me, shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him." It is obvious, that whatever this promise may mean, it is not confined to those whom he then immediately addressed, but is general in its application, and is extended to all who love him. What then is the import of the promise, "I will manifest myself to him." We cannot stop to notice the various meanings which have been put upon these words. The only unforced and rational one, and that which best answers to all the circumstances under which the promise was uttered and received, is, "To those who love me, I will show myself beneficent, and kind, and ready to assist, as if I were in real presence with them." It is equivalent to the promise made to his immediate followers, in the preceding verse; "I am in you." And as this, in regard to them, included a promise of all necessary aid in the extraordinary labors to which they were destined, in the first propagation and establishment of the religion of Christ among men ; so the words under remark can be understood as meaning nothing less than a promise of all needed assistance to "all who love him," in the ordinary circumstances of their discipleship on earth.

This construction is sustained and fortified by the explanation which our Saviour himself gives, in immediate connexion with the passage cited. In reply to Judas, who asked an explanation of the words, Jesus said, "If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." This was a metaphorical phrase, well known to the Jews, and was used to express intimate presence, especial favor, and essential aid. It will be observed, too, that this promise, like that in illustration of which it is used, is general; it is made to "all who love Christ." If these views are correct, the words "I will manifest myself to him," and "we will make our abode with him," contain the promise of all needed spiritual aid, and it is made to all, in all times, "who love" the Saviour. We are unwilling to crowd our pages with the learned lumber of quotations and references. Those who have gone into this inquiry will perceive, that the interpretation we have here given is sanctioned by the most learned and unprejudiced commentators, from Grotius down to the present day, including those, who, in regard to many other important points of doctrine, are much at variance.

We think, further, that this doctrine of a Divine Influence is clearly taught and strongly urged by St. Paul, in various parts of his Epistles.

Thus the Apostle wrote to his converts in Galatia, (iv. 6,) "Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." There seems to be no reason for restricting this promise to the Galatian converts. They were called sons, because they were redeemed from the slavery of the Jewish law. And so were all Christians. And whatever we understand to be the imof the promise "the spirit of his Son," whether, as port some think, the effusion of the holy spirit, whereby they received the assurance of their adoption and sonship; or whether, as others argue, by this term is meant the spirit or temper of Christ; it is equally evident, that the boon is not one of those miraculous gifts which were often imparted by the Apostles to their disciples, but is a spiritual blessing, in which all Christians may participate, and is, moreover, ascribed directly to God as its author.

To the Ephesians (i. 13, 14) the Apostle writes, "In whom (that is, in Christ) after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance," &c. Spirit of promise is a well known Hebraism for promised spirit. We know no reason why this sealing of the promised spirit should be restricted to mean only the extraordinary gifts which were imparted to the first converts of the Apostles, and not extended also to that religious preparation of the heart, which is in like manner the effect of the spirit of God coöperating with ours, and which is to all who receive it, in all ages, the earnest of an immortal inheritance.

Again, the Apostle writes to the same body of disciples, (Eph. iii. 14-17,) "I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, that he would grant you to be strengthened with might by his spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith." Here a Divine Influence, even the spirit of God, not any miraculous gift, is recognised as important to the Ephesians, in strengthening their faith in Christ. And, if thus important to them, it cannot be less so to all Christians of all times. And if it were not to be imparted, it certainly would not have been prayed for. The same remarks apply with equal force, to

the earnest aspiration of the Apostle in behalf of his converts at Rome. (Rom. xv. 13.) "Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope through the power of the holy spirit.”* Here a spiritual blessing, and not those extraordinary powers by which the first disciples were distinguished, is sought in prayer, by an Apostle, through the agency of "the holy spirit." The doctrine of a Divine Influence is then clearly implied and virtually taught by St. Paul, at least so far as those are concerned to whom he wrote. And as there was nothing in their peculiar circumstances, which confined the application of the doctrine to them, it is a fair, and, indeed, a necessary inference, that it is not so to be confined; but, as the blessing implored was a spiritual gift, and one necessary, and equally necessary to all Christians, so all may hope to receive it, on the same terms, and through the same agency. We add a few more passages, to which the same reasoning applies.

