nothings. The free production, the free knowledge, and the free love of all poffible finites can make no augmentation of God's effential activity, consubstantial wisdom, and co-effential love. All the Spinofian, Deistical or Scholastic errors on this head come from the fame fource, a profound ignorance of God's fill eternity, and of the luminous doctrine of the Trinity. These pretended philofophers confound God's abfolute effence, with his relative attributes; his immanent acts, with his emanant fecundity; his effential activity, confubftantial image, and co-eternal love, with the free exercise of his creating power, arbitrary knowledge, and acceffory beneficence. Perplexed and diffipated by a confused crowd of ideas, they fancy that the perfection of the divine intellect, like that of their own, confifts in going out of himfelf to know other objects, and that the completion of the divine power, understanding and love, demand neceffarily, and confift in the producing, knowing and beautifying numberless objects without himself; all whofe ideas and effences, fubftances and modes, are but an infinitely little, when compared with the infinitely great; an atom that dif appears before Immenfity, and an abfolute nothing that has no necessary relation to abfolute Infinity. ويهو يهو يهو [To be continued.] An Extract from a SERMON, on GOD is LOVE. TH HE following is the most remarkable Discourse, I ever faw upon the fubject; and gives a full Anfwer to one of the capital Objections frequently made againft Chriflianity. GOD God is Love. 1 John iv. 8. J. W. OD is love. There is an unfathomable depth in this fentence, which even the penetration of an angel cannot reach; an ineffable excellence, which even celestial eloquence eloquence cannot fully reprefent. God is love: not only lovely and loving but love itself; pure unmixed love; nothing but love; love in his nature and in his operations; the fource, and quinteffence of all love. My prefent defign. is to recommend the Deity under this amiable idea, and for that end, to fhew that his other perfections are but modifications of love. 1. Love comprehends the various forms of divine benefi-. cence. Goodness, that extends its bounties to innumerable ranks of creatures, and diffuses happiness through the various regions of the universe, except that which is fet apart for the dreadful, but falutary purpose of incorrigible malefactors: Grace, which fo richly showers its bleffings upon the unde-. ferving, without paft merit or the prospect of future compenfation: Mercy, that commiferates and relieves the miferable as well as the deferving: Patience and Longfuffering, which fo long tolerate infolent and provoking offenders, what is all this beneficence, in all these its different forms, but Love under various names? It is gracious, merciful, patient and long-fuffering love! Love variegated, overflowing and unbounded! What but love was the Creator of fuch a world as this, fo well accommodated, fo richly fur-. nifhed for the fuftenance and comfort of its inhabitants? And what but love has planned it fo thick with an endless variety of beings, all capable of receiving fome ftream of happiness, from that immenfe fountain of it? Is it not love that preferves fuch a huge world as this in order and harmony from age to age, and fupplies all its numerous inhabitants with every good? And O! was it not love, free, rich, unmerited love, that provided a Saviour for the guilty children of men? It was because " God fo loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whofoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." O Love! what haft thou done! what wonders haft thou wrought! It was thou, almighty Love, that broughtest down the Lord of glory from. his celeftial throne, to lie upon a crofs, an atoning facrifice for the fins of the world. And what but love is it that peoples the heavenly world with colonies tranfplanted from this rebellious province of Jehovah's dominions; that forms fuch miracles of glory out of the fhattered, polluted fragments of human nature? And what but eternal Love perpetuates their blifs through an eternal duration? But it is evident that thefe are only the effects of love, that it is needless to attempt. any farther illustration. 