LETTER II.

TO AMICUS.

Lambeth, 1814.

BELOVED FRIEND,

Amidst a vast multitude of thoughts which occurred to my mind this morning, one more than all the rest, seemed longest to abide, namely, that as the Lord’s people are called Servants as well as Sons, it appears to me that the services of none are accepted of God, but only the services of those who are Sons by adoption and graces and by the testimony of the Holy Spirit in the heart. Such Sons are also called his Servants, who shall serve him: they were by nature the servants of the Devil, wore his livery, and did his will; but Almighty grace having wrought a glorious change in the heart, there is a change of the service; and this service is not in the oldness of the letter, but in the newness of the spirit; then it must be with a new heart, a new spirit; with new views, aims, pursuits and ends. Into this service we are first pressed—then we become volunteers, and though we meet with many discouragements by the way, yet we are not tired of our Master, nor he of us; nor do we serve in heart, in affection, in word and deed, as we wish we could, yet he kindly accepts the will for the deed, and says, If there be a willing mind, it is accepted according to what a man hath, and not according to what he hath not. In the service of so divine a Lord, our chariot wheels would fain run swift along. My dear Brother can recollect when his feet run cheerfully in the way—ye did run well, who did hinder you? and you had a divine command for it—Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth. Walk in the way of thy new heart, and in the light of truth that you are favored with; but it is added, that all this work must be tried, judged, and proved, that it may appear to be genuine, that what belongs to God may go to God, and what belongs to nature you may discover, and lament; for this is the design of the furnace, the design of the fire of tribulation—therefore do not be alarmed, as though some unaccountable thing had happened. In the days of prosperity you did right to be joyful; in those days of adversity you must now consider, the Lord approved of the days of your youth, and even promises a renewal of them; and David declared he experienced it: this you may see in the following texts—I remember thee, and the kindness of thy youth, and the love of thy espousals, when thou wentest after me in a land that was not sown.—He shall return to the days of his youth. Thy youth is renewed as the Eagle’s. This is experienced after a season of backsliding and darkness, deadness, and misery. In these youthful days it is necessary to be diligent, as dark days may come. Hence the exhortation, Remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth. These youthful days do not so much regard the time of life as the time of the light, love, and liberty of the children of God; these are our first, best, and sweetest days.

Hence it is said, it is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth: whatever may be the sense of this text, it is a point beyond all controversy, that it is a mercy to be taught out of the Law, in our first setting out, to bear the yoke of our transgressions, and receive deliverance from them by the precious blood and righteousness of Christ. It is likewise a mercy to be in the service of Christ, in health and strength of body and mind; the service of Christ is easy and his burden light; so he told his disciples, Take my yoke upon you. The word youth, does not always signify the term of years; this is evident from Job’s pathetic moan—O that it was with me as in the days of my youth, when I was blest with health of body, peace of mind, cheerful days, plenty of ordinances, and means to get the knowledge Jesus; and an inclination thereto, while the Spirit taught me to say, My Father, thou art the guide of my youth. And hence the apostate and backslider is said, to forsake the guide of her youth. Thus it appears the time to remember our creators is the days when first imprest with the good things of God; when powerfully drawn on by the cords of love; when we feel strong, lively, warm, and affectionate; when peace, comfort, and joy, are felt; when the mind is free from care, vexation, temptation, and misery; when God blesses us with health and strength, with ministers and books, with ordinances, and the company of saints. These are our most happy but not most god-glorifying times; yet, while they last, Solomon advises a careful attention to great truths, as we may meet with many crafty, cruel, malicious enemies to God, enemies to the doctrines of the Trinity in Unity; enemies to the Covenant of Redemption; enemies to free Grace, to the Work of the Holy Ghost; to the Divinity and work of the adorable Immanuel; and in fact, to every revealed truth. So Paul advises, Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may stand in the evil day. Every part of this armour will be needed, for it is provided for poor believers, who have to wrestle hard with sins, and doubts, and fears, nothing short of an experimental knowledge of the truth will abide the furnace, will stand in the days of evil, which are coming on, and which all the Lord’s children, either in a greater or less degree, must endure for it is plain those who fall away had only the form of godliness, without the power: there may be a form of sound words, a form of knowledge; a form of faith, of hope of love, of humility—this is but superficial; my dear Brother, I hope, has been convinced of the danger of this, and that nothing short of the gracious teachings of the Holy Ghost can satisfy his mind. This leads me to consider the second particular I promised to attend to in my first letter—The glorious object—Thy Creators.

