took place from the earth. I state, with positiveness, that the decrees of the councils of Nice and Chalcedon, concerning the Trinity of persons in the Godhead, and the Duality of souls in Christ, were and are opposed to, and in contradiction of the Bible. The red, or blood-stained condition of the church, was succeeded by the plague of darkness or blackness, which continued about one thousand years, until the revival of learning, and the reformation; when death and hell erected their empire, and yet have their sway in the churches. Whatever may have been the condition of the true church, before that time, yet, after the reformation the world was deceived by the wonders done by the reformers, who, as Gog and Magog, came upon an unsuspecting people, and death reigns in every temple. Also, I aver, with confidence, that this existing condition of the world is now to pass away, with great and moral earthquakes or changes; for the day of the wrath of the Lamb is come, and the axe will be put to the roots of evil.

But let no one be governed by my authority, nor by the authority of any man. Search the Scriptures, and see and judge for yourselves. Two things are necessary, in order that we may exert ourselves to the best advantage: first, each individual must act for himself, singly; for at present, one adventurer takes the lead, and the rest follow, with zeal, but with blindness. This is folly. Think, judge, and determine for yourself. But no man can live or die only for himself; nature has intended us to act in society. And, therefore, secondly, we should, as righteous Israel, all be ranged in a collected order, harmonious, and with a united will and energy. The right knowledge, however, can never exist, unless each person looks within himself, and begins there, by free and candid inquiry and judgment.

What is the reason that free inquiry in mathematical questions, produces certainty and union? You may answer, it is because mathematical truths are founded on demonstrable evidence. But all truths have their proper and sufficient evidence. If a number of men have a controversy, concerning the furniture that is in any particular room, and if they have never been in the room, but speak of the furniture from hearsay, they may differ in their opinions: if their hearsay has reached them through fifty or a hundred witnesses, who in their turn, successively received their opinions only from hearsay, there is no probability that the remote receivers of such

vague rumors can agree. But let these men enter the room, and see, think, and judge for themselves; instantly, they become of one opinion. Not so, you may object: for although by entering within the room, they may know with certainty, how many tables, &c. are there, and the forms of them, yet they may afterwards differ and quarrel about the materials of which they are made, the times when they were placed there, or the uses for which they are intended; and many other, the like difficulties. I reply, that they may always differ, unless they continue their researches, in a spirit of true inquiry. But should they freely inquire of the difficulties which you have suggested, viz: of the material, the time, and the use, by applying to the right sources and tests of knowledge, as regards these points, they would then attain unanimity about them, as well as they did concerning the other causes of contention. We must learn to keep our minds suspended, until we are prepared to act on the right testimony; the pride of seizing at once upon systems, and leading our fellow men, must be done away.

Always there will be an infinity of things, which a finite mind, cannot, at any present time, comprehend. Forever there will be, as said by a distinguished authoress, an outer circle of darkness, bounding our circle of light; as you enlarge the light, the darkness is thrown farther off. Free inquiry enlarges our light and dispels the darkness more and more. But an uninquiring submission to authority, has directly the reverse effect; it contracts and diminishes the light, and brings the darkness nearer and nearer in upon us, until the whole mind is filled with night.

We need no infallible popes, decrees of councils, confessions of faith, nor masters, nor prophets, to keep us in one faith; nothing but the Lord Jesus Christ, our Priest, our Prophet, and our King. The Lord has constituted us with powers, competent to act and to judge in relation to His works and His word; by free and candid reading, observation, and judgment, accompanied with the diligent use of all other means, we shall grow and be enlarged in the knowledge and love of God; yet it is our happiness, to be assured, that of the continual increase of these blessings, there can never be an end. Forever we may advance towards infinite perfections, and each succeeding age of the world, may rise above the generation which preceded it upon this stage of action; but to do this, we must call no man master, but Christ.

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CHAPTER XIII.

PRACTICAL DUTIES.

KNOWLEDGE is sincere, only so far as it leads to practice. "Every one that loveth, is born of God, and knoweth God."*

It is customary to say of persons, whose professed knowledge does not influence their life, that their knowledge is in their head, not their heart. But I do not perceive the correctness of the maxim. For if the knowledge were really in their head, and well understood and believed, it could no more fail to control their actions, in its proper department, than arithmetical knowledge can fail to determine our calculations in numbers. The passions and affections are blind; but an enlightened conscience looks through the understanding, into the perfect law of liberty, and instructs us by the truth.

