye have eternal life, and that
ye may believe on the name of the Son of
God." I. John, v., 5-13. And he goes on to
write, in the 20th verse, thus: "And we know
that the Son of God is come, and hath given
us an understanding, that we may know him

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. 37

that is true ; and we are in him that is true,
even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the
true God, and eternal life. Little children
keep 3'ourselves from idols. Amen." 20,

21 vs.

CHAPTER II.

The above passages of Scripture are but
a few of the many that might be quoted to
prove that Moses, the patriarchs, and all the
prophets, as well as the New Testament
VvTiters, believed and -declared the existence
of a triune Deity — speaking of Father, Son,
and Spirit, as one God.

But though Moses and the Old Testament
prophets made frequent mention of Father,
Son, and Spirit, yet it was in mysterious lan-
guage, which perliops they themselves had
but an indistinct conception of. Be this as
it may, we know that the honour of decla-
ring the distinct personality^ and yet mystical
union of the persons of the Godhead, was
reserved for the teaching of Christ, under
the Gospel dispensation. And the honour of
explaining still more fully the great plan of

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. 39

man's redemption, as accomplished by the
triune God, was reserved for the " ministra-
tion of the Spirit," after Christ had comple-
ted his vicarious sufferings on earth, and had
ascended to " the right hand of the Majesty
on high," there to appear as the High Priest
and Intercessor for his people. See John xx.,
17; Eph. iv., 8 ; II. Cor., iii., 7, 8 ; Heb. i., 3.
According to the declarations of Scripture,
I believe, that there is but one living and
true God ; that in him existed from eternity
three mysterious Persons, nameh', the Father,
the Word, and the Holy Ghost ; that these
three are one in essence, and equal in power
and glory ; that, in consequence of Adam's
sin, and fall from his state of innocence, in
which God had created him, the curse of
death, temporal and eternal, was incurred by
Adam, and the whole human race, for which
he stood before God as their covenant head
and representative. Then the three Persons
in the one God entered into covenant togeth-
er, and engaged by an act of free grace to
save man from endless ruin. And in order

40 YIEWS OF THE TEINITY.

to secure man's salvation, the Three in One
engaged, by promise and by oath, each to act
a part in their respective offices : for, when
justice, in the office of the Father, demanded
atonement for the sin of man, then mercy, in
the office of the co- eternal Word, offered to be-
come that atonement, by taking upon himself
a human bod}^ and thus, in the form of a
servant, to bear the curse of sin, and fulfil
the law by his obedience, even unto death,
and so to offer that bod}^ as a sacrifice to the
offended justice of God. This offered atone-
ment Justice instantly accepted, and, in the
office of the Father, engaged to create and
prepare a bod}^ by the co-operation of the
Holy Ghost, so that the eternal Word might
Inhabit it without taint of sin, and yet be-
come both God and man in one person.

No sooner had poor fallen Adam sinned,
than he hid himself "from the presence of the
Lord God, among the trees of the garden."
Gen. iii., 8. And even before the penalty of
sin was pronounced against the guilty man
and his wife, hear the Lord God announcing

VIEWS OF THE TEINITY. 41

the first intimation of mercy to fallen man,
in his address to the serpent, or Satan, thus :
" And I will put enmity between thee and
the woman, and between thy seed and her
seed : it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt
bruise his heel." 15 v. This was the first
intimation of "help laid upon one that is
mighty." " Then thou spakest in vision to
thy Holy One, and saidst, I have laid help
upon one that is mighty ; I have exalted one
chosen out of the people." Ps. Ixxxix., ]9.
From this time forth, God began to reveal
his plan of salvation to fallen man in a va-
riety of ways, as the Holy Scriptures teach,
and as many passages here quoted have
plainly shown.

Meanwhile, time rolled on for four thous-
and years, and when the appointed time pre-
dicted by Daniel and others had arrived,
behold ! an angel was sent from heaven to
earth, to tell a poor virgin of the house of
David, of the " Wonderful" conception which
she was appointed to bear, and which was
an exact fulfilment of the prophecy by Isaiah

42 VIEWS OF THE TRINITY.

vii., 14 and ix., 6. " And the angel said unto
her, Fear not, Mary : for thou hast found
favour with God. And behold^ thou shalt
conceive, and bring forth a son, and shalt
call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and
shall be called the Son of the Highest ; and
the Lord God shall give unto him the throne
of his father Da^dd. And he shall reign
over the house of Jacob for ever ; and of
his kingdom there shall be no end. Then
said Mary unto the angel, How shall this
thing be ? And the angel answered and said
unto her, The Hol}^ Ghost shall come upon
thee, and the power of the Highest shall
overshadow thee : therefore also that holy
thing which shall be born of thee shall be
called the Son of God." Luke i., 30-35. Thus
was the human body of Christ prepared by
the Creator Father and the Holy Ghost,
without the least taint of sin, and by a mi-
raculous conception of his virgin mother,
and when " that holy thing," as the angel
called it, came forth into the world, it was
recognized to be " the only begotten Son of

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. 48

the Father ;" or in John's words, " The Word
was made flesh, and dwelt among us." John
i., 14.

At his baptism by John Baptist, the Holy
Ghost descended upon him visibly in the form
of a dove, as a sign that he was entering upon
his work as a teacher sent from God on a mis-
sion of peace ; and thus at the inauguration of
Christ, the Anointed of God, there was made
for the first twie. a manifestation of the luhole
trinity at once : for Jesus Christ, the Word,
was upon the earth, receiving the ordinance
of baptism in human form ; the Holy Ghost
descended from heaven visibly, in the form of
a dove, and remained upon him ; while the
Father spake with a voice from heaven, say-
ing, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am
well pleased. Matt, iii., 13-17; John i., 29-34.
Thus gloriously was ushered in the Gospel
dispensation !

We have seen how Christ, in his public
preaching to the Jews, and his private in-
structions to his disciples, had repeatedly

44 YIBWS OF THE TRINITY.

insisted upon his being one with the Father,
and had asserted his mysterious union with
the Father, as a point of doctrine which they
ought not to be ignorant of. When Philip
asked, " Lord, shov/ us the Father, and it
sufRceth us, Jesus said unto hiin, Have I
been so long time wath you, and yet hast
thou not known me, Philip? He that hath
seen me hath seen the Father ; and how
sayest thou then. Show us the Father?"
John xiv., 8, 9. Let us now see how Christ,
on that same occasion of his last supper, and
last conversation with his disciples before
his crucifixion, went on to lead them a step
higher up the ladder of spiritual instruction;
The disciples being told that he was about
to leave them, became very sad, and Christ,
to comfort them, said, " I will pray the Fath-
er, and he shall give you another Comforter,
that he may abide with you for ever, even
the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot
receive, because it seeth him not, neither
knoweth him ; but ye know him, for he
dwelleth with you, and shall he in yoiiy John

VIEWS OF THE TEI^ITY. 45

xiv., IG, 17. Again, "These things have I
spoken unto you, being yet present with you.
But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost,
whom the Father will send in my name, he
shall teach you all things, and bring all
things to your remembrance, whatsoever I
have said unto you." 25, 20 vs. " Bat when
the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto
you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth,
which proceedeth from the Father, he shall
testify of me. And ye also shall bear wit-
ness, because ye have been with me from
the beginning." John xv., 26, 27. " Because
I have said these things unto you, sorrow
hath filled your hearts. Nevertheless, I tell
you the truth : it is expedient for you that I
go away: for if I go not awa}^, the Comfor-
ter will not come unto you ; but if I depart,
I will send him unto you." John xvi., G, 7.
"I have yet many things to say unto you,
but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit,
when he, the Spirit of Truth, is come, he will
guide you into all truth: for he shall not
speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall

46 VIEWS OF THE TRINITY.

hear, that shall he speak, and he will show
you things to come. He shall glorify me :
for he shall receive of mine, and shall show
it unto 3'ou. All things that the Father hath
are mine : therefore said I that he shall take
of mine, and shall show it unto you." 12-15
vs. Again : " The Father himself loveth
you, because ye have loved me, and have
believed that I came out from God. I came
forth from the Father, and am come into the
world ; again I leave the world, and go to
the Father. His disciples said unto him,
(perceiving that he had answered the thoughts
of their heart,) Lo, now thou speakest plain-
ly, and speakest no proverb. Now we are
sure that thou Inowest all tilings, and needest
not that any man should ask thee : by this
we believe that thou camest forth from God."
John xvi., 27-30.

In these verses Christ reveals deep things
in the plan of salvation : he teaches plainly
and distinctl}^ the personality of Father, Son
and Spirit, each in a distinct office, acting a
part in the economy of grace : thus securing,

VIEWS OF THE TEIjS^TY. 47

as by a threefold cord of grace woven by
Jehovah, the one living and true God, the
salvation of fallen man, on certain condi-
tions. And in order to strengthen our confi-
dence in the triune God, he named the Holy
Ghost "the Spirit of truth and the Comfor-
ter," whom the Father would send in his
name, and then added, " The Comforter
whom I will send you from the Father."
''For the Father himself loveth you, because
ye have loved me, and have believed that I
came out from God." But observe, he also
told them that they had many things to learn,
which their faith v/as not as yet strong
enough to receive, but which the Holy Spirit
would make plain to their understanding in
the appointed time. John xvi., 12, 13. Thus
Jesus informed his disciples that his minis-
tration on earth in person was then being
wound up, and a new dispensation of grace
about to be ushered in, namely, " the minis-
tration of the Spirit, (II. Cor., iii., 8,) which
they were to receive as the consequent of
his departure to the bosom of the Father,

48 VIEWS OF THE TEINITY.

and which would be more glorious than the
dispensation under which they then were.
And accordingly, when Christ had fully ac-
complished his mission on earth, having
sealed it with his blood, while hanging on
the cross, and just before he yielded up the
ghost, he cried, "It is finished: and he bowed
his head, and gave up the ghost." John xix.,
30.

After his resurrection, he appeared unto
his disciples, and said unto them, " Peace be
unto you : as my Father hath sent me, even
so send I you. And when he had said this,
he breathed on them, and saith unto them,
Receive ye the Holy Ghost." John xx., 21, 22.
St. Luke also tells us that, in his last ap-
pearance to his disciples before his ascen-
sion, " Then opened he their understandings,
that they might understand the Scriptures,
and said unto them. Thus it is written, and
thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise
from the dead the third day. And ye are
witnesses of these things. And behold, I
send the promise of my Father upon you ;

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. 49

but tarry ye at Jerusalem until ye be endued
with power from on high. And he led them
out as far as to Bethany : and he lifted up
his hands and blessed them. And it came to
pass while he blessed them, he was parted
from them and carried up into heaven. And
they worshipped him, and returned to Jeru-
salem with great joy." Luke xxvi., 45-52.

After Jesus Christ had ascended up, and
"sat down at the right hand of the Majesty
on high," (Heb. i., 3,) as St. Paul tells us, the
Holy Ghost descended on the day of Pente-
cost, (as described in the 2d chapter of the
Acts,) and took up the work on earth, as the
Teacher, Sanctifier and Comforter of the fold
of Christ : and thus the " ministration of the
Spirit" was ushered in with the conversion
of three thousand souls in one day — the first
fruits of the triumph of the cross.

St. Paul also testifies, " But as it is writ-
ten, eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither
hath it entered into the heart of man, the
things which God hath prepared for them

50 VIEWS OF THE TRINITY.

that love him." (So said Isaiah Ixiv., 4, for-
he was under the comparatively dark dis-
pensation of the Old Testament ; but Paul,
living under the ministration of the Spirit,
adds,) "But God hath revealed them unto us
by his Spirit : for the Spirit searcheth all
things, yea the deep things of God." I. Cor.,
ii., 9, 10. Yet how little do Christians of the
present day comprehend this fellowship with
Father, Son and Spirit. And yet it is no
new thing, for the Apostle John wrote thus
to the churches : " That which we have seen
and heard declare we unto you, that ye may
have fellowship with us ; and truly our fel-
lowship is with the Father, and with his Son
Jesus Christ."" I. John, i., 3.

I learn from the Scriptures that the Father
wills the salvation of the sinner, and predes-
tinates to eternal life, and then makes the
soul willing to be saved on his own condi-
tions: "Thy people shall be willing in the
day of thy power." Ps. ex., iii. But the soul
becomes willing through the influences of the

VIEWS OF THE TKINITY. 51

" Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the
Father." For Christ said, ''No man can
come unto me, except the Father which hath
sent me draw him." John vi., 44. Thus the
Spirit of God draws the soul, by enlightening
influences, teaching its need of a Saviour,
and enabling it to act faith upon the promi-
ses of God's word. The Spirit also indites
the prayers of Christians : " Likewise the
Spirit also helpeth our infirmities : for we
know not what we should pray for as we
ought : but the Spirit itself maketh interces-
sion for us, with groanings which cannot be
uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts
knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, be-
cause he maketh intercession for the saints,
according to the will of God." Rom. viii.,
26, 27. And these prayers, going through
Christ our High Priest, are accepted by the
Father, in virtue of Christ's righteousness
and obedience, which are imputed to the
Christian through his faith in Christ, his
Atonemeiat.

The Holy Spirit, therefore, is the agent by

52 YIETTS OF THE TKINITr.

whom God acts in the conviction and conver-
sion of the sinner, as well as in building up
the believer in faith and hope; yet how
mysterioush^ is this accomplished. The man
whose conscience is awakened by the Spirit,
whether he be an unconverted sinner or a
believer in Christ, feels the influences of the
Spirit in his soul, is conscious of the instruc-
tion and assistance given, is fully aware of
being under a powerful, constraining in-
fluence. But he is completely ignorant of
the manner in which Mind acts upon mind,
or how the Spirit enters his soul and works
in him that faith hj which he believes, to
the saving of his soul. " The wind bloweth
where it listeth, and thou bearest the sound
thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh
or whither it goeth : so is every one that is
born of the Spirit." John iii., 8. As the
Holy Spirit is omnipotent in his influences,
so he is inscrutable in his operations : nor
can we know more of him than he has him-
self revealed to finite minds. But in what
the Holy Spirit has revealed through the

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. 53

Hol}^ Scriptures, and in the application of
the truths contained in them to my own mind
and heart, I discover the infinite justice, truth,
goodness, mercy, love, wisdom and power of
God, not only in planning, but also in reveal-
ing his wondrous plan of salvation to fallen
man.

But of the essential nature of the Godhead
I understand nothing, because God has not
explained it to man. My reason or under-
standing is assured, from the plain declara-
tions of the Holy Bible, that there are three
persons in the Godhead, and believing, I
adore — Vvdthout indulging in curious, but
vain speculation concerning that mystery,
Avhich I cannot fathom, because it dwells
high above my reach in heaven — God's
throne, and I dwell upon the earth — his foot-
stool. '' Such knowledge is too w^onderful
for me ; it is high, I cannot attain unto it."
Ps. cxxxix., 6. But, blessed be God ! I have
the witness within my own soul, even "the
Spirit of truth," who teaches me as much as
it is proper for me to know: and thus my

54 VIEWS OF THE TRINITY.

own experience shows me, as plainl}" as that
two and two are four, that there is a Trinity
in the Godhead : for the Spirit hath also re-
vealed the Father and the Son unto me in
spiritual communion, though I pretend not to
understand the existence of Deity in his es-
sential nature.

Let proud reasoners and sceptics, who
doubt and deny the existence of Father, Son
and Spirit, in one God, explain all the mys-
teries found in the material universe, before
they venture into metaphysics and attempt
to explain the existence of the great Jeho-
vah, or refuse to believe in the myster}' of
the Godhead, because they cannot understand
it. Who doubts his personal identity, or his
own existence, because he cannot explain
how his own soul and body are united? or
because he cannot discover the fountain of
original suggestion, and describe all the se-
cret springs of his own thoughts ? And what
man has ever been able to demonstrate these
mysteries within himself, to universal satis-

VIEWS OF THE TEINITY. 55

faction ? After all the researches of the best
mental philosophers, what is mental philoso-
phy but an infant science ?

Who doubts the evidence of his senses,
because he cannot explain how and why it is
that the grain of corn put into the ground
first corrupts, then germinates and springs
up in a new form, bringing forth an hundred
fold grains, like that which was planted ?
You may tell me that this takes place in
accordance with the laws of nature — and so
it does ; but do you understand those laws of
nature so as to analyze them, and to change
or regulate them anew ? No ; the God of
nature holds those principles in his own
power, nor can man change them, though he
may discourse very scientifically and pom-
pously about causes and eff'ects.

If, then, there are mysteries in natural
things, which the most learned science can-
not demonstrate to satisfaction ; and if man
cannot explain the lesser mystery of his
own existence, or fully describe all the ope-
rations of those very faculties of his own

56 VIEWS OF THE TEINITY.

soul, by the exercise of which he presumes to
judge and explain away the declarations of
his Ma.Jier ; what folh% what presumption it
is in him, to attempt to describe the existence
of the Divine Mind, or to refuse to believe
in the mystery of the Godhead, because his
finite reason can neither comprehend or ex-
plain it ! What says the Apostle Paul to
the Colossians about this: "That their hearts
might be comforted, being knit together in
love, and unto all riches of the full assurance
of understanding, to the acknowledgment of
the mystery of God, and of the Father, and
of Christ, in whom are hid all the treasures
of wisdom and knowledge. And this I say
lest any man should beguile you with enti-
cing words. Beware lest a.ny man spoil you
through philosophy and vain deceit, after the
traditions of men, after the rudiments of the
world, and not after Christ. For in him
dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bo-
dily," Col. ii., 2-9. Glory be to God, the
mysterious co-working Trinity, for the reve-
lation of this doctrine, which we are required

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. 57

to receive on " Thus saith the Lord!" Hu-
man reasonings are required to bow to the
authority of God's word, and to believe with
simple faith what God has asserted, without
explaining farther than it seemed good to
him ; and therefore it is that the mystery of
the Godhead so often proves a stumbling
block to the wise and learned of this world.
Let us ever remember, the Creator who en-
dowed us, his creatures, with rational minds,
never intended us to set up our finite under-
standing in competition with his authority.
It was Lucifer's sin, that he aspired to he as
God. And the same spirit works in those
who refuse to believe a plain declaration of
the Holy Scriptures, because it is not so ex-
plained in all its parts and bearings as to be
perfectly comprehensible to the human mind
in this life.