I need not tell you I am no scholar, I wish I was; but the passage must be read in the plural, according to the testimony of most Hebrew scholars—Remember now thy CREATORS. There are other texts which must be read in the same way: Where is God thy MAKERS, who giveth songs in the night? Let Israel rejoice in THEM that made him. Thy MAKERS is thy husband; the Lord of Hosts is his name. We live in an awful day, wherein the most crying sin of our nation is the dreadful opposition to the doctrine of the most adorable Trinity in Unity, though it is a truth so clearly revealed—the foundation of the Church and the christian’s highest glory. Alas! how awfully opposed! Many great and learned, experimental christians have employed their pens in proving from sacred scripture, this most glorious point of Doctrine, the foundation of all the rest. The adversaries of this truth pretend to hold the Unity of the Godhead—so do we. They say there is but one God—so do we; but can they prove that the Godhead does not, cannot admit of three distinct Persons in that Essence?—No! We, then, who are Trinitarians, can prove that there is but one simple, undivided Essence; and, that, if there is any truth in the Bible, there are distinct subsistences in that one Godhead—that these three are equal in power, majesty, dignity, and glory; co-equal, co-essential, and co-eternal. There are not three Gods, but three Persons in the Godhead. That there are three distinct Subsistences, which, for want of better words, we call Persons, is evident from a vast many passages of scripture—distinct from each other, in Person, Name, and Office; for, to what beside the term Person, can we with any propriety apply the distinct acts of speaking, working, and commanding? And the Persons in the Trinity are clearly set forth by their personal characters, such as I, me, him, thou, his, he. The scriptures plainly declare that there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost—and these three are one—one in the divine Essence, undivided, which Essence is peculiar to the three; yet these have different modes of subsisting in this Essence, which we must call Persons—and they must be Persons, to be Testifiers—testifying is a personal act; if the Father is one testifier, the Son another, and the Holy Ghost a third, they must be three Persons, not three Gods; only one in the divine Essence, but three distinct in Personality, Name, and Office. The Unity of the Godhead is exprest in this text, Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. But the Plurality of Persons in the Godhead is exprest as before—There are three which bear record, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost. There is one God; this is not said to the exclusion of the Son and the Spirit, for the Word is applied to both as well as to the Father, and in the same senses.

This doctrine will still appear more plain, to my dear brother, by the plural names of God. In the first verse of the Bible it is evident—In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. That this name is plural, is plain by the work of the distinct Persons. And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And the third person is spoken of as the WORD, who said Let there be light. Thus the three in one were concerned in creation. In Ephesians iii, 9, God is said to create all things by Jesus Christ—this is one Person—Christ is said to be creator too—by the word of the Lord was the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. Here is the Word that was with God, and was God; and the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. By his spirit he garnished the heavens, and his hand framed the crooked Serpent. This is the Holy Trinity in Unity—the Persons who said, Let US make man in OUR image, after OUR likeness. Behold the man is become at one of US. Go to, let US go down.—Whom shall I send, and who will go for US? These words clearly prove a plurality of Persons. If any man love me, my Father will love him, and WE will come unto him, and make OUR abode with him.

