and celestial principles of the mind, it will be useful to consider more minutely than we have done, man's relation to the natural and spiritual worlds, and even to the Creator himself. First we shall take a synthetic view, by endeavouring to trace the creative process of envelopment, before we proceed to trace the educational and regenerative process of development.

In

The spiritual and the natural worlds, which comprise the created universe, like the soul and body of man, in which they exist in miniature, have nothing in common, but are united by correspondence. They are both produced from the same Divine substance, created by the same Divine power, and, we may say, produced by the same Divine act. But creation is a work of order, and therefore of degrees: for order is the harmony resulting from the just relation and concordant action of the constituent elements of a body. God, who is order itself, introduced order, an image of His own, into the created universe. God himself there are degrees-not degrees of more and less perfect-for all in Him is perfection, but degrees of distinction amongst the different principles and attributes of the Divine nature. In God there are three degrees of life, eternal and infinite; for in him there are three eternal and infinite principles-Divine love, Divine wisdom, and Divine power. These constitute degrees in the Divine Being; for they are not only distinct essentials, or principles of the Divine nature, but one is as it were within or above the other. Love is the inmost principle of the Divine nature; it is the essence, considered as within, and distinct from the form of God; or, to express it still more accurately, though in terms less generally understood, the Divine esse as within, and distinct from, the Divine existere. Wisdom is the outer principle of the Divine nature, in which love, as its inmost principle, dwells; it is the form of the Divine essence, the existere of the Divine esse. Power is the outward, or as it may be called, the ultimate, principle of the Divine nature, the active operation or use of love and wisdom united. These are not, as commonly regarded, attributes existing simultaneously as qualities in the Divine mind; but they are principles of the Divine nature, existing distinctly one within or above the other, and constituting three uncreated and infinite discrete degrees of life in the one indivisible and unchangeable Being, who is God.

These three principles or essentials of the Divine nature, thus existing distinctly or discretely, constitute the Divine trinity, which the church has ever recognised and maintained, however variously understood, defined, and explained, whether as three attributes or

as three persons. This triune distinction in the Divine nature is presented before us in the Scriptures, and most clearly in the New Testament, where the actual incarnation of God, for the redemption of man, is recorded; and where the terms Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are first employed in reference to the Divine trinity, because then they first were applicable in the actual or literal sense, the Word having then been made flesh by the assumption of humanity begotten of God. The New Testament speaks of the distinction in the Godhead both prior to and at the Incarnation. John says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. All things were made by (or through) Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men." The distinction is here more clearly pointed out and explained. God is indeed the name of the Divine Being, but, as distinguished from the Word, God is the Divine love, for eminently God is love. The Word that was with God is the Divine wisdom, which God also is, for the Divine love exists in the Divine wisdom. The nature of these distinct Divine principles, and the order of their creative activity, is also very strikingly set forth. "All things were made by Him," that is, through Him, by another, that other being the Divine love; for Divine love created all things by Divine wisdom; or, as the apostle expresses it, "God created all things by Jesus Christ," (Eph. iii. 9.) or by His Son, (Heb. i. 3.) or the Divine wisdom; for "by faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God." (Heb. xi. 3.) We further learn that what the Word produced, the spirit animated; for "the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." (Gen. i. 2.) Thus the Divine Being creates the world by His Word, and quickens it by His spirit; which, expressed in the language of the New Testament, would read-The Father creates by the Son, and quickens by the Holy Spirit. Redemption is effected in the same manner as creation. God redeemed, as He created, the world by His Word, but by the Word made flesh, and He quickens it by the Holy Spirit. The flesh, or human nature, which the Word became by incarnation, was begotten of God, so that the Divine and human natures have the relation and the names of Father and Son. The Divine and human natures in the person of the Lord were literally and most truly Father and Son in relation to each other, but these names became applicable to the Divine love and wisdom-the name of Father to the Divine love, as the Life and the lifegiver; the name of Son to the Divine wisdom, as the Light and light

dispenser. And this brings us to the nature of the distinction of the different principles in the Deity, the mode of whose action we have now considered. "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men." Divine Life and Light are Divine love and wisdom. God is spoken of in Scripture as a sun, and as such we must regard Him as dispensing heat and light to His dependent creatures. The sun of the world is His most perfect image in inanimate nature. In the sun there are the two distinct principles of causticity and lucidity. In the sun there is fire, and there is light in its origins, and proceeding from the sun there are light and heat combined.

It may seem as if this doctrine of degrees in the Divine nature had no reference to the subject of education. It has, however, a direct and most intimate relation to it. Man was created in the image and likeness of God. The creation of man was the envelopment of the Divine image; the regeneration of man is the development of the Divine image. And as regeneration is the end of education, we must know what regeneration is to know what education is, and to be able to conduct it rightly, so as to make it promotive of its true object. As creation is an outbirth from God, and must bear a certain relation and resemblance to Him, we have now to see what these are and where they are to be found.

