unto him Jesus." The complex character of Deity frequently includes the created, as well as the Creator. It can be no other than Emmanuel, the God man ; who is thus represented as treading the winepress. Many parts of scripture may be termed sacred Dramas. The portion to which our attention is called, may be considered of this description. Jesus, of whom the apostles, as well as the prophets, bore testimony issues forth; his sword is said to be on his thigh, and, in Zachariah xiii. 7, by a beautiful prosopoeia, this sword is called upon to awake against the man who is God's fellow! Paul saith in his epistle to the Romans vii. 9, 10, 11. "For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died." And the commandment "which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. For sin taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me." John beheld, Revelations xix. "Him who sat on the white horse, the faithful and true, who judgeth righteously. And out of his mouth proceeded a sharp sword, that with it he might smite the nations." Surely no being, save this King of kings, and Lord of lords, was able to tread the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. "The word of God," says the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews, iii. 12, "is quick and powerful, sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit." In consequence of the complete redemption, the " price, all price beyond," paid by him who trod the winepress alone. Paul submitted to, and was slain by this same two edged sword. "I kill and I make alive," saith God, 'I wound and I heal,' Deuteronomy, chap. iii. verse 39. Observe, first our Creator wounds, first he kills, afterwards he heals and makes alive. This is in other words visiting transgression with a rod, and iniquity with stripes; but, blessed be God who assures us, his loving kindness he will not utterly take away, nor suffer his faithfulness to fail. Psalm xxxix. But what logic can reconcile the idea of continued destruction; destruction from an everlasting Father; destruction of the creatures he had called into existence, and whom by his omnipotent power he could have upheld; what reasoning, I say, can reconcile such views with the character of an august Being, who is described by the pen of inspiration as love in the abstract? Our adversary indeed is said to be a roaring lion seeking to destroy. But the Redeemer of men assures us he came not to destroy the world, but that the world may have life. Yet, in order that we may have life we must first have death, and in this arrangement mercy and truth meet together; righteousness. and peace embrace each other. An anecdote in the annals of China this moment presses upon my recollection, and I never recur to it without experiencing ineffable satisfaction. The empire is large, the provinces numerous A sanguinary minister informed his imperial Majesty, that one of his distant provinces revolting from his dominion, was in an actual state of rebellion. The Emperor immediately gave orders for embodying and equipping a large and powerful army, declared a resolution to head it in person, and lifting up his hand he swore by the Almighty Architect of all worlds, that not a single rebel should be spared. Eager to execute judgment in all the magnificence of Asiatic grandeur, he commenced his journey of extirpation. Mounted on an elephant upon which was elevated a throne of ivory and gold, studded with orient pearl, and accompanied by the swift ministers of his wrath, he reached with all possible dispatch the frontier of the revolted province. His offending subjects were apprised of his advance, and clad in robes of mourning advanced to meet him, when prostrating themselves on their faces to the earth, they momently expected the death which they felt they had merited. But what language can describe their astonishment on hearing the Emperor, who raising himself from his throne, and bending over them pronounced with a loud voice the soul animating word, "LIVE!" Rendered nearly breathless by wonder and surprise, they dared not credit the testimony of their senses until their sovereign again repeated the renovating sound, LIVE, when they were restored to life, to obedience, and to liberty. The disappointed minister approached, "Sire, what becomes of your oath! did you not sware by the great God of heaven and carth, that not a single rebel should be spared?" True, returned the Emperor, most true, assuredly I did, and show me the rebel, and he dies this instant. But, alas! for this poor disappointed vindictive man, not a rebel was to be found; the rebels were already dead.