2. What is divine Wisdom, but a modification of divine Love? Divine love planning the beft adapted fchemes for communicating itself in the most advantageous manner, fo as to promote the good of the collective system of creatures by the happiness of individuals; or to render the punishment of individuals fubfervient to the fame benevolent end. Whatever traces of divine wisdom we fee in creation; as the order and harmony of the great fyftem of nature, its rich and various furniture, and the confpiracy of all its parts to produce the good of each other and of the whole; whatever wisdom appears in conducting the great fcheme of Providence through the various ages of time, or in the more aftonishing work of Redemption; in a word, whatever difplays of divine wisdom appear in any part of the universe, they are only the fignatures of divine love. Why was yonder fun fixed where he is, and enriched with fuch extenfive vital influences ? but becaufe divine love faw it was most conducive to the good of the system. Why were our bodies fo wonderfully and fearfully made, and all their parts fo well fitted for action and enjoyment? but because divine love drew the plan. Why was the manifold wisdom of God displayed, not only to mortals, but also to angelic principalities and powers, in the scheme of redemption, which advances at once the honours of the divine perfections, and the happinefs of ruined creatures, by an expedient which nothing but infinite Wisdom could ever devife, the incarnation, the obedience, obedience, and paffion of the co-equal Son of God? why, I fay, but because divine love would otherwise be incapable of giving full scope to its kind propensions in a manner honourable to itself and conducive to the public good. In fhort, divine wisdom appears to be nothing elfe but the fagacity of love to discover ways to exercise itself to the greatest advantage: or, which is the fame, divine wisdom always acts under the benign conduct of love: it is the counfeller of love to project fchemes fubfervient to its gracious. purposes; and in all its counfels love prefides, [To be continued.] A Relation of a wonderful Difcovery of Murder, by an Apparition. ABOUT the year of our Lord 1632, near unto Chester, in the Street, there lived one Walker, a man of good eftate, who had a young woman, called Anna Walker, his kinfwoman, that kept his houfe; who was fufpected to be with child by him. One night fhe was fent away with Mark Sharp, a collier, who had been born at Blackburn Hundred in Lancashire; and was not heard of for a long time. In the winter, one James Graham, a miller, living two miles from the place where Walker lived, was one night very late in the mill, grinding corn. About twelve or one o'clock, as he came down the ftairs from the hopper (the mill doors being fhut) there stood a woman upon the midst of the floor, with her hair about her head hanging down, and all bloody, with five large wounds on her head. He being much affrighted, began to blefs himself, and at last asked who fhe was, and what fhe wanted? To whom the answered, "I am the fpirit of fuch a woman, who lived with Walker: and being with child by him, he promised to fend me to a private place, where I should be well looked to, until I was brought brought to-bed, and well-recovered, and then I should come home again, and keep his houfe. But, one night I was fent away with one Mark Sharp, who flew me with a pick, fuch as men dig coals with, giving me these five wounds, and after threw my body into a coal-pit hard by, and hid the pick under a bank. His shoes and stockings being bloody, he endeavoured to wash them; but feeing the blood would not wash out, he hid them there." The apparition told the miller further, That he must be the man to reveal it, or elfe fhe muft appear and haunt him. The miller returned home, very fad and heavy, and spoke not one word of what he had seen; but shunned, as much as he could, to flay in the mill after night, without company; thinking thereby to escape seeing again that frightful apparition. But one night when it began to be dark, the apparition met him again, seemed very fierce and cruel, and threatened that if he did not reveal the murder, fhe would continually purfue and haunt him. Yet, for all this he concealed it, until fome few nights before Chriftmas, when walking in his garden, she appeared again, and then fo threatened him, and affrighted him, that he faithfully promifed to reveal it the next morning. In the morning he went to a Magiftrate, and made the whole matter known, with all the circumftances. And diligent fearch being made, the body was found in a coal-pit, with five wounds in the head, and the pick, shoes, and flockings, in every circumstance, as the apparition had related to the miller. On this, Walker and Sharp were both apprehended; but would confefs nothing. At the afflize following, viz. at Durham, they were arraigned, found guilty, condemned, and executed; but would never confefs the fact. There are many perfons yet alive (fays the relator) that can remember this strange murder, and the discovery of it: and the whole relation was printed, though now not eafily to be gotten. VOL. VIII. E A late |