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It is an ancient doctrine, and one founded on a profound philosophic view of the subject, that all the objects of creation are images of ideas existing in the Divine mind. And if the worlds came, so to speak, out of the depths of infinite love, and were "framed" by infinite wisdom, creation must present the Divine love and wisdom in a certain image. Creation is the finite of which God is as the infinite. Finite is nothing unless it be the image of the infinite. While there is this similarity there is this infinite difference between God and His creation God is life, and light, and activity; creation is but a receptacle of these, not a receptacle that can be filled, and kept in possession of its fulness, but a receptacle into which life flows as a perpetual stream, as a spring from its fountain, separate from which it has no more life than has nature separate from the sun. God could not and cannot create life, that is, He cannot create love and wisdom and their activity; He could and can only create forms and organisms, into which life may flow, and in and through which it may act. Organisms must be adapted to their indwelling, or rather inflowing, life. But creation would not be a receptacle of life, or of love and wisdom, unless it had been created from and in the form of love and wisdom.

The created universe, as consisting of heaven and earth,-the heaven where angels dwell, and the earth where men reside,—the whole spiritual and natural world, is, as far as the thing formed can be to Him who formed it, a type and emblem of its infinite Creator. Heaven is God's throne, the earth is His footstool, made and fashioned so that His love and wisdom may rest upon them and rule in the midst of them, not only by a controlling but by a plastic power.

Heaven is thus not only the throne, but the temple of God,-the place where His honour dwelleth. And that earthly tabernacle and temple, which were made after the pattern of things in the heavens, (Acts vii. 44; Heb. viii. 5.) may teach us something of the structure of its anti-type. Heaven, like the tabernacle, as its ceremonial type, consists of three different parts, compartments, communicating with, but distinguished from, each other, the holy of holies, the holy place, and the court. These are the outbirths, the correspondences, and the habitations of the Lord's love, His wisdom, and His power. They were also formed for the reception and habitation of three distinct classes of glorified spirits: the spirits of the just made perfect. The inmost or highest heaven, an anti-type of the holiest place, was formed to be the dwelling place of those who live and act from love, the Divine love being throned on the inmost affections of their purified and yielding hearts. The second heaven, the anti-type of the holy place, was formed to be the dwelling-place of those who live and act from wisdom, the Divine wisdom being throned on the inmost perceptions of their understanding. And the last, or ultimate heaven, the anti-type of the out-lying court, was formed to be the dwelling-place of those who live and act from duty, the Divine command being enthroned on their submissive dispositions and rigid habits of external order. The natural world, which is a material copy of the spiritual world, exhibits analogous distinctions in the three kingdoms of nature.

We have pointed out these distinct degrees in the Divine Being, and in heaven and earth as the created habitation of His presence, for the purpose of showing the distinct degrees in the nature and mind of man, as the image of his Maker, and as a heaven and earth in miniature. Man has three distinct faculties, which comprise his whole mental nature the faculties of willing, of understanding, and of acting. His will is analogous to the Divine love, which indeed is the Divine will; his understanding is analogous to the Divine wisdom, which is the Divine understanding; and his action is analogous to the Divine power, which is the Divine action.

But these human faculties are not merely the analogies, but are designed to be the receptacles of the Divine principles, or of those principles from the Divine. The human will was created to be a receptacle of God's love, the understanding to be a receptacle of His wisdom, and his action to be a receptacle of His power. Of all these the human faculties can only receive a finite measure, but a measure that can grow, increasing to infinity. By virtue of simply possessing these faculties, man is a created image of God, a miniature light of heaven; but when these faculties are developed and perfected by the actual reception in them of love, wisdom, and power from God, he becomes a regenerated image, and a little heaven. And here we may remark that when we speak of development in regard to man, we do not mean the simple unfolding of what lay concealed-progress from a rudimentary to a mature state; our idea of development includes the addition of whatever is necessary to make a regenerated of a created human being. But indeed all development involves the accession of new materials. The difference between human development and any other development in nature is this, that human development, in man's fallen state, is not now spontaneous, but has to be effected by a special process and by special means, the knowledge and use of which belong to, and may be said to constitute, education—always understanding by this, education for heaven as well as for the world.

(To be continued.)

THE LAWS OF THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE IN RELATION TO CRIME.*

A Sermon, by Mr. E. G. DAY, minister of the Adelaide New Church Society. "For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrows upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart." (Psalm xi. 2.) IN willingly responding to the invitation of the Government to observe this day as one of special Thanksgiving, it has occurred to me that a

* This discourse has been sent for publication in the Repository by request of the congregation before whom it was preached. Delivered at the time and place of the crime which occasioned it-the attempted assasination of an estimable son of our loved and honoured Queen,-it has been written under strong emotion, which is naturally and properly expressed in strong language. What, however, was quite suitable, and in unison with the state of public feeling, when and where it was preached, would be rather out of place here, and at this date. We have, therefore, felt constrained to leave out some portion of its temporary matter, but leaving enough to convey a sufficient idea of the loyalty of our esteemed Australian brethren, and their zeal for the laws of God and man.