CHAPTER III.

Having pointed out a very few passages
out of the many contained in the Holy Bible,
in support of the doctrine of the Trinity, and
as the ground of my faith in believing, I will
proceed now to give my experimental views
of this sublime subject. May the Spirit of
God guide and guard my pen, while I at-
tempt to convey to the minds of others the
comforting views and manifestations which
God has, in his infinite merc}^ bestowed upon
me ! Help Lord ! lest I fail to impress other
minds with precisely the same views and
feelings which fill my own soul too full for
utterance. For, after all, human language
is but a poor medium of communication,
when we would describe spiritual exercises
and realities. The Saviour himself used but
a figure of speech, in describing the opera-

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. 59

tions of the Spirit to Nicodemus, a ruler of
the Jews. John iii., 8. And Nicodemus, as-
tonished, asked, " How can these thing be ?
Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou
a master in Israel, and knowest not these
things?" John iii., 9, 10.

I have remarked, among the number of
Christians with whom I have conversed on
experimental religion, that there are very
few who have any definite ideas of the Holy
Trinity, even though the doctrine itself is a
decided article of their faith. That is, they
possess a saving faith, but have not an un-
derstanding faith. This saving faith will
carry them to heaven ; but if they had un-
derstanding fajth, their enjoyment of religion
would be much greater, and more pure.
They have a more definite conception of the
person of Christ, than of the Father and
Spirit ; and the reason of this is very ob-
vious, for the Godhead of Christ being veiled
in flesh — in humanity — their faith takes hold
on an object of sense : and thus there is little
difficulty in bringing before the mind God in

60 VIEWS OF TIIE TRIl^ITY.

human form, in a bocl\- like our own, which
Jesus, the co-eterna.l Word, assumed. Thus
they have a distinct realizing apprehension
of " God manifest in the flesh," I. Tim., iii.,
16, and if in devotion faith realizes his spi-
ritual presence, the soul finds no difficulty in
communing with God in Christ. It is thus
that the soul learns to approach Deity, and it
is only in and by Christ that fallen man can
ever find acceptance at the throne of the
heavenly grace.

Blessed be God, that he has stooped to our
finite capacities, and came to us as the man
Christ Jesus — that he has gone back to hea-
ven in that very body, and now presents
himself to our mind, for our adoring worship,
in a human form. So that the mind is not
compelled to roam through trackless regions
of uncertainty, in pursuit of an unknown
and incomprehensible God, but, " Looking
unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our
faith," Heb. xii., 2, we meet and adore " God
manifest in the flesh."

Thus the babe in grace is enabled to com-

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. 61

prehend, in a measure, God the Son ; while
the Father and Spirit are as yet utterly be-
yond his apprehension. Yet he believes with
simple faith in the existence of those persons
of the Godhead, whom he only knows by
name or by indefinite experience. And af-
terwards, as the soul, still growing in grace,
becomes more enlightened and sanctified, it
is taught and led by "the Spirit of truth," to
penetrate through Christ by faith, and to
recognize and worship the Father and Spirit
in their respective ofiices. We see a figure
of this in the arrangement of the temple
worship, under the Mosaic dispensation : — In
the Jewish temple there were three divi-
sions,— first, the court of the temple, where
the congregation generally worshipped ; se-
condly, the holy place, which was separated
from the court by a curtain or veil, and in
the holy place were kept holy things, which
were concealed from the eyes of those who
tarried in the court of the temple, namely,
" the candle-stick, and the table, and the
shew'bi'ead ;" and thirdly, " after the second

62 VIEWS OF THE TRINITY.

veil, the tabernacle which is called the ho-
liest of all, which had the golden censer, and
the ark of the covenant overlaid round about
with gold, wherein w^as the golden pot that
had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded,
and the tables of the covenant, and over it
the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercy-
seat, of w^hich w^e cannot now speak parti-
cularly. Now w^hen these things were thus
ordained, the priests w^ent always into the
first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of
God ; but into the second went the high
priest alone once every year, not without
blood, which he offered for himself and for
the errors of the people : the Holy Ghost
thus signifying that the w^ay into the holiest
of all was not yet made manifest, while the
first tabernacle was as yet standing : which
was a figure for the time then present, in
which were offered both gifts and sacrifices,
that could not make him that did the service
perfect, as pertaining to the conscience —
which stood only in meats and drinks, and
divers washings and carnal ordinances, im-

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. 63

posed on them till the time of reformation.
But Christ being come an high priest of
good things to come, by a greater and more
perfect tabernacle, not made with hands,
that is to say, not of this building ; neither
by the blood of goats and calves, but by his
own blood, he entered in once into the holy
place, having obtained eternal redemption
for us. For if the blood of bulls and of
goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling
the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifjang of
the flesh, how much more shall the blood of
Christ, who, through the eternal Spirit, of-
fered himself without spot to God, purge
your conscience from dead works, to serve
the living God!" Heb. ix.

Here the Aposile shows that Christ came,
and by the sacrifice of himself gained ad-
mittance for his people into the holiest of all,
and carrying on his argument, he exhorts
thus: "Having therefore, brethren, boldness
to enter into the holiest, by the blood of Je-
sus, by a new and living way, which he hath
consecrated for us, through the vail, that is

64 VIEWS OF THE TRINITY.

to say, bis flesh ; and having an high priest
over the house of God, let us draw near with
a true heart, in full assurance of faith, hav-
ing our hearts sprinkled from an evil con-
science, and our bodies washed with pure
water. Let us hold fast the profession of
our faith without wavering, for he is faithful
that promised." And again : " Cast not away
your confidence, which hath great recom-
pense of reward." Heb. x., 19-35.

The Apostle Paul has told us, on the au-
thority of inspiration, these things in the
Jewish temple were a figure of things to
come, as we have just read. And so do we
Christians find, as we advance in the spiri-
tual temple, that we first entered the court,
then the holy place, and afterwards we gain
admittance into the holiest of all, making
discoveries, as Vv^e advance, of things more
and more spiritual, hoi}', secret and precious.

Thus it appears to my mind that God, in
the economy of his grace, first reveals him-
self in Christian experience, or manifests
himself to the soul of the young convert, in

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. 65

the second person of the Trinity : for though
the communication is made through the in-
fluences of the Holy Spirit, yet the Spirit
acts, as it were, out of sight, while he reveals
Christ the anointed of God, to the soul of
the new convert, who is thus directed to
" God manifested in the flesh " — to Christ,
the only Mediator between God and man.
" For there is one God, and one Mediator be-
tween God and men, the man Christ Jesus."
I. Tim., ii., 5. And Timothy adds in the next
chapter, " And without controversy, great is
the mystery of godliness : God was manifest
in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of
angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed
on in the world, received up into glory."
Tim. iii., IG.

Then, secondly, when he that was a bab^
in grace, becomes so vigorous in faith as to
require the " strong meat " of the Gospel,
(Heb. v., 12,) then the soul is prepared to re-
ceive more spiritual manifestations of Deity
and is led by the Spirit into a farther ac-
quaintance with the Trinity, in the know-

66 YIEA¥S OF THE TRIK^ITY.

ledge of God the Father, who is the first
person in the Godhead. Thus the Holy Spi-
rit, still proceeding from the Father and the
Son, (John xv., 26, Matt, iii., 11,) and work-
ing mysteriously by enlightening influences,
reveals to the understanding the Father, in
distinct personality and mystical union with
the Godhead. Or, in other words the Father
is now manifested to the soul, as holding and
filling his own distinct office in the Trinity ;
and thus the soul realizes its relation to this
heavenly Parent.

Thirdly, the soul is afterwards led into still
deeper experimental knowledge of God, when
the Holy Spirit manifests himself as the third
person in the Godhead, and as filling his own
distinct place in the glorious Trinity. Before
this the Spirit acted out of sight or reach of
faith, behind a curtain, as it were ; but now
this veil is withdrawn, and the eye of faith
receives a purely ethereal view of God, ab^
stracted from earthly relations, and the soul,
entering ^'the holiest of all," bows before the
Majesty of heaven, that Glory which dwelt

VIEWS OF THE TEINITY. 67

between the cherubims above " the mercy-
seat." Then it is that the believer realizes,
for the first time, that the secret and con-
straining influence under which he had acted
hitherto, and by which he had been instructed
and comforted, proceeded not alone from the
Father and Son, but through them from a
distinct and third person in the Godhead,
who is revealed to his astonished faith in a
Stream of Glory, which cannot be described
by human language or illustrated by earthly
similes, as can the Father and the Son : yet
must he worshipped and thought of with
reverence, awe, wonder, love and praise. If
there is an emblem in the material universe
which may be used to illustrate the mani-
festation of the Holy Spirit, I should say it is
the sun ; but it is as far above such as hea-
ven is above the earth, and can only be real-
ized through strong and vivid actings of faith,
that faith which is ^' the evidence of things not
seen " by the eyes of the body. At such a
season, the Glory of the Lord is the all-ab-
sorbing object of the soul's perception, and

68 VIEWS OF THE TllIISriTY.

it remains in silent adoration and contempla-
tion of the fulness of the Godhead. This is,
in a peculiar sense, what the Scriptures call
the baptism of the Holy Ghost : this is to
receive an unction from on high ! O the full
blessedness of entering thus into " the holiest
of all," and by faith realizing, in a degree,
the glory of the triune God : the Holy
Ghost occupying and shining forth from the
centre of the mercy-seat, and those rays of
glory reflecting upon and reaching the soul,
surrounding and shedding the light of hea-
ven into every part. O it is then that meekly
bowing and sinking into the depths of humi-
lity, the soul finds itself plunged into the
ocean of God's love, and, without reserve,
exclaims in the language of ardent piety,
" Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ?"

Then, also, it is that the soul not only reads
its perfect security under the economy of
grace, but comprehends distincth; the part
which each person of the Trinity acts in the
work of man's salvation. Hitherto " I have
heard of thee by the hearing of the ear; but

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. 69

now mine eye seeth thee." Job xlii., 5. For
now I experience that each person of the
Godhead is engaged in my behalf. Do I
want any thing, either spiritual or temporal?
My Father knows it, and will bestow what
is best for me ; and more I desire not. Do I
want a friend in adversity? This Jesus, the
God-man, can and does sympathize with me
under all the ills of life. "' A brother is born
for adversity," and he is the " Friend that
sticketh closer than a brother," as all of his
afflicted ones well know in their experience.
Do I want instruction, comfort, sanctification,
strength or joy ? The Holy Ghost, the Com-
forter, is ready to bestow upon me all I need,
and he does work mightily in m^ soul, and is
able to teach and make me willing to fulfil
all that is required of me, and will do it, "to
the praise of the glory of his grace, w^herein
he hath made us accepted in the Beloved."
Ephes. i., 6.

For several years after my conversion, as
well as for twelve months previous to that

70 YIEWS OF THE TRINITY.

event, I was frequently brought into contact
with Socinian principles and arguments, and
listened to the sophistry of reason, from the
lips of one gifted with a superior and highly
cultivated intellect, till my brain was in a
whirl, and my mind distracted with anxious
solicitude, lest the object of my dearest earth-
ly affections should be reasoned into Socin-
ianism or infidelity. I had been educated a
Trinitarian, and could perceive the perni-
cious effects of those conversations in the
sceptical remarks which occasionally grated
upon my ear ; but I had myself such indefi-
nite ideas of the Trinity, that I had no argu-
ments to offer in support of my belief in the
existence of three persons in one God, ex-
cept, " It is written — thus saith the Lord."
And on many occasions I was driven to my
knees in prayer, from agony of mind not
easily described. For the plausible though
deceitful reasonings of man, backed by the
temptations of Satan and the unbelief of my
own heart, raised fearful conflicts in my
breast, which compelled me to cry mightily

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. 71

to God for help. The plan of salvation
seemed dark and intricate, and the Trinity
a mystery which bewildered my mind at a
glance ; and I was thus led to implore God
to send such light into my soul as would
enable me " to give to every man that asketh,
a reason of the hope that is in me." I. Pet.,
iii., 15. God heard my prayer and answered
it, but in his own time. For four years after
my conversion, I made but little progress in
an understanding knowledge of God. I pos-
sessed a saving faith in Christ, and often had
an apprehension of his spiritual presence ;
but I beheld him in faith afar off, and with
very indistinct conceptions as to his person-
ality. But when I attempted to look to the
Father and Spirit, I was confounded— I could
not discern " the deep things of God." I
could not conceive of the Father and Spirit
as existing in form, nor did I comprehend
their offices; and therefore, whenever my
soul held communion with God, it was by an
act of faith, which simply recognized the
human form of Christy believing, as the Bible

T2 VIEWS or THE TEINITY.

teaches, that "God was in Christ, reconci-
ling the world unto himself." II. Cor., v., 19.
" Wherefore he is able also to save them to
the uttermost that come unto God by him,
seeing he ever liveth to make intercession
for them." Heb. vii., 25.

Now this was saving faith, but it was not
understanding faith. I was like the little
child, who loves and confides in its parents
before it is old enough to understand the re-
lations that exist between them : a smile
from its mother makes the infant happy, bat
it does not yet understand the feelings which,
glowing in the mothers breast, cause her to
smile so sweetly on her babe. And though
the babe is conscious of its mother's pre-
sence the instant she appears in sight, and
that it does not behold its own dear mother
the moment she withdraws her presence from
its view ; yet the babe cannot give you a
reason for this knowledge. Why? Because
it is not old enough to draw satisfactory de-
ductions from its own reflections — it is but a

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. 73

babe, therefore it does not understand, though
it loves. But when this babe grows older, it
begins to exercise the powers of its under-
standing, as well as those of sensation, which
it was born in the exercise of. And thus it
gradually acquires a knowledge of things
with which it first became acquainted
through sensation. By and by it becomes
a man, and ought to have all the powers of
the understanding in full exercise ; and if so,
the man will discover that God has endowed
him with a rational and accountable soul :
that is, if he possesses the aid of Revelation,
as we have it in the Scriptures of truth, and
without which, man with strongest intellect,
is like a ship at sea without rudder, pilot, or
chart., For it is Revelation alone that teach-
es us, " The Lord God formed man out of
the dust of the ground, and breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life, and man became
a living soul." Gen. ii., 7.

This teaches us that man is composed of
two natures : an animal nature, created by
God in the first instance, out of the dust of

7

74 VIEWS OF THE TKINITY.

the ground ; and then this animal man was
endowed with a spiritual nature or living
soul, created immediate!}- b}^ the breath of
the Lord. And these two natures, or body
and soul, are most curiously held together in
a mysterious union, the bond of which is the
breath of his nostrils. The soul pervades the
body, to which it is bound by the strongest
ties of affection, and exercises an arbitrary
control over its members, so long as they
continue sound and healthy. But the soul
cannot escape from the body by any means,
without the permission of God ; neither can
the soul continue in the body an instant after
the mandate is given by its Creator, for its
departure from its beloved clayey tabernacle.
The body has certain inherent propensities
that constitute its animal nature, which na-
ture is under sentence of death by the law,
through Adam's transgression. Gen. ii., 17.
But the soul is an immortal, vital and spiritual
substance, endowed with certain faculties and
powers, that come under the several heads
of understanding, will and affections, which

VIEWS OF THE TEINITY. 75

are in themselves so independent of the body,
that they can exist and act apart from it.
And yet so dependent, during its present state
of union with the body, upon its members
and organs for action and development, that
when the bodily senses fail from disease, or
decay of age, these powers of the immortal
soul seem, from their sluggish and imperfect
action, also to have suffered from decay ;
while in fact the}^ only appear dim, because
the windows the}^ looked out at have become
darkened, as Solomon poeticall}' expresses it
in Ecc. xii.. 3.

Man possesses the powers of will, affec-
tions and instinct, along with other animals,
as observation teaches us ; but man is the
only animal endowed with the powers of
reason and conscience, which belong to the
understanding. It is the understanding, then,
which raises man, in the scale of being, over
the brute creation ; and it is the powers of
his understanding which constitute him a
moral, immortal and accountable being, and
render him capable of union with the high-

76 VIEWS OF THE TRINITY.

est good, or susceptible of remorse. And the
understanding acts the part of a counsellor
and guide to the will ; but the will is an ar-
bitrary principle, which often refuses to act
in accordance with the persuasive counsels
of the understanding, while it exercises an
absolute command over the members of the
body and a persuasive control over the affec-
tions and passions. The understanding, in
exercising its reasoning powers, uses the
thoughts as its speculative faculty ; but con-
science is its practical power, and God's vice-
gerent in the soul. And how often it is that
the soul finds its conscience and its will op-
posed to each other ; and when the soul is
not assisted by the constraining influences of
the Holy Spirit, how almost universally does
the will subtilely and arbitrarily pursue its
own course, regardless of the reproofs of con-
science— while the heart or affections, being
under the persuasive influence of the will,
follow^s the lead of its inclinations, regardless
of consequences.

