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Incarnation was "one person which
was both divine, and human'
or in other words, that Christ was
"true God and perfect man," is the
one which has generally prevailed
amongst evangelical Christians, and
in regard to the Atonement while
there have been many shades of be-
lief-giving greater or less promi-
nence to the outward offering upon
Calvary-yet as a rule those who have
recognized the necessity for any
atonement at all, have accepted, in
some sense, the Scripture truths that
the Savior "was wounded for our
transgressions, "-that "He was de-
livered for our offences"-that "He
bore our sins in his own body on the
tree"-and that "we have redemption
through His blood even the forgive-
ness of sins."

As early as the year 1825, and possibly even before that time, Elias Hicks had caused uneasiness to his friends, by certain sentiments which he was promulgating in his public communications as a minister, the tendency of which sentiments was "to lessen Christ Jesus in His outward appearance at Jerusalem; to preach up the light within, in opposition to the proper divinity of our blessed Lord, and to the entire exclusion of all that He did and suffered for us in the flesh; and to lessen the authority and importance of the Holy Scriptures." A considerable portion of the Society, however, embraced his doctrines, and the result of the agitation that ensued was a division, which occurred in most of the Yearly Meetings on this Continent, The peculiar mission of those ex- in the years 1827 and 28. We have cellent men who founded the Society neither the space nor the inclination of Friends, was to hold up before the to enter into a detailed account of Christian world the spirituality of those difficulties; all that we propose the Gospel dispensation. They kept in the present article is to make a few prominently in view the central doc- extracts from "A Testimony and trine of the immediate operation of the Epistle of advice', issued by Indiana Holy Spirit upon the hearts of men. Yearly Meeting in the year 1827, one They preached heart-religion in op- of the signers of which was our late position to head-religion, and the venerated friend, Elijah Coffin. This Inward Light in opposition to human document shows with convincing formularies and creeds. As a conse- clearness, by quotations from the quence both their sermons and their writings of the early Friends, what writings abounded in allusions to the their views were in regard to the inward appearing of Christ-the Divinity of Christ and the merit of Light-the Seed, (a very frequent His sufferings and death, as well as expression of Geo. Fox)—the Anoint- His inward appearance in the hearts ing-the Spirit. So much stress was of men. placed upon the doctrine of Immediate Revelation, that as might have been expected they were accused by their opponents, of denying the authority of the Scriptures, and of rejecting that Christ which was crucified at Jerusalem. All such accusations, however, they were careful to repel-distinctly declaring that they owned and believed in that Jesus Christ "who was conceived by the Holy Ghost and born of the Virgin Mary," and that they acknowledged the Scriptures "to have been written by the dictates of the Holy Spirit," and that whatever doctrine is contrary unto their testimony, may justly be rejected as false."

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We shall probably only be apprising our readers of what they already know, but we think there can be no danger of looking too often or too much upon "the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. The first quotation is from Geo. Fox to the Governor of Barbadoes: "We own and believe that he was made a sacrifice for sin, who knew no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth; that He was crucified for us in the flesh, without the gates of Jerusalem, and that He was buried and rose again the third day, by the power of His Father, for our justification, and that He ascended up into heaven, and now sitteth at the right hand of God; who

tasted death for every man, shed his Foundation Shaken, " but, we believe blood for all men, is the propitiation that the above is a fair representation for our sins, and not for ours only, of the generally accepted views of but also for the sins of the whole the Society on the Divinity and world. He is now come in Spirit. * Atonement of Christ. * * He rules in our hearts by His law of love and life, and makes us free from the law of sin and death. We have no life but by Him, for He is the quickening Spirit; the second Adam, the Lord from Heaven, by whose blood we are cleansed, and our consciences sprinkled from dead works to serve the living God.”

* *

The question propounded by the Savior "Whom do men say that I, the Son of man, am, "" was only preliminary to the more important one, "Whom say ye that I am?" To the latter question we think the early Friends would have made answer in accordance with the quotations given above. Such would have been their answer also in 1827-such, we trust,

D. C.

LETTER FROM SWITZERLAND.

