T laft end. 'HE term glory, as it relates toomes were allowed to addrefs On God's making his own glory his the patives in public, in the year 1646, and Mr. Mayhew was defired by Tawanquatuck, the firft convert among the Sachems, to preach in a stated courfe to his people, the infidel Indians derided and fcoffed at thofe, who at tended the lecture, and blafphemed the God, whom they worshipped, which very much damped the fpirits of fome in the way, which they were purfuing; and hindered others, for a time, from entering into it, or even cafting an" to pafs before thee and the eye towards it. Such power has ridicule over the human mind! to the Most High, is fometimes ufed, in the holy fcriptures, to denote the inherent excellency of the divine nature; at others, the respect and honor due to his holy name. In the former fenfe it ap pears to have been used by Mofes, when he befought the Lord to fhew him his glory: For, the anfwer was, "I will caufe all my goodness of God is fpoken of as an end for which he may be fupposed to act, it means, either the intrinfic excellency of his own nature, or the manifeftations of it-either that, which conftitutes the real worth and beauty of the divine character; or, a difplay of it, in its genuine fruits. The former is ufually termed the inherent glory of God; the latter, his declarative. "Lord paffed by before him, "and proclaimed, The Lord, Nor were thefe the only imped- "the Lord God, merciful and iments to the fuccefs of the gofpel" gracious."-In the latter, by on the island; For fo inveterate God himself, when he fays, "I was the hatred of fome to Chrif❝ am the Lord; that is my name, tianity, that, not only was Hia-" and my glory will I not give coomes abufed by blows by an ill-unto another." When the glory natured and malicious Sagamore; but even the life of Tawanquatuck was in great danger by a daring at tempt made to affaffinate him. This was in the year 1647. Tho' he loft not his life, for that was remarkably preferved; yet he did not escape without a wound. The caufe of this murderous attempt was, as the Indians faid, for his walking with the English: And Mr. Mayhew obferves, that it was fuppofed both by them, and the English, that the Sachem's forwardness for fetting up, and continuing the lecture mentioned above, was another thing, which incited the wretch to this cruel undertaking. A regard to personal safety would undoubtedly fo operate upon many timorous minds, as to preyent them, for a feafon, from paying attention to the gospel*. (To be continued:) The inherent glory of God, as the term refpects his moral character, confifts in the affection or difpofition of his infinite, eternal mind; the declarative, in the vifible, external manifeftations of this affection, or difpofition. What the inherent glory of God is, confifting in the moral difpofition of his eternal mind, the holy fcriptures very clearly teach us. The apoftle John tells us, that God is LovE. The fame is implied in the name, by which God proclaimed himfelf before Mofes. This conftitutes • Indian Converts, page 3, and 81. the whole moral nature of the ever bleffed God. The divine, eter nai mind is wholly made up of goodness and love. The moral character of the infinite God is all made up of love. The Lord exifts to do good-For purposes of goodness it is, that he reigns. This being the excellent nature and difpofition of the divine mind, it must be that his highest delight is in doing good. God's own enjoyment and happiness muft be, in producing and diffufing happiness. He enjoys the good which he does; and enjoys it to an infinitely higher degree, than his creatures, who receive it. A difpofition to do good, rejoices in the good which is done. As love feeks, fo it enjoys the happinefs of others. It is, therefore, the glory of God to do goodte do excellent things. In this way God feeks his own glory-In this way, glorifies himself. This was his motive to create: The fame inAuences in his whole government of the world. and this be the fenfe, in which God makes his own glory his last end, it will follow, 1. That it is a most desirable thing that God fhould make his own glory his great and ultimate end. This implies, that the higheft felicity of the infinite Being himfelf is in doing good. Were not the difpofition of the divine mind fuch, that his chief and higheft delight is in doing good, what reafon have we to fuppofe, that his laws would be holy, just and good? And what certain evidence could we have, that his government is, or will be wifely administered? Were not this the divine moral character were not this the dif pofition of the Eternal Mind, what reafon could we have to rejoice, that the Lord reigns? But that a Being, whofe love and good will are abfolutely infinite, fhould make his own glory his highest and last end, reprefents his character in the For God to make his own glo- most excellent light, and renders ry his laft and highest end, is no him an object worthy of the fuother, therefore, than to exercise preme and highest love of his creaan infinitely ftrong difpofition to tures. There is no other or highdo good; and, to be primarily and er end, for which it can be defiraprincipally influenced by it, in the ble, that the holy God should act. whole of his works and adminif- In what can it be desired, that the tration. In no other light can the great God fhould more delight, divine character appear fo excel- than in doing good-in diffufing lent, fo lovely and glorious. For happiness? When