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. 77

Thus it is that man, assisted by Revelation,
and exercising his internal powers of obser-
vation and reflection, arrives at a knowledge
of his own existence and of his physical and
mental powers in their acts and operations,
as well as of the moral developments of his
own character, as influenced by circum-
stances around him. And we may here trace
the analogy between the knowledge we may
acquire of ourselves and of our own minds,
in order to ascertain what duty God requires
of man -. and that knowledge of God, of his
existence in the persons of the Trinity, and
of the perfections and attributes of the Di-
vine Mind, which we may acquire through
the means of grace, and ought to possess, as
accountable beings, in order to determine
what we are to believe concerning God. In
both cases, we are commanded and invited
to investigate the truth, in humble depen-
dence upon God's aid, while using the ap-
pointed means. And in both cases, we are
also cautioned and reminded not to go be-
yond our depth : for beyond a certain point
11

78 VIEWS OF THE TRINITY,

we cannot go — there the Author of our being
meets us with : " Hitherto shait thou come,
but no farther," and here must our researches
cease, at least while we continue in this life.
And be3'ond this appointed boundary fixed
by Revelation, the proudest and most aspi-
ring intellect in man has never yet passed.

But which of us has been so diligent in
studying God's word, so sufficiently attentive
to the whispers of the Spirit, and careful to
improve by meditation and practice, the les-
sons he teaches us through nature and provi-
dence, as to acquire all the stores of know-
ledge and experience opened to our investi-
gation ? Why, then, tempt the Almighty to
anger, by diving into his secret decrees, and
doubting the un revealed mystery of the Di-
vine Essence, because we cannot compre-
hend its existence ? Alas ! it is because
fallen man is prone to evil, rather than to
good. We have all fallen short of the grace
of God by our own neglect, for God giveth
w^isdom liberally to all men, and upbraideth
not those who ask. James i., 5. Let us then,

VIETTS OF THE TRINITY. 79

for the future, redeem the time we have lost,
by a more diligent attendance upon the Great
Teacher, through the means of grace which
he has appointed, and which we have within
our reach. Let us ever bear in mind that
the present life is but the season of probation,
and how soon it may end with us we know
not ; but w^e do know, from the declarations
of inspiration, that according to the measure
of our sanctification or holiness in this world
will be the measure of happiness in eternity:
" Be not deceived ; God is not mocked : for
whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also
reap. For he that soweth to his flesh, shall
of the flesh reap corruption ; but he that
soweth to the Spirit, shall of the Spirit reap
life everlasting." Gal. vi., 7, 8.

But to return to the point of difl'erence be-
tween saving faith and understanding faith.
Revelation teaches us that saving faith has
its seat in the heart ; and I believe that it
may exist in the soul which is almost devoid
of understanding. I recollect reading of a

80 VIEWS OF THE TRINITY.

touching incident, which may serve to illus-
trate this position. A poor Scotch idiot, who
was supposed to be entirely destitute of mind,
wandered up to a gentleman's house, on a
cold, stormy evening, and was hospitably
afforded shelter for the night. But the poor
creature was fast sinking into the arms of
death. He was observed to be shivering
with cold, and muttering something to him-
self as he sat by the kitchen fire, which at-
tracted the attention of one of the maids,
and induced her to call one of the ladies of
the family to hear what " the poor daft crea-
ture was saying." They drew near to the
dying idiot, who, unconscious of their obser-
vation, was repeating over, again and again,
the following simple rhyme, in a broad
Scotch accent :

" Three in One, and One in Three,
And Three in One will save me."

Shortly after he expired. The young lady
was deeply affected by the incident, suppo-
sing it to be the simple expression of the

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. 81

dying idiot's faith, who perhaps had just con-
sciousness enough to feel his need of a Sa-
viour, and just understanding enough to em-
brace the offer of salvation conveyed to him
in the simple words of the rhyme which he
had been taught to repeat.

Nor can we doubt that many souls are
saved by simple faith in Christ's atonement,
who have little or no understanding know^-
ledge of the doctrines of the Gospel. This
must be the case with the illiterate general-
ly, and with those who are converted at the
eleventh hour, as was the thief upon the
cross. But this fact does not absolve any
one who possesses the means of instruction,
from the responsibility and obligation which
he, or she, is under, to cultivate the talents
that God has entrusted them with, that they
may be employed in his service, and for his
glory. The Saviour commands us, saying,
" Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all
thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all
thy mind.'-' Matt, xxii., 37. And to do this,
every faculty and power of the immortal

82 VIEWS OF THE TRINITY.

soul must be developed and engaged in the
service of God ; and without an understand-
ing knowledge of the doctrines and pre-
cepts of the Bible, we cannot have a very
deep experimental acquaintance with "the
truth as it is in Jesus." The understanding
must be enlightened by his Spirit, to enable
us to receive him in his office of Prophet.
And he must reign King in the exercise of
his sovereignty over the will, before we can
fully receive him into the heart, as our Priest
and Atonement : then, when with an enlight-
ened understanding, and a subdued will, we
have received Christ into the heart by faith,
he becomes our salvation, and we are, " In
Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us
wisdom and righteousness, sanctification and
redemption." I. Cor., i., 30.

The command to grow in grace is impera-
tive : there is no such thing as being sta-
tionar}' in religion, for if we are not advan-
cing, we are losing ground. And the babe
in grace should *' grow in grace, and in the
knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus

VIEWS OF THE TRIISriTY. 83

Christ," (II. Pet., iii., 18,) till he arrives "in
the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge
of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto
the measure of the stature of the fulness of
Christ." Ephes. iv., 13.

But to attain to this measure, there must
be a fixedness of purpose, a definite aim and
persevering exertion, in using all the means
of grace which lie within our reach. And
this will call into action all the powers of
the soul, as auxiliaries in the exercise of
faith ; and while the powers of the soul are
thus employed, the aid of the Holy Spirit is
certain. Thus, by the diligent use of the
means of grace, and the blessing of God
through those means, the Christian character
will become consistent and harmonious in all
its parts. And without such diligence and
perseverance in the pursuit of knowledge
and holiness, much of the strength, beauty,
and usefulness of the Christian character
must be lost ; and the standard of Christian
experience, generally, will be low and dwarf-

84 VIEWS OF THE TRINITY.

ish, while Christians sit at ease in Zion, as
too many of the present day do.

What is the reason that so many are in-
duced to unite with the church of Christ,
without having experienced a change of
heart — and thus, while they add to its num-
bers, weaken its influence ? It is because,
as Bunyan quaintly expresses it, "Religion
walks about in his silver slippers." Or in
other words, It is both fashionable and cre-
ditable to make a profession of religion, be-
cause professors of the present da}^, for the
most part, live so much in conformity to the
world, that there is little room left for the
exercise of self-denial. But alas ! what
would such fair-weather professors do under
the storms of persecution, temptation and
trial ?

Shall it be deemed a vain repetition, then,
in view of that struggle for religious pinnci-
pie, which, judging from the signs of the
times, is not far distant — the time in which
every other interest shall be merged in the

VIEWS OF THE TKINITY. 85

question : Shall the Bible be the rule of our
faith and practice, or not ? to admonish those
who profess to love Christ: " Take unto you
the whole armour of God, that ye may be
able to withstand in the evil day, and having
done all, to stand. Stand, therefore, having
your loins girt about with truth, and having
on the breastplate of righteousness ; and
your feet shod with the preparation of the
Gospel of peace ; above all, taking the shield
of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench
all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take
the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the
Spirit, which is the w- ord of God : praying
always with all prayer and supplication in
the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all
perseverance and supplication for all saints."
Eph. vi. ch.

PART II.

WnmB nf t^t €xmh\.

CHAPTER I.

"■ Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare
what he hath done for my soul." Ps. Ixvi., 16.

When I was a babe in grace I worshipped
the Deity as " God in Christ reconciling the
world unto himself," and I adored the Trini-
ty ; but it was worship presented to a glo-
rious mystery, so high above my comprehen-
sion that I was left in distance and darkness.
Thus I continued for about four years after
m}^ conversion, during which period my per-
ceptions of spiritual truths were very indis-
tinct, and my knowledge of the doctrines of
salvation exceedingly defective : consequent-

90 VIEWS OF THE TEII^ITT.

ly, I was subject to great alternations of
hope and fear in my Christian experience,
and greatly under bondage to the fear of
death.

I had been called and " chosen in the fur-
nace of affliction." Isa. xlviii., 10. About
one year after I became a Christian, it
pleased my heavenly Father to take from
me the companion of my life, and that under
circumstances of the most heart-rending af-
fliction. Thus, while yet in my early youth,
I found myself widowed and disconsolate.
I had been for many months so absorbed by
anxiety and suspense about my creature-idol,
that I had in a measure grieved away the
Spirit of God, and when this blow came
upon me, it found me without any comfort-
ing sense of God's presence in my soul.
Desolation was written on every earthly ob-
ject, hope was suddenly crushed, and a kind
of despair seized upon my heart, while ex-
cessive grief, like a dark cloud, veiled the
face of my God from me, and obscured my
prospects for eternity. But though utterly

VIEWS OF THE TEmilY. 91

overwhelmed by sorrow, I did not neglect
the active duties of my family — these were
conscientiously performed, as long as my
strength held out ; but I could not feel re-
signed to the wall of God in my bereavement,
and I never closed my eyes to sleep, but im-
mediately my departed one became the sub-
ject of my dreams : then starting I awoke
only to weep over my loss, and to indulge in
all '* the luxury of grief." Then followed
stroke after stroke from my heavenly Fath-
er's hand, till I was ready to exclaim, in the
words of the poet :

" Lord, what is this, I trembling cried,
Wilt thou pursue thy worm to death ?
This is the way, the Lord replied,
I answer prayer for grace and faith."

Indeed, so many and so bitter were the
trials and sufferings laid upon me, that I
passed whole nights at that time in anguish of
soul, groaning and calling upon God for help.
God heard and answ^ered in his own way.
My physical strength entirely forsook me, and

92 VIEWS OF THE TKINITY.

the poor frail body, worn out by mental suf-
fering, was laid upon the bed of sickness.
Now mental suffering ceased, a soft and ten-
der melancholy stole over me, and my spirit
became as calm and serene as an autumnal
sky. The sable mantle of desolation, which
to my afflicted vision had appeared to be
spread over every object, for so long a time,
was now withdrawn, and all nature appeared
decked in new beauties — every bird, tree and
flower seemed to declare the Creator's praise.
I had a smile, too, for every one : for many
were the kind friends who visited the feeble
sufferer. For many, many months, my spee-
dy dissolution was expected by every one,
and often did I discourse with Christian
friends around my bed, on the joys of hea-
ven, and anticipate the bright " inheritance
of the saints in light," till our feelings, soft-
ened and sanctified by such converse, seemed
to transport us into the suburbs of heaven.
In such converse, and w^ith such feelings, I
aw^aited my speedy dismissal from earth, and
for the time felt no fear of death. But under

VIEWS OF THE TEINITY. 93

the increased light of the Spirit, and in
greater depths of self-knowledge, I have since
learned that much which was purely selfish
was mingled with my better feelings in
that, comparatively speaking, " day of small
things." Zech. iv., 10. For the thought of
being reunited to m}^ departed one in heaven
actually sweetened the thought of death, and
almost made me long for it. But Christ had
not as yet become All in all to my subdued
and resigned spirit ; and as my physical
health was again partially restored, again I
began to indulge my sorrow on account of
my bereavement. This inordinate indul-
gence of grief again, soon grieved away the
comforting influences of the Holy Spirit, and
I gradually sunk into a backslidden state,
from which I had no power to arouse myself.
Occasionally I felt a powerful conviction of
the misery of my spiritual declension, and at
such times I prayed most fervently to be re-
covered by grace, through any means that
God might be pleased to use, so that I might
only be restored to comfortable communion

94 VIEWS OF THE TEUSTTTY.

with God. But then I would relapse again,
for weeks, into the same cold and dead frame
of mind. After living for many months in the
state of declension which I have described, it
pleased my heavenly Father to lay me sud-
denly upon the bed of extreme illness for six
weeks. A highly inflammator}' fever seized
upon my veins, and for fourteen days I con-
tinued desperately ill, and suffering intensely
in the body ; but my heart remained hard,
impenitent and prayerless, and even the ap-
proach of death failed to arouse me from my
spiritual torpor. I knew that, in all proba-
bilit}^ I should die ; but I neither cared or
prayed. On the fifteenth day the fever left
me — still I was thankless. On the sixteenth
day the fever returned with redoubled vio-
lence, and then it was that God came forth
in power, and with one word aroused me
from the slumber of spiritual death, to an
awful consciousness of my dreadful condition.
" Prepare to meet thy God — the hour is at
hand !" resounded through my soul, filling it
with terror and consternation unutterable,

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. 95

till, humbled and penitent, I cried, Save,
Lord, I perish ! Now I was terrified at the
approach of death, and roused up to cry for
mercy with all that urgency of supplication
and intensity of anguish,, which none but a
soul thus circumstanced can form a concep-
tion of. My sins arose before me in dread
array ; the lukewarm or cold state I had
been in for months, neglected duties and un-
improved privileges, a slighted and injured
God — in short, an awful tribunal appeared
in sight. I tried to pray ; but the enemy
said, " It is now too late.'''' O dreadful indeed
were my feelings, while the tempter accused
and suggested, " You never were a Christian,
and now the day of grace is past." Still
hope lingered at my heart. Can it be possi-
ble, thought I, that I have been deceived in
former experiences ? I feared that I had.
O what w^ould I not have given, at that mo-
ment, for one assurance of acceptance with
God. Believing firmly that I should die, I
bade my nurse summon the family. Silently
she obeyed, and they gathered around my

96 VIEWS OF THE TRINITY.

bed. I gave all the directions co icerning
my temporal affairs to my executors, and
then took leave of my dear little children
with an agonized heart, requesting that they
might not be brought into my presence again.
And having settled my worldly concerns, I
sent for my pastor, and disclosed my fears to
him. I said, I have much to say to you, but
alas ! it is now^ too late — breath fails me.
You have been faithful, but I have wandered
from my God, and now all is dark before me.
i have no light, and I fear to die ; yet I can-
not let go my hope in Christ. I have known
delightful experiences of his love to my soul,
and 1 have known what it is to " glory in
tribulation ;" but now, what would T not give
for acceptance with Christ.

Deeply affected, even to tears, my good
pastor replied, " Do not despair, my child ;
do not give up your hope in Christ ; hold on
firmly to that. I hope you are a child of
God, but you say that you are a backslider : I
never knew it, but if it has been so with
you, you must expect to suffer for it ; God

VIEWS OF THE TEINITY. 97

now hides his face from you to punish your
neglect of him. But still he is a God of
mercy — come now, even if you never came
before, cast yourself at the feet of Jesus, and
resolve that if you perish it shall be at the
loot of the cross — you cannot perish there !"
I requested him to pray for me. He did
so, imploring God to send light and comfort
into my benighted soul. Then, wringing my
hand and weeping, my dear pastor repeatedly
bade me farewell, and left the room expect-
ing never to see me alive again. And, O
w^hat a night of suffering that was. " A
horror of great darkness fell upon me." Gen.
XV., 12. I was made to " walk through the
valley of the shadow of death." Ps. xxiii., 4.
I passed by the mouth of hell, saw the flash-
ings of God's wrath, and heard the thunders
of his anger : and, O God, who can endure
them ! I was assaulted by hideous mockings,
temptations and horrors brought to bear upon
my soul by the malice of fiends, who conti-
nued to assail me with horrid din, till I had
passed through the dark valley and arrived

98 VIEWS OF THE TRINITY.

ill an opening at the end, where Jesus met
me with, " Peace, daughter, thy sins are for-
given thee." And instantly his life-giving
word hushed the tumult of my agonized soul,
filling me with the joy of the Holy Spirit,
and with the faith of assurance, which has
never since been shaken for an hour, that I
can recollect.

It was now that Jesus drew nigh to my
eye of faith, and for the first time revealed
himself to me in a manifestation of his dis-
tinct personality, as the God-man. And no
sooner was this manifestation of Christ pre-
sented to my mind, than my soul apprehend-
ing, realized both his glory and personalit}^
and exclaimed aloud, Verily, Christ is God,
and " God is love !" I held communion with
Christ in ^^Qvnon, realizing that in him "dwelt
the fulness of the Godhead bodily.'' I also
realized the presence of attending angels,
who whispered, " Sister spirit, come away !"
But God in Christ, and the love of God mani-
fested in him, were the all-absorbing objects

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. 99

of my enraptured soul's devotion, and for a
season excluded every other thought. Soon,
however, Jesus revealed to my astonished
soul a series of spiritual wonders, or shall I
say, a vision of spiritual realities, which no
human language can describe, but which
taught me volumes of divine truth, the sa-
vour of which has ever since remained with
my spirit. These view^s of the w^orld of spi-
rits I have elsewhere made a feeble attempt
to describe in the language of sense ; but as
they do not immediately bear upon the doc-
trine of the Trinity, I shall not insert them
here. I will only state that I was directed to
behold the balancing between sin and fioli-
ness — a great gulf w^as between the two.
Sin, hideous sin, appeared before me in its
true colours. I beheld it abstractedly, apart
from any concern that I had in it, and shrank
away from it as the abominable thing which
God hates. I w^as assui-ed that I was deli-
vered from its deadly curse, yet beheld the
indescribable and accursed thing cfJIed sin,
with feelings of utter detestation and horror.

100 VIEWS OF THE TEIJSriTY.

I dreaded living longer on earth, lest I should
again fall under the influence of sin, and
thus grieve that Holiness which was at the
same time exhibited to my view in such
bright and lovely characters : therefore, death
in any form appeared at that moment prefe-
rable to living in this world, for in the earth
sin held dominion.

