of California 
 n Regional 
 y Facility
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 THE 
 
 o t 
 THEOPHILUS LINDSEY, M. A, 
 
 ON RESINING THE 
 
 VICARAGE OF CATTERICK, YORKSHIRE. 
 THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 Printed for J. JOHNSON, No. 72, in St. Paul's 
 Church Yard. 1774.
 
 THE 
 
 P R E F A C E: 
 
 % 
 
 TOO large a circuit may feem to 
 have been taken in this work, 
 and fome things introduced appear 
 foreign and unfuitable, if it be not 
 considered, that the defign hath not 
 been barely to offer a vindication of 
 the motives, conduct, and fentiments 
 of a private perfon upon the fubjecl: 
 of it, however important to him. 
 
 A 2 The
 
 IV 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 The aim has been higher, whe- 
 ther attained or no: to promote 
 that charity, without which a faith 
 that can remove mountains (i Cor. 
 xiii 2.) is nothing ; and to excite 
 fomc to piety, virtue, and integrity : 
 in which it will be accounted far 
 happier t<* have fucceeded, than in 
 making the largeft number of pro- 
 felytes to any opinions. 
 
 A fentiment not unlike to this, 
 has often been read with pleafure, in 
 that fine writer, teacher and exam- 
 ple of virtue and true religion, Lac- 
 tantius j a confeflbr for the truth in 
 the worft (the Diocletian) times, and 
 
 unchanged,
 
 PREFACE. v 
 
 unchanged, humble, and moderate 
 in the moft flourishing, when made 
 tutor to Crifpus, the emperor Con- 
 ftantine's fon : He thus concludes 
 one of his firft chriftian writings. 
 
 CC 
 
 But if life be an object of de- 
 lire to a wife man ; truly I could 
 wifli to live for no other end, but 
 to do fomething worthy of life ; and 
 which may enable the Reader, not 
 to be more learned and eloquent, 
 to which I can form but little pre- 
 tenilons, but to be a good man, 
 which is the chief thing of all. 
 And this, if I can but accomplish, 
 I fliall think I have lived long enough, 
 and fulfilled my duty as a man, if by 
 
 any
 
 VI 
 
 P R E F A C E, 
 
 any labours of mine, fome few may 
 be delivered from error, and di- 
 reded in their road to heaven."* 
 
 * Quod fi vita eft optanda fapienti j profecto 
 nullam aliam ob caufam vivere optaverim, 
 quam ut aliquid efficiam quod vita dignum fit, 
 ct quod utilitatem legentibus, etfi non ad elo- 
 quentiam, quia tenuis in nobis facundias rivus 
 eft, ad vivendurn tamen afferat, quod eft max- 
 ime neccfiarium. Quo perfe&o, fatis me vix- 
 ifle arbitrabor, et officium hominis impleffe, fi 
 labor meus aliquos homines ab erroribus libera- 
 tes, ad iter ccelefte direxerit. 
 
 LACTANTIUS de opificio Dei, p. 496. 
 
 Jtiji Publijhed, Price Six-pence, 
 
 A FAREWELL ADDRESS to the PARISHIONERS of 
 CATTERICK. By THEOPHILUS LINDSEY, M. A. 
 
 Printed for } t JOHNSON, No. 72, St. Paul's Church-yard. 
 
 CON-
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAP. I. f"T"^HE Introduction, with fome ftric- 
 tures on the origin of the doctrine 
 of the Trinity, and the oppofition it met 
 with to the time of the Reformation. p. i 
 
 The word Trinity not found in the Bible, 
 and never ufed by Chriftians till about the 
 
 year 200 after Chrift 12 
 
 Difbelief of the Trinity no blameable 
 
 Chriftians for fome ages after Chrift were 
 
 wholly Antitrinitarians 23 
 
 By what means the doctrine of the Trinity 
 prevailed - 24 
 
 CHAP. II. Of the ftate of the Unitarian do&rine, 
 in our own country more efpecially, from 
 the aera of the Reformation, with an account 
 of thofe Chriftians who have profefled it. 33 
 
 Conclufions to be made from the forego- 
 ing hiftory 74 
 
 CHAP. III. There is but One God : religious 
 worfhip to be offered to this One God, the 
 Father only 82 
 
 No plurality of perfons in God 93 
 
 Texts fuppofed to favour a plurality of 
 perfons in God, or a Trinity in Unity 98 
 
 Baptifm by the apoftles in the name of 
 Chrift only 105 
 
 The apoftles creed cenfured by fome as an 
 Arian or Photinian creed 109 
 
 Religious worfhip to be paid to God, the 
 Father only, and not to our Lordjefus Cbrift 119 
 
 Chrift's
 
 VI 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Chrift's character of Mediator and High 
 Prieft utterly incompatible with his being the 
 object of worfhip . p. 1 26 
 
 The principal texts alleged to authorize 
 prayer to our Lord Jefus Chrift 1 28 
 
 Of Chrift's high power and authority, as 
 a ground of worfhip 1 36 
 
 Religious worfhip to be paid to God, the 
 Father ; and not to the Holy Ghojl 142 
 
 Religious worfhip to be addreflfed only 
 to the one true God, the Father, the 
 cxprefs doctrine of our Saviour Chrift and 
 his apoftles, and the practice of the Chriftian 
 church for the firft three centuries 147 
 
 CHAP. IV. The caufes of the unhappy defection 
 among Chriftians from the fimplicity of re- 
 ligious worfhip prcfcribed in the fcriptures of 
 the New Teftament 152 
 
 CHAP. V. Union in God's true worfhip, how to 
 
 be attained 172 
 
 A ftanding apoftolic rule for prayer 176 
 
 Dr. Clarke's amendments of the liturgy 
 recommended 184 
 
 What may be done by thofe who cannot 
 confcientioufly join in the eftablifhed worfhip 192 
 CHAP. VI. The writer's particular cafe and dif- 
 ficulties 202 
 
 THE
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE INTRODUCTION, WITH SOME STRICTURES ON 
 THE ORIGIN OF THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY, 
 AND THE OPPOSITION IT MET WITH TO THE 
 TIME OF THE REFORMATION. 
 
 IT would be doing an injury to the pe- 
 titioners to parliament for redrefs in 
 the matter of fubfcription, with whom the 
 writer was from the firfi connected, to 
 clafs them as holding the fame opinions 
 with him, if there fhould be any thing to 
 blame in the freedom with which he hath 
 delivered his fentiments on fome favourite 
 points. The rife of his fcruplcs and dif- 
 ficulties was many years prior to thatcon-* 
 nexion, and would, he is perfuaded, have 
 brought him to take the ftep he has been 
 conftrained to for his own quiet, without 
 it. Whilft at the' fame time he mud ever 
 think the defign and conduct of that aflb-. 
 ciation, unfuccefsful in its main point as 
 it hath hitherto been, highly ferviceable 
 to true religion, and honourable to all 
 concerned in it ; and cannot but reflect 
 with peculiar fatisfaction, that he did 
 not quit his miniftry in the church efta- 
 B bliOied,
 
 blimcd, till the mod reafonable attempts 
 for a farther reformation were rejected ; 
 firft, in the honourable the Commons 
 houfe of parliament refufmg the petition 
 of the clergy, and the two profeflions of 
 law and phyfic ; and next, in the abrupt 
 negative put by the governors of the 
 church upon the application made to 
 them by Mr. Wollafton and his aflbci- 
 ates, viz. that in their opinion it 'was * #'- 
 ther prudent nor Jafe to do any thing in the 
 matter by themfubmittcd to their confidera- 
 tion-t the very words (as communicated by 
 a friend) of the A p of C y, to the 
 
 * " It may therefore be dangerous to begin with 
 '* making alterations and amendments in the church, 
 
 O 7 
 
 ' left thofe fcaffbldings, which are ereded for repairs, 
 * c fhould be made ufe of to pull down the whole 
 fabric." 
 
