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THE PRACTICAL CHRISTIAN.'


Del'oted to Tl'uth and Ri~ · hteou!! iness.


VOL. I. l\ 1ENDON, MASS., JUNE 15, 1840. ~ 9' 4.


EXPOSITION 01' I'AITH.


~ Il PRACTIOAL CHRISTIAN


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Regular Contributors to the Work.- ADIN


BALLOU, ( Editor and Publishing Agent;) DAVID


R. LAMSON, GEORGE " V. STACY, DA~ IEL S.


, \ VHITNF. Y, WILLIAM H. t'UH.


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CH .\ I'' l'ER I.


SECTION 3.


The Ilihle contains a complete rev elation , of


the diviue perfections, of humuu duty, und


of the future state, "


" Tho » hast known llu: holy Scriptures, which


are ablc 10 make thee wise Ull/ O Sahxuien


through faith which is in Chris: Jesus." 2.


Tim. a: 15.


I mean hy the diville perfection » all tho se pe­culiar


excellences of the nature, liltl'ihutes/ dis­position


and ehurueter IJfGod, which he long


to hiin as the supreme hcml of the uuiverse. c­Jly


human duly I IIIBun collectively nil th e du­lies


which UIIIU, liS the suujcct of tliviu e gov­em1111,111,


owes to God, to his fellow hUlllan he ­iugs,


1I11l1 to h illlseU: By the future ,~ tate I


IIIcau tllC stllte of existeuce alier delltil iu tile


lIges to COlli e, cOllsider cd with respect to lIIan's


clIlHlilioli uud gmu: ral d e; tilly. By a ,' evela­tintl


I IIICIIU II supcl" lluturul disclosure, discov­ery,


l'uhlicatiou of SOlliclililig previously 1111­kUOWII,


alld wllicll coul, l 1I0t he kuowu witil­uut


suclla disclosure. By II complete revda­t;"


11 I IIlCall, 1I0t a revclllli oll of 1111 , lllut lll igllt


Ilave he, m reveale. l, 11' 11' of all wili ch IlIlIy ev­.


e: U u~ k lll )\ VIJ'; h ut Jl l'ovH} nri · ' tJ. o f uli whicJ •.. it


is lle': cs" lry m" l best uWllkind sli llu id ullt l- er­SI/


lud wllile ill the I'reHtlllt ! State, cOllcel'ltillg


Gml, their duty, a~ HI a liJtllre existence. ­\


V hell I sllY' the Bihle contaills such a revela­liou


J mean, lIottilat it is iu all parts IIlike in- '


'( Ii ~ c r i lll i u ll t e l y a revelatioll, Lut olily thnt tile


iuspired pllrls of' it, takell relatively alHl col­lectively,


uuder a fair construction of tlleir va­rious


rcconls, stutemeltts, declarations alit! rep­resentatiolls,


do IIltogetll cr constitute a com­~


llele revelalioll ofllle divine perfections, hu­uUln


dilly, und the future s tate.


Tile , proposition ueiug now clearly uuder­stood,


I proceed to Stute wlmt I Ilelieve wilh


r" spect W revcaled religioll, as set fill'lh iu tile


Hilde. I silall not now go illto tl,, : uwrits of


. qllcstillllS arising on tile er edihililY of'super­IIlIIUI'llI


evelilS thereiu recorded. Huviug sat­isfied


myself that t1w S! UWlIlelits of the 1Iihle,


respectillg diville cOlllnllluicutions mud e fi · oru


God III mall, ure stlltellieUls ofjact, I take all


this fiu' gruutetl in the present exposition­holdillg


tnyselfalways l'ellt! y, U. 1 suituule occa- '


' SiOIlS, to give n I'eu~ oll of'IIlY lililh in th e foun­datioll,


as well as in tile supe~ trtlcture of di­ville


revelati ~ n. I contHIe myself in this sec­tion


chiefly to lwo geneml inquirie~:


I. Whllt has God revealed?


II. I II wllllt manner has Ite made th e reve­latiou?


1. The inquiry, what'has God revealed, IlIay


be considere, 1 with respect to the divine perfec­tions.


