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    824 Aeiorfis -LevtuT&s.

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  • Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

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    Acton's Lectures. *

    Tbe > £ fstMisijiiii £ ea £ | jilaiifilioH ) i © f-the expression ¦ - •& Mod was in Christ ^* ira 2 C 36 r . i ¥ o 'l % tlfik &( tt & $€ & tU > tf thethird Lecture ) . ! 1 ¦ '' ¦ <" < ! ^/ By ? a-fa'P ^ bf i ^ ee ^ h ^ tikli belongs to . most langaag ? ** ; and abounds in th ^ iSarmd'W ^ ting & v CJdd is said to be especiall y ^ wliere his pbwtir arid vvisdoari f liis < # loiV % M pre & erVce ; & fe more particularlyr £ ranift * st £ d ' £ © tlie' ^ ye s- oi f

    ixrebi ' :-Ic > wss ^ boMb ^ '' -6 ^ - € } i b-pritiJi ! ip ; le that the fceavem ha ^ e b < 6 eti ^ from the ren ¥ 0 $£ j § t * irrffcs ^ ¦/< -cotist 4 teretl <•& % the peculiar dwelling-place of G && ; ¦ ' bebaiise iMt he & i 7 * Mjf rbddi ©& first attracted th < e rational attention of tna-rikifccl 1 V ® the might ; krtd vvistloni of th € f Ci-eatoi * . On the same principle , al ^ Jeh ovaih was said to >; dvr ^ Il iA the Sacred temple of Jerusalem 5 because there his tfte ^ oy and fayoai > were- 'believed'to-be- especially vouchsafed to his - worshipefrs , ' "find his ^ lory to he manifested . Now , in Jesus Christ all the awful atfed-all-the-gracious attri & tites'of-God vvere displayed to the apprehension of fneiv with

    unexaTmpledbi-igblness . His almighty power was seen in the stupendous miracles which toe enabled Jesus to perform ; his infinite wisdom was manifested in the divine truths which Jesus taught from the inspiration of his holy spirit ; his fatlierly goodness and compassion were set forth in the i ^ ms of pardon , in- the means of salvation from sin and restoration to purity & n $ happiness , which constitute the religion of Christ . With such sacred wisdom did Jesus teach , with sucti sacred energy did he recommend his teaching- to the world , that the authority and majesty of the Most High ' w £ * 3-reflected-in

    all liis words and actions , and the glory of God shone upon his steps . Such were the signs and wonders he wrought , that the presence of tile great Author of nature seemed visibly to accompany him . The Father dwelt in him by Ins holy influence ^ wiEh wonderful fulness and brightness , and hyhiiri wrought ttie purposes of his ^ race Why , then , should we seek for any more obscure and mystical meaning of the expression in our text , when we have a

    sense so scriptural , so obviously consistent with fact , and so abundantly sufficient for all the objects of Christian faith and confidence ? JLet us rather rejoice in the simplicity of Divine truth ; and heartily believing that in this clear and important sense , God was in Christ , let us not fetter and weaken the operation of this truth upon our minds , by dogmas about union of nature , and person , and essence , which are neither scriptural or intelligible / ' — Pp . 56—68 .

    The following passage sets in a clear light the state of the controversy respecting the still popular doctrine of Atonement : sl On a topic so opposed to the natural sentiments of reason and piety , on a subject which so deeply involves the character of God and the very spirit of true religion , we could not consent to receive the m ^ re inferences and interpretations of fallible men ; not even if we were unable to discover their fallacy , which , however , we think we can do most plairaly . The bold , rash , groundless assumptions , by which such a meaning is forced upon the

    fcmi > na # e of the Christian Scriptures , appear to us as wonderful as ^ ny thing in the whole history of human error . Taking * all that is written cancer ^ niog the death and sacrifice of Christ in its most literal sense , ~~ makrn £ r kio allowance for those peculiarities of Jewish phraseology , those strong modes and figures ot" eastern speech , which yet , ought to be considered in the rational interpretation ot the iiible /*— still is there nothing in the Seripturtis that can be aaid to * > -cut press the doctrines against which we ps'otest . You shall bring' together

    all the rjas & agi & s that are so readily and so loosely quoted ; We will & ay n (> - thlng < 6 f mistranslation . We will enter into no speculative reasoning . We will have fcddiirsb to / no comment ,- lest we should be accused of substituting * our own <^ los ^ for the plain iBeaBthg-of the Scriptures . We will only insist , that thfire is n < 6 t txne 'passage in which it is written that Jesus suffered and died to satisfy the justice , of ihydt , not one-passage in which it is said that be reconciled God and men by vicariously fultiilin ^ the judicial claims of the

    824 Aeiorfis -Levtut&S.

    824 Aeiorfis -LevtuT & s .

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Dec. 2, 1830, page 824, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/mrp_02121830/page/24/