 " Anf. As to the Cbriftian religion in general, 
 <c we have the fure word of prophecy, that the gates of 
 " he II Jhall not prevail again/I it. And as to particu- 
 " Jar eftablifhments, I fhould apprehend, that the freer 
 ' they were from errors, the more likely they would 
 " be to ftand. At leaft IJhould think it would be right 
 * c to run feme rifque^ and place fame trujl in the provi- 
 44 dtnce of God, rather than let errors of any confequence 
 " remain. Dr. Clayton, bifhop of Clogher, 
 >if, dedication to cflay on fpirit, p. xlv. xlvi. 
 
 previous
 
 r 3 J 
 
 previous meflage and deputation fent to 
 him from Tennifon's library. 
 
 The clergy- fociety at the Feathers was 
 made up, as the like voluntary combina- 
 tions of ferious and inquifitive perfons un- 
 known to each other ever will be made 
 up, of men differing in opinion from each 
 other in many refpects, but united in this, 
 that fubfcription to human formularies of 
 faith was an unjuft impofition upon the 
 confciences of men, and an invafion of 
 Chrift's authority, the only lord of con- 
 fcience, and head of his church. 
 
 As a body of men, they are no more 
 chargeable with the private opinions than 
 with the private condudt of each indivU 
 dual of their number. Some of them, 
 without any juft impeachment of their in- 
 tegrity, may think nothing amifs in re- 
 peating that fubfcription, of which they 
 fought the removal. Others may not be 
 able to allow themfelves fuch a latitude. 
 And it may be painful, and even impofli- 
 ble to fome to reconcile their minds any 
 longer to continue thofe miniftrations in 
 the church, to which their fubfcription 
 and declarations bind them, when admit- 
 ted to a cure of fouls. B 2 By
 
 r 4 i 
 
 By a long train and feries of thought 
 and events, I have found myfelf unfortu- 
 nately of this latter numher, and after 
 
 j 
 
 much balancing in my own mind, have 
 believed it incumbent on me to make 
 this apology for myfl-lf, who never thought 
 of troubling the public with any thing of 
 mine : willing, at the fame time I muft 
 own, when thus called to it, and even 
 glad, at whatever coft, to hear my feeble 
 teftimony to the honour and true wormip 
 ef the One God ^nd Father of all, obfcured 
 or opprefled by high authority or dark fu- 
 perftition, in almoft every Chriftian coun- 
 try ; and thereby to leave, with my friends 
 at leaft, a reafonable justification of my 
 conduct for quitting an advantageous fitu- 
 tion in the church, of fame probable ufe- 
 fulnefs to others, and carting myfelf on 
 the providence of God. 
 It may be fome recommendation, if not 
 of the truth of what is delivered, yet of 
 the diligence and lincerity of the writer, 
 that they are not notions taken up of yef- 
 terday, but the reiult of many years pain- 
 ful and folicitous enquiry, not without 
 frequent and earneft afpirations to the 
 
 Father
 
 f 5 1 
 
 Father of Ligkti for direction and affift- 
 ance ; and to which the prejudices of edu- 
 cation and the fuggeftions of worldly cafe 
 and filtered: were moil oppofed. 
 
 And as he hath been fearful of commit- 
 ting any miftakes himfelf, he hath been no 
 lefs defirous not to miflead others, in what 
 he here prefumes to lay before the public. 
 Firmly perfuaded, ijpon fuch evidence 
 as he thinks no fair mind can retift, 
 that the Lord Jefus came from God, in 
 the writing of thefe meets he hath been 
 all along under the moft ferious impref- 
 fions of the relation he bears, and the ob- 
 ligations he owes to this divinely com- 
 miffioned Saviour, <wbo loved him (Galat. 
 ii. 20.} and gave himfelf for bim j the ap- 
 pointed judge of quick and dead, by whom 
 his future lot is to be decided, and who 
 hath given his faithful followers hope, 
 after death, of " beholding bis glory, and 
 being for ever inith him'* John xvii. 24. 
 
 I TheffaL iv- 17. 
 
 But 
 
 * John xvii. 2.4. " Father / will, that they alfo 
 whom thou haft siven me. be with me where I am." 
 
 O < 
 
 But it ought rather to be tranflated, Father, 7 defire^ 
 
 as the phrafe, / will, in our language, is ambigu- 
 
 B 3 ous,
 
 But he dares not advance this divine 
 Saviour to an equality * with his God 
 and heavenly Father, who himfelf came 
 to teach men, that the Father was the 
 only true God ; and whole higheft aim, 
 glory and felicity was, to be the beloved 
 fon and chofen meitenger of the Father, 
 and to be employed by him in teaching 
 his will to men. John xvii. 3. " This 
 is life eternal, that they might know thee, 
 the only true God, and Jefus Chrifl whom 
 
 ous, and not clearly that of a /applicant. The French 
 tranflations have it Je defire ; Je fouhaite. 
 
 * When Dr. James, the divinity profeflbr at Cam- 
 bridge, treated our Saviour's name with too much le- 
 vity in drolling upon Mr. Whifton's and Dr. Clarke's 
 fuppofed error about the Trinity, at the difputation of 
 the latter for his degree of doclor in divinity j the fa- 
 mous Dr. Bentley made the following extempore tetraf- 
 tic on the profeflbr : 
 
 Tu ne mathematicum, male falfe Jacobe, laceffis, 
 
 Hiftrio dum ringis ferium habere virum ? 
 Ludis tu Chriftum, Dominumque Deumque profeflus : 
 Ille colit Dominumi quem negat efle Deum. 
 
 ENGLISHED. . 
 
 And doft thou, Ja?nes t with aukward keennefs mark 
 Whljlon^ and fcoffing fret at ferious Clarke ? 
 Thou jeft'ft on Chrift, thy Lord and God fupreme j 
 7f^//?3adores him Lord; but fears him God to name. 
 Whifton's hift. mem. of Dr. S. Clarke, p. 14. 
 
 I thou
 
 I 7 J 
 
 thou haft fent"*, or Jefus Chrifl thy mef- 
 fenger, thine apoftle. And iv. 24. " My 
 meat is to do the will of him that fent me, 
 and to finifti his work." 
 
 When the malicious Jews, perverting 
 his words, calumniated him, John v. 18. 
 for making bimfelf equal ivitb God; and, in 
 like fort, x. 33, were going to ftone him 
 for blafpbemy, becaufe that he, being a man* 
 made hiwfelf God, by which making bimfelf 
 God y and equal with God, they meant no- 
 thing more than his affuming a divine 
 power and authority without any warrant 
 for it, as the context and his anfwer to 
 them plainly (heweth : his defence of him- 
 felf at both times was not, that he was 
 indeed equal to God, or that he was God, 
 but that he had his authority from the 
 Father; v. 19, the fon can do nothing of 
 himjelf, but what he feeth the Father do > 
 and x. 37, If I do not the works of my 
 Father, believe me not j referring them 
 to the works he did, as a proof of the ma- 
 
 * Grotius's note on the text is happily exprefied, 
 " De fe modefte in tertia perfona loquitur. Senfus eft. 
 Et ut me agnofcant ut legatum tuum. Hac voce of- 
 tendit honorem fibi habitum ad patrem redire. Nam 
 regis intereft, ut legatus honoretur. 
 
 B 4 licioufnefs
 
 t 8 ] 
 
 licioufnefs of their accufation, and of his 
 power and authority from God. 
 