Then I w^as directed to behold the com-
parison between time and eternity. I saw
earth's highest joys but as the small dust
of the balance, and the brightest honours
which this world can bestow, but as a glit-
tering tinsel toy ; w^hile, on the other hand,
eternity arose to view with refulgent bright-
ness and weighty glory. These spiritual
realities, and wonders which I may not here
name, I beheld in and by the light of eterni-
ty. These views were such as no mortal
could conceive, unaided by the Spirit of God;
and that the Spirit of God did open my spi-
ritual eyes to behold at that time w^onderful
things of a spiritual nature, I can no more
doubt, than that I am now living and penning

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. 101

these lines. But to describe what I saw w- ith
my spirit is impossible : for, as St. Paul says,
" I heard unspeakable words, w^hich it is not
lawful for a man to utter." II. Cor., xii., 4.
Surely it was a beatific vision — nature nearly
expired under the view, and my spirit panted
and struggled to escape from its clayey cage,
eager to join the happ} spirits above.

O how fully did I realize, in that hour, the
distinction betw^een soul and body. I had
advanced to the very verge of eternity ; I
was already basking in the blaze of God's
presence, and only waiting for the fleeting
breath to release my soul. This w^orld
seemed too confined, too small, to contain my
immortal spirit, and I distinctly felt the flut-
tering of my soul against its prison, wall,
while it in vain struggled to escape from the
body, which, to all appearance, was in the
immediate grasp of death.

A friend now living, who was standing by
my bedside, asked, " Do you feel no uneasi-
ness at the thought of dying and leaving
your children ?" I replied, "I feel no anxiety

102 VIEWS or THE TRINITY.

concerning them ; I leave them to my God;
he assures me they are safe in his keeping ;
he will be their God and Father — I know it."
The friend who asked this question was
then a Unitarian, and she, together with the
nursCj my parents, sister and brother, and
another youthful friend, stood around my
bed, and were the witnesses of that memo-
rable scene. And O the Spirit gave me ut-
terance, for while my soul was rapt in ado-
ring praise, my lips were tau^i^ht in some
degree to speak of the glories presented, not
to the bodily organs of sight, but to the eye
of the soul. The love of God in Christ,
and salvation through him, was the dearest
theme. I cried, If any thing could make me
willing to tarry on earth till morning, it is

that I may tell Dr. that Jesus Christ is

God, and God is love. If he were here,
surely I could convince him of this delightful
truth. Yet I never once remembered that
the friend at my bedside was also a Unita-
rian, therefore I said nothing to her ; but to
this beloved friend God's Spirit applied the

VIEWS OF THE TEINITY. 103

words I tittered, and convinced her of the
divinity of Christ. And strange to tell, when
my physician came the next morning, I was
not permitted to say one word to him of all
I wished to tell him in the night, but felt as
if a seal was placed upon my lips, that T
might not speak to him. This grieved me,
for he was the individual whose arguments in
favour of Socinianism used to distress me so
much. Nor did I ever after speak with him
on that subject, to the day that he died — a
Socinian still.

But to return from this digression. Jesus
had now drawn nigh to my eye of faith, in
a manifestation of his glory in distinct per-
sonality, and the manifestation exceeded any
conception of the person of Christ that I had
ever formed, assisted by the account of the
transfiguration, Matt, xvii., 2. And this ma-
nifestation silenced for ever the temptation
to question the Deity of Christ, for faith now
distinctly realized that "in Christ dwelleth
the fulness of the Godhead bodily." I now
worshipped God, -'sitting at the feet of

104 VIEWS OF THE TRimTY.

Jesus ;" and ckiring the next twenty-one
months, a similar manifestation of the per-
son of Christ was repeated twice — each time
unexpectedly, while I was praying, and with
a suddenness that filled me with amazement,
and overwhelmed my soul with tumultuous
joy, so that my body trembled and grew
faint : God seemed each time to bless me
more than I had asked. Indeed, I realized
as fully the spiritual presence of Christ, as
though I had beheld him in the body ; and
being completely lost for the time to every
object of sense, I prayed to him, wept before
him, and communed with him in spirit, re-
ceiving from him assurances of love and
mercy. And all this passed with as much
reality and vividness as if Christ had actual-
ly then come down to earth, so that my bo-
dily senses could realize his presence. Yet,
understand me, my friend, I saw him not with,
the eyes of my body, heard him not wdth my
ears, nor touched him with my hands. No ;
it was the powers of my soul that recog-
nized his spiritual presence and held comma-

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. 105

nion with him. But invariably, after these
two manifestations, and succeeding ones for
several years were withdrawn, I was as-
sailed by the most horrible temptations to
unbelief by the powers of darkness. Blessed
be God ! each conflict ended in my gain-
ing the victory, and my faith was greatly
strengthened in the warfare.

I supposed that I had now received as full
a manifestation of Deity as I could receive
while in the body. But I wanted always
thus to behold Jesus. I could not endure
the absence of my beloved Lord and Sa-
viour ; and I hungered and thirsted so in-
tensely after the manifestations of his love,
grace and presence, that I longed for death,
that I might go and be " for ever with the
Lord." This was selfishness — I was resting
too much on frames and feelings ; but I was
not then aware that I was impatient to reap
the harvest before it was ripe.

About five days after I had received the
manifestation of the person of Christ the
third time, I was blessed with another new and

106 VIEWS OF THE TRI^'ITY.

peculiar manifestation of Deit3\ I was ta-
ken sick with symptoms of Asiatic cholera,
then raging in the city all around me ; and
though 1 had been much in attendance upon
the dead and dying, I had never felt the slight-
est apprehension of taking the disease myself.
Indeed, during the many weeks that this
dreadful pestilence continued to crowd its
victims to the grave, my soul was kept in
perfect peace, and serene as an autumnal
sky. On awakening from sleep one morn-
ing, I discovered the symptoms of the disease
in my body, and immediately arose to call
for assistance from the famil3\ Collapse
cramps had already seized my extremities,
and as I was returning to my bed I remem-
bered how many victims I had known, who
arose with the sun in health, and were com-
mitted to the grave before he had set below
the western horizon, and I thought, Perhaps
before night I too shall be numbered with the
dead, and my spirit at rest in the bosom of
its God. The thought was rapture, and I
fell upon my knees, exclaiming, Come^ Lord

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. 107

Jesus, come quickly, and take me to thine
arms in glory ! Instantly a glorious light
burst upon my soul — heaven seemed to open
before me, and a Glory unutterable and inde-
scribable descended towards me, as if let
down to earth. My soul struggled to escape
from the body and leap into the bosom of its
God, nor would I have tarried a moment, to
say farewell to parent or child. But my
panting soul struggled in vain to escape from
its clayey tenement. O how the presence of
God filled the room, and my soul, rapt in ado-
ration and the cloud of Glory, exclaimed,
" This is none other but the house of God, and
this is the gate of heaven !" Gen. xxviii., 17.
Then J was speechless, and remained in ado-
ring silence. While thus engaged, Jehovah
spoke to my soul in a voice that did not
reach Out outward ear, yet caused every nerve
in my body to tremble with awe, reverence
and love, saying, " Not yet — you shall not
die by cholera at this time ; because God
has a purpose respecting you which is j^et
future, and your life is bound up in the per-

108 YIETVS OF THE TEIXITT.

formance of that purpose." I was utterly
confounded — disappointment almost made me
weep ; yet I was not alarmed — no, it was

" The sacred awe that dares not move,
And all the silent heaven of love."

I felt myself to be in the presence of the
Essence of Deit}^ but could give no definite
idea of what it was : for there was no mani-
festation of either person of the Trinity, but
a Glory which was overwhelming, and which
I could neither comprehend or describe. This
manifestation lasted perhaps a half hour, and
then was withdrawn ; but for the remainder
of that day, I continued alternately either in
silent amazement, or so filled with praise to
God, that, unable to contain its own emo-
tions, my soul burst out in involuntary excla-
mations of adoring worship. Indeed, the
glory of God manifested to my soul on that
occasion was so refulgent, that even now I
can scarcely persuade myself that the room
was not filled visibhj with the cloud of glor}-.
I continued sick for several days, and though

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. 109

those around me were anxious as to the re-
sult, I was fully persuaded that I should not
die of the disease, for God had said so.

Again, seven days after, while praying, I
received a very vivid manifestation of Christ,
and while engaged in prayer to him, I found
myself suddenly presented in spirit to the pre-
sence of the Father, and seemingly kneeling at
liis feet on a rock scarcely large enough to
hold my person ; this, I was given to under-
stand, was the Rock of Ages. This manifesta-
tion of the spiritual Rock appeared suspended
in open space, and yet it was immovable, be-
cause it was supported by tlie jjower of God,
who was manifested upon it in the office and
person of the Father, while Jesus, in the
office of the Mediator, stood close at his
right hand, presenting and sweetly pleading
his wounds and righteousness in my behalf.
While I knelt in spirit upon that spiritual
rock at the Father's feet, the Almighty seemed
to throw his arm around and underneath my
soul, forming a sure support 3.nd preservation.

110 VIEWS OF THE TKmiTY.

and thus it was intimated to my mind : " Be-
hold the perfect security of God's children,
who ought to rest simply on him, their Rock
and Salmtiony I was drawn, as it were,
into the arms of my God, while he encou-
raged my soul to lean upon him, and tell him
all my wants and sorrows. O how fully I
realized, at that moment, that "God is love."
I was filled with holy love and childlike con-
fidence— indeed I knew no fear, for '' Perfect
love had cast out fear." I. John,iv., 18. My
feelings during this manifestation were diffe-
rent from what they had been under the for-
mer manifestation, for then I beheld in spirit
an incomprehensible glor}' ; but now there was
no overwhelming glor}', God appeared in his
attribute of love. Then 1 was filled with an
ecstacy of mingled awe, fear and love, and
adored in silence ; but now, though I trem-
bled with joy, I knew no fear, and calmly
communed v/ith my Father, God, respecting
my wants. I approached the Father through
Christ, and enjoyed fellowship and commu-
nion with him. O how sweetly did I cast

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. Ill

my soul into the Father's arms, to be entirely
given up to the guidance of his Spirit.

This strange and wonderful vision was, I
suppose, only a presentation of spiritual
imagery to my mind, in order to convey cer-
tain truths to my understanding which it was
designed to teach. I did not suppose that I
beheld a natural rock suspended in the air,
or that I kneeled upon that rock in the body ;
but I understood at the time that it was alto-
gether of a spiritual nature, and emblemati-
cal of Scripture truth. For the nature of
faith and the utter dependence of the soul
upon God for all it needs and receives, was
thus most forcibly illustrated. Yet so vivid
and real was the transaction between God
and my soul, and so vital was the perception
of faith, that I could not then decide, and
know not now, whether this spiritual image-
ry was presented to my soul in the body, or
whether my soul was caught up out of the
body for a short season — God only knows
how it was. But I rather suppose that my
soul was in an ecstacy, for it is certain that my

112 VIEWS OE THE TRINITY.

outward senses were locked up for the time,
so that I had no use of them, and I could
scarcely tell w^here I was for a few mo-
ments after the manifestation was with-
drawn, though I was in my own room, and
it way at mid-day. One thing, however, I
was assured of, namely, That it was in and
hy and through Christ, I had now found ac-
cess to the Father. For this manifestation
presented to my understanding both the
Father and the Son in distinct personalit}^,
each acting in his proper office, yet with the
fullest conviction that the}^ w^ere, in essence,
one incomprehensible God — a glorious mys-
tery. My communion was with the Father,
to whom I was presented b)^ Christ, who, as
*' God manifest in the flesh," was also pre-
sent, and silently interceding for me. Jesus
I beheld with the eye of faith, in human form,
as before manifested ; and while I cannot say
that the Father was manifested in bodily
form, it was as the " Ancient of days." Dan.
vii., 9. And the relation between Father
and child was so forcibly impressed upon my

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. 113

mind, that faith recognized and received him
as a Parent. He manifested himself in per-
son as my " Father in heaven," and my spi-
ritual perception received him as such. My
soul interchanged all the fearless and confi-
ding love of a child for the affectionate and
protecting kindness of a father, while he
assured me that his arm of love around and
underneath my soul was the only preservative
against my falling.

Surely it had never befere entered into my
mind to conceive of such a manifestation of
grace, and having received it, I thought :
This, then, is a full manifestation of the Tri-
nity, for I now know both the Father and
the Son, and it was the Spirit who revealed
them unto me. For although I worshipped
the Holy Spirit, and often addressed petitions
to him in prayer, as part of the Godhead, yet
I never had, up to that time, nor for fifteen
months after, any conception of the individu-
ality of the Holy Spirit, but always regarded
the Spirit as a mysterious influence, proceed^
ing from the Father and the Son,

CHAPTER II.

Up to this time, I had never lisped to living
mortal any thing concerning these wonder-
ful dealings of God with my soul in secret.
With the exception of my sick-bed expe-
rience, to which there were six witnesses, I
had kept all these things to myself, and pon-
dered them in my heart. But now I could
no longer refrain from telling others of the
great things God was doing for my soul ; but
I was injudicious in my selections of Chris-
tian confidants, and for the first time I learned
that all Christians have not faith alike. With
one single exception, out of a little circle of
twelve, my testimony was rejected as imagi-
nary and fanatical. Insinuations were thrown
out behind my back, that my mind was be-
coming disordered; and before my face, omi-
nous looks were exchanged by these luke-

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. 115

warm professors of religion, while they grave-
ly warned me to "Beware of enthusiasm." I
was now brought to a stand, and exclaimed.
Can this be the work of imagination? Is it
possible that I am under a delusion ? Alarm-
ed, I fled to the word of God as a test, and
applying this touchstone, I could discover
nothing unscriptural in my experience ; but,
on the contrary, was convinced that I had
been enlightened in the knowledge of Scrip-
ture doctrines by these very manifestations,
which had been condemned as imaginative.
Yet a door of temptation had now been
opened, and after six weeks of the highest
spiritual enjoyment, during which I had re-
ceived the last named manifestations, I fell
into a conflict with unbelief and temptation,
which I even now shudder to think of. Sa-
tanic suggestions were poured into my mind
like a flood : I was tempted to deny the work
of the Holy Spirit, and to pronounce it the
work of the devil, and this with such vehe-
mence, that for three days and nights I nei-
ther eat or slept, but continued on my knees,

116 VIEWS OF THE TRmiTY.

or prostrate on the floor, in torture of soul.
I was unable to close the Bible which I held
in my hand, or to utter a single petition in
prayer, or reply to the tempter, except in the
very language of Scripture. For the instant
I closed the book, that instant Satan gained
the advantage, and it was only by returning
to meet his suggestions with "Thus saith the
Lord," that I could preserve my soul from
desperation, or my intellect from utter con-
fusion. During this conflict '* a horror of
darkness " was again upon my spirit, and
not one single ray from the " Sun of Right-
eousness" pierced through the cloud, to cheer
my agonized soul. But I had a conscious-
ness that Jesus stood at my side, with his face
turned away from me, as if in displeasure ;
yet he held me with a grasp which all the
eff'orts of the tempter could not loosen, and
in this all my safety lay. Thus Christ staid
by me as my salvation, but left me to fight
out the struggle with " the sword of the Spi-
rit, which is the word of God." Eph. vi., 17,
At length Christ turned and rebuked the

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. llY

adversary, and then he was forced to with-
draw and leave me ; but I was left almost
fainting from suffering — physically w^eak and
under great spiritual depression. Did you
ever read Bunyan's description of Apollyon's
fight with Christian? That seems tame,
compared with what I endured. But, like
Christian in the allegory, I came off at last
more than conqueror, through Christ helping
me. Gradually I recovered composure and
strength, and during the next fifteen months,
I enjoyed many devotional seasons, in which
I found access to the Father, as well as to
the Son, and I was brought more and more
into the sweet " Spirit of adoption, whereby
we cry Abba, Father." Rom. viii., 15. At
the expiration of this time I was again sur-
prised with another and still more wonderful
manifestation of Deity. On a day consecra-
ted annually to secret devotional exercises, I
commenced prayer by addressing God as my
Father, and in so doing the first person in the
Holy Trinity was instantly manifested to my
soul — I saw in faith the way opened, " even

118 VIEWS OF THE TEINITY.

to his throne." Job xxiii., 3. Next I addressed
the Son, as " God manifest in the flesh," and
immediately I was made to realize vividly
his presence, manifested as the second persoa
in the Trinity, and my soul rejoiced in faith
and hope. Then I prayed to the Spirit, as I
had often done before, and, blessed be God !
he instantly revealed himself to my soul in a
Stream of Glory, when, wondering and as-
tonished, my adoring soul was made to com-
prehend, for the first time, the distinct perso-
nality of the Holy Ghost. I felt and per-
ceived his raj^s of light unutterable penetra-
ting my soul, and then, O wonderful ! the
whole Trinity in Unity was manifested to
me : the Father and the Son were presented
on either side, while the Holy Ghost shined
forth from the centre of the mercj^-seat, and
overshadowed me with his rays of glor}^
The manifestation lasted the Vv'hole time I
continued in praj^er, and I was on this occa-
sion drawn to look principally to the Holy
Spirit, realizing that he was in the Godhead
directly over me, to indite and listen to my

VIEWS OF THE TRmiTT. 119

petitions offered through Christ. And I was
assured that I had now been brought into
fellowship with the Holy Ghost, and should,
from this time forth, hold more intimate com-
munion with the third person of the Holj^
Trinity, which has since been most signally
fulfilled in my blest experience. This mani-
festation of the Holy Spirit was attended
with such convincing power to my soul, and
so sealed my faith, that I have never since
felt a solitary doubt of the divinity of all the
manifestations, nor of the validity of my own
experience. The power of Satan to annoy,
with suggestions that I 7nig]it he mistaken,
was now broken ; nor could the singularity
of my experience be now brought to bear
upon my soul, as an argument against its
genuine character : for the Spirit himself
witnessed with my spirit, (Rom. viii., 16,)
and God had now granted me, " according to
the riches of his glory, to be strengthened
with might by his Spirit in the inner man."
Eph. iii., 16. Consequently, from this time
forth, I had no more conflicts with temptation

120 VIEWS OF THE TEINITY.

and unbelief on this point, being " rooted and
grounded in faith and love, according to the
power that worketh in us." 17, 20 vs.