And I commence' with observing, that


, the Hihle does not profess to. contlliu a fot'mal


revelation of the fllct thut there is a God. It


evrywherc assumes that tue existenc: e ofsome


, grellt overruling, intelligent Power is ulliversal-lyacknowledged.


Indeell, llIan does nntural­ly


recognize some kind of divinity. He is in­tuitively


inclined to believe in some kind of


controlling POWER and INTELLIGENCE, till'


above his own n~ lllre. Hence the IlInltiplici­ty


of heuth en gods. Hence, IIlso, the very tIn­frequent


allnsion to atheism in thll Scriptures.


lIThe fool hath said in his heart there is no


God ;" allli a few such expressions, are the on­ly


ones in the Bible which seem to intimate


that any human lieing of those dnys doubt~ d .


the existence ofa God. This is why the Bi­hIe


purports to contain no formal revelation of


the mere existence of God: all felt ~ nd ac­knhwledged


it. Nature gave forth the origin~


tially ascended, when suddenly " the angel


of the Lonl appeared to him in a flame of fire


out of the midst ofa bush. And he look ed, ­and


behold the bush burned with fire, butthe


bush was not consumed." He then said, - i


will now turn aside and see this great sight, ­why


t1te bush is not burnt." And as he turn­ed


aside to see, God called unto him out of th e


midst of the bush, sayiug " Moses, 1U0ses."


The answer was, " here JIIn I." And God


~ lI i'd , " draw not nigh hither ; put offthy shoes


Irorn o ff' thy feet; for the pla ce wh er eon thou


standest is holy ground. l: un the - God ofthy


Hither, th e God o f Abraham, th e God of Isaa c,


and th e God ofJaeob," H'J. th~ n proceeded


io de clare his purpose of deliv ering his people


Israel from Egypt, and commissioned l\ Ioses


to go down and demand th eir liberty of Pha­moho


In this case it uPllears Ihat God made It


revelation to i\ Io~ es hv means of mira cle IId­dressed


t~ hi~ natural ~ enses. !\ loses saw th e


flume of tire wi th I.. is naturnl eyes, utld heard


th e voice which spoke with hi s n arural ea rs,


and understood the words spoken [ probably


in the Hebrew tongue] with his natural nppro­hension.


But the fire, the voice, aud th e


wOl'; I~ were all llliraculolts .


So lit 1\ 1t. Sinui, in th e grand drama of giv­ing


th e law, th e tire, . smoke , thunder, light­ning,


articuillte voic e, and enunc illt ion of tho


ten cOlltmllndmelll s in d islin ct words and seu ­tenees,


were see n , heard, and 1Il1ll ersruod hy


th e wh'ole congregation of Ismel in l? naturlll


way. 1IIItthose s iglus alld souuds the; nseh'es


were miracuioJls.


At the haptism of onr L ord th er e was a vis­iule


uppearauce of th e spirit of God d,~ scend­ing


und lighting upon hilll ; ~ Iso , an 11IIJihie


I'oice, su): ing, " this is lit}' heloi'ed Son, in


wh om I um well pl ellse,!." These nre slllllpl ., s


of revelatiou hy miracl e, addressed to the IlIIt­1ll'


... 1self.< e, 50\ IlIcn .


2. 01 reveilltiou by visioll in trau ces a1111


dreams we have IIbulldan~ examples, alllllll g,


which we lItuy i. nstance th e visiou of Ahrnhalll


menlioned in the 15111 drapter of Gen esis ­wh


en it was revBaled to hilll that his post erity


should suffer a gri'lvous houdl ~ ge in Egypt j ­th


e dreulIl or v isioll of J ucou in th e field of


Lnz, ulie rwa n ls Bethel":"- n'eluion ed in th 28th


c lllIpte r of Gell csis- ill 1\ h ieh lie SIllY Iho lud­,


IeI' rea ching fr olll eur th to hellvcn, from th'l


top 01 which God addrpssell I, im; also Jo­seph's


dreams iu th e 37th c ha pte r ; IIlso Dan­iel's


\\' 01111 « ' 1' 1' 111 visions, deserihed in the Inst


five chapters of his Book ; IIl s( ~ tho se of S I.