 If he laid, John v. 22, 23, " The Father 
 judgeth no man ; but hath committed all 
 judgment unto the fon : That all men 
 ihould honour the fon even as they honour 
 the Father." He immediately explaineth 
 what that honour is which he thus claim- 
 cth, v. 23, latter part: " He that ho- 
 noureth not the fon, honoureth not the 
 Father, which bath fent him :" i. e. the 
 honour to be paid to him was not fo much 
 on his own account, as out of refpeft to 
 God, who hadjer.t him, and the important 
 office which he had committed to him *. 
 
 John vi. 57. He declares that he re- 
 ceived life and being from the Father; 
 " As the living Father hath fent me, 
 
 * This is Origcn's interpretation of this paflagc, and 
 the idea he had of the ground of the honour to be paid 
 to Chrift. For after afTerting that the heathens can 
 fnew no authority from the God over all to worfhip 
 their god?, daemons, and heroes he fays, " If CeJ- 
 fus in his turn fhould afk us concerning Jcfus, we 
 (hall demonftrate that the honour we pay to him is ap- 
 pointed by God, namely, that all men foould bonsur 
 the Sen as they honour the Father." 
 
 Qrigeu contr. Cdf. 1. viii. p. 384. 
 
 " and
 
 [ 9 ] 
 
 " and I live by the Father" ee Dr. 
 
 Clarke's paraphrafe. 
 
 vii. 16, " JVIy dodtrine is not mine, but 
 
 his that fent me." 
 
 i 
 
 . viii. 28, 29. "Then faid Jefu.s unto them, 
 when ye have lifted up the fon of mail, 
 then mall ye know that I'am he, and that 
 I do nothing of myfelf -, but as the Father 
 hath taught me, I fpeak thefe things -, and 
 he that fent me is with me : the Father 
 
 fiath not left me alone : for I do always 
 
 j 
 
 fhofe things thatpleafe him." 
 
 See farther our Lord's declarations con- 
 cerning himfelf, recoided by this his 
 beloved difciple, John ix. 4. x. 17, 18, 
 24 30. xi. 40 42. xii. 49. xiii. 16, 20. 
 xiv. i, 16, 28, 31. xv. , 10. xvi. 5, 23. 
 xvii. throughout; in all which he formally 
 profefles his inferiority and dependance, 
 that he received his being and ail his 
 powers from God j and leads men by his 
 precepts and example^, to look up to God 
 the Father, as the fole author and fource of 
 all bleffings to all, and the fole object of 
 fupreme adoration from all. 
 
 Whatever
 
 Trinity, in Whatever difficulties there 
 
 unicriptural 
 
 name. may be in the bible in other 
 
 refpe&s, one would imagine 
 there could be no difpute concerning the 
 object of divine wormip, whether one 
 or many; compounded of more perfons 
 than one, or uncompounded. The moil 
 unlearned reader fees at once, (unlefs told 
 he muft not fee it,) that the God that made 
 him, and whom he is to adore, is one, 
 without multiplicity or divifion, even as 
 he knoweth himfelf to be one being, one 
 perfon, and not many. Learned Chrifti- 
 ans have indeed coined a new language of 
 their own quite unknown to our Lord 
 and his apoftles, and have called God Tr/- 
 nity, a 'Trinity in Unity that is to be wor* 
 Jhipped-, which is obvioufly departing from 
 the fimplicity of the gofpel, and is at befl 
 making a plain thing obfcure. For thofe 
 perfons, however, who reckoned thefe to 
 be proper expreffions of what appeared to 
 them thefcripture doctrine concerning the 
 deity, there could be nothing blameable 
 in their thus wording and explaining it for 
 themfelves. They had a right to do it, 
 which no one mould or ought to interfere 
 with or hinder. But the unhappinefs hath 
 
 been*
 
 t 3 
 
 been, that fome men have not been con- 
 tented with making and adopting this 
 phrafeology concerning the deity for thcm- 
 felves, but have alfo obtruded it upon 
 others, by methods not always the moft 
 justifiable, as the only right and allowable 
 way of thinking and fpeaking concerning 
 God. And this obfcure language, confe- 
 crated at firft by a few leading names, and 
 grown hoary, as it were, thro' length of 
 years, takes place of, and with many is 
 revered above that of holy fcripture itfelf ; 
 and the doctrine thus worded is called a 
 tremendous doftrine, zfacred wyftery ; and, 
 for many ages, Chriftians have been for- 
 bidden to fearch into it, or call it in que- 
 ftion, under various pains and penalties, 
 even unto death; and at this very day, to 
 difapprove this unfcriptural language and 
 the doctrine conveyed by it, fhall by fomc 
 be looked upon as denying the truth of di- 
 vine revelation, as little fhort of atheifm 
 itfelf*. The 
 
 * " The Complainants, if we may judge from fome 
 publications previous to this attempt, are a motley mix- 
 ture of Injide.'s of various denominations, fuch as Dei/Is^ 
 ArianS) Socintan$ y and Pelagians; the grand point they 
 want to be rid of, is the doctrine of the Trinity in Uni-
 
 t 12 J 
 
 The rife and Th e word Trinity was not 
 
 date of the 
 
 name 7>///y. known or ufed amongft Chrii- 
 
 tiansfor near two hundred years 
 
 after Chrift, when it was firft ufed by The- 
 
 ty. f and its confequences, fuch as the godhead of Chrlft, 
 and the 'peffonatity and godhead of the Haly Gbofl ; if 
 thefe could be ftruck out of the liturgy and articles, 
 they would be content. Dr. Clarke's Being, Maho- 
 met's Alia any but the true God will ferve their 
 
 turn." Scriptural Comment on the xxxix Articles 
 
 preface, page ix. x. by M. Marian, A. B.&c. 1772. 
 
 '< This is the principal, if not the only charac- 
 
 tcriftical note, whereby to diftingurili a Chriftian from 
 another man j yea, from a Turk ; for this is the chief 
 thing that the Turks, both in their alcoran, and other 
 writings, upbraid Chriftians for, even bccaufe they 
 believe a Trinity of per fins in the divine nature. For 
 which caufe they frequently fay, they are people that 
 believe God hath companions ; k> that take away this ar- 
 ticle of our Chriftian faith, and what depends upon it, 
 and there would be but little difference betwixt a Chrif- 
 tian and a Turk." Bijhop Beve'ridge. Private 
 
 thoughts^ part ii. page 53. 
 
 - One is lorry to fee this pious bifhop laying fuch un- 
 warrantable ftrefs on his own private opinions in this 
 and other points, and dealing out fuch uncharitable, 
 cenfures in a book of practical piety ; unfit place for 
 it furely of all others ! Much is to be allowed undoubt- 
 edly to the warmthTof his natural temper. But then 
 he fhould be read with caution, left we receive harn> 
 from him inftead of benefit, and in fettling our ortho- 
 doxy lofe our charity. 
 
 dj)hilus,
 
 ['33 
 
 ophilus, a gentile convert, bimop of An- 
 tiochj but in no great conformity to 
 what it is made to fignify at prefent. 
 It is acknowledged to be entirely of 
 heathen extraction, borrowed from Plato, 
 and the Platonic philofophy : and this 
 being its true origin, it fhould feem, 
 that a proper zeal for God's word, and 
 regard for Chriit and his infpired apof- 
 tles, mould make us relax a little of our 
 paffion and vehemence againft thofe who 
 fcruple to ufe a language 'not fanctified 
 by their authority, in fpeaking of and 
 addreffing the great God. 
 