LAUTERBRUNNEN, Switzerland,

Seventh mo. 2d., }

Dear Friends, Editors:

1867.

I am snatching a few moments, not from the leisure, but from the toil of sight-seeing, to write a kind of a heterogeneous letter, rather than a regularly arranged newspaper article. Indeed my proceedings and wanderings have been too irregular to admit of regularity in description.

William Penn is more explicit: "We do believe that Jesus Christ was it would be in 1867. our holy sacrifice, atonement, and propitiation, that He bore our iniquities, and that by His stripes we are healed of the wounds Adam gave us in his fall, and that God is just in forgiving true penitents, upon the credit of that holy offering Christ made of himself to God for us; and that what He did and suffered, satisfied and pleased God, and was for the sake of fallen man, that had displeased God. ** Justification consists of two parts. The first part of justification we do reverently and humbly acknowledge, is only for the Many travelers recommend that a sake of the death and suffering of tourist ought before starting from Christ; nothing we can do, though home, to make out his programme by the operation of the Holy Spirit, being able to cancel old debts, and wipe out old scores. It is the power and efficacy of that propitiatory offering upon faith and repentance, that justifies us from the sins that are past; and it is the power of Christ's Spirit, in our hearts, that purifies and makes us acceptable before God.

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Robert Barclay says: "We consider then our redemption in a twofold respect, * *the first is the redemption performed and accomplished by Christ for us in His crucified body without us; the other is the redemption wrought by Christ in us, which no less properly is called and accounted a redemption than the former."

We are aware that in the voluminous writings of the early Friends passages may be found whose bearing seems to be different from what has been presented. This is especially the case with Wm. Penn's " Sandy

for each day, and then adhere rigidly to that, but in this, as in so many other instances, I find recommendations and guide books very good things to be disregarded. If everybody had a liking for the same kind of scenery, or were interested in the same particular objects, it would be less difficult to find some plan or programme to be implicitly relied upon. Oftentimes I find upon arriving at a certain locality, that previous descriptions had given me but an imperfect idea respecting it, consequently my stay there depends much upon whether my impressions are favorable or unfavorable. The last two weeks have been spent in traveling from Paris, by way of Rheims and Aix la Chapelle to Dusseldorf, and thence to Switzerland, by way of the Rhine. At two or three points, I have left the river, and made excursions into the country for the purpose of seeing the

people in their every day life and avocations.

Rhine, the ringing of bells is carried to perfection. The traveler is awakThroughout France, Belgium, and ened early in the morning by an inGermany, one of the things likely to definite number of chimes; more or attract the attention of an American, less according to the size of the town is the presence of so many soldiers, or city; these are rung about half an in a time when all Europe is suppos- hour, then follows fifteen or twenty ed to be at peace. They are station- minutes of ordinary bell ringing, ed in cities, villages and fortifications, which, intermingled with chimes, is until the country literally swarms continued until a late hour at night. with them. Along the frontiers of the different countries enumerated, every town is strongly fortified and completely garrisoned. I could speculate a good deal upon the probable condition of political affairs in Europe, but as almost every scribbler does something in that line, I will content myself with subjects less profound in their nature.

Some of the chimes are exceedingly beautiful, but as in many other good things, there is a possibility of rather overdoing the matter. The people seem very devout in their devotions, and they may be seen at all hours of the day kneeling on the stone floors of the churches, counting the beads that tell the number of their prayers. To one of us it seems almost like The Church edifices in these coun- idolatry to see persons bowing and tries are a source of constant aston- kneeling before the image of the ishment to me, although I had read Savior or of some patron saint. In much concerning them. Villages the Catholic portion of Switzerland, here can boast of cathedrals and there are small stone columns erected "steeple-houses," that would be the at frequent intervals along the roadpride of a city in America, while side, in which are niches containing those of Rheims, Cologne and Strasbourg, stand almost without rivals, if we except St. Peter's at Rome and St. Paul's at London. The cathedral at Strasbourg, apart from its high tower, nearly 500 feet in height, and its wonderful clock, is far inferior to those at Rheims and Cologne. I saw the clock at noon, at which time it performs its most wonderful feats. It is a considerable edifice of itself, and stands in the south wing of the transept of the cathedral. As the hour of 12 approaches, the figure of a knight, in armor, walks out of a Yesterday I had some experience niche and strikes a chime, an image in mountain climbing among the of Time strikes the hour, an angel Alps. I had previously made two or inverts an hour glass, the twelve apostles then walk out from a niche, and pass before an image of the Savior, which raises its hand in benediction as the former bow, while during this latter performance, a cock perched upon the top of one of the clock towers, stretches out his neck, flaps his wings, and crows most lustily, and that too, in as good English, here amid Dutch and French, as any chanticleer in America.