— Perhaps this digression may not appear altogether foreign to our purpose, when it is remembered that ministers of a disposition similar to this revengeful Chinese are to be found in sacred writ. The prophet Jonah lamented the preservation of Nineveh, in which city were more than six score thousand persons, that could not discern between their right hand and their left. Elijah called for fire from heaven, and the immediate disciples of our Lord would have followed his example; but the master rebuked them and said, "Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them." "Tis thus I read, and I have confidence in confessing that I believe every scripture is fulfilled in Christ Jesus, for he is before all things, and in him all things consist. L. "According to Mr. Murray's way of treating scripture, it would seem as if he conceived of God, as having more love and compassion for the rebellious part of mankind than for his own Son who was his delight, and the language of God on his plan seems to be, O ye obstinate rebels, though I have declared I will punish you as you deserve, yet I don't intend it. I love you so well that I shall not punish you as I promised; on the contrary I will treat my innocent Son who always doeth the things that please me, with the utmost severity; I will greatly afflict him that never displeased me, but you that have been going on in wickedness, in a course of transgression, I never will injure you. This seems to be the language we have been attending to, and that when God threatens to gather them as grapes in a winepress, and to trample them in his fury, sprink ling their blood on his garments, staining all his raiment, treading them down in his anger, and making them drunk in his fury; all this means nothing respecting them, there is nothing for them to fear it is not with them as sinners he is angry, it is with his holy immaculate Son! I should be glad to know whether this is what Mr. Murray means, and whether he supposes God never punishes sinners?" M———. Mr. L has represented me in a very obnoxious point of view, perhaps without design. It is a little unfortunate for us, that we do not understand one another. We are not accustomed to each other's dialect. If it is believed I conceive of things as this gentleman seems to understand, I must be considered as a maniac. Suffer me to explain myself. I do not believe that God so loved the world as sinners, as to embrace them in the arms of his mercy. I do not believe that he punishes his Son, in consequence of not having so much affection for him, as for the offender. God forbid I should thus speak, thus think. On the contrary I believe God loves no one for sin, or as a sinner; sin is ever the object of divine displeasure, of divine hatred and the punishment inflicted on the Son of his love renders this fundamental truth incontrovertible. But the surrendering this Son from eternity so dearly beloved, completely evinces his love for the human nature, that was found lying in the wicked 86 one. God so loved the world, that he gave them his Son. He prepared for him a body in the which he might do his will, which will was to save that which was lost, and to bring again that which was driven away, to endure the punishment merited by our transgressions, to do the things that were commanded, and to destroy the works of the Devil. In all these particulars we behold our God an irreconcilable enemy to sin, and an unalterable friend to the ruined nature, on whom this sin was found; we behold him too a God of such strict justice and truth, that rather than one sin should go unpunished, or not meet with a punishment adequate to the nature both of the offended and the offence, he himself will lay them on his own dearly beloved Son and there punish them. Surely this is not a novel doctrine, the great Milton observes, "He with his whole posterity must die, Die he, or justice must, unless for him Some other able, and as willing, pay The rigid satisfaction, death for death. Say heavenly powers, where shall we find such love? Which of ye will be mortal to redeem Man's mortal crime, and just the unjust to save ? Dwells in all heaven charity so dear? He ask'd, but all the heavenly quire stood mute, And now without redemption all mankind By doom severe, had not the Son of God, In whom the fulness dwells of love divine, His dearest mediation thus renew'd. Father thy word is past, man shall find grace: To visit all thy creatures, and to all, Comes unprevented, unimplored, unsought ? Account me man; I for his sake will leave Well pleas'd; on me let death wreck all his rage : Lie vanquished: thou hast given me to possess Life in myself forever; by thee I live, Though now to death I yield, and am his due Death his death's wound shall then receive and stoop I through the ample air in triumph high The powers of darkness bound. Thou at the sight It is a fact, the belief of vicarious punishment, and imputed righteousness, are the strongest features, nay, the very foundation and topstone of orthodox Calvinism. I know that Calvin's ideas of the grace of God were extremely limited, but, whether his opinions were more consistent with the omnipotent power, and exhaustless mercy of the Redeemer, than that sentiment which embraces through the instrumentality of the never failing love of God, the whole family of man, let reason, let scripture decide. It is conceded that all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God, and the sacred oracles assure us, the mighty, all-sufficient ransom, was paid for all. The justice of the God Man suffering in our stead, becomes strikingly apparent, when we recur to the UNION OR KINDRED RELATION SUBSISTING BETWEEN JESUS CHRIST AND THE PEOPLE, as |