Pnul, Peter, allli othel s, lIIcutioucd in th e Act s


oi'the Aposll e".


3. Ofre" eilition hy direct sugges tion 10 th e


mimi , 1may cite th e case of S amue l at tl' e


nnoiuting ofDal'id, as a strikillg sample. It is


pr esented in th e 16111 e hapte r of 1. Snmuel. ­God


direct ed hinl 10 order a sac r i ti ~ e at 1Ieth ­leh


cm, and to satwtify th e fhmil y of . lesse, ­thntthey


mi ght pnrtllke wi~ h him ofn feaSl,


and on e of his sons he designated as the future


king onsmel. J esse hUll eight sons, of, wh o! 1I


all were present hut David, th e youugest, who


' WIIS thought fit only to reulIliu in atteudalll: e


upollthe sh eep. L eft to himself, it nppeanl


that the prophet would have chose n El iah, th e


tirst- uol'll. 1Iut the Lord snill , uy dit" ect sug­gestion


, to his mind, " look not 011 his COlJl1le-


, nance, or the height of his stature, uecause I


huve refused him." \ Vhen the I\' hole sev en


had each successil'ely b een pr esented hy th eir


father, Samuel said uuto him, " the Lord hath ,


not chosen th ese. Are laer e all thy children ? '~


" There , rellllliueth the youngest ke eping the


!' heep," answered J ess e. Samue l suid, " sene!


und fetch him ; for we will not sit dowu till


Ill: cOllie hilher." \ Vhim David appeared, th e


Lord said, hy direct su ggesti on to SallJuel'"


mind, " urise, unoim him, for thi s is he."


III like mauneI', God by his spirit most COlli"


monly made a direct suggestiou to th e minds


of his prophets of what Ihey s ho uld declare ,


testi( y, predict, nnt! deliver. This is genel'lllly


delloted hy such phrases as th ese-" the Lord


suid," " the Lord hnth 8poken ," " the Lord


eOlllmanded me," " theu Clime th, e word of q le


Lord, 811ying," " the spirit said," & c. IUS! llll­ces


" fthis sort are 100 freqllentlilld familiar in ,


gospel. They apply to every possible partie­ular


ofthought, imagination, faith, sentiment,


affection, passion, appetite, propensiry, will,


iutentiou , word, deed and omission, appertain­ing


to human nature in all its relations and


conditions through life. There is nothing


good wlti ch is not enjoined, nothing evil which


is not forbidden ; so that " if any mRU wholly


obeyed, he would be pure from ull corruption


"." lhin himself, all wrong against fellow crea­tu


res, ull sin ugainst his 1\ laker, and all real ,


:, , ~ Ht p p i IlCtrs. 1 cannot 1I0W enter into detail s,


either of th e duties th ernsel ves which have


been revealed, or the passages in which they


ate specified . This belongs to n future occa­s


ion. The wltole are comprehended in the


two great commandments- love- to God, and.


love to man. I\, IlIn needed this revelation of


luty , aml God fre ely gllve it, with all the ae ­ccmpauy


iug helps and facilities for tit ", attain­ment


of et ernal llte,


3. It remains, under this general inquiry,


II; consider th e revelation concerning the fu­iure


state. I\ lnn by th e light of nature does


not certainly lind clearly urulerstaurl, whether


h" l shall 01' shall not exist after death. He nat­urnlly


lon gs [(, I' the assurance of a future s ta te


- f. Jdread s utter nnnihllatlon j he ende avors


to persuade himself that there is such u state;


IJllt ufter he hilS couclnded thnt there IUUSt he


one, Io e ClllI only conj ec tu re alHl presume


whnt will ue his condition in that s tule . lIe


needs a revelution fr'" n God. He hitS it iu the


ni hlc: ' l'heuce we leaI'll that J esn s Christ, ­.....


