SIR,

FIFTH LETTER.

WHEN I told you, that, in all ages, Jehovah Jefus manifefts himfelf in a peculiar manner to his people, you exclaimed against the affertion as altogether new and unfcriptural. It lies upon me therefore to prove, that antiquity and fcripture are on my fide, I thall then in this letter appeal to the mani feftations recorded in the Old Teftament. You cannot expect all the revelations of any child of God, much less thofe of every one, to be men tioned in fo fhort a history as that of the Bible. Nevertheless, enough is faid on the point to convince us, that, in every age of the Church, God hath favoured the fons of men with peculiar difplays of his prefence.

Let us go back as far as Adam himself. Did not the Lord familiarly converfe with him before the fall, both when he prefented him with a partner, and when he brought every beaft of the field before him, to fee what he would call them? Did he not vifit him after the fall, to pronounce his fentence, and to promife, that he would become the woman's feed, and bruise the ferpent's head? Was not this manifeftation granted to Abel, when the Lord had respect to his facrifice;-the very cause of Cain's envy, wrath, and murder? Did not Enoch's walking with God imply a conftant union and communion with Emmanuel? And how could this union have taken place, if the Lord had not firft revealed himself to the Patriarch? Muft

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not two perfons meet and agree, before they can walk and converse together?

Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord, and, in confequence of it, was made acquainted. with his righteous defigns, and received directions how to escape from a perishing world. The hiftory of Abraham is full of accounts of fuch manifeftations. In one of them, the Lord called him out of his fins, and from his kindred, to go both to the heavenly and earthly Canaan.. In others he promifed him Ifaac and Ifaac's myfterious feed. Several years after, for the trial of his faith, he commanded him to facrifice that favourite fon; and when the trial was over,. he teftified his approbation of Abraham's conduct. He went farther. Read Gen. ch. 18th,. and you will fee, how the divine Philanthrophy,. or the love of God towards man appeared, in condefcending to clothe himself, before hand,. with the nature he was to affume in the virgin's womb, and to converfe in this undrefs with the father of the faithful, as a prince with his favourite, or a friend with his confident.

Sarah and Agar, Ifaac and Rebekah, had their divine manifeftations;, but thofe of Jacob deferve our particular attention. When he fled to Syria from the face of his brother Efau, and lay defolate in a field, having only a heap of ftones for his pillow, the God of all confolation appeared to him; " and behold the Lord ftood above the mysterious ladder, on which the angels of God afcended and defcended, and faid, I am the Lord-behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places, whither thou goeft. And Jacob called that place Bethel, the houfe of

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God,

God, and the gate of heaven." As if he had wanted to intimate, no one ever found the gate of heaven, but by a manifestation of Chrift, who is alone the way to the Father, and the door into glory. When the fame patriarch returned to Canaan, and was left alone one night, there wrestled a man with him till the breaking of the day. And when this extraordinary perfon faid, "Let me go for the day breaketh; he replied, I will not let thee go, unless thou blefs me;" and he blessed him there, acknowledging that he had power with man and God, even with him, whofe name is Emmanuel, God with us. "And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, (the face of God) for he faid I have feen God face to face, and my life is preferved." The defign of this manifeftation was merely to ftrengthen his faith, and we learn from it, that the children of faithful Abraham wrestle in prayer with the God-man, as Jacob did, till they prevail, and are bleffed as he was.

Mofes was favoured with numberlefs manifeftations, fometimes as prime minifter of the King of the Jews, and at other times only as a common believer. "There appeared to him, in the wilderness of mount Sinai, the angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bull; and when Mofes faw it, he drew near, and the voice of the Lord came unto him faying, I am the God of thy fathers &c." Many partook of a fight equally glorious: "Mofes, Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Ifrael went up and saw the God of Ifrael, and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of fapphire

*AЯs vii. 30.

phire ftone, and as it were of the body of heaven in his clearness; and upon the nobles of the children of Ifrael he laid not his hand; alfo "Bethey saw God, and did eat and drink."* hold," faid Mofes upon the occafion, "the Lord our God hath fhewed us his glory, and we have heard his voice out of the midft of "the fire, and we have seen this day, that God doth talk with man and he liveth."S All Ifrael shared sometimes in the glorious manifeftation. They all drank of that fpiritual rock that followed them, fays St. Paul, and that rock was Chrift. The cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by day, fays the Jewish historian, and fire was upon it by night, in the fight of all the house of Ifrael. "It came to pafs as Mofes entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar defcended, and ftood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Mofes, and all the people faw the cloudy pillar, and rose up and worshipped every man in the door of his tent. And the Lord fpake to Mofes face to face, as a man fpeaketh to his friend." So indulgent was Emmanuel to him, that when he faid, "I befeech thee fhew me thy glory, the Lord answered, I will make all my goodness pafs before thee; but thou canst not fee my face (without fome veil) and live. And (Oh aftomithing condefcenfion!) the Lord defcended in the cloud, and ftood with him, and proclaimed the name of the Lord." Jehovah, Jefus paffed before him, and proclaimed Jehovah, Jehovah, i. e. revealed to him the Father and the Holy Ghost one merciful God together with himself.

*Ex. xxiv. 10. 11. Duet. v, 24. +Ex. xxxiii. 9.

And

And Mofes made hafte, bowed his head towards the earth and worshipped. Thefe difplays of divine goodness and glory left a divine impreffion on the countenance of the man of God; his face fhone fo tranfcendantly glorious, that the children of Ifrael were afraid to come nigh him; and he was obliged to put a veil upon it, before he could converse with them. Though this appears very extraordinary, the apostles inform us, that what happened to the countenance of Mofes, happens to the fouls of all, believers. By faith they behold the Lord through the glafs of gofpel promises, and beholding him they are made partakers of the divine nature;-they are changed into the fame image from glory to glory.

Joshua, Mofes's fucceffor, was bleffed with many fuch manifeftations, each of which conveyed to him new degrees of courage and wifdon. To inftance in one only: "When he was by Jericho, he lift up his eyes and looked, and behold, there ftood a man over against him, with his fword drawn in his hand. And Joshua went to him, and faid, Art thou for us, or for our adverfaries? And he faid, nay, but as Captain of the Lord's hoft am I come. And Jofhua fenfible it was Jehovah] fell on his face to the earth, worthipped, and faid to him, What fays my Lord to his fervant? And the Captain of the Lord's hoft faid to Jofhua, Loofe thy fhoe from off thy foot, for the place whereon thou ftandeft is holy ground; and Jofhua did fo."* Every true difcovery of Chrift hath a fimilar effect. It humbles the finner, and makes him

Joh. v. 13.

worthip