divine, in order to be independent, and to be able to make compensation without sacrificing forever his essential dignity or blessedness. Thirdly, the offence must cease. This ceases when the sinner comes to his right mind, reposes faith in the Mediator, and turns with repentance towards the Father. On these conditions the absolute Judge is at liberty to pardon the sinner.

23. The Spirit and the word of revelation must go together, in order to bring about the conversion of the soul. If the Spirit were to come alone, without the gospel, and lift the veil from the darkened soul, the result would be precisely what has been described in the former part of this response, a philosophy ending in self-condemnation and despair. And this goes far to obviate the objection that reason cannot penetrate as far as is there presumed. The ultimate limit to which right reason can reach may be far beyond what the dimmed, biased, unbalanced reason of the fallen nature may actually descry. But if the Holy Spirit were to take away the dimness and the bias, and restore the balance, the result would simply be that hopeless remorse of conscience which is an essential ingredient in the doom of the guilty. On the other hand, if the gospel were to come without the Spirit that unclouds the mental vision and undoes the moral bondage of the will, it would be a sealed book and a dead letter, neither" enlightening the eyes" nor "converting the soul." Hence they are astray, on the one hand, who pray for the Spirit without searching the scriptures, and who, on the other hand, like Nicodemus, hunt after the teaching of the word without seeking for the regenerating work of the Spirit.

24. The threefold division of salvation is the occasion of drawing forth out of the bosom of God the great mystery of revelation, the threefold personality of the Divine Being. The word "person" is here used in a unique sense to denote a transcendent relative in the essence of God, the meaning of which revelation alone enables us in any measure to define. The persons or subsistents in the divine nature are called the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The first

two are clearly terms of relation; and the last has, no doubt, a reference to the original meaning of spirit, and is therefore related to the others as breath is to him that breathes. It is to be remembered, however, that the word-maker, who first transferred the term "spirit" from breath to the intelligent principle, did not understand by it a transient puff of air, but the breath of life, without which a man will die. Hence it came to mean the principle of life, of intelligent voluntary activity in man. As the principle of life in the race is one, so is the uncreated principle of vitality one in the Father and the Son in that transcendent relation which subsists in the divine essence. As the spirit is to the man in the human being, so is the Holy Spirit to the Father and the Son in the Divine Being. And as in passing from the natural breath to the breath of life or vital principle, we have to leave out everything which is merely physical, so in passing from the human to the divine Father and Son and Spirit we have to abstract from our conception everything which is merely temporal and dependent, and rise to that which is compatible with the eternal and the original. It is manifest that the trinity of persons incidentally disclosed in the economy of salvation is a particular aspect of a transcendent reality essentially and eternally subsisting in the Godhead. It has, therefore, a paramount interest on philosophical grounds, apart from its special import in demonstrating the possibility of salvation for the children of the fall.

25. Second only to the revelation of the Trinity in the Godhead is the historical fact of the incarnation of the Son of God. The atonement for the sin of man must be made by man. The man who makes it must be free from personal sin, and independent in his resources. This involves seemingly incompatible conditions. The Son of God becoming the Son of Man solves the moral problem. There is a profound metaphysical interest in the incarnation of the Messiah, subordinate only to that of the trinity of persons in the unity of the divine essence. This Son of Man is in all respects a man, and yet he is at the same time, in the fullest sense of

the term, the Son of God. Thus there is a hypostatical union of the divine and human natures in the second Adam. The divine in him is the uncreated Spirit; the human is the created spirit in its physical organ, the human body. We have made some progress in the chemistry of mineral and organic matter; but we have not advanced very far in the analysis or synthesis of the qualities of spirit. A long period of speculative controversy on the nature and properties of ' matter preceded the rise of chemistry. Let us hope that the age of endless and unprofitable surmisings and disputations regarding spirit will soon give way to the dawn of a metaphysical science that will penetrate into the nature, properties, and relations of spirit.

26. Forgiveness of sins by the Father, atonement by the Son, and regeneration by the Holy Ghost, and, involved in these, the trinity of persons in the Godhead and the incarnation of the Son of God, are the five cardinal points of revelation; as the guilt of man, the holiness of God, the doom of death, and, involved in these, the existence of God and the immortality of the soul of man, may be called the five points of the higher philosophy. Combined into one system, they constitute a brief, but adequate, answer to the sublime question proposed by the Roman governor to the King of kings. The development of these first principles in the book of scripture and the book of nature is a theme of study for all ages.

27. There are, indeed, two other themes of primary importance that have not fallen within the range of our observation. These are predestination and creation. They stand to one another in the relation of purpose and performance in man. But predestination extends to the conduct of free agents, and creation is effected without pre-existent materials. These transcendental powers belong exclusively to God. It tasks the utmost reach of the human mind to form any adequate conception of them; yet they hold a prominent place in the field of human speculation, as well as in that of divine revelation. As, to say the least, it is ex

tremely difficult for the finite mind to see or show the harmony of the predestination of the Creator with the freeagency of the creature, it seems more conducive to the interests of ethical and metaphysical science to consider the laws of nature and the moral relation of the free agent with God apart from the higher question of predestination, lest the one warp or perplex the mind in the discussion of the other. It seems possible to pursue each line of investigation, distinctly from the other, with a fair hope of correct and useful results. But the combination of the two in the one process of discussion has been productive of confusion and misapprehension.

28. We cannot conclude without remarking that revelation, in harmony with its character as a philosophy of hope, contains an invitation to the sinner to return to God, who will have mercy on him. Away far back in the infancy of the race, the Lord had respect unto Abel and his offering, and he indicated a similar acceptance on the same terms to the only other son of Adam then living. This is a practical invitation to all the sons of Adam of all generations. And it is constantly repeated on all suitable occasions. Nothing could exceed the pathos of the following appeal: “As I live, saith the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel!" The Son of God, in the fulness of time, stood on earth in the form of man, to make atonement for man; and he said: "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." And in the parting word of the New Testament, we read: "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." This expresses the spirit of the whole revelation. Coming from the God of sincerity and truth, it means all that it expresses, and warrants every child of man to put his trust in Jesus Christ, and lift the voice of repentance to the God of all grace with full assurance of being accepted.

ARTICLE IV.

THE CHRISTIAN LAW OF SERVICE.

BY SAMUEL HARRIS, D.D., LL.D., DWIGHT PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY IN THE THEOLOGICAL DEPARTMENT OF YALE COLLEGE.

THE Christian law of service is proclaimed by the Saviour: "Whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant; even as the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." To the ambitious request of the mother of James and John for the highest places in his kingdom for her sons, he had replied by propounding the Christian law of service, and enforcing it with these most touching words, in which he presents his own life of sacrifice and service as the type of all Christian life. This law presents itself in two aspects: Greatness for Service; Greatness by Service.

Greatness for service. - Greatness does not entitle its possessor to compel the service of others, while he lives in idleness, sustained by their compelled ministrations; but it binds its possessor to render service to others. Greatness in wealth, learning, talent, position, or power of any kind, is bound to a commensurate greatness of service.

Greatness by service.-Service, always degrading from the selfish and heathen point of view, is itself the true greatness, and is ennobled as such by Christianity. The most complete development of the individual and his greatest consideration in society to be attained by service; no artificial ranks in Christ's kingdom, exalting men merely by position — no pygmies on Alps; but greatness by service-an aristocracy of merit. The man who best serves society is to be the man of most weight in society a king of men by divine right.