It would be more correct, in my opinion, to remark of individuals, whose professions and actions are incongruous, that their seeming knowledge is all a fallacy; and that the way of truth they have not known.

Suppose that a person governed by a vehement passion for acquisition, were placed in a royal treasury, with rich jewels and abundance of gold and silver within the power of his hand. But imagine that he beholds the all-searching eye of the dread monarch of the country, who is the sole owner of this wealth, fixed upon him; and while he knows escape to be impossible, he firmly believes that every felon shall encounter eternal loss and infamy. This law of justice of his sovereign, he perceives, continually carries with it, a self-executing energy and perfection, which spare no offence and no transgressor. Conceive, now, that the person knows, and fully understands a way, whereby all these accumulations of wealth, may honestly become his own and remain with him, with increasing prosperity forever: a path of honesty and righteousness, actually

* 1 John iv. 7.

more pleasing and easy, than the road of transgression. Do you not discern, that in such a state of true light, the instinctive thirst for gain, can no more entice or impel a man to become dishonest, than the rush of mighty waters, can drive a vessel upwards against their own force!

In mechanics, you may arrange a system of levers, in such a manner, that their power may seem to work at a disadvantage. Yet if the power, which you apply, be strong enough, you may, notwithstanding, move or overcome any resistance by it; if you be sure of force sufficient for your purpose, you may even prefer this plan, which others may look upon as ineligible. It may possess manifold excellencies, which your wisdom may approve, although the inexperience of others may not have discovered them. So no matter how eager the desire for inexhaustible riches may be; no matter how ardent may be our love for universal approbation, or our thirst for perpetual advancement; yet if we are placed in a right knowledge of the Lord, of His nature, character, and government, and of our duty and ultimate destiny in holiness, we shall always feel an infinite and eternal power drawing at all the chords of our instincts, sentiments, and faculties, and uniting us at each instant, more and more closely, in an obedient harmony, with all the laws of righteousness.

Christ says, "whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones, a cup of cold water only, in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.”* An amiable disposition, inherited from nature, may induce you freely to impart to others from your abundance; but in the trying time of necessity and panic, of famine and pestilence, selfishness would draw around the unregenerate heart, the impenetrable folds which separate man from his fellow man. Not so, however, would it be with the heart made alive by a right knowledge of, and faith in the Lord Jesus: for he who sees God to be all in all, and all we to be only co-members, one with another, of the one body of God, in Christ, would never, under any circumstances, feel an abatement of the principle, which extends the cup of charity and consolation to a brother in need. Such a PRINCIPLE is blessed, because it carries its own blessing with it in all its actions and consequences.

* Matt. x. 42.

As your most important practical duty, therefore, study to attain a right

KNOWLEDGE OF GOD,

and be not intimidated nor driven from full and free inquiry, by the dread that faith is opposed to reason, or that any of the truths discovered by the operation of physical laws, can contradict the divine testimony in the Scriptures. When physical researches, properly conducted, bear witness against the preachings of the clergy, be assured that it is the preachings of the clergy, which contradict the Bible for nature and revelation speak with one voice.

As the means of knowing God, study diligently what the Scriptures say of

THE LORD JESUS;

for no man can know the Father, except through the Son. Some persons may allege, what avails it, to know the mystery of Christ; why trouble ourselves with this vexed point; let us know righteousness, and content ourselves with that! They might as well declare, we care nothing for the Scriptures; do not speak to us of Christ at all; but tell us of righteousness, without Christ! Without Christ, we are nothing; for without Christ, we are without God: he who does not know God, as our Father, Lord and Saviour; who does not know that our heavenly Father, is the eternal and infinite Spirit, having faculties, sentiments and powers of reason, will and sensibility, like we have, yet without sin or imperfection; who rejects the truth, that the Lord Himself, is the great exemplar, in whose image and likeness we are made; such a one may talk of his knowledge of God, but all his knowledge is of no more worth, than the cold abstractions of Aristotle, the mystic emanations of Plato, or the unintelligible and fancied numbers of Pythagoras. But not only know God,

KNOW YOURSELF.

And that you may know yourself, study your own heart: attend to all your thoughts, desires, wishes, hopes, fears, motives, words, actions. Assist yourself by books, intended to promote a knowledge of self. Read useful memoirs, biographies, and histories. But, above all, cease not to read the word of God, in which alone, you will find a full and true history of the heart of man. There you will