Eph. iv. 30. "Grieve not the holy spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." Here, as in the passage above cited (Eph. i. 13, 14), the Apostle meant by "the spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed," those Christian gifts and graces, that religious preparation of the heart, which were wrought by the spirit of God, and whereby they were marked, designated, set apart for the day of redemption; and there is nothing from which we can infer, that any gift was thus possessed by them, which may not in like manner and degree be possessed by all sincere Christians in all ages.

2 Thessalonians ii. 13. "But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation, through the sanctification of the spirit, and belief of the truth." In this passage, sanctification" is ascribed to the agency of the spirit. See also 1 Peter, i. 22; Jude 20;

*Not "Ghost," as the mistranslation in our common version expresses it. It is much to be regretted, that this term should hold its place in our Bibles. We would also take this opportunity to observe that it is in like manner to be regretted that the terms Holy Ghost, Holy Spirit, and equivalent ones, should be continued to be printed with capital letters, as if a person were meant. It is well known to those who read the original language, that there is no authority for

this.

where a like agency is ascribed to the holy spirit; all of which passages are distinctly and explicitly, though concisely, explained by St. Paul in his letter to the Philippians, (ii. 13,)" For it is God which worketh in you, both to will and to do of his good pleasure."

On all these texts, three things, we think, are especially to be noted.

First; Spiritual blessings, sanctification, religious improvement of the heart and life, and not those miraculous gifts, which were conferred by the Apostles on their early converts, are the blessings imparted.

Second; They are ascribed to the holy spirit, the spirit of God, or simply to God, through whose peculiar agency they are imparted. And

Third; As they are equally needed by all Christians of all ages, and as there was nothing in the peculiar circumstances of those to whom the language was originally directed, to confine its application to them, it is not so to be confined.

We conclude these quotations by referring to the Epistle to the Romans, viii. 26, 27; "Likewise the spirit helpeth our infirmities for we know not what we should pray for, as we ought; but the spirit itself maketh intercession for us, with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts, knoweth what is the mind of the spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints, according to the will of God." We are aware that the term here translated "spirit," has been differently interpreted. Some learned commentators have considered it as standing for the religion of Christ; * others, as indicating that temper or frame of mind, which Christianity is intended to form, but which is yet to be referred to God, or the spirit of God, as its author. But without further remarking on these opinions, which our limits forbid, we shall only observe, that the explication of the term as given by Locke seems to us to be the true one, namely, that it is intended to indicate a quickening principle and power," which operates upon the mind through the instrumentality of the religion of Christ.

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* See this ingeniously urged in Jo. Aug. Noesselti Opusculorum Fasciculus 11. Halæ, 1785.

Jo. G. Rosenmüller, Scholia in N. T. Rom. viii. 26.

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Such are the Scriptural authorities on which we rest our faith in the doctrine of a Divine Influence, proceeding from God, the Father of our Spirits, and operating upon the minds of men. We have felt the necessity of condensing this part of the subject as much as possible, and in our endeavour to be brief, may have rendered the argument obscure. However this may be, one great source of error, at least, which frequently obscures and destroys the reasoning of inquirers on this point, who are otherwise judicious and accurate, we have sedulously attempted to avoid, namely, that of confounding the extraordinary and miraculous aids promised to the first Apostles, and imparted by them to their immediate followers, for a special purpose, with those spiritual influences, which, as we believe, are imparted to all sincere and devoted Christians of all subsequent ages, and intended for their own spiritual improvement.

Such are the grounds on which our belief of the doctrine of Divine Influence rests. We shall proceed to inquire, in the next place, what are the methods in which this influence is afforded to the human mind. But this must be deferred to our next number.

ART. IV. The Diegesis; being a Discovery of the Origin, Evidences, and Early History of Christianity, never yet before or elsewhere so fully and faithfully set forth._By the Rev. ROBERT TAYLOR, A. B., and M. R. C. S. Boston published by John Gilbert. 1832. [Second Edition. Boston: published by Abner Kneeland. 1834.] 8vo. pp. viii. and 440.

AMONG the means employed at the present day to disseminate the doctrines of irreligion, the press, as might be expected, is active and efficient. This indeed is no new thing. On the contrary, it appears that in this as in the other departments of its operation, it labors more for the republication of former works, than for the creation of new ones. We do not then introduce the subject of Infidel Publications, solely or principally because religion is threatened by new arguments, but rather because we find something worthy of notice in the new forms and bolder claims of very familiar acquaintances.