 Luther and Calvin, (as a learned author * 
 informs us) in fome moments, were little 
 difpofed to favour this unfcriptural dialecl. 
 " The word Trinity founds oddly, faith 
 the former, and is a human invention. It 
 were better to call almighty God, God, 
 than Trinity" e{ And Calvin fays, I like 
 not this prayer, O holy, blefled, and glo- 
 rious Trinity : it favours of barbarifm. 
 The word Trinity is barbarous, infipid, 
 profane; a human invention; grounded 
 on no teflimony of God's word ; the po- 
 
 * Ben Mordecai, letter i, page- 75.
 
 f '4 1 
 
 pijb God, unknown to the prophets and 
 apoftles *." 
 
 We bear with this freedom of fpeech in 
 thefe eminent reformers, becaufe they 
 were well-known and warm contenders 
 for what is called the doftrine of the Tri- 
 nity, tho' they exprefTed fuch utter diftafte 
 and diflike of the word itfelf. It would 
 be but fair and equitable to give a patient 
 hearing to thofe, who do not take upon 
 them to condemn this obnoxious language 
 in fo rude a way, but who think there 
 is caufe and ground from holy fcripture 
 to difcard not only the name, but the 
 dottrine itfelf -, who affert the divine Unity 
 in the flricleft and moft abfolute fenfe ; 
 that God is One, and his name One, the 
 God that made the world, the God of 
 Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob, the God and 
 Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift ; and that 
 He alone is the fupreme objeft of his crea- 
 tures religious regards and worfhip, by 
 the teftimony of Jefus himfelf. 
 
 * " Imo Calvinus non dubitavit dicere, tl cette 
 priere re^ue communement, faint* Trinitt, un feul 
 Dieuj eye pitie de noiis^ ne me plaift point, et fent du 
 tout fa barbaric;" in Epift. ad Polon. fecund. GallL 
 cam epiftolajum ejus editionem."- .Curcellaei Op. 
 
 The
 
 r 's } 
 
 The bulk of Chriftians have fufFercd 
 themfelves to be ftrangely deluded into a 
 notion that there is a merit in believing 
 dark, inexplicable dodtrines *, and that it 
 
 is 
 
 * I beg leave to give a fample at length of one of 
 thefe dark do&rines, to fhew what hay and Jiubble 
 (i Cor. iii. 12.) fome that are fuppofed mafter-build- 
 rs prefent us with, to build us up in our moft holy 
 faith : 
 
 " We are now to confider the order of thofe per-* 
 ions in the Trinity, defcribed in the words before us, 
 Matth. xxviii. 19. Firft, the Father, and then th 
 Son, and then the Holy Ghoft j every one of which is 
 really and truly God - t and yet they are all but one 
 real and true God. A myftery, which we are all 
 bound to believe, but yet muft have a great care how 
 we fpeak of it j it being both eafy and dangerous to 
 miftake in expreffing fo myfterious a truth as this is. 
 If we think of it, how hard is it to contemplate upon 
 one numerically Divine nature in more than one and 
 the fame Divine perfon ? or, upon Three Divine perfons 
 in no more than One and the fame Divine nature ? If 
 we fpeak of it, how hard is it to find out words to ex- 
 prefs it ? If, I fay, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft, 
 be three, and every one diftindUy God, it is true : but 
 if I fay, they be three, and every one a diftin& God, 
 it is falfe. I may fay, the Divine perfons are diftindt 
 in the Divine nature j but I cannot fay, that the Di- 
 vine nature is divided into the Divine perfons. I may 
 
 fay,
 
 r 6 j 
 
 Is owing to want of a proper humility tnat 
 others will not fubmit their understandings 
 to receive them. Neverthelefs our Saviour 
 Chrift teaches no myfterious doftrines, 
 nor commends any faith but that which 
 
 fey, God the Father is One God, and the Son is One 
 God, and the Holy Ghoft is One God ; but I cannot 
 lay, that the Father is one God, and the Son another 
 God, and the Holy Ghoft a third God. I may fay r 
 the Father begat another who is God ; yet I cannot 
 fay, that he begat another God. And from the Father 
 and the Son proceeded* another who is God ; yet I 
 cannot fay, from the Father and the Son proceedeth 
 another God. For all this while, though their Nature 
 be the fame, their Pcrfons are diftinct ; and though 
 their Perfons be dillinct, yet {till their Nature is the 
 feme. So that, though the Father be the firft perfon 
 infthe Godhead, the Son the fecond, the Holy Ghoft 
 the third ; yet the Father is not the firft, the Son a 
 fecond, the Holy Ghoft a third God. So hard a 
 thing is it to word fo great a myftery aright ; or to fit 
 fo high a truth with expreflions fuitable and proper to 
 
 it, without going one way or another from it." 
 
 jB/>. "Bcverldvc. Private thoughts, part ii. pag. 48, 49. . 
 When we read fuch puzzling unintelligible myftery,, 
 and fee fuch mighty ftrefs laid on it, how thankful 
 ought we to be for the good fenfe and fimplicity of the 
 gofpel of Jefus, which leads us by no fuch dark and 
 intricate roads to heaven ; but as one of his chief apof- 
 tles fpeaketh, Adts xx. yi. requireth no more of ail 
 men but repentance toward God y and faith toward our 
 Lord Jefus Chri/l ! 
 
 imme-
 
 immediately influences the heart and 
 practice. " But (to ufe the words of 
 an author of good account) this pretence 
 ofaneceffity of humbling the underftand- 
 ing is none of the meaneft arts, whereby 
 fome perfons have invaded and ufurped a 
 power over other men's faith and confci- 
 ences. But he that fubmitteth his under- 
 ftanding to all that he knows God hath 
 faid, and is ready to fubmit to all that he 
 hath faid if he but know it, denying his 
 own affections, and ends, and interefts, 
 and human periuafions, laying them all 
 down at the feet of his great mafter Jefus 
 Chrift, that man hath brought his under- 
 ftanding into fubjection, and every proud 
 thought into the obedience of Chrift, and 
 this is the vVax.o?j VIS-MS, the obedience of 
 faith, which is the duty of a Chriftian." 
 Taylor, Liberty of prophefying, p. 30. 
 
 The firft Chriftians faw fo far into this 
 great truth, that piety, benevolence and in- 
 tegrity,are the end of the divine command- 
 ment, and of all the various communica- 
 tions of light and knowledge to men, that 
 they readily admitted their virtuous heathen 
 progenitors iato the Cnriltians' heaven, to 
 C be
 
 [ '8 ) 
 
 be faved by Chrift, though they never 
 heard of his name, as thinking, and think- 
 ing rightly, that the grace and mercy of 
 the kind parent of the univerfe, revealed 
 by Jefus Chrift, would be extended to ail 
 thole in all times, who had diligently im- 
 proved, and \vaiked according to the 
 meaiure of light afforded to them. 
 
 " Think not, faith Irenxus, that Chrift 
 came for thofe only who believed on him 
 in the time of Tiberius, or that the Father 
 hath made this merciful provifion only for 
 the men that now are : It is for all men 
 whatfoever, who have lived from the be- 
 ginning, and according to their power, 
 fiave feared and fcrved God in their gene- 
 ration, and acted righteoutly and chari- 
 tably towards their neighbours, and have 
 defired to fee Chrift and hear his voice.** 
 lib. iv. cap. xxxix. 
 
 " They that have formerly lived, (and 
 they that now live) agreeably to reafon, 
 are Chriftians, and^ in a fecure and quiet 
 
 :z." Juftin. Martyr. Ap. i. p. 83. 
 
 "Therefore before the coming of Chriu\ 
 philofophy was that which was neceflary 
 for falvation to the Greeks" and then 
 again "it was their fchooimader toChrilt, 
 
 as
 
 I '9 j 
 
 ms the law was to the- Jews." Clem. 
 Alexand. Stro. i. vi. 
 