I had now, within three years, to a day,
(from the time of my remarkable sick-bed
experience, already related,) been brought
into an acquaintance with, and experimental
knowledge of, each person in the Godhead :
first the Son, then the Father, and thirdly,
the Holy Spirit — then of the whole Trinity
in Unity, with a distinct apprehension of
the three existing in one. And here let me
remark with reverence, that in discoursing
thus freely of the glorious Trinity, I do not
pretend to know or explain, in any degree,
the mystery of the Godhead ; of the essen-
tial nature of the Godhead I understand no-
thing. The knowledge I have attained of
Deity is not a comprehension of his essence —
no, that is as great and adorable a mystery
now as it ever was ; but it is an apprehen-
sion or understanding of his existence, as
manifested to me by himself, in his persons
and offices. And a knowledge of the econo-

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. 121

my of his grace, as manifested in the plan of
redemption, and work of the holy Trinity,
revealed to me as my Father, Saviour and
Comforter. And I believe that it is only
through these persons and offices, that living
men can arrive at any comprehensive know-
ledge of God. I am assured of this, both
from the holy Scriptures and from experience.
I once received a manifestation of Deity, as
the essence of truth, light and glory ; but it
was a manifestation which filled me with
awe and fear, and left me in distance, I was
reminded by it that " God, out of Christ, is a
consuming fire." Heb., 12 ch. And I was
forcibly taught by it the exceeding value of
the plan of salvation — the mercy, love and
condescension displayed in the economy of
grace ; and the blessedness of having a Me-
diator between God and man, Jesus Christ,
who, by stooping to our finite capacities, ena-
bles us to climb up to some conception of
his grace. Thus it became evident to my
mind, that the soul, while it is embodied in
the flesh, could not approach God but through

122 VIEWS OF THE TRINITY.

the persons and offices of the Trinity ; and
that the soul, while it tabernacles in the flesh,
is only capable of receiving a sight of God's
glory to a certain degree, and one single ray
beyond that degree, if brought to bear upon
the soul, would instantly extinguish life. How
then could any living man bear an exhibition
of the Essence of Deity ? Has not God him-
self declared, " There shall no man see me
and live." Ex. xxxiii., 20. What gratitude
then should we feel to God for clothing him-
self with flesh ; for veiling his Godhead in
the flesh, (Heb. x., 20,) and coming to us as
the man, Christ Jesus : for who can dwell on
earth and comprehend God out of Christ?
Not one, of all the fallen sons and daughters
of Adam. But in and through Christ, the
Anointed of God, we are privileged and ena-
bled, by the agency of the Holy Spirit, to
approach and enter within the vail," (Heb.
vi., 19,) and worship God in spirit and truth,
as our reconciled Father. O the wonders of
redeeming grace ! the very angels desire to
look into them.

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. 123

Years have elapsed since I first received
the manifestation of the distinct personality
of the Holy Ghost, and of the Trinity in
unity. And with that glorious manifestation
came the command : " Arise, shine — for thy
light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen
upon thee." Is. Ix., 1. And, as I have said be-
fore, it was attended with such powerful assu-
rance of the divine nature of those mani-
festations, and of the genuineness of my own
experience, as strictly according with the
truths and instructions of Scripture, that,
from that hour, every doubt was silenced,
and my feet planted on the rock of assu-
rance. And though I have since endured
much conflict with unbelief and temptation
on other points, yet on this I have remained
invulnerable to this hour. Nor do I recol-
lect that distance and fear have in any in-
stance attended the manifestations of Deity,
since I have been brought into the knowledge
of, and communion with, the Holy Spirit in
his own proper office. And each revolving
year has brought with it a succession of

124 VIEWS OF THE TRINITY.

glorious manifestations of the persons and at-
tributes of Deity, richly laden with instruction
to my soul. I have found my fellowship and
communion with Father, Son and Spirit conti-
nually increasing and heightening, with a
growing knowledge of the economy of grace.
The fruit of these manifestations has been a
rapid increase in spiritual knowledge and
holiness — they have enlightened my under-
standing, been attended with a subduing
power over my will, and a sanctifying influ-
ence over my affections. And now I bless
God that he permitted my faith to be so
severely tried for a season : for though the
powers of darkness used sometimes to assail
me furiously for a while, and I was compelled
to endure blasphemous thoughts, which wrung
my soul with agony, till occasionally my con-
flicts grew so severe that phj'sical strength
forsook me, and my body fainted under the
anguish of my mind. Yet those horrible
temptations were even then working out fu-
ture comfort for me : because, through God's
help, faith triumphed, and became stronger

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. 125

after every blast of temptation, till finally it
pleased God to deliver me permanently from
the tempter's power on this subject, by es-
tablishing my faith: thus, "Out of the eater,
came forth meat."

I have remarked that the manifestations of
the persons of the Trinity are thus charac-
terized to my soul. When Jesus, the second
person in the Godhead, manifests his presence
to my soul, I feel a nearness of friendship, a
fellowship in sympathy and sentiment, if I
may with reverence so express myself — a
fond clinging to him, who, though God him-
self, yet condescended to veil his Godhead in
the flesh, and to sympathize with us in all
the cares, infirmities, pains and sorrows of
human nature. He who united in one per-
son both the divine and human natures ; and
thus, by taking my nature into union with
his own, communicates to my soul a measure
of his divine nature, through his communica-
ble perfections, thus gradually transforming

my soul into his own blessed image. " For
11*

126 VIEWS OF THE TRII^^ITY.

whom he did foreknow, he also did predesti-
nate to be conformed to the image of his
Son, that he might be the first-born among
many brethren." Rom. viii., 29. " But we
all, with open face beholding, as in a glass,
the glory of the Lord, are changed into the
same image, from glory to glory, even as by
the Spirit of the Lord." IL Cor. iii., 18. 0 1
can take a hold on Jesus by faith, and say,
This is my brother and friend, as well as my
Saviour and God !

When the Father or first person of the
Trinity manifests his presence to me, I am
instantly sensible of the feelings of a little
child. I know no fear; but submission, reve-
rence, and sweet confiding love fill my soul.
I sink, as it were, into the extended arms of
Deity, exclaiming, It is my Father — my de-
light is to do his will ! O how inadequate to
describe the feelings of the soul towards her
Father God, under such views, are the most
devoted filial affections among men, though
they are of a similar nature.

But when the Holy Spirit, the third person

VIEWS OF THE TEINITY. 127

in the Trinit}^ is manifested to my soul, the
view which my spirit receives is so peculiar
that I scarcely know how to describe it. It
is a Glory, from which a stream of Light is
emanated in an infinitude of rays. He is
the essence of Light purely ethereal. He
imparts Light, discerning, purifying and sanc-
tifying. Under those rays I cry, "With thee
is the fountain of life : in thy light shall we
see light." Ps. xxxvi., 9. My spirit, in ado-
ration, looks upward ; is hushed into silence ;
feels calm, serene, reverential ; is in the pos-
ture of waiting expectation, while heaven is
actually reflected down into my soul.

Through realizing faith, which is " the evi-
dence of things not seen " (Heb. xi., 1) with
the eyes of the body, I can take a compre-
hensive hold on Jesus, and feel a nearness to
him. So, also, I can approach my Father
God in spirit — kneel at his feet, as it were ;
I can rest upon him, and feel my soul drawn
within the everlasting arms of his divine
love. But the manifestation of the Holy
Spirit is revealed from the heaven of hea-

128 VIEWS OF THE TEINITY.

vens, comes from afar off. He baptizes my
soul with emanations from himself, which
only reach me in reflected rays, and it is "an
unction from the Holy One." I. John, ii., 20.
But, as yet, I have never been admitted to
such nearness of access to the Spirit, as to the
Father and the Son, though my communion
with the Spirit grows and increases too.
For a long time, I supposed that I could not
approach nearer than I did to the Essence of
Light, and yet live ; but even in this I find a
growth in grace. For, whereas I first beheld
in faith the rays of the Holy Spirit descend-
ing upon me from afar, I have since realized
the nearer approach of those rays to my
soul. And I have received an oft repeated
manifestation of the Holy Ghost, as sur-
rounding and enclosing my soul with beams of
glory, as " secretly in a pavilion." Ps. xxxi.,
20. And even more than this, which I al-
most fear to tell, I have received a manifes-
tation in vision, of my soul passing through
Christ, '' the Door," (John x., 9,) and " the
Way " of access, (John xiv., 6,) straight into

VIEWS OF THE TEINITY. 129

the Father's bosom, and held there by the
everlasting arms ; while the Holy Spirit, as
a Cloud of Glory, enveloped the eternal
throne of the everlasting Father, and clothed
my poor soul with teaching light : and O !
for a seraph's tongue, to tell the depth of
instruction given.

Yet still the conviction is, that the person
and offices of Christ are the most easil}'' com-
prehended by the soul, and that the appre-
hension of the Holy Spirit, as a person of
the Godhead, is the most difficult for the un-
derstanding to grasp. But this I know and
testif}", that to receive such an unction from
the Holy Ghost — even to have a portion of
those reflected rays reaching the soul from
afar off, if a full, soul-satisfying portion, un-
der which I have exclaimed, It is enough,
Lord : withdraw now thy glory, for the body
faints !

O my sou], if thy discoveries and enjoy-
ments have been so great while yet on earth,
what must the future rewards of faith be !
What must it be to " dwell in the light which

130 VIEWS OF THE TIimiTY.

no man can approach unto : which no man
hath seen or can see." I. Tim., vi., 16.

Ill the manifestations of the persons of the
Trinity to my soul, there has never been
any special order observed. Sometimes the
Father alone is manifested, sometimes the
Son alone, and frequently the Father and Son;
but I think that I have never received a mani-
festation of the Holy Ghost without an ap-
prehension of the presence of the Father
and Son also, though not alwaj'S with equal
clearness and vividness. Often in devotion
the three persons in the Godhead are mani-
fested to my soul, as existing together in
mystical union ; I have a distinct realizing
apprehension of Father, vSon and Spirit, each
acting in his distinct office ; can hold com-
munion separately with each, and adore the
Three in One, with the fullest conviction that,
*' great is the mystery of godliness." I. Tim.,
iii., 16. Utterly incomprehensible to any
finite mind, yet a mystery which I love to
contemplate and adore. Indeed, the mani-
festation of the Trinity fills the soul too full

VIEWS OF THE TEIKITT. 131

for utterance, absorbs every faculty in awe,
adoration and love, Vv^hich leaves no room
for doubt or speculation concerning that glo-
rious mystery, which infinitely exists beyond
its comprehension. Thus the very sublimity
of the manifestation lays the soul prostrate
in humility, and preserves the soul from tri-
fling in the presence of its God.

The knowledge which my soul has at-
tained of the persons in the Godhead is not
comprehensive, but apprehensive. We may
distinctly apprehend or conceive of those
things which we yet have no comprehensive
knowledge of: for instance, when our eyes
behold the sun, we apprehend or conceive of
the fact in our minds, that it is located or
placed in the heavens above us, and shines
upon the earth, producing certain effects.
Just so my soul apprehends the existence
and presence, or manifestation to my under-
standing, of the Trinity, both in miity and
personality ; while I believe that God alone
can comprehensively understand his own ex-
istence and perfections.

132 VIEWS OF THE TRINITY.

Bat when we come to speak of the in-
struction w^iich such manifestations are in-
tended to convey to the understanding of the
soul, then we may say that we comprehend
the truths taught through and by that which
is in itself incomprehensible to finite minds.
Then I say that I have received, through
those peculiar manifestations of the Trinitj'
made to my soul, an ajwrehensive knowledge
of the existence of the one God in three per-
sons, with whom I have been permitted to
commune in spirit, and hold fellowship with,
in a certain sense. And secondly, a compre-
hensive knowledge^ to a certain degree, of
their several offices and work in the soul, as
developed in the plan of salvation, and in
the economy of grace. And the views which
I have enjoyed of the manifestations of the
Trinity have been through the medium of
faiths which is tlie eye of the soul, and, in
the language of Scripture, " the evidence of
things not seen" (Heb. xi., 1,) with the na-
tural organ of sight. This diflers in degree
from the direct, intuitive, and immediate vi-

VIEWS OF THE TRimTY. 133

sion of God, which holy disembodied spirits
are capable of receiving, and do enjoy, as
much as the light of a candle differs from
the bright shining light of the sun. But
though differing in degree, it is the same in
kind, for in both instances, it is a soul-
strengthening and comforting, as well as a
transforming light.

That I have received real manifestations of
the Godhead in distinct personality, as Father,
Son and Spirit, revealed to my faith, to the
eye of my soul, is certain, and that I do, in
a small measure, realize their existence, as
manifested in heaven : — the Father as the
Father, or " Ancient of days ;" the Son in
glorified human form ; and the Holy Spirit,
as Light and Glory ; also their several offices
of love, mercy and consolation, all united in
one incomprehensible Godhead, I can no
more doubt than that I live and breathe.
And I expect, when I die, to see God in es-
sence, " face to face," with open vision, as I
now see through the medium of faith, only
that the view in glory will infinitely tran-

134 VIEWS OF THE TEINITY.

scend that on earth, in clearness, comfort and
instruction.

But observe, in those spiritual manifesta-
tions which illustrate the attributes of Deity,
and shadow forth the economy of grace in the
work of man's redemption, by spiritual image-
ry, such as a rock, door, pillars, etc., I dis-
tinctly understand these to be but metaphori-
cal representations of spiritual truths, which
exist as axioms that disembodied spirits never
doubt ; but which the human soul, enclosed
as it is in a material body, is incapable of
conceiving so full a conviction of, as when
shadowed forth in imagery proportioned to
our senses. Some old writer remarks that,
" The pure and supreme light never descends
to us without a garment or covering." Be-
hold, then, the goodness of God, in accom-
modating his truth to our capacity ; and let
not unbelief attribute such views to an ex-
cited or diseased imagination, forgetful that
God has, in former ages, employed such
spiritual imagery in Scripture visions, and
that inspired writers were instructed by and

VIEWS OF THE TEINITT. 135

through such imagery, to convey certain
truths to the knowledge of man. And let it
be remembered also, that the perception of
faith is as distinct, in itself, from the spiritual
imagery employed in teaching truth, as those
truths are, in essence, from the metaphors
which shadow them forth to the mind of
man.

Some will say, Though the Lord did em-
ploy such spiritual imagery in former ages,
w^e are not to look for instruction through
such imagery now, that the canon of vScrip-
ture is closed, but must look for it in the
Bible, the written word of God. " To the
law and to the testimony : if they speak not
according to this word, it is because there is
no light in them." Is. viii., 20. This was the
advice of the inspired prophet, Isaiah, and I
humbly repeat it to all who doubt and cavil :
simply take this experience and these mani-
festations " to the law and to the testimony,"
try them by the touchstone of God's written
word, contained in the Holy Bible, and, " if
they speak not according to this word, it is

136 VIEWS OF THE TRINITY.

because there is no truth in them," and you
may reject them as spurious and weak. But
if you find, after a careful investigation of
the Scriptures of truth, that they strictly
accord with the doctrines, precepts and in-
structions of God's word, beware how you re-
ject, as visionary and singular, as foolish and
vain, what God has seen fit to illustrate to
another's mind by such remarkable manifes-
tations, and with such wonderful condescen-
sion and mercy. Remember that there were
some of whom the Apostle Paul wrote thus :
*' But they, measuring themselves by them-
selves, and comparing themselves among
themselves, are not wise. Bat we will not
boast of things without our measure, but
according to the measure of the rule which
God hath distributed to us, a measure to
reach even unto you." II. Cor. x., 12, 13.

Who will presume to deny that the opera-
tions of the Holy Spirit in the hearts and
understandings of individual Christians, at
the present day, are as much diversified as
were his operations in the miraculous gifts

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. 137

of that age of the church ? Let Christians,
then, beware of limiting the operations of
God's Spirit to those methods and degrees
which come within the narrow sphere of
their own observation, lest they incur the
reproach which Paul addressed to the Co-
rinthians, X. chap., 2 Epistle.

CHAPTER III.

The following are some of the sanctified
results which my soul has reaped from those
manifestations of the persons and offices of
the Trinity, and of the attributes of Jehovah.
Although a "way of access," through the
person of Christ, has been opened for my
soul to commune with the Father and Spirit,
yet my communion is most frequently with
the Son. And if I have a consciousness of
having fallen into any special sin, then it is
always Jesus who first reveals his comfort-
ing presence to my soul, and having received
a consciousness of forgiveness from him, I
am then led to expect and do receive again
the manifestation of the Father and Spirit.
I have remarked also, in mj^ daily experience,
that so surely as a little cross awaits me, so
surely do I receive peculiar comfort in devo-

VIEWS OP THE TRiisrirY. 139

tioii, generally through the person of Christ,
a few hours before the trial overtakes me.
And if I am about to meet with a heavy,
overwhelming trial or affliction, to which I
am no stranger, I am just as sure to receive
beforehand a manifestation of the whole
Trinity, which fills my soul so full of the
joyful assurance of God's love, and gives
such an earnest of the " inheritance of the
saints in light," that I am raised above the
evils of this life ; and "as my day is, so is
my strength," according to the promise of
God. Deut. xxxiii., 25. '* The God of Israel
is he that gives strength and power unto his
people." Ps. Ixviii., 35.