ho is ali ke the Son of God and th e Son of


IllUn, explieitly tuught hoth the immol'u, dity of


tlte soul, and the resnrrection of the uody; ­tile


tir st in his doctrine to the people, uud Ihe


sl: eoud not olily in I; i s doctrine, hill also hy


his. own aClllal' resurrectioll Oil the thil'll day


" el' hi s c roe iti. xion. Through him life and


'; , llllJI · t; : i./ i ,;, \'\ J IJt .;" n bro, lgt C( o li;,( hl. W e I


l~ re ussured IJ)' lIIenus of hi ~ gospel th: it'itie


so1l1 ClInnot be killed with the hody- that


there ' shllllite a resurrection of all the deud, ­reunioll


of son I 111111 body in nn illlm ortal


tate, a judglilCnt of every 1II11n before ill S tri­bunul,


III which lnl uccount shull he gi ven of


the d eeds done in the hody, an equillthle ret­rihution


rendered to th e , righteous lind wicl{ ­ed,


lIccol'liing to their works, alld a tillal suh­jugation


eflec tet! 01' 1111 things to IIIora I order,


so that God shall be all in all. All lhis man


ueedlJ(! to understalld and he ' lIss nred of, in


order to h. is ow'n' cOIll[(, rt in well'lloil').[, his


, lissUllSioll fi'om sin, a~ 1( 1 his perfect COlltide llce


.11 G(){!. It was th ere/ i're rev eal ed to I, i,". ­Bljtall


th e particulars of pla ce; tim e, s'l ~ nsou


ulnl circumslanee, he did not ne ed to l; now ~ ­B


e did 1I0t need to ( wow how tile soul ex ists


se pa ra te from the hody, IHir ill w Itat pr ecis e


loeatioll, nOI' when or how the hody w ill he


rai sed illllllortal, nor how the reunion of sO\ l1 '


tlnd hody. will take place, n'lr exnctly when,


where allll holO the lastjudglllent will be () rder~


ed" nor pr eci sely wl; ere, how 101lg, or ill what


mallner th e wicl, ed will he pllnished ,' nol'lOhen


01' how God will suullue, reforllJ ami restore


~ helll. None of th ese partiCUlars need be


known; th erefore none of them are revealed.


t t is wholly improuahle that nny of . is would


hllve heen nny better off, hnd we a thorough


IlnderstlllHling ofall these , minute particulars.


Bllt what IllIs heen revealed can easi Iy be


shown to hav e heeu unspenkably IlIfvanrage­ous


ill th e pl'Omotion of holiness and happi­ness


allJolig mankind.


, TillIS we have a complete " evelatioll of the


divine perfeetions, of human duty, and of the


fllture slate; which Lrings me to my other


general inqniry, vi. z.:


II. How has God made this rev'elalion?


I answer, in four severlll ways j I, hy mira­de


ud(! ressed to the nalllral senses and uppre­hension


of lTIan j' 2, by vision in trances or


dreams; 3, hy direct su ggestion to the mind;


4, hy indwelling light, or interuul inspirlltion.


]. Of rCl'elatiou hy miracle addressed to the


natural seuses and ai, preb ension, we have an


example in the call of Moses, an acconnt of


which is given in th e 3d chapter of Exo; lus. ­1\


loses wus attending the flocks ofJ cthro, nellr


mount Horeb; which he seems to have par-al


idea. But nature left almost every thing


respecting a God so uncertain, so vague and


obscure, that man presently plunged, without


divine guidance, into polytheism and idolatry.


It was necessary, therefore, for God to com­municate


to man the true knowledge of hi s


" naattusreu, nadtrtyribtuitmese, sanadndchinaradcivteerr. s mTUhilsm-- heersd. i" d -


!\ lan needed to know that God is not a materi­al,


corporeal being. Therefore it was rereul­ed


to hirn thnt God is a pure SI'IflI'!' , who


cannot he represen ted by th e s imiliu ul » iIl' any ,


visible creature or thiug in the universe . IUa n .