 And Origen, on Romans ii. 10, n, 12. 
 'This is fpokerr of the Gentiles,who having 
 no law are a law unto themfehes , who (hall 
 not lofe the reward of their good deeds, in 
 being juft and chafte, and governing them- 
 felves with prudence, temperance, and hu- 
 mility/' Vid. Whitby. JDilT. facr. p. 232. 
 
 But as Chriftians multiplied, and increaf- 
 cd in power and wealth, their charity to- 
 wards thole who diffented from them grew 
 Jeis, in relation both to this world and the 
 next ; and the rnanfions of blifs would be 
 thinly peopled, if their anathemas and 
 profcriptions of their fellow- creatures wetc 
 to be ratified there. 
 
 Hence that vulgar unhappy error, which 
 is infufed into us from our very cradle, by 
 which we are nurfed up in the contempt 
 and almoft abhorrence of every feet of 
 Chriftians, but the one in which we our- 
 felves had the good hap to be born; fo 
 that they whofe minds become afterwards 
 more enlarged, can feldom fo entirely (hake 
 off this prejudice, but the leaven of it will 
 cling to them. Whereas it mould be a 
 ftrft and perpetual leflbn, to efteem the 
 C 2 virtuous
 
 [ 20 ] 
 
 virtuous and the good alike of every per- 
 fuafion, and never to think difrefpeclfully 
 of thofe who worship their Maker in a 
 way different from ourfelvcs : nay, w 
 fliould be principled in it, for it is the 
 very dodlrine of Chrift our Mafter, not to 
 judge or condemn any that are upright 
 and fincere, but to think as favourably of 
 their future (late and condition as of our 
 own, however remote their opinions may 
 be from ours, in points that we deem molt 
 cfTentiah For if they be equally fincere 
 in feeking the truth, and living up to it, 
 they will be equally accepted with God ; 
 and of their fincerity he alone is the Judge, 
 and not we. 
 
 At the firft planting of the gofpel, ere 
 yet all the apoftles of our Lord were gone 
 to their refl, many ftrange errors and doc- 
 trines fprung up amongft fome of their fol- 
 lowers. But in a very few years after, 
 fuch extravagant fyflems concerning God 
 and the invifible world were grafted on 
 the fimple truths they had taught, that 
 the wildeft myftics of later times have 
 produced nothing more frantic and ab- 
 furd. 
 
 Ire na us,
 
 Irenasus, of whofe work we have little 
 more than an old Latin tranflation remain- 
 ing, hath written as large againft thefe he- 
 refiesy as he calls them j and by his labours, 
 and thofe of others, their contradiction to 
 the fcripture, and abfurdity was fo fully 
 expofed, that men grew afhamed of them, 
 and they died away of themfelves. 
 
 But it was an evil hour af- Difbeliefof 
 
 ; the Trinity 
 
 terwards, that the term bereft no biame- 
 bscame particularly affixed to ableherd V- 
 fuch opinions as were not in agreement 
 with the doctrine of the ^Trinity, and 
 thofe called heretics who oppofed that 
 doctrine. For the name being already of 
 bad found, on account of the monftrous 
 tenets of thofe men to whom it was firft 
 given, though in itfelf of indifferent fig- 
 nincation, and invidious infinuations being 
 then thrown out, as fometimes now, thnt 
 they who rejected the received Creeds, 
 fought to degrade Chrift from his real 
 dignity, the paffions of the ignorant mul- 
 titude were wound up to the higheft pitch 
 again ft thofe that were fo branded. But 
 whoever reads the annals of ecclefiaftical 
 hiftory with an impartial eye, and will 
 riot fuffer himfelf to be governed by names 
 C 3 and
 
 [ 22 ] 
 
 and founds, will loon perceive, that from 
 the days of Conftantine to the preient 
 times, thofe called heretic* by their adver- 
 faries, have generally been the honeft fe\v, 
 who have ventured to fearch the holy 
 fcriptures for themfelves, and openly to 
 profefs the truth of God which they there 
 learned, in cppofition to popular error. 
 
 We readily allow this definition to be 
 the true one, and glory in the name of /Y- 
 retic, as an honourable diftinction, when 
 given us by the Papifts, as from time imme- 
 morial they have given it to all that oppofc 
 the Roman Chief and Bimop, and to this 
 day never afford us Proteftants any other 
 appellation. Let us not uie two different 
 meafures : let us put the fame favourable 
 construction upon a confcientious dilTent 
 from the doctrine of the Trinity, or what- 
 ever has had the good fortune to be 
 efpoufed by the majority and counted or- 
 thodox, in former times, or in our own, 
 and then we mall abandon the name of 
 heretic intirely, as moft unjuftly fixed upon 
 thofe who differ from others on fuch juil 
 grounds; or elfe, if we will continue to 
 uie it, it will ceafe to be a name of re- 
 proach,
 
 [ 23 3 
 
 proach, and become honourable to the 
 wearer, as it was to the apoftle Paul,, Acts 
 xxiv. 14. "I confeis unto thee" (faith 
 he, in his defence before the Roman go- 
 vernor) tc that after the way which they 
 " call herefy t fo worfhip I the God of rr,y 
 Fathers." 
 A very general perfuafion hath Cbriftians, for 
 
 Come ages after 
 
 been entertained, though no- Chrift, were 
 thing can be farther from the JrSria^' 1 ' 
 truth, that thole who have been 
 diffatisned from the firft with the doctrine 
 of a Trinity in Unity, and have objected 
 to it, have been only a few whimucal, 
 conceited, obftinate perfons, the follow- 
 ers of one Arius, who lived near 1500 
 years ago ; or of Socinus, who was only 
 of yefterday, in the time of our forefa- 
 thers. Authorities of men are nothing : 
 it is holy fcripture. alone which can decide 
 this important point, and to that we muft 
 make our final appeal. But if the matter 
 is to be put to the vote as it were, it is 
 abfolutely neceflary that the lefs learned 
 hould be told, what upon enquiry will 
 be found to be undeniably true, viz. that 
 the fathers of the firfl three centuries, and 
 C 4 con-
 
 [ 24 ] 
 
 consequently*, all chrijlian people, for up-* 
 Awards of three hundred years after Chrift, 
 till tie Council of Nice> 'were generally Unit' 
 aricm f t what is now called, either Arum or 
 Szcinian, i. e. Inch as held our Saviour 
 Chrift to derive life, and being, and all 
 his powers from God, though with dif- 
 ferent fentimenis concerning the date of 
 his original dignity and nature. 
 By what means They fhould be told, that 
 
 the doftrine of 
 
 thcTrinitypre- after this, for a courfe of 
 between three and fourfcore 
 years, fometirnes the Arian* fometimes 
 the Atbanafian was the prevailing doc- 
 trine, according as the reigning emperor 
 happened to be a favourer of the one 
 or the other opinion ; till at length, 
 
 * Of this, the Creed called the Apoftles, and the 
 other creeds of thofe early times, are a pregnant proof ; 
 a collection of thefe creeds is to be found in King's 
 *' enquiry into the worftiip of the primitive church," 
 page 58 64.. And it no lefs appears from the addi- 
 tions made to thefe creeds in after time. 
 
 See alfo this fact proved, with regard to the Anan 
 fentiments of the Antenicene fathers efpecially; and 
 the objc<5tions of Bull and Waterland, confuted with 
 accumulated evidence by Whitby, Dijfirt. de Script, 
 Interpret, prof, fefih quinta throughout. 
 