Having been called, in the providence of
God, to endure severe and protracted bodily
sufferings for a course of years, I have ob-
served that after being relieved for awhile
from acute pain, the increase of that pain
was ever the signal for the nearer approach
of Jesus. I instantly had a realizing appre-
hension of his comforting presence ; and so
long as I endured that physical suffering, I

140 VIEWS OF THE TEINITT.

felt the manifested presence of the God-man
at my side, and ever so near that, to use the
language of sense, I could put out the hand
of faith and touch him. Or when relieved
from severe pain, if I missed his comforting
presence, directly I cried after my Saviour,
and he answered, saying, " Here I am," ful-
filling literally to me, in my experience, that
promise : " Then shalt thou call, and the
Lord shall answer ; thou shalt cry, and he
shall say. Here I am." Is. Iviii., 9.

Again : In performing the work of self-
examination, I find the greatest assistance
from these distinct views of the persons and
offices of the Trinity. I have thus been
taught the relations which exist between the
soul and its Father-God, whose office it is to
subdue the will and govern it. The will sits
at the helm of the human soul, in its unre-
newed state, and exercises a sovereign con-
trol over its affections and actions. But in
the regenerated soul this faculty returns to
its allegiance to Deity, and though its obe-
dience is but too often defective, yet in the

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. 141

general, it yields obedience to the persuasive
and transforming influence of the Holy Spi-
rit, who, in the economy of grace, is the ap-
pointed agent by whom all the transactions
of the soul with its God are eflected, and
whose prerogative it is to enlighten the un-
derstanding, which acts as the counsellor and
guide to the will.

While Jesus, the eternal Son of God, takes
a special cognizance of the heart, searches
out its corruptions, and sets them in order
before the eye of the mind. Thus Christ,
working by the influences of the Spirit, con-
vinces the soul eff*ectually of the innate de-
pravity of its affections and passions, and
leads it to trust in his merit alone for salva-
tion. While captivated with the excellency
and glory of his perfections, the soul aims
with a holy ambition after conformity to him
as its example, and receives him as its Pro-
phet, Priest and King. And thus, through
the aid and blessing of God, I am enabled to
know myself, my sins, wants, failures, mea-
sure of sanctification, and to pray according

142 VIEWS OF THE TKINITY.

to the dictates of the Spirit for such grace
as I need. In the fruits of my experience,
then, I have the proof that those manifesta-
tions are divine, and transforming in their
effects. And " by their fruits ye shall know
them," says Christ. Matt, vii., 20.

For a number of years after I began to
receive the manifestations alluded to above,
I was subject to great alternations in my
spiritual frames and feelings. For though
my assurance of salvation remained unsha-
ken, and I could at all times contemplate
death with a feeling of rapture, as the mes-
senger whose office would be to usher my
soul into glory, yet sin and sorrow frequently
had power to depress and sadden my spirit —
there was still a kind of torment in sin. For
instance, if after receiving one of those ma-
nifestations, and holding this sensible com-
munion with God, I was betrayed into trifling
of any kind, or into the indulgence of a
wrong temper, directl}^ I felt as if a cloud
had passed over my spiritual vision, and ob-
scured the Sun of Righteousness from view.

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY.. 143

I was not left in darkness, but made to feel
that God was displeased, and had partially
withdrawn his presence from my view. And
I was obliged to seek him again with re-
new^ed actings of faith, and often with
tears of repentance, before he would again
reveal his precious and comforting light.
Thus I was made to feel that unholy propen-
sities and the in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit
are incompatible — the one must and will
quench the other — so that I often exclaimed
with sorrow, Alas ! how easily is the Spirit
of God grieved into withdrawing his com-
forting influences from my soul ! And what
a proof is this, that my joy in devotion comes
from no fictitious source, but is verily the
fruit of that Spirit whose essence is holiness,
and who will hold no fellowship with the
unfruitful works of darkness, but rather re-
proves them : "For the fruit of the Spirit is
in all goodness, and righteousness, and truth,
proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.
And have no fellowship with the unfruitful

144 VIEWS OF THE TRTI^ITY.

works of darkness, but rather reprove them."
Eph. v., 9-11.

This stage of my Christian experience re-
quired a great and constant effort to keep
up intimate communion with God. I then
seemed like one called to take the kingdom
of heaven by storm. (Matt, xi., 12.) And
many were the whole days and nights, and
often whole weeks at a time, which my
struggling soul spent in unceasing wrestlings
with God in prayer, for a deeper w^ork of
grace in my heart, and for strength to endure
the complicated sorrows and trials which met
me at every step in life, and under which I
must have fainted, but for the mighty con-
solations dealt out to my soul, through the
wonderful manifestations recorded above.
Nor let it be supposed that I led a hermit's
life. Far from it : 1 mingled extensively in
the social circles of life, and engaged in
many active Christian duties, abroad as well
as at home. My hands and head were al-
ways full of work, and my heart full of tem-

VIE\YS OF THE TRINITY. 145

poral trials ; while not unfrequently severe
physical sufferings wei'e also laid upon me :
for so it seenned good unto my heavenly
Father that it should be, and there was no
lack of '' thorns in the flesh " (11. Cor., xii.,
7-10,) to keep me humble. And I learned to
breathe in prayer. I do not exaggerate when
I say this, for prayer became as essential to
my soul, as meat, and drink were to sustain
the body ; and often when moving in the
busy crowd, or sitting in the social circle of
the parlour, my spirit was ascending to its
God in fervent ejaculatory prayer, till I
learned, as it were, to breathe in prayer.
And when I could, without neglecting other
duties, retire to my own private apartment,
I ever found it a " little sanctuary," in which
the presence of the Lord abode ; and the bed
of sickness was always sure to be turned into
a " Bethel," from which I invariably arose
strengthened in grace and faith to meet com-
ing conflicts, which alw^ays ended in my gain-
ing the victory through grace. Nor would I
omit to mention that I was in the habit of

13

146 VIEWS OF THE tri:nity.

studying the wJiole Scriptures, from Genesis
to Revelation, with prayer, frequently on my
knees ; and always, as I opened the Bible to
read, my spirit sent upwards an ejaculatory
prayer to God, for the teaching light of the
Spirit to accompany the reading of the word.
The stage of Christian experience described
above continued about three or four years ;
when at length I received a manifestation of
the coming of Christ to take up his abode
permanently in the temple of m.ij soul, and thus
to bring my spirit into an abiding and inti-
mate union with himself. Since which time,
I have never lost the consciousness of his
presence in my soul, and have been at all
times able to hold intimate communion wath
Christ, by simply turning my eye of faith
upon the inward manifestation of his pre-
sence. And this has introduced my soul into
a passive stage of Christian experience. I now
no longer felt the need of such protracted sup-
plication in general, for all my desires and pe-
titions were quickly summed up in the laconic,
but comprehensive petitions : " Thy kingdom

VIEWS OF THE TEINITY. 147

come ! Thy will be done !" And instead of
talking so much to God in pra3'er, I now pas-
sively listen to the whispers of his Spirit,
and adoringly worship him by contemplating
his perfections in silence. Sometimes, under
particular circumstances and changes in life,
I feel myself drawn out in protracted suppli-
cation for special direction in duty, and for
guidance in the right way. Also occasionally
for others, both as to their temporal and spi-
ritual concerns; but in general, silent con-
templative adoration is the peculiar charac-
teristic of m}^ religious worship.

And though 1 feel the workings of sin in
my heart, and it sometimes struggles for the
mastery with a high hand, it has now no
power to sting and torment my soul as for-
merly. Nor does my God now reprove my
sins with a frown ; no, divine love is made
the correcting power. My repentance is not
now attended with bitterness or fear, but
consists in a feeling of the deepest shame and
self-abasement, a loathing of sin, and a cling-
ing to Christ with renewed dedication of body,

148 VIEWS OF THE TRINITY.

soul and spirit to the Lord, crying, " Lord, I
am thine ; save me !" While Jesus, my Sa-
viour, smiles upon me, saying, " Behold how
I love thee, notwithstanding all thy unwor-
thiness !" O what a blessed state of liberty
this is ! The Apostle John describes my
state in these words : " God is love : and he
that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and
God in him." L John, iv., 16.

How trifling and vain do earthly pleasures
appear, in comparison with those joys which
spring from communion and fellowship with
Deity ! How subduing and transforming is
the contemplation of the holiness, love, good-
ness, power and wisdom of God ! How de-
lightful to meditate on the perfections of God
in Christ, to enter by faith within the vail,
and to receive there the irradiating beams
from the eternal Fountain of Light.

To such communion with God Christians
may be admitted, if they wdll but seek after
it ; but to maintain this communion unceas-
ing w^atchfulness and momentary actings of
faith are requisite. How important, then.

VIEWS OF THE TEINITY. 149

the admonition of our blessed Saviour :
'• Watch and pray, that ye enter not into
temptation : the spirit indeed is willing, but
the flesh is weak." Matt, xxvi., 41.

The latter day glory is not only dawning
now upon the heathen world, but upon the
souls of Christians also — the morning is stea-
dily and speedily advancing towards the per-
fect day : " Arise," then, O Church of Christ,
and " shine ; for thy light is come, and the glo-
ry of the Lord is risen upon thee." Is. Ix., 1.
God is at the present day diff'using into the
souls of some of his children more full and
brilliant illuminations from the Eternal
Source of spiritual light. While in the
minds of many others there appears to be a
waking up to the importance of having more
just and definite conceptions of the Trinity,
especially of the personality of the Holy
Spirit — a hungering and thirsting after deep-
er experiences of God's love, and more glo-
rious and distinct manifestations of his pre-
sence in their souls. This I have observed

13*

150 VIEWS OF THE TRINITY.

in private conversations with Christians, and
occasionally I have heard it urged from the
pulpit. O that Christians generally would
realize their exalted privileges, and press on
to the attainment of higher views of grace
and truth than they are too often satisfied
with. Remember that Christ said, " I have
many things to say unto you, but ye cannot
bear them now. Howbeit, w^hen the Spirit
of truth is come, he will guide you into all
truth : for he shall not speak of himself; but
whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak :
and he shall show you things to come. He
shall glorify me ; for he shall receive of mine,
and shall show it unto you. All things that
the Father hath are mine : therefore said I
that he shall take of mine, and shall show it
unto you." John xvi., 12-15. This blessed
Spirit, the Comforter, is come, and it is under
his dispensation that we live ; and through
his ministration we are taught the meaning
of many things which the apostles them-
selves did not comprehend clearl}^ until they
were miraculously endued with the Holy

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. 151

Spirit. Let ii>, ':• refore, l(>ok unto him,
wait upon him, and oxppct to receive ac-
cording to the promise of Christ. "Ask, and
ye shall receive, that your joy may be full."
John xvi., 24.

Christ also said to his sorrowful disciples :
" Nevertheless, I tell you the truth : it is ex-
pedient for you that I go away, for if I go
not away the Comforter will not come unto
you ; but if I depart, I will send him unto
you. And when he is come, he will reprove
the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of
judgment : of sin, because they believe not
on me ; of righteousness, because I go to my
Father, and ye see me no more ; of judgmicnt,
because the prince of this world is judged."
John xvi., 7-11. Here Jesus speaks distinct-
ly, not only of the offices of the Holy Spirit
as the "Comforter" and Teacher, but also
teaches the distinct personality of the Spirit,
the Father, and himself For, said he, when
I go, I will send him^ the Comforter, to teach
you, that he may show you of the things of

152 VIEWS OF THE TRIITITY.

the Father and of the Son : thus distinctly
teaching that three persons exist in one God.
While at the same time he asserts his equality
with the Father and the Spirit, in these words :
"He shall glorify me : for he shall receive of
mine, and shall show it unto you. All things
that the Father hath are mine, therefore said I
that he," the Spirit in person, "shall take of
mine, and shall show it unto you," in his offices.
How definite is this language : it would
seem that the last conversation of Christ, his
dying instructions to the apostles, contained
in the 14th, 15th, 16th chapters of John, are
sufficient in themselves, independently of the
rest of the Scripture, to establish the doctrine
of the holy Trinity. And we can only ac-
count for the frequent misapprehension of
this language, in the words of our Saviour
to his disciples, on their way to Emmaus :
" O fools, and slow of heart to believe all
that the prophets have spoken ! Ought not
Christ to have suffered these things, and to
enter into his glory? And beginning at Mo-

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. 153

ses, and all the prophets, he expounded unto
them in all the ScrijUiires, the things con-
cerning himself." Luke xxiv., 25-27.

We should always read the holy Scriptures
in the Spirit of a little child, waiting and ex-
pecting to be taught by the Spirit of truth.
Remember that the written word of God is
the sword of the Spirit. Eph. vi., 17. And
Paul tells the Hebrews, iv. chap., 12, 13:
" For the word of God is quick and power-
ful, and sharper than any two-edged sword,
piercing evei). to the dividing asunder of soul
and spirit, and of the joints and marrow,
and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents
of the heart. Neither is there any creature
that is not manifest in his sight ; but all
things are naked and opened to the eyes of
him with whom we have to do." But re-
member also, that it is only in the hands or
power of the Spirit, that the " sword of the
Spirit, which is the word of God," becomes
thus powerful in discerning and demonstra-
ting "the truth as it is in Jesus." Eph. iv.,
21. And every soul who comes to the light

154 VIEWS OF THE TRINITY.

contained in the Bible, in a humble and
child-like dependence upon " the Spirit of
truth " for instruction, " shall be taught of
the Spirit." It may be that doubt and uncer-
tainty may cloud the mind of such an honest
inquirer after truth, for a season ; that faith
may be tried and sincerit}^ tested, and " that
the trial of their faith being precious, more
than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried
with fire, might be found unto praise, and
honour, and glor}^ at the appearing of Jesus
Christ." I. Peter, i., 7. But in the end of the
trial, that soul shall know of the doctrine,
and of the truth, with certainty : " as for
God, his work is perfect."

Unto "the Jews, who marvelled, saying.
How knoweth this man letters, having never
learned? Jesus answered them, and said, My
doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.
If any man will do his will, he shall know of
the doctrine, wliether it he of God, or whether
I speak of myself" John vii., 15-17. He
shall know of the truth with self-evident
clearness, under the teaching light of the

VIEWS OF THE TEINITY. 155

Spirit, for " it is the Spirit that beareth wit-
ness, because the Spirit is truth." Again,
" He that believeth on the Son of God hath
the witness in himself; he that believeth not
God, hath made him a liar, because he be-
lieveth not the record that God gave of his
Son." I. John, v., 10. And where do we find
this record, but in the Bible ? Hear what
Jesus said to the Jews who persecuted him,
and cavilled at his works and word : " Search
the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have
eternal life : and they are they w^hich testify
of me." John v., 39.

But while I urge the studying of the Scrip-
ture under the immediate teaching influences
of the Holy Spirit, as the only way of coming
to the right knowledge of the truth; and while
I believe that Christians are generally at
fault, in not enjoying more happiness in com-
munion with God, because they neglect the
Bible too much, and study it too little with
prayer ; I think I venture nothing in saying,
that if Christians in general would prayer-
fully study the word of God, with a more

156 VIEWS OF THE TRINITY.

teachable spirit, they would arrive at more
definite and just conceptions of the persons
and offices of the Trinity, as they are clearly
revealed in the Scriptures. Yet I do not
consider it essential to salvation for Christians
to receive such remarkable manifestations as
I have attempted to describe. And T am well
aware that it is not every child of God who
has faith strong enough to receive these deep
experiences, as related of another — it is strong
meat, which babes cannot digest. Perhaps,
also, some who far excel me in practical ho-
liness, may not be able to receive altogether
many of the peculiar manifestations with
which God, in his sovereign wisdom, has seen
good to favour me, simply because all do
not receive the same degree of light. And
though all real Christians believe in the same
God, •' and have all been made to drink into
the same spirit," (I. Cor., xii., 13,) yet the
apostle tells us, in the same chapter : " Now
there are diversities of gifts, but the same
Spirit. And there are differences of admin-
istrations, but the same Lord. And there
are diversities of operations, but it is the

VIEWS or THE TRINITY. 157

same God which worketh all in all. But the
manifestation of the Spirit is given to every
man to profit withal. For to one is given by
the Spirit the word of wisdom ; to another,
the word of knowledge, by the same Spirit ;
to another, faith by the same Spirit ; to an-
other, gifts of healing by the same Spirit ;
to another, the working of miracles ; to an-
other, prophecy; to another, discerning of
spirits ; to another, divers kinds of tongues ;
to another, the interpretation of tongues ;
but all these worketh that one and the self-
same Spirit, dividing to every man severally
as he will." I. Cor., xii., 4-11.

