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    * irely insulated fronv his fellows ? scarcely can" the blessing- or the ; evil hq named which does not ^ jome to us th rougn the agency of the rational or the . irrational creation . The system of which we form a part , is a system of inter-communication and reciprocity ; and this is true alike in regard to m * animate and to animate nature * If the world completes its annual and its

    diurnal revolutions ; if seedtime and harvest preserve their unvarying round ; if the heavenly bodies in general observe their courses ; if the bands of Orion aTe loosened ^ and Mazzaroth brought forth in his ; season—the operation of secondary causes is made the immediate agent in producing th § changes , and a mutual influence is exerted and felt throughout the universe . UndeE the Mosaic dispensation the same mode of procedure obtains ; and though jGod was in a peculiar sense the . ** King of the Jews , " yet in general his % < h

    vernment was conducted by his ministers " Surely the Lord will do nothing , but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets . " The intervention of Moses , Abraham ,, and others , in order to avert the effects of the Divine displeasure ; the designation of mediator applied to Moses , and of saviours applied to the judges , characterize the Jewish polity as a system of interme- * diate agency . The Almighty undoubtedly could have communicated his will to the Jews without the aid of Moses , and settled them in the land of

    promise independently of the angel of his presence . In after times the oracles of God might have been delivered , though no high-priest had been appointed ; and the oblations of the people have been made and accepted ^ though no temple had been erected nor the sons of Levi set apart . All this was possible ; but such a mode was not adopted . Human beings were made the organ of communication with God ; and the very fact that such was the case , proves not only that a similar mode pf action in other cases is not un * worthy of the Creator , but also , thjat in the actual case , it was the best that gould be adopted . ; ,

    If we advert to Christianity we find that the same analogy prevails * Jesus came that men might have life , and that they might have it exceeding abundantly . As the announcement of Christianity was made by th § hands of a Mediator , so also by similar means was its promulgation secured , and its splendid triumphs gathered . Has the character of the Pivine govern- *

    ment changed ? Does Hot the analogy of his dealings warrant ( he con ~ . plusion , that human agency is still necessary to the completion of the great objects for which the Christian revelation was made ? In sending his Son , and in the commission of the apostles , the Creator did require the aid of man in order to make his creatures happy , otherwise such an aid would not have been called into action . Are we not hence authorized . lo conclude

    that such aid is still requisite ? I would not * indeed , be understood to contend that those to whom the aid of Christians has never come * are beyond the reach of the Divine mercy : yet I infer from the analogy of the Divine government that our aid is essential to promote the beneficent plans of the Creator , and that in consequence we are prompted by a correct principle when we deem the communication of Christianity to the Heathen as essential to their highest happiness . Jf so , then their want of Christian knowledge and principles must prove an injury to them . Nor oa I conceive that we are warranted in holding that what is injurious to the Heathen in this state of existence , will not diminish the sources of theit happiness in * he next Such a notion appears to me contradicted by the whole analogy of nature . What will be , is always the result of what has been , and the future grows out of the past b y a necessary connexion . If , however , siich a notion is admissible ii * regard to the Heatheo , I see not why it may not hoktia

    Untitled Article

    Missions to the Heathen . g 9 # -

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), May 2, 1828, page 299, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2560/page/11/