 " Thecdofius
 
 t 25 1 
 
 "Theodofius the Great *, (in Momelm's 
 words, vol. I. cent. iv. p. 342.) raifed 
 the fecular arm againft the Arians with a 
 terrible degree of violence, drove them 
 from their churches, enacted laws, whofe 
 feverity expofed them to the greateft cala- 
 mities, and rendered, throughout his do- 
 minions, the decrees of the council of 
 Nice triumphant over all opposition ; fo 
 that the public profej/icn of the Arian doc- 
 
 * The pious ftratagem of Saint Amphilochius, a 
 bifhop of thofe times, to inftigate Thecdofius to this 
 inhuman work, deferves to be recorded. He affe&ed 
 qne day, in the emperor's pretence, fome very difre- 
 fpedtful and improper behaviour towards his fon Arca- 
 dius, who had lately been declared Auguftus. The 
 emperor, highly incenfed at it, ordered him to be im- 
 mediately turned out of the palace. Upon which, the 
 bifhcp, in a fet fpeech retorted upon him ; " Sir, 
 you cannot be"ar a little flight put upon your Son, and 
 are even enraged when he is not treated with due rer 
 fpect : doubt not but the God of the univerfe ftill 
 more abhors thofe who blafpheme bis only Son" The 
 emperor hearing this reproof, called him back, and 
 begged his pardon, and foon after fet on foot the per- 
 fecution of the Arians. Unhappy the princes, who 
 like Theodofius, Louis XIV. or our James II. are 
 under the controul of priefts and churchmen, and 
 rnade the tools and implements of their impotent paf- 
 fions and vengeance, and little, mean fupedUtion, I 
 
 trine
 
 [ 26 ] 
 
 trine was confined to the barbarous and 
 unconquered nations, fuch as theBurgun- 
 dians, Goths, and Vandals." 
 
 Still to take off undue prejudices againft 
 the Unitarian dodlrine, as if it were a fin- 
 gularity or novelty only of late days, it 
 fhould be farther inculcated, that for fe- 
 veral centuries, till iilenced and fubdued 
 by violence, many princes and ftates in 
 Europe, that were not in fubje&ion to the 
 empire, continued to profefs the Arian 
 doclrine. " Towards the commencement 
 of this (the fixth) century (faith the fame 
 hiftorian, vol. I. p. 467.) the Arians were 
 triumphant in feveral parts of Afia, Africa, 
 and Europe. Many of the Afiatic bimops 
 favoured them fecretly, while their opi- 
 nions were openly profefTed, and their 
 caufc maintained by the Vandals in Africa, 
 the Goths in Italy, the Spaniards, the 
 Burgundians, the Suevi, and the greatefl 
 part of the Gauls. The triumphs of the 
 Arians, however, were but tranfitory 
 and their profperous days were entirely 
 eclipfed, when the Vandals were driven 
 out of Africa, and the Goths out of Italy, 
 by the arms of Juftinian." 
 
 It
 
 It deferveth notice alfo, on this atgu- 
 rnent, that the Neftorians *, that have 
 fubfifted from the clofe of the fourth 
 century, and are now in great numbers all 
 over the Eaft, are in general Unitarians, 
 The account which Mofheim gives (vol. I, 
 p. 412.) of their peculiar opinion concern- 
 ing Chrift, concludes thus - * '< that 
 Cbriji was therefore carefully to be diftin- 
 guilhed from God, who dwelt in him as 
 
 * They could not well be other than Unitarians, 
 who fo ftridrly adhered to, and reverenced the name 
 and writings of Theodore, Bifliop of Mopfueftia, who 
 flourifhed iri the fourth century, and was one of the 
 ableft interpreters of the fcriptures in all antiquity, as 
 appears from the very few fragments of his writings 
 that have been preferved to us. Dr. LarJner has 
 given a fine interpretation from him, of that confeffion 
 of Thomas to Chrift, " my Lord, and my God," 
 John xx. 28. " He did not (faith he) call Chrift^ 
 Lord and God: but being aftcnifhed at the great mira- 
 fle of his refurrec~Hon, and the full evidence of it that 
 he had afforded him, he praifed God, who had raifed 
 Chrift from the dead. Nor is the being raifed from the 
 dead a proof of Deity." Credib. vol. IX. part 2, p. 
 41 1. Dr. Whitby, in his loft thoughts, p. 77, appears 
 to have borrowed the folution of this paflage from this 
 author. 
 
 See alfo La Croze, hiftoire du Chriftianifir.s i3e% 
 Jndes, vol. I. p. 362, 364. 
 
 i*
 
 in his temple ; and that Mary was to be 
 called the mother cf Cbrift, and not the 
 mother of God." 
 
 Mofheim occafionally mentions the con- 
 tinuance and profeffion of the Arian doc- 
 trine concerning Chrift, to the tenth cen- 
 tury in Italy, amongft the Lombards, and 
 among the barbarous nations, as they are 
 called, and in the Eaft ; and how it funk 
 away, and the vifible profeffion of it was 
 lo(t. Grofs darknefs had LOW overfpread 
 the Chriftian world : the apojlacy foretold 
 by St. Paul (i Tim. iv. i.) had come 
 on, and the daemon-idolatry, the worfhip 
 of dead men and women prevailed, and 
 which flill fubiiils among that large body 
 of Chriftians, the Papifts. Some light, 
 however, (hone in the midfl of this dark- 
 nefs, and the witnefTes to the truth pro- 
 phecied, tho' in fackcloth and ames. 
 
 The divine Unity in particular was never 
 loft fight of by fome few at leafl, who in 
 different ways bore their teftimony to it. 
 
 Rofccllin, canon of Compiegne, about 
 
 the clofe of the eleventh centurv, main- 
 
 * 
 
 tained, that it was impofllble the Son of 
 God fhould take on him the human aa-. 
 
 tare
 
 r 29 j 
 
 ture alone, without the Father and the 
 Holy Ghoft becoming incarnate alfo, un- 
 lefs by the three perfons in the Godhead 
 were meant three diftincl: perfons or na- 
 tures, which would be three Gods. And 
 he feems to have maintained this, with a 
 view to fliew the ftrange confequences 
 that would follow from fuppofing the Son 
 to be the fupreme God. 
 
 But it was an effectual argument, which 
 is faid to have been ufed by Anfelm, 
 archbiftiop of Canterbury, to filence this 
 canon of Compiegne, and which would 
 indeed filence and prevent all herefy and 
 difference in opinion for ever ; namely, 
 " a Chriftian muft not enquire about the 
 truth of any thing which the church be- 
 lieves ; but is {imply to believe whatever 
 the Romim church profefleth to believe."* 
 
 The famous Abelard, in the next cen- 
 tury, by fome faid to have been a difciple 
 of Rofcellin, fell under a public profecu- 
 
 * " Non efle Chriftiano inqui^endum de veritate rei 
 quarn credit ecclefia, fed fiifcpliciter credendum quic- 
 quid credit et confitetur ecclefia Romana." Sandii 
 nucl. hift. ccclefiaft. 1. ii. p. 105. MofJieipn, vol. II. 
 P- 351- 
 
 tion
 
 [ 3 1 
 
 tion for herefy, and * St. Barnard (whorft 
 unflattering poilerity has Gripped of mach 
 of his faiiK&ip) was his accufer. 
 
 " The charge brought againft him was, 
 that he had notorioufty corrupted the 
 doiftrine of the Trinity, blafphemed againft 
 the majefty of the Holy Ghoft, enter-* 
 lained unworthy and falfe conceptions cf 
 the perfon and offices of Chrift, and the 
 union of the two natures in him, denied 
 the necefiity of the divine, grace to render 
 us virtuous, and, in a word, that his 
 dodrine ftruck at the fundamental princi- 
 ples of all religion." 
 
 This was the colouring and reprefenta- 
 tion of his adverfary. The truth is, that 
 being a man cf genius and piety, he faw 
 deep into the fore depravations of Chrift's 
 religion, and fought earneftly, but m 
 vain, to remedy them ; and feems to have 
 been completely an Unitarian. 
 
