| 219 should be foiled in his purpose or change his mind, we will hear the testimony of James i : 17, Every good gift, and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variableness neither shadow of turning. If the apostle has told the truth in this matter we cannot expect a change to suit the caprice of the creature man; we have already learned that the purpose of God was to bring many sons unto glory; that it was impossible to accomplish this without revelation, we infer from the scriptural testimony; for, say the evangelist, "he, the Lord came to his own but his own received him not, but unto as many as received him gave he power to become the sons of God, even as many as believed on his name." By this scripture we learn that men had power to become the sons of God by believing on the name of Jesus. The question here arises, could they have had it without? if so, then we must charge the omnipotent God with an incompetency of judgement [judgment] that would disgrace beings of less capacity than himself by calling into requisition means that the accomplishment of his work did not require. Inasmuch then as it was his purpose to make sons of the human race, there was left no alternative but to reveal himself or not accomplish his object in the creation of men. From our examination of this subject thus far, we learn that the accomplishment of the object for which men were created demanded that God should reveal himself-for says the Apostle Paul, "How shall they believe on him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? and how shall he preach except he be sent?" Again: the justice of God requires that he should give to his creatures as manifestation of his law, that he might, in justice, bring them into judgment before him, that every creature might receive according to their works. Having reasoned thus far in relation to the principles that govern revelation, we learn that, just as sure as God did purpose from before the foundation of the world to save men, so sure it is that he purposed to reveal himself for its accomplishement [accomplishment]. We will conclude our reasoning on this point with a reference to the declaration of Jesus, recorded by John: "This is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent;" and 'no man' says the apostle, 'can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost." For the history of the facts from which we have made the preceding deductions, we are indebted to the Bible-and for the Bible, we are indebted to the Jews. The next thing to be examined, is the extent to which the Bible record may be applicable to the human family, as a rule to fix their future destinies in the day of retribution according to their works. To set this matter in order, and upon principles not to be mistaken, we shall commence and aportion the scriptures as they were given, and as they must appear in that day when the books are opened, and the dead judged out of the things written in them. What portion, then, will it be by which the people anterior to the flood can be justified or condemned, but that which was revealed to them, so that the judgment of that people make use of that portion of the Bible given to them-the people from Noah to Moses, that portion revealed to them-from Moses to Christ, that portion given to them-which takes us through the Old Testament, and when the people to whom the apostles preached the gospel shall come into judgment, it will require the word spoken to them. Thus we have used all revelations of God in both Old and New Testaments, and but a small portion of the family of man yet received their doom. Thus far our investigation has been confined to the dealing of God with that portion of the human race located on the continent of Asia, and have made that portion of the earth the principal theatre [theater] of all His wondrous works; but we will now enlarge our view of the subject, and cast a look across the wide waste of waters, where the great western continent stretches itself between the two extremities, North and South, with its unnumbered millions of inhabitants, and inquire if they bear the same relation to God as the people of Asia. If we contemplate their physical organization and mental endowments, we find them the same. If the fact that the Greek, the Jew, or the Roman were not able to "believe on him of whom they had not heard," it was equally so with the American-so that, reasoning from analogy, we conclude them to be a part of the same great family, blessed with the same endowments, subjected to the ills of mortality, and the same inability so save themselves from the ruinous effects of the fall.
But to show to every reflecting mind that if the Bible is true, our conclusions are correct, we will now advert to some statements in the scriptures. We commence with Acts, 17: 26, "And hath made of one blood all nations of men to dwell upon all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed and the bounds of their habitation." we would here remark that if there is any truth or good sense in the word of the Apostle, that wherever there are nations of men that dwell on the face of the earth they are of the same blood-made by the same God and Father of all, consequently bearing the same relation to God, by creation. But have they, we would now enquire [inquire], been
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