we confider God to make his own glory his what the moral character of the dihighest end, naturally and neceffa- vine Being really is, as reprefented rily comprifes the greatest good in the holy fcriptures, we evidentand highest felicity of his morally detract from it, by fuppofing kingdom. In his making this his him to be influenced, in his wonhighest end, his own happiness and derful and excellent works, by any that of his creatures are united- other, or lower end, than his own they are fo united, that they can- glory. not be feparated from each other. God accomplishes his end only in the production, of a good, which will fatisfy his own infinite good In this way he is glorified, and will be glorified forever. If thefe obfervations are juft, 2. God's making his own glory his laft and highest end, is the fulleft and only fecurity for the best and higheft good of the created fyftem. Here, and here only, we find evidence, thata good will take place adequate to the purposes of infinite love and good will--a crea- the recovery of finners, purely by ted holiness and happiness, in which the inherent, infinite good will and God himself will reft satisfied-love of the divine nature itself; which will fatisfy the infinitely the work of redemption never ftrong defires of divine, unbounded would, or could have been accomlove. We accordingly find it prom- plished: Nor could finners of manifed to Chrift, that he should fee kind ever have been faved. And, of the travail of his foul, and be whatever difpofition might have fatisfied. Could that love, that exifted in any one for the falvation travail of foul, which brought the of finners, had not God's wisdom Lord of glory into our world, and alone devised the plan, and chofen to the cross, be fatisfied with a good and directed the measures for its with a created felicity, which accomplishment, we must, all, inmight have been exceeded? If in- fallibly have perished forever. It finite power and wifdom and love is fail of producing fuch meafures of created holiness and created bappinefs, as cannot be exceeded; the great and glorious God fails, for aught we can fee, of accomplishing his laft and highest end. And, failing of this, how can he reft fatisfied in his works, and enjoy complete and infinite felicity? 3. As God makes his own glory his laft and higheft end, it is moft defirable, that he fhould be an abfolute fovereign. The foyereignty of God principally intends his being influenced to acts of goodnefs purely by the inherent goodness of his own glorious nature-taking his motives wholly from within himself-his own wifdom alone adopting and directing the meafures for accomplishing the purposes of his love. Were it not that the glorious God is this abfolute fovereign, where would it have been poffible for him to find a motive for faving finners! Where, but in his own infinite good will, could there have been a motive for God's being manife in flesh-for Chrift's dying, and himself becoming a curfe! Had not the holy God been moved to give his only begotten Son-had not the glorious Redeemer been influenced to that humiliating and painful work, which lays the only foundation for infinitely beft, that the unerring wisdom of God should alone direct the meafures for accomplishing fuch good, as his own infinite love alone can incline him to accomplish. What can be more defirable, than that fuch a Being as the Lord is fhould be an abfolute foyereign! Confidering the moral character, and the infinite perfection of God, what more precious doctrine, than that of his abfolute fovereignty! Who, that is a friend to the greatest good, can underftandingly be an enemy to it ! 4. It is eafy to fee that, had there not been fuch fallen, finful creatures as we are, there would have been no opportunity for a dif covery of fuch infinite strength of divine love and good will, as evidently appear in the recovery and falvation of finners.Creatures would have had no advantage to fee, that the divine Being poffeffes fuch treasures of good will,. as to be influenced to fuch wonders of goodnefsinfinitely undeferved goodness, by nothing but the mere infinite benevolence of his own heart! That glorious fovereignty, which implies felf-moving infinite goodness-a difpofition to do good, for the pleafure of doing it-doing the greateft poffible and the most undeferved good, for the fake of the delight there is in doing it, never could have been seen in its glory, had there not been fuch infinitely unworthy and ill-deferving objects as we are, toward whom it may be difplayed, and on whom it may operate. | all fitted to make the most lively impreffions, and give the most exalted views of the tranfcendent and incomprehenfible excellency of the moral character of the glorious God! No one but he, who poffeffes, could have drawn and exhibited fuch a character !