In the Epistle of John we read of Communion with the Father, and the Son; and Paul speaks of Communion with the Holy Ghost. The glorious Covenant of Grace shews a Plurality of Persons. Divine worship is to be given to the three Persons. Baptism is in their Names: sometimes one Person is mentioned before the other; the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost; here Christ is first mentioned. The Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into a patient waiting for Christ. The acknowledgement of God, and of the Father, and of Christ—thus we see the Spirit is mentioned first. In the first chapter of Ephesians the Father is first introduced—Paul prays that the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ would grant the spirit of wisdom in the knowledge of Christ. These, and many other passages evidently prove that there are Three in One and One in Three, God blessed for evermore; so the Scripture teaches, and so must we believe; to err in this subject is fatal. But the Spirit has engaged to lead us into all truth, nor can one humble follower of Jesus go down to the shades of death, opposing this glorious doctrine. How these are one, and how each Person subsists in the one Divine Essence, is not for us to know, nor is it of any importance, it is enough for me to know, that the terms of Father, Son, and Spirit, are not given to shew what the Trinity is in the divine Essence, as God; but what they are to the church in an everlasting Covenant; and this is life eternal to know the Father, that adopted me as his own—to know the Lord Jesus, in the greatness of his salvation, by the teaching and leading of the Holy Ghost. This is the harmonious witness in the word, and I bless God for the same in the heart. There are three which bear witness; and he that believeth on the Son hath the witness in himself; and this is the witness, the Father says, Yea I have loved thee; the Redeemer says, I have redeemed thee; and the voice of the Spirit is known, I have called thee. This is the point I want you, my brother, to apprehend, to feel, and enjoy. This is a religion that will stand the test, will bear the furnace, and all religion, besides what comes from, and leads to the adorable Trinity, is madness, delusion and daring presumption! This is the maker or MAKERS—CREATORS, father, husband, friend, and God.

The wise man not only points out the glorious Object, but the Work in which they are engaged, even the Work of Creation. These glorious Persons having formed the grand plan of salvation, which was the first great act of Jehovah, in Council and Covenant, now brings forth the grand theatre of the Universe, whereon to display the glories of rich, free, restoring grace; and this act of power, love, wisdom, and goodness, is the joint Work of the three Persons; as the word God is a plural term, Elohim, or as some term it Alehim—the Persons engaged, the Covenanters. This is a point that has been long proved by good and great men—the several acts of Creation—God created the heaven and earth, formed both; then the Spirit’s, act—and the Spirit of God, the Lord and giver of life, moved upon the face of the waters, to separate the parts which were mixed together, and to give them a quickening virtue, to produce living creatures in them. Then the Saviour is represented as saying, Let there be light, and there was light. This came from himself, who is called the Light of the World. And God said (this is repeated nine times over; and as the term God is plural, and includes the Three, there is great propriety and beauty in the expression) Let US make man in OUR image, after OUR likeness. This consultation is designed to point out that honor and dignity that was to be conferred on Man, the noblest work of all his creatures—in his image, as God’s vicegerent; having dominion over the creatures; erect in his body; with every excellent endowment of his mind; in purity, holiness, and righteousness; in wisdom and beauty—thus man was made in his image. But though this is a great truth, yet I humbly conceive this is not all; from all eternity God had a favour towards man; and having exalted the dear Saviour to be the great Head of the Church, he set him up in the nature of his people, so that Adam was formed in the nature, in the very image which God had designed to honour Christ in; that image made he man: this was agreeable to divine consultation. In this image our dear Lord four thousand years afterwards made his appearance; and this was the joint work of the Holy Trinity—a body hast thou prepared me. He took part of the children’s flesh and blood—The power of the Holy Ghost shall come on thee, and that which shall be born unto thee shall be called the Child of the Most High.

Thus the formation of our nature is the joint work of the Trinity, in the first and second Adam; but this point will appear of equal importance if we contemplate our New Creation, as the work of the same divine Persons. Our Regeneration is called a Creation, but more of this in my next. The best of blessings attend you.

So prays your willing servant to command in all Godliness,