In the towns and cities along the

the image of the Virgin or of the crucifixion, and the peasants stop before these as they pass, and bow and cross themselves. One meets here with a great many Catholic priests, who generally look as if they were well acquainted with good living. They do not appear emaciated by long fasting. Whenever disposed to enter into conversation with them, I have always found them sociable and communicative, and have often obtained valuable information from them.

three ascensions of mountain peaks, but nothing equal to yesterday's experience. In the morning I walked from Interlaken to Grindelwald, 10%1⁄2 miles, and from thence to the top of the Wengern Alp, a distance of eight or nine miles more, and then descended on the opposite side, making near eight miles additional; the height of the mountain passed over being near 7,000 feet.

The road from Interlaken to Grindelwald lies along the valley of the

path at first passes through orchards and meadows, but these are soon left behind, and the route is over rocks, through dark and gloomy forests of pine, and under the shadow of some of the grandest mountains of Switzerland. Jungfrau is so near, that it appears as if the traveler might cast a stone to its snow crowned summit, but it is more than 6,000 feet above him; his own élevation at the highest point of the pass being more than 6,000 feet. Long before reaching the summit I passed over large beds of snow, that were lying upon spots not fairly exposed to the sun, yet even here the grass and delicate Alpine flowers were growing within a few feet of the snow line.

Lutschine, a mountain torrent. The a view of is well worth the fatigue valley is nowhere above three-fourths incurred in the journey across. The of a mile in width, and is often narrowed to a mere gorge. The mountains on each side are from 2,000 to 5,000 feet high, often shutting out the sun's rays. Wherever the crags sloped back at a sufficient angle for a house to be erected we could see the huts of the mountaineers, appearing to the unassisted eye like mere bird cages. Families reside in these huts during the summer and keep their cows, goats, and sheep with them, which subsist on the pastures of these regions, but in the winter they return to the villages. All the provisions and everything, not furnished by the flocks, have to be carried up from the valley below, and men, women and children are all trained to act as porters. They are provided with large The fairest view of Jungfrau and baskets, to which straps are attached the Monk is obtained soon after passto pass over the shoulders, after the ing the summit. Here I had the manner of a knapsack, so as to leave pleasure of seeing five or six avathe hands free to assist in climbing lanches, and of hearing the echoes of when necessary. I have often seen several more. There is something girls of fourteen or fifteen years of grand in the sound and the sight age, carrying loads up these precipi- of these masses of snow as they ces, that I would have supposed quite come rushing down thousands of feet sufficient for a man of ordinary into theabyss below. Although the strength, and it is no uncommon sun was fast receding behind the thing to see men clambering up preci- mountains, and the village was far pices with one hundred pounds bur- below me, yet I could not resist the den, at as rapid a pace as a landsman wish to loiter awhile amid those would wish to ascend without any scenes of grandeur. There was burden at all. I do not consider these sublimity in the presence of those mountaineers as landsmen in the or- mountains, with their everlasting dinary sense of the term. crowns of snow, and the rush of the avalanches, before which all the works of man seemed utterly insignificant. In the intervals of silence

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Grindelwald is situated at the upper end of the valley above mentioned, and is a mere village, scattered along the more habitable portions. From that elapsed between the falls of these this point a path leads over the Wengern Alp to the village of Lauterbrunnen, situated in a valley beyond. This path is much traveled by tourists, but it is yet too early in the season for the great tide of travel that sweeps over Switzerland every year.