These were the miraculous gifts of the
Church confined to that age ; but the opera-
tions of the Holy Spirit in the souls of indi-
viduals, at the present day, are not less di-
versified. And though we must bow to the
sovereignty of God in bestowing on one,
what he withholds from another, I believe it
the duly and privilef^e of every Cliristian to
aim after the highest attainments in holiness,
and he that seeketh thus, shall find. " Open

158 VIEWS OF THE TRINITY.

thy mouth wide — I will fill it." Ps. Ixxxi., 10.
This is the command and promise of our
heavenly Father. And I urge others to seek
after the knowledge of God, and communion
with him in the persons and offices of Fath-
er, Son and Spirit ; and this I believe at-
tainable to all, because Christ and the apos-
tles urged it upon all believers. I would per-
suade others to it, because I know experi-
mentally that such spiritual discoveries tend
to heavenly-mindedness, by enlightening the
understanding, sanctifying the imagination,
and raising the affections above earth, to the
more refined enjoyment of heavenly things.
For while God manifests his wisdom, justice,
truth, love, mercy and power, as displayed in
the economy of grace and revealed in the
plan of man's redemption, the soul is raised
into the atmosphere of heaven, and faith
grows up into full assurance of hope.

The soul who has held communion with
God, and enjoyed fellowship with him in the
offices of Father, Son and Spirit, has realized
in its own experience that there is a Trinity

VIEWS OF THE TRIl^ITY. 159

of persons in the Godhead, each engaged in
accomplishing the work of its salvation.
And this soul possesses an evidence and wit-
ness within itself, which no outward circum-
stances, no arguments, no sceptical reasoning
can shake. As soon might you convince the
man who beholds the bright beams of the
meridian sun, that there is no sun in the hea-
vens ; or that, if in existence, he does not
behold it shining with refulgent rays, refresh-
ing, gladdening and vivif\'ing all nature. As
soon might you convince men that to-morrow
will not come, as to convince that soul that
there is no " inheritance for the saints in
light." Col. i., 12. For he knows, to a de-
monstration, that there is such an inheritance
and that he has interest in it, not yet by ac-
tual possession, but by anticipation and fore-
tastes that will end in full fruition. How-
important, then, for Christians to be estab-
lished in the faith of these things, if their
comfort, holiness and usefulness depend so
much upon having a realizing apprehen-
sion of the triune God, and of a glorious

160 YIEWS OF THE TRINITY.

eternity. What high, exalted, undying joy,
does such an union with Deity bring into the
soul of man ! While under the teachings of
God's Spirit, refined pleasures and new glo-
ries spring up all around the child of God,
the scales of sense fall from his spiritual
eyes, and then the economy of grace, the
volume of providence, and the book of na-
ture, all reveal a fund of knowledge, and
supply a fountain of unending satisfaction to
the humble believer. Nor is this all : for it is
his privilege also, to look forward, by faith
and hope, through the vista of eternity, with
anticipations of plunging into the heights
and depths of God's unchangeable love. Ah,
these are the things which even "the angels
of God desire to look into !" I. Peter, i., 12.
But man, fallen man — aye, some who call
themselves Christians too — will often smile
at " the enthusiasm " (as they call it) which
speaks of these things, even if they do not ven-
ture to scoff and openly turn away from them
with loathing, as worldlings do. "O my
soul, come not thou into their secret : unto

VIEWS OF THE TEINITY. 161

their assembly, mine honour, be not thou
united !" Gen., xlix., 6. Let this glorious sal-
vation be thy delight : shout praise to God
for the blessed triune covenant of grace :
" Bless the Lord, O my soul : and all that is
within me, bless his holy name !" Ps. ciii., i.

I would remark here, that those views of
faith, and manifestations of the Trinity,
which I have endeavoured to relate with
as much simplicity as I possibly could, I
firmly believe to have been taught me by
the Spirit of God. For three or four years
after I first began to receive those pecu-
liar manifestations of Deity, I sought in-
dustriously for some human testimony to the
validity of my own experience ; but I sought
in vain. During the time that I was receiv-
ing the manifestation, I always had the full-
est conviction of its being the work of God.
But so soon as the manifestation was with-
drawn, I used to be assailed with the most
tormenting suggestions that it was the work

162 VIEWS OF THE TRINITY.

of my own imagination, or of Satan as an
angel of lights And the unbelief of my
heart, catching at these temptations, pro-
duced a conflict which often wrung my soul
with anguish : for the manifestations were
dear to me as my own soul, and I felt that I
would sooner part with life than relinquish
those views of faith ; yet found that I could
not escape from the painful trial of my faith.
And when I ventured to speak of these exer-
cises to a few professing Christians, I was
met with a stare of surprise, or a warning
not to allow my imagination to carry me
away into enthusiasm. Thus beset on all
sides^ I wept and groaned over my unbelief
at the feet of Jesus; I prayed with agonizing
wrestlings that I might " know of the doc-
trine, whether it be of God, or whether I
speak of myself" John vii., 17. And that if
the work was the Holy Spirit's, I might be
confirmed in the faith of it by the testimony
of some living Christian, or through some
writings on the subject, other than the Bible.
Yet God continued to withhold all human

VIEWS OF THE TRIIS^ITT. 163

testimoii}^ from me, till, through oft repeated
manifestations of himself in the persons of
the Godhead, and by the baptism of the Holy
Ghost, he gradually strengthened my faith to
believe simply in his testimony of himself,
and to rely lirmlj' on " Thus saith the Lord."
And when this had been accomplished, and
my faith was established, then the human tes-
timony which I had so industriously sought,
and so prayerfully desired, for years, w^as
given to me ; but it came onl}^ as corrobora-
tive evidence : first, in the encouragement I
received from two living Christians, who re-
lated to me similar exercises which they had
passed through ; and then, in the perusal of
several books which were placed in my
hands. The first book, besides the Bible,
which seemed in any degree to meet my case,
as a witness to my own experience on this
subject, was, "The Great Teacher," by Har-
ris. In the deeply spiritual and exalted
views of this author, I recognized my own
thoughts. The next was the " Life of Lady
Maxwell," whose experience on the subject

164 VIEWS OF THE TRIKITY.

of peculiar manifestations of the Trinity,
accorded so closely with my own, that I
stood amazed, and blessed God that I had
been permitted to read the book. Still I
could not say, as Lady Maxwell did, that
"the bitter root of sin was extracted from
my heart." And even now, that I can say,
I dwell in love, and that sin has ceased to
sting my soul with that " fear which hath
torment, because perfect love casteth out
fear," (I. John, iv., 18,) yet still I discover
that " the root of sin " exists in my heart ;
and the reason that its fruits have no powder
to sting my soul, is only because the actings
oi faith are so vivid, vigorous and incessant
in their application to the atoning blood of
Christ, that the remedy is unceasingly ap-
plied to the disease : this prevents the accu-
mulation of guilt unrepented of, and keeps
the '' conscience void of offence toward God
and man" — thus it is that sin is deprived of
its sting, and repentance of its bitterness.
This I apprehend to have been the state in
which Lady Maxwell lived, when she said

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. 165

that the bitter root of sin was extracted from
her heart : for we find her, even then, mourn-
ing over her short-comings, and want of con-
formity to Christ, not as though she were
already perfect, but following after perfec-
tion, or perfect conformity to Christ, as St.
Paul urges upon the Philippians, iii. chap.,
12-15. It is true that the soul who lives thus
is not the servant of sin, nor does that soul
obey the carnal mind; on the contrary, it is
'• dying daily more and more unto sin, and
living more and more unto righteousness ;"
yet, so long as there are any remains of the
spirit of legality lingering in the soul, sin
will sting- with the "fear that hath torment."
But when the spirit of legality is completely
driven from the heart, and the soul is ushered
into "the glorious liberty of the children of
God," (Rom. viii., 21,) then it not only appre-
hends the doctrine of its total depravity by
nature, but has proportionably clear and cor-
rect views of the atonement for sin, by the
suflerings and death of Christ. Then, and
not till then, the soul ceases to look within

166 VIEWS OF THE TRINITY.

itself for any thing to recommend it to the
favour of God, and casts itself unreservedly
upon the merc}^ of God in Christ. And thus
having learned to look away from self, to the
righteousness of Christ, for acceptance with
God, this soul finds itself in perfect peace
with God : it " dwelleth in love," hates sin
because God hates it, and fears not so much
the punishment of its transgressions and de-
linquencies, as it loves the hand of the Fath-
er, who inflicts the wise correction.

Yes, I love my Father, God, too well to
wish to escape the discipline which he sees
needful to inflict ; and 1 dread sin as my
most subtle and dangerous foe, while, at the
same time, I can exclaim in the triumph of
faith: "Who shall lay any thing to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justi-
fieth : who is he that condemneth ? It is
Christ that died ; yea, rather that is risen
again, who is even at the right hand of God,
who also maketh intercession for us. Who
shall separate us from the love of Christ ?
Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution,

VIEWS OF THE TEINITY. 167

or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword ?
Nay, in all these things we are more than
conquerors, through him that loved us. For
I am persuaded that neither death, nor life,
nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers^
nor things present, nor things to come, nor
height, nor depth, nor any other creature,
shall be able to separate us from the love of
God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord."
Rom. viii., 33-39.

But to return to the testimony : The third
work which I met with, as a powerful wit-
ness to the genuine nature of my own re-
markable experience, was, " Owen on Com-
munion with God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Spirit, each person distinctly, in
Love, Grace and Consolation." And in stu-
dying this work, I was astonished and de-
lighted to find myself experimentally and
practicall}" familiar with the thoughts and
views of this old standard theologian, having
been already instructed by the Holy Spirit
in the knowledge of these " deep things of
God."'

168 VIEWS OF THE TRINITY.

Thus I received, first, the testimony of
those living in my own day, and the i the
testimony of two witnesses who lived a cen-
tury before me, proving that I was not quite
alone in these experiences, and that it was
no new thing which had happened to me, as
some affirmed. In this I felt that God had
answered my prayer in full for human testi-
mony, though the answer was delayed by
infinite Wisdom, till his own Spirit had
strengthened my faith to believe, without
the intervention of the human means I had
so earnestly desired. And now I bless God
that he permitted my faith to be so severely
tried for a season : for, having had to meet
the cavils of man, and the more wily sug-
gestions of the powers of darkness, and be-
ing taught and strengthened by God to
*' stand against the wiles of the devil," and
to disprove the charge of imagining these
things, I both know and feel that my faith is
a thousand times stronger, and my under-
standing more enlightened, in consequence
of those very conflicts, than they would have

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. 169

been if I had been spared the severe disci-
pline. Therefore I feel the more confidence
in bearing my testimony to these things,
strange as they may appear to some.

CHAPTER IV.

To those who suggest that these remarka-
ble manifestations and views of faith are the
work of imagination, I would address a few
remarks respecting the powers of the human
mind, in their acts and operations. Mental
philosophers assert that the soul has various
powers : some of which are simple, and act
independently of the rest, while others are
compound faculties, and cannot act without
presupposing the operation of others ; some
appear to be involuntar}^, while others are
evidently voluntary in their operations.

Thus the \)o\yevo^ perception is a single and
involuntary operation of the mind. Concep-
tion is also a single and involuntary opera-
tion. But fancy is a certain turn of thought,
which has the power of summoning up any
particular class of ideas, and must be under

VIEWS OF THE TEIlSriTY. iTl

the influence of judgment and taste : there-
fore, it is not a simple but a compound fa-
culty ; or it is that which is composed of
many simple ideas. And imagination is a
volitntarrj operation and a compound faculty,
which presupposes abstraction, and is depen-
dent on the fancy.

Perception believes in the present existence
of its object, whether that object be visible
or invisible, material or immaterial, an object
of sense or of thought ; and it leads us to
form certain ideas or notions, such' as of
sound, of motion, number, causation, effect,
duration, power, force, energy, personal iden-
tity, etc.

Conception is the power that gives us defi-
nite ideas of our sensations, and of the ob-
jects of our perceptions — it is the power that
gives us an exact transcript of what we
have felt or perceived.

Meniory is the power which enables us to
discover the likeness between o\xv past per-
ceptions and present conceptions. And then,
by the power of habit, we form those con-

172 VIEWS OF THE TRINITY.

ceptions into associations of ideas. These
associations of ideas the fancy collects into
classes, and thus furnishes materials for the
imagination to work upon. But the imagi-
nation is the power that modifies our concep-
tions, and combining the different parts of
various classes together, forms new w^holes
of our own creation. The imagination be-
lieves, though the belief is often but momen-
tary, and at other times scarcely definable to
ourselves, yet it believes in the present ex-
istence of its object ; but as soon as the
imagination is over, the belief in the exist-
ence of its object is at an end.

Thus, by an anal3sis of my mental opera-
tions, on the acknowledged principles of the
science of mental philosophy, I perceive that
we may form conceptions of what we have
felt or perceived ; and fancy may collect
those conceptions into certain classes or as-
sociations of ideas, according to the dictates
of judgment and taste ; and this being done,
and the power of abstraction in exercise, the
imagination may combine different parts of

VIEWS OF THE TRmiTY. 173

those classes of ideas, and form a new whole
of our own creation. But imagination can
never create out of nothing: it must work
upon the conceptions of former perceptions and
sensations.

And now, because the imagination can
only act upon the conceptions of former per-
ceptions and sensations, I ask how it is pos-
sible to imagine what we have never had
any previous perception or sensation of?
Or how can it be the work of imagination to
conceive of things which have no existence
in the material universe, and, existing only in
God the Creator, is above the reach of crea-
ted intelligence, excepting as it is revealed
through the influences of God's Spirit ? And
I also ask, If the imagination is a voluntary
faculty, and presupposes the habit of asso-
ciations of ideas formed by the fancy, under
the influence of judgment and taste, how
can those impressions and perceptions be the
work of imagination, which come into the
mind unexpectedly, without any visible cause,
and absorbing every faculty, holds them in

174: VIEWS OF THE TRINITY.

awe and r verence, filling the whole soul
with amai inent, and with indescribably-
happy emotions, to which it had hitherto
been a stranger ? I ask again, Whence
comes that Light which suddenly illumines
the soul and acquaints it with its own condi-
tion, before unnoticed and unfelt, solves to its
satisfaction the greatest apparent paradoxes,
and gives new views of truth? Do men
solve intricate problems in this style; or by
close study and laborious application of the
mind ? " That w4iich is born of the flesh is
flesh : and that which is born of the Spirit
is Spirit. The wind bloweth where it listeth,
and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst
not tell whence it cometh or whither it goeth:
so is every one that is born of the Spirit."
John iii., 6, 8.

How comes it that the aff'ections — love,
joy, hope, desire, fear, hatred, grief, anger,
etc. — which are naturally fixed supremely
on earthly things, are turned out of their natu-
ral channel, and fixed on things invisible to
sense — God and a glorious eternity? You

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. 1'75

may answer, It is because the individual is
under a strong influence to believe in these
things. True ; but whence comes this in-
fluence to believe in the existence of these
things, and to love things contrary to fallen hu-
man nature ? Here is the secret : This in-
fluence comes from the Spirit of God ; and the
influences of God's Spirit, when he is pleased
to act, are more powerful than the combined
influence of men, sin, and devils in hell : they
are omnipotent in their effects.

Convinced, then, that the Spirit of God has
access to the soul by a way that we cannot
explain, and that his influences are all-pow-
erful, what are the eff*ects produced in the
soul by his presence, and how" may we dis-
tinguish these eff'ects from those produced by
natural causes ?

When we look out upon a new and beau-
tiful landscape in nature, we have involun-
tary perceptions of a number of beautiful
objects ; these we have received through the
external organ of sense, and they furnish
materials for the internal operation called

176 VIEWS OF THE TEINITY.

reflection, from which other new ideas arise ;
and during this process we are conscious that
both the perceptions and the ideas or notions
they give rise to, are new to our minds. Af-
terwards, w^hen we are removed from the
view of that landscape, we can form in our
mind conceptions of the various perceptions
which we had on first beholding those ob-
jects ; and memory enables us to decide whe-
ther those perceptions and our present con-
ceptions of them are alike. So w^hen we
again come within view of the same land-
scape, we have the same perceptions, but
they are no longer new : memory recognizes
the same objects, and our perceptions are
only a repetition of those we had before ;
yet they are as truly perceptions as they
w^ere at first.

But w^hen the power of abstraction is in
exercise, and conceptions of former percep-
tions arise in the mind, and we become so
absorbed by those conceptions as to forget,
for the time, surrounding material objects, in
the contemplation of our internal concep-

VIEWS OF THE TRIISriTY. l77

tions, here imagination is working, and then,
if we choose and will to do it, we may begin
and continue to form one new scene in our
minds after another, all of our own creation ;
but here the ideas and conceptions are not
new of themselves : it is only a new modifi-
cation, arrangement or combination of old
ideas and past conceptions into new forms,
according to the dictates of fancy and taste.
Now this same process holds true, as re-
gards spiritual perceptions : only, in the for-
mer case, the perceptions enter the mind
through and by the aid of the bodily senses ;
while, in the latter case, the perception is
received through the eye of the mind, inde-
pendently of the organs of sense. In the
former case, the soul looked out of itself,
through its material eyes, upon external ob-
jects of sense ; but in the latter case, it has
spiritual perceptions through faith, which is
the spiritual eye of the soul. And when spi-
ritual light enters the soul, spiritual things
are brought before the mind for its conside-
ration : it may be an entirely new perception

178 VIEWS OF THE TRII^ITY.

of spiritual truth, as in the analogous case of
the perception of outward objects ; but ob-
serve, it is an entirely different thing from
the work of imagination.

And with reference to the influences of the
Holy Spirit, which is, in fact, the light of
God's Spirit shining into the soul, there are
three things involved in the definition of spi-
ritual perception, which exist together in the
soul : first, the presence of God ; secondly,
a change of sensation in the mind, which is
the effect of God's presence ; thirdly, the
reference of that sensation in the soul to the
presence of God, as its cause. This the Spi-
rit of God makes the soul understand ; but
how the influences of the Spirit enter, and
how he makes the soul conscious of his pre-
sence, 'is a mystery involved in " the deep
things of God," and which he has not re-
vealed to us : therefore it is beyond the
boundary of the human intellect, while in
its present infantile state.