 Befides eminent individuals, who arofe 
 out of the bofom of the catholic church, 
 a& it was called, an^rafferted, that the one 
 
 * Mcfittim, vol. II. p. 430, who gives fcveral 
 ir^ftanccs of the violence with which St. Barnard op- 
 pjfcd all reforraa^fon of ike corruptions of the church.
 
 God, the Father was the God of the 
 ChriAians, there were ftill lefrer churches 
 and focieties of Chriftians fubfifUng, who 
 were founded and united on- this Unita- 
 rian principle. Mofheim takes notice of 
 fome in Italy, who were called Pafagmi- 
 ans, in the twelfth century. " The fe- 
 cond tenet (iaith he) that diftinguifhed 
 this feel:, was advanced in oppo&tion to 
 the do&rine of three peribns in the divine 
 nature j for they maintained that Chrift 
 was no more than tbejirft and pure ft crea- 
 ture of God; nor will their adopting this* 
 opinion feem fo furpriiing, if we conlider 
 the prodigious number of Arians that 
 were fcattered throughout Italy long be- 
 fore this period of time." vol. II. p. 456. 
 Hiftory alfo makes mention of other 
 fects of the like Unitarian principles, who 
 were often confounded with the Mani- 
 cheans, and went under that and other 
 obnoxious names. But they were all, in 
 progrefs of time, either wholly extirpated, 
 or driven into corners and filence. For 
 nothing could now withftand the papal 
 power, backed, as it were, with that of this 
 whole weftern world. " The princes of 
 
 the
 
 f 3* ] 
 
 the earth, (as forefeen and foretold) bad 
 one mindy and agreed to give their power 
 end (Ircngth unto the beaft. Revelation 
 xvii. 33, 17. 
 
 So that, independent of its truth, or 
 otherwife, it muft be owned, that that 
 which is called the catholic doctrine of 
 the Trinity, was firft eftablifhed, and hath 
 been all along fupported, by violence and 
 the fccular power ; an argument in its be- 
 half furely not to be boafted of, and con- 
 cerning which the gofpel of Jefus is whol- 
 ly filent. 
 
 CHAP.
 
 I 33] 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 OF THE STATE OF THE UNITARIAN DOCTRINE, IN 
 OUR OWN COUNTRY MORE ESPECIALLY, FROM 
 TiHE JERA OF THE REFORMATION, WITH AN AC- 
 COUNT OF SOME OF THOSE CHRISTIANS WHO HAVE 
 PROFESSED IT. 
 
 ~^HE principal divifions and differences 
 of proteftants amongft us, till about 
 the time of the revolution, chiefly re- 
 lated to the impofition of unfcriptural rites 
 and ceremonies, and points of difcipline 
 and church-government. The Puritans, 
 the inferior and perfecuted party, (but 
 who became perfecutors in their turn when 
 they had the power) differed not at all 
 from their proteftant brethren in the doc- 
 trinal points of the Trinity, incarnation, 
 Original Jin, works before juflification, pre* 
 (teftination, and the like. Their adverfa- 
 ries, and archbimop Laud at the head of 
 them, were the firft that broke the ice in 
 this refpecl:, and took upon them to refine 
 away the plain words of the xxxix articles 
 (agreed upon for the abiding cf diversities of 
 opinion,) which they difliked, or with 
 which they found themfelves aggrieved. 
 D And
 
 [ 34 ] 
 
 And altho', in imitation of Heylin then, 
 and Waterland in the days of our fathers, 
 Dr. Novvell and others have laboured to rid 
 the articles of holding forth the melan- 
 choly doftrine" of an arbitrary election of 
 fome men to eternal life, and rejection of 
 others, yet while the fevcnteenth article 
 remains, vain will be their endeavours to 
 foften the horror of it by any qualifying 
 pailages from the homilies, or particular 
 expreflions in the liturgy, or other writings 
 of thole who compiled it. 
 
 Will they allow the fame kind of argu- 
 ment to be ufed and conclufions drawn, 
 in a parallel cafe; ? It may then be proved, 
 that the venerable compilers of our liturgy 
 were Arlan or Socinian. For, although 
 in the litany throughout, and in many 
 parts of the morning, evening, and com- 
 munion- fervice, a Trinitarian form of wor- 
 ihip is adopted : never thelefs, the ge- 
 neral turn of addrefs in the collects 
 and prayers is to God, and not to 
 Chrift ; and the Holy Ghoft is almoft left 
 out wholly unwormiped: in which forms 
 no Arian or Socinian would refufe to join. 
 
 But the minds of many, both of the 
 clergy and laity, are now diftrefled on a 
 
 fub-
 
 t 35) 
 
 fubjedt in our articles and liturgy, of far 
 greater moment than the colour of the 
 minifters veftments of the pofture at the 
 facrament> or even ihtjecref determina- 
 tions of the divine mind about the future 
 doom of his creatures, a curiofity which 
 feems, from the nature of the thing, un- 
 hallowed and forbidden. 
 
 The proper obje5t of divine worship 
 was a matter left wholly untouched and 
 unenquired into by the leading Divines, 
 at the reformation from popery. 
 
 The philofophic and fcholaflic language 
 and do&rine concerning the Trinity, which 
 had been forming and fettling from the 
 time of the Nicene council, during the 
 apoftacy that followed, was never called in 
 queftion, was received with the moil im- 
 plicit faith and reverence, and regarded 
 as fomething more facred even than holy 
 fcripture itfelf. 
 
 The greater part of our proteftant pre- 
 deceflbrs, unhappily for us, feem to have 
 had a fuperftitious awe and dread of look- 
 ing into a fubjecl involved, as this was, 
 in learned myftery and darknefs. Their 
 prejudices ran fo high in favour of it, and 
 D 2 they
 
 r 36 ) 
 
 they efteemed it fo neceffary and funda- 
 mental a point, that they could not fuffer 
 the lead doubt of it in their own minds, 
 or objection from others. They imagined 
 the glorious work of reformation from the 
 grols errors and idolatries of popery, which 
 they had truly at heart, would be fcanda- 
 lized, and an invincible bar put to its pro- 
 grefs, were any heretical opinions about 
 this great point, to be found amongfl 
 them j or, if found, not feverely animad- 
 verted upon and punimed. 
 
 With what earneftnefs does Oecolam- 
 padius labour, in a letter to Bucer, Aug. 
 5, 1531, to clear himfelf and his friends 
 from the imputation of giving any coun- 
 tenance to Sfrvctus's book de Trinitatti er- 
 roribus, that was juft then come out. I 
 ' defire you would acquaint Luther, (fays 
 * he) that this book was printed out of 
 ' this country, and without our know- 
 ' ledge. Our churches will be very ill 
 fpoken of, unlefs our divines make it 
 < c their bufmefs to cry him down. I be- 
 < feech you in particular to keep a watch- 
 " ful eye over it, and to make an apology 
 
 " for
 
 f 37 5 
 
 " for our churches, at lead in your con- 
 " futation infcribed to the emperor *." 
 
 And Mofheim tells us, that at the firft 
 dawn of the reformation, in Germany and 
 Italy, there appeared fome ivko denied the 
 divinity of Chrift. " But the efforts of 
 thefe men (faith he) were oppofed with 
 united zeal and vigilance, by the Romifh, 
 Reformed, and Lutheran churches;" i. e. 
 by burning, and putting them to the moft 
 cruel deaths -J-. 
 