The distance over is estimated to be from sixteen to eighteen miles; the greater part of the way a very rugged road. Many persons ride over on horseback, but I would prefer trusting to my feet and a good Alpine stick. The scenery which one obtains

cataracts of snow, I could hear the tinkling of the distant bells of the herds gathering to their folds for the night, while far away across the valley came the faint echoes of an Alpine horn, the shades of evening were deepening in the glens and stealing up the mountain sides, the spotless peaks of the Junfrau and the Silver Horn were catching a crimson glow from the last rays of the sun, and I turned reluctantly away. A fatiguing descent of more than two hours brought me to this village; the lights

from the houses gleamed cheerfully argument of your correspondent, W. through the darkness, and halting at E. The vindication from inconsistthe first inn I came to, I retired to my ency of those who hold the same room, to be lulled to sleep by the view of the subject with myself, rush of a torrent and the roar of a being my only object. cataract hard by. I expect to see more of Switzerland yet, and some of those portions not usually visited by tourists, but of this in the future.

Your friend,

C. D.

THE 'MORE SURE WORD OF PROPHECY.'

It is evident that his whole position rests upon the emphasis which he has placed upon the word 'UNTIL.' He says, "supposing the Apostle to have alluded to the Scriptures, his words would read substantially as follows:-'Ye do well to take heed to these writings until the day star, or It is not my desire nor intention to spirit arise in your hearts,' thus makintroduce into the columns of the ing the Scriptures-the Old TestaAMERICAN FRIEND a discussion of the ment,-(for there was then no other in question whether the sure word of existence,)-primary; and exhorting prophecy alluded to in 1st chap. 2nd to take heed unto it; in order to the Peter refers to the Holy Spirit, or the receiving of the spirit!" Again, he Holy Scriptures. Very estimable says, 66 for if we are to take heed unFriends have, in former times, as well to it until the spirit should arise in as the present, been ranged on differ- the heart, it must be first, or primary; ent sides of this question; which was it must be taken heed unto before the only incidentally alluded to in an ar- receiving or arising of the spirit." ticle on a new translation of the In these passages it is evident that Bible. And while I entertain the the writer lays it down as the basis view briefly stated in that article, I of his argument, that the arising of can freely accord to those who adopt the "day star" is the very first intian opposite interpretation, sincerity mation of the operation of the Holy of purpose and ardent attachment to Spirit in the heart. For if it be adthe doctrine of the supremacy of the mitted that there could be any preHoly Spirit over every other medium vious scintillations of the Divine of communication with poor fallen Spirit in the heart of man, it would man. There is ample testimony to destroy the argument by proving that this truth, throughout the Holy Scrip- the Scriptures would not be a pritures, without putting any doubtful mary, but a consecutive, guide. If, construction on passages that may on the other hand, he denies that there appear somewhat obscure, with a are any such antecedent rays of the view of adding to its confirmation. divine light, illumining the soul, beIt is not, as I observed, to engender fore the arising of the "day star," controversy that I now offer these then the more sure word of prophecy, few remarks, but to prevent an erron- which is to be taken heed unto, UNTIL eous impression obtaining possession the day dawn and the "day star" of the minds of any dear Friends, that by taking the view that the Apostle meant by the more sure word of prophecy, in this place, the words of the inspired penman of the Holy Scriptures, I would detract one tittle from the great Christian Doctrine that the Holy Spirit is the primary authority and foundation of all true and saving knowledge. How could it be otherwise, when this Spirit is nothing less than the Infinite, Omnicient Jehovah himself?

I have very little to say as to the

arise, is a nonentity. And the doctrine most surely believed by Friends that a manifestation of the spirit is given to every man to profit withal,

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even from the earliest dawnings of intellect," is, in that case, an error, and this passage of the Apostle has no meaning. *

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In the great work of the restoration of man from his fallen, corrupt, and lost condition, the Lord has been pleased to make use of outward instruments, to co-operate with his own Holy Spirit, as the Holy Scriptures,

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