When we first become conscious that the
light of God's Spirit is shining into our mind,

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. 179

we have new involuntary spi ritual percep-
tions of those spiritual truths and objects,
(whatever it may be,) which the Spirit of
God places before the mind for its considera-
tion. Here the Spirit of God is the original
suggesting cause : the ideas or imagery thus
suggested the soul immediately perceives, and
the perceptions thus received are impressed
upon the mind by the Spirit, as the wax re-
ceives the impression of the seal. And just
according to the degree of power the Spirit
uses in sealing those impressions, is the
strength of the spiritual perception of the
soul. Now, having received through the
light and power of the Spirit, certain spi-
ritual perceptions, the mind is led to contem-
plate those spiritual perceptions, and hence
arise new spiritual ideas or notions of the
character and attributes of Deity, and of
their bearing on the soul. Then follows the
process of reflection, which is an act of the
understanding, under the guidance and teach-
ing of the Divine mind, as St. Paul says, "In
demonstration of the Spirit and of power :

180 VIEWS OF THE TRINITY.

that your faith should not stand in the wis-
dom of men, bat in the power of God." I.
Cor., ii., 4, 5. "For the Spirit searcheth all
things, yea, the deep things of God. For
what man knoweth the things of a man, save
the spirit of man which is in him ? even so
the things of God knoweth no man, but the
Spirit of God. Now w^e have received, not
the spirit of the w^orld, but the Spirit which
is of God, that we may know the things
which are freely given to us of God. Which
things w^e speak, not in the words which
man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy
Spirit teacheth, conipariiig spiritual things
with spiritual. But the natural man receiv-
eth not the things of the Spirit of God : for
they are foolishness unto him ; neither can
he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned." I. Cor., ii., 10-14. Thus, under
the exhibition of divine truth, in the light of
the Spirit, and under the teaching of the Holy
Ghost, the soul learns the true character of
God, and the relations that exist between
him and the renewed soul, discovers the

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. 181

powers of the human mind, as derived from
Deity, and the accountability of that rational
mind as a moral agent, learns what God re-
quires from man, through faith in the divine
precepts and promises, and in obedience to
the divine commandments, and thus becomes
an enlightened Christian. And shall we call
all this the work of imagination ? It would
be the height of arrogance and presumption
to do so. No, it is Mind acting upon mind :
God teaching the rational Christian soul,
through the mysterious yet blessed influences
of his Holy Spirit !

It is true, then, that the soul of man, in
this life, may have spiritual perceptions of
spiritual objects, as vivid as those perceptions
which the mind receives on looking through
the organ of sight at a beautiful landscape ir.
nature. God himself may be the object of those
spiritual perceptions, or it may be of the at-
tributes and perfections of Jehovah; or, again,
it may be of the presence and influence of
good angels and evil spirits, for God's word as-

182 VIEWS OF THE TRINITY.

sures us that we come into contact with evil
spirits more frequently than we are aware
of or like to allow, and that separate spirits
have a permissible power of influencing the
operations of mind — have the power of con-
veying into the mind certain mysterious in-
fluences, which call our mental powers into
operation — we cannot doubt. See II. Chron.,
xviii., 19-22; Dan. x., 13; Matt, iv., 1-11,
etc.

Do you ask, Since there are independent
mental operations, arising from the conscious-
ness of possessing certain intellectual pow-
ers, and other operations of the mind arising
from the enlightening influences of the Holy
Spirit — and yet again, other mental opera-
tions, arising from the influence of separate
spirits, both good and evil — is it not pro-
bable that you have mistaken one for the
other? A^^d considering that the apostle
says, " Satan is transformed into an angel of
light," (II. Cor., xi., 14,) may you not have
attributed to the influence of the Holy Spirit
those mental operations which are onl^' the

VIEWS Oh" THE TRINIIY. 183

effects of your own reflections upon external
observations and internal consciousness? I
answer, God has given us an infallible rule of
judging, in all such cases : " Ye shall know
them by their fruits : Do men gather grapes
of thorns, or figs of thistles?" Ptlatt. vii., 16.
That is, Do we receive nourishment from
what is useless or pernicious ? Will thorns
nourish and cheer the heart, like the fruit of
the vine? or are thistles sweet and nourish-
ing like figs ? " Even so every good tree
bringeth forth good fruit ; but a corrupt tree
bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot
bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt
tree bring forth good fruit. Wherefore, by
their fruits ye shall know them." Matt, vii.,
17-20. Now, therefore, by the fruits of ho-
liness which these manifestations have pro-
duced in my heart and life. 1 know them to
be genuine, for they have exercised a sancti-
fying influence in my soul.

But, say you, in other ages of the world,
such manifestations were given to chosen

184 VIEWS OF THE TRINITY.

witnesses; but now, that Revelation is closed,
we are not to expect such things. I answer,
" God is the same yesterday, tO'day% and for
ever." And though Revelation is closed, as it
concerns the Church collectivel3% yet God has
promised expressly to be with Christians, to
the end of the world : " Lo, I am with you
alway, even unto the end of the world.
Amen." Matt, xxviii., 20. But in what wny,
or in what sense, can he be with the souls of
individual Christians, every where and in all
ages, if it is not in a spiritual sense ? And
did not Christ promise to send the Spirit,
saying, " He will guide you into all truth,
and he will show you things to come. He
shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine
and shall show it unto you." John xvi. Jesus
promised to send the Spirit, and he came on
the day of Pentecost, in the desc,ent of the
Holy Ghost, as cloven tongues of fire, and
then commenced teaching the apostles and
other disciples. See Acts, ii. chap. But we
also live under the dispensation or " minis-
tration of the Spirit," (II. Cor., iii., 8,) and

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. 185

we, too, are to expect, not prophetic revela-
tions, but those influences of the Spirit which
explain and illustrate revelation already giv-
en, and build up the believer in faith and
hope : those revelations of truth which en-
lighten the understanding in the knowledge
of the Scriptures, discover to us the economy
of God's grace in the work of man's redemp-
tion, teaching us to know ourselves, purifying
the heart, and sanctifying the powers of the
mind, so that, body, soul and spirit, we may
be the Lord's. And this I affirm to be the
nature, sum and substance of those mani-
festations given to me by the Holy Spirit,
which I have attempted to describe in these
pages. They are not the work of imagina-
tion, and could not he, because it was a work
entirely above all created intelligence — above
all the powers of human intellect — for such
views and thoughts hath not entered into the
mind of man : to conceive of them w^ould be
impossible, except as they are taught by the
Spirit of God^

It was not the Essence of Deity (as I have

186 VIEWS OF THE TEINITY.

said before) which my spirit rece *ved a per-
ception of; but it was the manifestation of
the persons of the Godhead, and of the cha-
racteristics and attributes of the Divine
Mind, or the perfections of Jehovah, that
were made spiritually manifest to my soul.
And it was in consequence of the long- con-
tinued and frequent repetition of the mani-
festations, always producing the same effects
in my soul, that my mind acquired an as-
tonishing quickness in discovering and com-
prehending the cause, which invariabl}^ pro-
duced the same effects, which cause, J am
intuitively taught, is a perception of the pre-
sence of God. Consequently, if at any in-
stant, or under any circumstances, a ray of
light from God's Spirit is brought to bear
upon my soul, that instant my soul, with the
rapidity of lightning, leaps towards a recog-
nition of the cause, and finds it in commu-
nion with the Holy Spirit.

When those manifestations of spiritual ob-
jects are presented to the eye of faith, I have
spiritual perceptions of them, and sensations

VIEWS OF THE TRII^ITY. 187

which are ppciiliarly the effect, of such ma-
nifestations. When these manifestations are
withdrawn, I have vivid conceptions of what
those perceptions and sensations were. And
I can, by the aid of memory, picture over to
myself the whole spiritual scenery, if I may
so express myself. Yet there is no mistake
in my mind as to its operations : I know that
to have been the manifestation itself; and
this to be only the work of memory, recalling
the scene over again — and then T contem-
plate the conceptions which I have o^ former
perceptions and sensations. But if, in the
midst of this contemplation, the manifesta-
tion itself is renewed, my soul instantly re-
cognizes the presence of God, and contem-
plation is mingled with adoring worship.

Thus, even in spirituals, I have been taught
to distinguish between the mental powers of
perception, conception, abstraction, fancy,
imagination, etc., and to study the develop-
ments of their various operations. And in
saying this, I do not undervalue the power of
imagination ; on the contrary, I regard it as

188 VIEWS OF THE TRimXY.

one of the highest gifts which God has be-
stowed upon the human soul, provided it be
under the controlling and sanctifying influ-
ences of the Holy Spirit. Imagination, while
under the control of the carnal heart, or de-
praved fallen human nature, is perhaps one
of the most dangerous powers that the mind
possesses : it leads the soul far away from
God, and opens an inlet to the heart or affec-
tions which has plunged many a soul into
perdition. What says the Bible of the sin-
ners of the old world? "God saw that the
wickedness of man w^as great in the earth,
and that every imagination of the thoughts
of his heart was only evil continually." Gen.
vi., 5. And again, Paul says: "The wrath
of God is revealed from heaven against all
ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who
hold the truth in unrighteousness. Because
that which may he known of God is 7nanifest
in them, for God hath showed it unto them.
For the invisible things of him, from the crea-
tion of tee world, are clearly seen, being un-
derstood by the things that are made, even the

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. 189

eternal power and Godhead ; so that they are
without excuse, because that when they knew
God they glorified him not as God, neither
were thankful, but became vain in their ima-
ginations, and their foolish heart was dark-
ened." Rom. i., 18-21. Paul wrote this of
the Gentile world, who, not having revela-
tion, would be judged by the light of nature ;
and Henry remarks upon it thus : " Observe
what they knew — the invisible things of him,
even his eternal poicer and Godhead, The
}3ower and Godhead of God are invisible
things, and yet are clearly seen in their pro-
ducts. They could not come, by natural
light, to the knowledge of the three persons
in the Godhead, (though some fancy they have
found footsteps of that in Plato's writings,)
but they did come to the knowledge of the
Godhead, at least so much knowledge as was
sufficient to have kept them from idolatry.
This was that truth which they held in un-
righteousness, and this from the creation of
the world. They became vain in their ima-
ginations, in their reasonings, and practical

190 VIEWS OF THE TEINITY.

inferences. The several opinions and h^'po-
theses of the various sects of philosophers,
concerning these things, were but so many
vain imaginations. When truth is forsaken,
errors multiply infinitely. And their foolish
heart was darkened. The foolishness and
practical wickedness of the heart cloud and
darken the intellectual powers and faculties.
Nothing tends more to the binding and per-
verting of the understanding, than the cor-
ruption and depraved ness of the will and
affections."

Paul also exhorts the Corinthians to "Cast
down imaginations, and every high thing that
exalteth itself against the knowledge of God,
bringing into captivity every thought to the
obedience of Christ." II. Cor. x., 5. When
the imagination is brought into " the obe-
dience of Christ," it is under the sanctifying
influences of the Holy Spirit — its images and
pictures are holy — this tends to elevate the
affections, and to rivet them on heavenly
things. A sanctified imagination learns to
trace analogies between things which are

VIEWS OF THE TRINITY. 191

visible, and things that are invisible and
eternal. It sees much of God in every thing,
and learns to commune with him through the
book of nature, as well as in the volume of
providence. I believe that the material
world shadows forth the spiritual world, and
that temporal things shadow forth spiritual
things ; but it requires the light of the Spirit,
shining through the written word, to discover
this fact clearly to our minds. And when
a Christian's intellect becomes a pupil in the
school of the Holy Spirit — that is, when a
child of God dedicates his intellect to the ser-
vice of God, and with childlike simplicity
waits upon the Spirit for instruction — he
finds more information convej-ed into his
mind by one ray of teaching light from God's
Spirit, than he could acquire by a whole
year's laborious study, without the Spirit's
aid. Under this heavenly culture, nature
becomes like Jacob's ladder, so many glo-
rious steps of communication with heaven,
or so many steps by which we may hold
communication with spiritual realities. If

192 VIEWS OF THE TEINITY.

we look at the glory of the rising sun, the
soul casts a look upwards, and prays, " Sun
of righteousness, arise upon me with healing
in thy wings !" The calm, peaceful and glo-
rious descent of the setting sun will remind
the Christian of the good man's peaceful end.
If the refreshing breezes fan the cheek of the
fevered invalid, he will cry in spirit, Breathe
upon me, Spirit of Grace and Supplication !
Every tree, flower and insect will teach
something of the character of God, and draw
forth adoring thoughts of love and wonder :
and so on, through all the grand and sublime
works of nature's God, we shall learn to
roam with profit and delight, and to recog-
nize our Father's hand and our Creator's
glory in them all. Do you call this "the
poetry of religion ?" Call it poetry or what-
ever else you please, but know that there is
a blessing in it : yes, a blessedness, which I,
for one, would not exchange for any, or all,
the earthly joys you could offer me, apart
from it. And thus it is that " the invisible
things of him from the creation of the world.

VIEWS OF THE TEINITY. 193

are clearly seen, being understood by the things
that are madeT A sanctified intellect, then,
and especially a sanctified imagination, be-
comes a powerful auxiliary in the soul, to
prepare and educate it for heaven.

The soul tutored thus to " mount from na-
ture up to nature's God," learns also to com-
mune with God in the volume of 'providence—
nature teaches the theory ; providence deve-
lops it in practice. And a Christian may so
walk with God as to see him and converse
with him, in all the little events and occur-
rences of every day life. Yes, he may realize
the presence of God, as of a friend at his right
hand, all the day long. He may acquire the
habit of consulting God at every step, and
then he will learn to consider nothing too
little and unimportant for God to observe,
and he will delight to recognize his Father's
eye fixed upon him all the while. Have you
ever observed a little child amusing itself,
while its nurse remained near b}^, to prevent
its getting into mischief or hurting itself?

17

194 VIEWS OF THE TRINITY.

The miniature man or woman, either it may
be, will be busy first with one plaything, then
another ; it may build card-houses, or carry
on fanciful dialogues with Mrs. A. or Mr. B.,
according as its play may be. Presently a
new thought strikes its infant mind, or some
sudden temptation comes in its way, and with
" mother Eve's curiosity," or fallen nature's
perversity, the little one will start up to make
the new experiment ; but if it is a icell- disci-
plined child, it will pause a while and look at
nurse, to see if she approves, before it goes
too far. And then a nod of approval, or a
look of reproof, will instantly decide its
course of action. Now, just so tenderly and
vigilantly does our heavenly Father watch
and guard his dutiful and well-disciplined
children : he guides them with his eye, his
love, because their eyes are ever towards
him ; nay, he guards them " as the apple of
the eye, and hides them under the shadow of
his wings." Ps. xvii., 8. When David said,
" Thou art my hiding-place ; thou shalt pre-
serve me from trouble ; thou shalt compass

VIEWS OF THE tri:n^ity. 195

me about with songs of deliverance," God
replied, " I will instruct thee, and teach thee
in the way which thou shalt go : I will guide
thee with mine eye." Ps. xxxii., 7, 8.

Now, when a Christian has learned thus
to recognize the eye of his heavenly Father's
love ever upon him, he also hears his voice
of instruction in every providence, and ac-
knowledges his hand in every event, from the
mighty revolution which convulses states and
kingdoms, and shakes empires into atoms,
down to the little home affair, which seem-
ingly is too trivial to repeat to a neighbour.
Yet God is in all the First Cause, and through
all teaches man knowledge. " Are not two
sparrows sold for a farthing ? and one of
them shall not fall on the ground without
your Father. But the very hairs of your
head are all numbered. Fear ye not, there-
fore, ye are of more value than many spar-
rows." Matt. X., 29-31. Yes, the doctrine of
a special providence is a doctrine of the Bible.

But, say some, how are you sure that the

196 VIEWS OF THE TRINITY.

Bible itself is true ? a revelation of God's
word and will ?

I answer, first, the signal fulfilment of
numberless prophecies, uttered hundreds and
thousands of years before their accomplish-
ment, which accomplishment profane history,
and even infidel historians, have recorded,
sometimes with a sneer at the prophecy,
while they recorded the fact of its fulfilment
just as Holy Writ predicted : as well as those
prophecies now being accomplished in my
day, respecting the Jews, heathen nations,
and the Church of Christ — these are in them-
selves external evidence enough for my mind,
of the genuine inspiration of the Scriptures,
even from Genesis to Revelation.

Secondly, the fact that there is scarcely a
page in the Bible to which my own heart
does not respond in its experience, either joy-
ful or painful, is internal proof sufiicient, and
convinces me that the whole Scriptures of
the Old and New Testaments is the inspired
word of God, who declares, " I am he which
searcheth the veins and hearts, and I will

VIEWS 0¥. THE TRI]Sm:Y. 197

give unto every one of you according to your
works." Rev. ii., 23. It was Jesus Christ*
the ascended and glorified Saviour, who said
this ; and David, the Psalmist, many ages
before, addressed Solomon thus : '' And thou,
Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy
father, and serve him with a perfect heart,
and with a willing mind : for the Lord search-
eth all hearts, and understandest aU the ima-
gmations of the thoughts. If thou seek him,
he will be found of thee ; but if thou forsake
him he will cast thee off for ever." I. Chron.
xxviii., 9.

" But vain man would be w^ise, though man
be born like a wild ass' colt," said Job. xi., 12.
" If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be
established." Is. vii., 9.

t ^'