and dissolve me into love. I fall prostrate at the foot of the cross, and would lay open the secrets of my heart before thee; but before I can relate one-tenth part of my wants, or breathe out the impatient thirst I feel for thy love, thy glory, and thy kingdom, thou dost condescend, and with eyes of mercy thou dost behold a sinner weep; and with the feet of mercy thou dost move towards a helpless worm; with arms of compassion thou dost embrace my soul. Is this the language of heaven that I hear? Is this the voice of my Shepherd? Is this the voice that wakes the dead, and bids the sleeper rise? Yes, this is my Saviour's voice, these are the footsteps of my Beloved, with whom I have been acquainted for the last seventeen years. These arms supported my dying wife, and me her afflicted husband. It was this voice that whispered in my ears when following the breathless remains of my Mary-Ann to the silent tomb; all this is working together for thy good, and will terminate in my glory. It was this supporting hand that upheld my sinking soul two years since, when I was called to take a final farewell of my last remaining earthly comfort, the first child that was permitted to call me father, and whose piercing look, whose tender sighs, and inexpressible groans reached my disconsolate heart, and roused in my breast all pa rental affection; when with a voice from a shattered fabric she cried, Father, father, father, pray for me; I must die; I am afraid to die; but if you will pray for me, then I shall not be afraid to die.' I thought this voice was, if possible, more than human; whilst it vibrated in my ears, I brought her in the arms of faith and prayer, and cast myself, with my tender offspring, at the Saviour's feet: here thou didst require me to make a full surrender of my child, my lamb, my Isaac, my all; and here didst thou dart into my soul those heart-cheering rays which raised my sinking head above the boisterous waves, and bade my ruffled passions cease. It was the Lord-it was the Lord that taught the stripling how to die. I thank thee, Uncreated Light, for shining into her tender mind; I thank thee, O thou Inspiring Spirit, for teaching her tender lips to lisp thy praise, and that before she was six years old thou didst guide her to her closet, and instruct her how to pray and read thy word, and inquire after truth; but, my Jesus, thou blest Shepherd of the sheep, above all, I thank thee for giving her the victory, and for those broken accents on her dying lips, Father, I am not afraid to die.' O those cheering words, what a lasting balm they have been to my wounded soul; how have they cheered me when I have been ready to faint by the way, and banished from my mind those doubts which would have invaded my peaceful moments, and interrupted my hours of study.

(To be continued.)

DIVINITY.

To the Editor of the Methodist Magazine.

To restrain the vicious, instruct the ignorant, reclaim the backslider, quicken the formal, interest the intelligent, and edify the pious, is the professed object and grand design of both the pulpit and the press. And that which illustrates the truth and importance of the Scriptures, or casts a ray of light upon the attributes of God, will, no doubt, aid and forward these laudable purposes. To say peremptorily what God is, and in what manner he exists and operates, is far beyond the reach and comprehension of finite minds. "Canst thou by searching find out God; canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?" Are not all men obliged to confess, that such knowledge is too wonderful for them, and that they cannot attain unto it. Light and immortality are, indeed, brought to light through the gospel, and "through the tender mercy of our God, the day-spring from on high hath visited us, to give light to them that sat in darkness and in the shadow of death." And by this light we are assured, that God is a Spirit, infinitely glorious, powerful, and wise, whose presence filleth immensity, and whose all-seeing eye pierces the most impenetrable vails; so that should creatures soar to the utmost heights-fly to the remotest climes-sink into the deepest caverns-even there the eye of God would be upon them, for "His eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings." He is, in such a sense, present every where, as not to be mixed with the creatures, nor divided among them so as to be partly in one place and partly in another. Nor is he multiplied or extended, but is essentially present every where. Notwithstanding the darkness of the Pagan world, some of the heathens formed sublime and correct ideas of the immensity of God, when they said, "God is a circle, the centre of which is every where, and the circumference no where." But although such were the views and sentiments of some of them concerning the Divine Being; yet they had no express declaration on which to build their faith. This, however, is a privilege with which we are favoured, and hereby believers may be established in that truth, which is calculated to awaken their desires, elevate their hopes, and solace their minds under all the difficulties of life. And could only the conviction of the awful presence of God be deeply implanted in the hearts, and constantly impressed upon the minds of men, its blessed influence would soon appear in the circumspection of their walk, the regulation of their passions, the spirituality of their devotions, the firmness of their confidence and hope, and the triumph of their end.

Should the annexed article, by the masterly pen of Sir Isaac VOL. XLI. OCTOBER, 1818.

Newton, be judged by you calculated to produce those happy effects, by correcting the judgment, assisting reflection, and exalting the meditations of your readers, it is very much at your service.-Your's, most respectfully,

Holmfirth.

W. BLANSHARD.

DEFINITION OF GOD-By Sir ISAAC NEWTON.