needed to know that God is not divisible ami


manifold, existiug in different identities and


locations, 1IlI'Iid II confusion of wills auol char­act


ers. ' l'herefill: e it was reveal ed that God is


ONl:- one siugle nuture, mind, will and iden­rity,


distinct aud independent hy himself , th e


only God- uesid e whom th ere is none els e 10


compare with him. 1\ Ian needed to under­stund


the . self- existence of G, nd-. that he was


unereuted, and without hegiuniug o f dllYs-that


he cnuuor cease to he, nor become Infirm,


nor fiJil in any of his power s,- that 110 oth er


heiu g 01' thing iu th e universe can possibly


work any ess ential change in his state. Ac­cordingly


th e Hil- le cnutains th e revelation of


these trulhs- dcclaring the uhsolute inunortal­ity,


etel'llity alld 1II1l: llIIngellhility of his natlll'e


nnd ntlrihntes. 1\ Iull needed to have jll~ t


d ews of the iutinily of God- tlmt all his attri­un


tes Bre illilnituhle, hoth as to th cir extellt, arid


th eil' excellellce in killlr-- that he' is almj~ hty,


air- wise, all- hen el'olent IIIIlI ail. holy- wilh


whomnothillg is illll' 0ssihle hut error allli sill


- lVhose~ lVill is lov e, whose law is perfection,


wh tlse IIhility is omnipotence, und whose work


is righteousuess from and to nil etcl'll ily. All


this is dearly reVflllled in the Bible. Mun


11I'f'dcd til kuow wh eth el' tim divine prol' i-cuce


I1n .1 govel'llrn~~ extelld to ( we ry r, eillg,


thing lliid - e'l'em !- '- GOilliUs ' ilie relore tic clured


this. Man ne ed ed to know more perfectly the


nature of the tlit'ine altributes- the nature of


wisdom, rightet. usness, benevolence, justi(: e,


mer cy and truth. All this hilS ueeu explicitly


revealed, 110l! is iIInstrated iu the Bible. In


tin e, every thing is revealed concerniug GOII,


which mun ne eds to ~ now , iu order to 101' e,


and worshijl, lllid dontille in him with Iii..


whole heart- in ' order to he pre- eminently


wis e, holy und hlll'py, The particnlar texts


and passages to he offered iu veriticatiQn o~


this are reserved for a future occasion.


2: '\ Ve lIlay considCl' what is reveRle, l


conccl'lling hUlllan Iluty. ' Ve hUl'e seen mall


llllul e acqnainted with an'all . p erfect GOIL­L


et us now see him mR( le IIcquuinted I~ ith hi s


dllties,. as a subject ofGod's moml govel'llment.


. What did he need to know on this suhject? ­Did


he lJeeo to have it formally reveal ed that


he was a being of rational power s ami t:- icul­tics


? No . . That h e was a fre e ag ent, capa­ble


ofdoing good anll evi I, Tight lind wrong?


No. lie kn ew thr~ hy natnral consciousnes s,


without any revelution. He only ne elled to


know that he was the creature of God- a crea­tUI'C


whose body was fonned out of the ele­ments


of mutel'ial nlltUl'e, anel whose spirit wns


brenthed into him from , the Eternal- that he


was wholly depcndent on his Mal, er for life,


an,! every hlessing oflife,- and that while this


Maker ha, 1 ihe' uhsolute right to govern 111111


dispose of him, He was incapahle ofgol'el'll - '


ing him otherwise than for his gr eatest good.


This, therefore, was revenled j it is ~ o n t a i u e d


in the Bible. So man knew himself to be II


propersuhject of the di~ il! e govel'l1ment,- and '


the moral senSt WIIS established in his heart,-


I conscience asstllnedits office in his hreast. ­But


' he needed light concerning th e use nntl


govel'l1mem of his vllrious powers, passion$,


appetites and members- light os to what and


how he should think, feel, spea~ nnd act, in


relation to God, in relation to fellow ueings of


all classes, and in relation to himself indit'idu­ully.


God gave him this light. He revealed


to him in full detail all the generalunJ partic­ulnr


duties necessary to hnve kept him fi'orn


sin and evil, hud he observed them, and also


to recover him from sin and ' evil after hU\' ing


fallen. They are written in tlte law and the

Page 13 from Volume 1 of The Practical Christian 1840-1841

Ballou, Adin

1840