—a character fo infinitely friendly to the greatest good of the universe ; and, which fo certainly and perfectly fecures it! In contending with thofe doctrines, which represent the Lord as an abfolute fovereign, ever 5. If God's own glory be his laft and highest end, and if his goodness is his glory, it might reafonably be expected, that he make fome monuments of his juft and everlasting displeasure. Should the infinitely good God make no diftinctions among mankind, having mercy on whom he will have mer-acting for his own glory, why is it cy; how apt would creatures be to fuggeft, that there were other motives for the good which he does to finners, than those by which he defigns to make it appear he is folely influenced-other reafons, than the fupreme delight, which the infinite God has in doing good! Without fuch a diftinétion, how could that glorious fovereignty, which is the higheft evidence of infinite, incomprehenfible love, ever have been seen and enjoyed! God is fo ordering things, and 'will forever fo dispose them, as to exhibit the brightest evidence, that he is goodness itfelfpure, infinite goodness and love. This is God's great end-This is to act for his own glory-This is his wife and glorious fovereignty. And what abundant reafon have all creatures to rejoice, that God makes his own glory his laft end-That fuch not evident, not only that we oppofe our own greatest and best good, but that we are enemies to God's highest and most excellent felicity, and the greatest good of the moral fyftem! TO THE EDITORS OF THE CON- AZINE. ONE of your correfpondents has requested an explanation of 1 Peter, iv. 6. " For, for this caufe "was the gofpel preached also to might be judged, according to "them that are dead, that they men, in the flesh; but live, ac cording to God, in the fpirit." If the following attempt to explain the difficult paffage fhould appear to reflect any light upon it, you are requested to publifh it. THINK the phrafe to them Being is a fovereign and will glo. I that are dead, or, to the dead, rify himself-his own great and excellent name !-To rejoice in a glory and fovereignty to do good the moft and greatest good! Infinitely greater will be the felicity of his moral kingdom, for thefe glorious attributes, forever and ever. What a beautiful and bleffed harmony is there in the doctrines of the word of God! How are they as the original word is ftrictly rendered, is to be taken literally, intending those who had finished their courfe on earth, and not metaphorically, intending those who were fpiritually dead, or dead in fin. I incline to this opinion for the following reafons. 1. The words immediately preceding "Who fhall give account to him that is ready to judge the the words, for difcriminating thefe opposite characters, because the end of preaching the gospel expreffed in the words that they might be judged, &c. whatever may be their meaning, is the fame with refpec to both; and the fentiment would have been better expreffed in general terms. For this caufe was the gofpel preached to men that they might be judged, &c. but if the term be taken literally, it will exprefs, in a word, what is illuftrated and dwelt on, in the epiftle to the Hebrews, as a matter of great moment, that the gofpel has been preached, though under types and fhadows, under all former difpenfations, from the beginning, and that its design was ever the fame.. 3. The verb was preached in the paft indefinite, which is cor "quick and the dead" lead to this conftruction; there, the word rendered the dead is the fame as in the paffage in queftion, and is evidently used in its literal fenfe, and it would be arbitrary, unlefs the fcope of the writer plainly required it, to depart from the literal meaning of the word, in explaining the paffage. In thofe words of our Saviour "Let the dead bury their dead," the fense requires a variation in the meaning of the word dead, it is firft ufed metaphorically, and then literally: But here, the fenfe does not appear to require a variation. On the contrary, the confideration, that Chrift was ready to judge the dead, as well as the living, naturally led the apostle to point out the general defign of the preaching of the gofpel with refpect to all, in every age, and un-rectly rendered from the original, der every difpenfation, from the beginning, as well as to thofe, who were then living, and on whom the ends of the world were come. is proper, if the expreflion the dead be taken literally, but not fo if taken metaphorically; for, in that cafe, the fentiment would be better expreffed, in the prefent tenfe. For this caufe the gospel is preached to dead finners; its import then would be as extensive as the fubject requires, and would apply, without limitation, to dead finners, in every period of time, past, present and to come; for whatever be meant by their being judged, &c. it will apply as well to all, in every age, as to thofe in former ages. 2. The word alfo, which is effential in the tranflation, fupports the fame conftruction: "For this "cause was the gofpel preached "alfo to the dead"; the phrafe is elliptical, the correlative part is not expreffed, but clearly understood. The fentence completed would ftand thus. "For this caufe was "the gofpel preached alfo to the "dead, as it is to the living." Now it is evident, that in fuch a connection the term living muft stand directly oppofed to the term dead, they must be taken both literally, or both metaphorically; if metaphorically, the fentence would" preached unto the spirits in prif ftand thus. For this caufe was the gofpel preached to the fpiritually dead, as well as to the fpiritually alive; or, more fimply, to finners as well as to faints, that they might be judged, &c. but there feems to be no good reason, in this view of 4. The expreffion in its literal fenfe is analogous to that in the 19th verfe of the preceding chapter, "By which alfo he went and "on," that is, to the finners of the old world, who were in prifon, or in the ftate of departed fouls, referved unto judgment, at the time when the apostle wrote. It is alfo perfectly fimilar to that in Ruth, i. 8. "The Lord deal |