The sublime system of the sun, planets, and comets, include movements so regular that we cannot persuade ourselves they are the effects of causes purely mechanical. We are convinced they could proceed only from the wisdom and power of a Being om niscient and all-powerful. This Being governs all things, not as the soul of the world, but as Lord over all his creatures. And relative to his sovereignty he is called the Lord God-the Uni versal Master; for God is a relative term, having relation to his creatures; and the Divinity is this sovereignty of God over his subjects. God is a Being eternal, infinite, and absolutely perfect; but this Being, although perfect, would not name himself the Lord God if he had existed without supreme dominion. We say, my God-your God-the God of Israel-the Lord of lords; but we do not say, my Eternal-your Eternal-the Eternal of Israel; nor do we say, my Infinite, for these titles have no relation to the creature. The word God signifies generally the Lord, but every lord is not God; it is the sovereignty of a spiritual Being that constitutes a God; his being God results from his sovereignty. That he is a Being endued with life, intelligent and all-powerful, and from his other perfections, it follows that he is supreme and absolutely perfect. He is eternal, infinite, allpowerful, and omniscient; that is to say, his duration embraces all eternity-his presence all infinity; he governs all things, and knows all things which are or can happen; he is not duration and space, but he exists for ever and is every where present, and by existing always and every where he constitutes duration and space. God is present every where not merely virtually, but also substantially; in him all things are contained and inove, but without mutually affecting each other; for God is not affected by the movement of bodies, nor do bodies experience any resistance from the universal presence of God. It is acknowledged, that the Supreme Being exists necessarily; and by the same necessity he must exist eternally and every where. Whence it follows, that he is every where the same-all eye, all ear, all arm, all power to comprehend and act, but in a manner that is not human or corporeal; in short, in a manner that is absolutely unknown As a blind man can have no ideas of colours, so we cannot have any idea of the manner in which God sees and conceives things. There is not, in any manner, any thing material or corporeal in him; and for this reason it is that he can neither be

to us.

seen, touched, nor heard, and ought not to be worshipped under any corporeal form. We have ideas of his attributes, but we are ignorant not only of his substance, but of the substance of every other thing. In bodies we see only the surface, forms and colours, we hear only sound; we touch only the surface, we taste only the flavour, their real substance cannot be known either by the sense or reflection; still less can we have any idea of the substance of God; we have known him only by the excellent effects of his wisdom and power, by final causes. We revere him because of his perfections, and adore him because of his infinite power; for we adore him as being his creatures; and a God without sovereignty, providence, or final causes, would be no more than destiny and nature.

DEAR SIR,

TO THE EDitor.

Having lately been reading some select works of Archbishop Leighton, who was not only a truly humble and pious Christian, but also a learned and laborious minister in the church of Christ; I have thought a short extract from his Exposition on the Creed, would now be seasonable and edifying to some of your readers, -I am, dear Sir, your's, respectfully,

Kingsland, 12th June, 1818.

D. WATSON.

He writes, page 253, "We have discoursed of the attributes of God elsewhere, as also of the Trinity, which is here expressed in these words, I believe in God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. That sublime mystery is to be cautiously treated of, and rather humbly to be admired, than curiously dived into. The day will come (truly a day, for here we are beset with the gloomy nightly shades of ignorance,) wherein we shall see him as he is. In the mean time, let us devoutly worship him, as he has revealed himself to us; for this is the true way to that heavenly country, where we shall see him face to face. And it is our interest here to believe the trinity of persons in the unity of the Godhead, and to trust in them as such: for this is the spring of all our hope, that the middle person of the three became our Mediator, and the Holy Spirit our guide and teacher, and the Father reconciles us to himself by the Son, and renews us by the Spirit."

Page 259 he writes, "His only Son. Other sons he hath, angels and men, by creation and adoption; but this his only be gotten Son as God, by an eternal and ineffable generation, and as man peculiarly the Son of God, both in regard to his singular unexampled conception by the Holy Ghost, and by that personal union with the Deity, which accompanied that conception, and by that fulness of grace which flowed from that union. The

unfolding of these would require a long time; and, after all, much would remain unsaid and unconceived by us; for his generation who can declare ?"

Page 276 he writes, "He, the Lord Jesus, shall be judge in that great day; the Father, and Spirit, and his authority are all one, for they are all one God and one Judge; but the judgment will be particularly exercised, and the sentence pronounced by our Saviour God Man, Jesus Christ. That Eternal Word, by whom all things were made, by whom all shall be judged, and so he shall be the Word in that last act of time, as in the first; he shall judicially pronounce that great and final sentence that shall stand unalterable in eternity. And not only as the Eternal Son of God, but withal the Son of Man; and so shall sit as King, invested with all power in heaven and earth.-See Acts

xvii. 31.

Page 279 he writes, "I believe in the Holy Ghost: God is both a Spirit and holy; but this name, personally taken, is peculiarly that of the third person, proceeding from the Father and the Son, by a way that can neither be expressed nor conceived;holy in himself, and the author and cause of all holiness in us."

I shall conclude my extracts from the pious author by his fol lowing observations; and happy would it have been for the church in former times, and happy will it be for us now, if we attend to them:

"It is neither useful nor safe for us to entangle our thoughts in disputes concerning this mystery; but it is necessary that we know, and acknowledge, and believe in this Holy Spirit; it is he in whom and by whom we believe: we cannot know God, nor the things of God, but by the Spirit of God, 1 Cor. ii. 11; nor say that Jesus is Lord, but by the same Spirit, 1 Cor. xii. 3. We know that this Holy Trinity co-operates in the work of our salvation; the Father has given us his Son, and the Son has sent us his Spirit; and the Spirit gives us faith, which unites us to the Son, and through him to the Father;-the Father ordained our redemption, the Son wrought it, the Holy Spirit reveals and applies it.'

THE TRUTH OF GOD DEFENDED.

Review of "Directions and Encouragements for Travellers to Zion: being an affectionate Address to professed Christians in general, on several important subjects." By JOSEPH FREESTON, Author of the Answer to the Question, "Why are you not a Socinian?" Sold by T. BLANSHARD, 14, pp. x. 318. 8vo. price 5s. 6d. City-Road, and 66, Paternoster-Row.

AMONG the multifarious theological productions with which the press has teemed, during the last century and a half, only a small