 To 
 
 * Account of Calvin's treatment of Servctus.-i724, 
 p. 163. The letter concludes thus r" We know not 
 <* how that beaft came to creep in among us. He 
 " wrefts all paflages of fcripture to prove, that the 
 ** Son is not coeternal and confubftantial with the 
 tc Father, and that the man Chrift is the fon of God." 
 
 f Mofheim accufes thefe perfons, that they began 
 to undermine the doctrine of Chrift's divinity, and the 
 other truths that are connected with it, and propofed 
 reducing the whole of religion to practical piety and 
 virtue." There could be nothing furely wrong in this* 
 if they did not leave out of their fyftern (and we have 
 no reafon to think they did leave out) thofe gofpel mo- 
 tives to holinefs, which arofe from what appeared to 
 them the true nature and character of Chrijt^ and the 
 goodnefs of God manifefted in him. 
 
 Mofheim is a valuable hiflorian, good-tempered, 
 
 and in general candid. But he was a warm Lutheran x 
 
 D 3 and
 
 [ 3 3 
 
 To this violent and extreme prejudice, 
 which was then entertained by almoft all, 
 againft fuch as oppofed the doctrine of the 
 Trinity; and, to that other error connec- 
 ted with it, that it was lawful to put he- 
 retics to death, we muft attribute Calvin's 
 mod ungenerous and barbarous behaviour 
 towards the ingenious Spanish phyfician, 
 and innocent iufferer, Serveftts, whom 
 he caufed to be burn'd alive at Ge- 
 neva, for his opinions concerning the 
 Trinity ; and we may not doubt, but that 
 as Calvin fm'd igncrantly and in unbelief, 
 this extenuated before God the crime of 
 that his otherwiie faithful lervant, and 
 virtuous holy mar* *. 
 
 We 
 
 and alfo a condemner of all thofe who did not hold the 
 three perj'cas in the Godhead to be equal to each other in 
 rank and dignity; and is therefore to be read with cau- 
 tion, when he fpeaks on thefe points. See what he 
 fays of Eufebius, the ecclcfiaftical hiftorian, Vol. I, 
 p. 290. 
 
 * Beza, Calvin's difciple, takes every opportunity 
 of raking in the allies of this unhappy, much injured 
 pcrfon, and infulting his memory after he was dead. 
 Take one fample of his fpirit from his comment on 
 ColofT. i. 1 5, where our Saviour Chrift is called the 
 firjl-born of every creature. Sed eft notandus qupque, 
 
 hie
 
 I 39 ] 
 
 We muft make the fame allowance for 
 our reformers in England at this period, 
 who were actuated by the fame blind zeal 
 againft the Anti-trinitarians, and behaved 
 with no lefs barbarity towards fuch as had 
 the misfortune to fall in their way. 
 
 hie locus adverfus impium ilium Servetum, &c. viz. 
 " But this paflage particularly makes againft the im- 
 pious Servetus, who maintained, that Chrift was the 
 (on of God only with refpedl to his human nature, and 
 therefore denied that he was the eternal fon of God. 
 So that when he was going to receive the juft punifh- 
 ment of his blafphemy (to be burn'd alive at ajlake^ 
 reader}} he refufed to give him the title of eternal fon 
 of God, though Paul here proclaims aloud, that be- 
 fore any creation, i. e. from eternity, for time began 
 with creation, he not only was, but was born." But 
 our Dr. Hammond, tho' otherwifefar from favouring 
 the fentiments of Servetus, would in Beza's account 
 have deferved to be burn'd alive for blafphemy as far as 
 this text of fcripture is concerned, for he could fee no 
 fuch doctrine in it as of Chrift's eternity. " The word 
 TrpwTOTcx&j, fays he, befides the ordinary notion of 
 fir/l-born, which cannot fo well here refer to Chrift's 
 eternal generation, becaufe of that which is added to 
 it, the nrft-born of every creature, which only gives 
 him a precedence before all other creatures, and doth 
 not attribute eternity to him; is ufed fometimes for 
 lord, or perfon in power, &c." 
 
 Hammond in lac. 
 
 D 4 Bidiop
 
 Bimop Burnet, after mentioning a poor 
 wrong-headed woman, that was burn'd for 
 fome extravagant notions concerning Chrift, 
 but who, as he obferves, " was looked up- 
 on as a perfon fitter for Bedlam than a 
 flake;'"' goes on to relate, 
 
 " Sometime after that, a Dutchman, 
 George Van Parre, was alfo condemned and 
 burn'd for denying the divinity of Chrift, 
 and faying, that the Father only was God. 
 
 " He had led a very exemplary life both 
 for fafling, devotion, and a good conver- 
 lation j and fuffered with extraordinary 
 cqmpofednefs of mind. Thefe things call 
 a great blemifli on the reformers. It was 
 faid, they only condemned cruelty, when 
 it was exercifed on themfelves, but were 
 ready to practife it when they had power. 
 The papifts made great ufe of this after- 
 wards in Queen Mary's time; and what 
 Cranmer and Ridley then fuffered, was 
 thought a juft retaliation on them, from 
 that wife Providence, that difpenfes all 
 things juftly to all men *." 
 
 * Burnet's abridgment of the hiftory of the reforma- 
 tion, vol.ii. p. 79, 80, 81, 82. 
 
 This
 
 This fhocking cruelty of the Englifh * 
 and foreign reformers towards men who, 
 in the ufe of their own underftandirjgs, 
 and from fearching into the fcriptures, 
 maintained that the Father only was God 
 and to be worshiped, feems to have 
 prevented their forming themfelves into 
 churches and focieties, and terrified them 
 into filence, if it did not for a time check 
 all enquiry into iuch dangerous points ; 
 for there is a degree of perlecution which 
 human nature cannot with (land. 
 
 Eat fuch intolerance towards their bre* 
 thren and fellow-proteftants, was lefs ex- 
 cufeable in men, who tbemfetvts, againft 
 opinions Dandified by the authority of 
 ages, and in contradiction to the eftablifli- 
 ed religion of their country, had aflerted, 
 
 * Thefe perfections, in which Bifliop Ridley 
 is faid to have borne a principal part, ftiould not 
 have been omitted in the life of that bifhop, pub- 
 lifhed by Glocefter Ridley, LL. B. 1763. Perfecu- 
 tors, and murderers of confcientious men, on what- 
 ever pretence, heathen, papal, or proteftant, fhould 
 be held up to juft infamy on that account, however 
 worthy in other refpec~ts and finning through blind 
 paflion and ignorance, as did thefe eminent perfons 
 Cranmer and Ridley. 
 
 and
 
 ( 42 ] 
 
 and made ufe of their own right of private 
 judgment in interpreting the fcriptures. 
 Jf tbey might take fuch a latitude and liber- 
 ty in what appeared wrong and grievous 
 to them in the popifh eftablimment, why 
 take upon themfelves to abridge others of 
 the fame liberty and privilege with refpecl: 
 to their new proteftant eftablimment 5 and 
 ercft themfelves into fo many popes, in- 
 ftead of him at Rome, whofc yoke they 
 had fo lately thrown off ? 
 
 Methinks I hear thefe reformers fay, 
 (and fome perhaps now would not ftick to 
 fay) that tho' blafphemous opinions againft 
 the Trinity which thefe men propagated, 
 were to be flopped at any rate and by 
 the fevered punifhment, as an infult 
 upon God, tending to bring religion into 
 contempt, and make the worfhip of God 
 neglected. And did they themfelves lefs 
 blafpheme or infult the facramental God 
 which the papifls worfhiped, when they 
 called it a wafer-God, and refufed to own 
 and wormip it ? 
 
 But the papifts, continued they, were 
 palpably in the wrong, and guilty of di- 
 reft idolatry and breach of the fecond 
 
 com-
 
 [ 43 3 
 
 commandment in wormipping, as the fu- 
 preme God, what was obvioufly nothing 
 but a piece of bread or cake. And did 
 they appear lefs guilty in the eyes of the 
 papifts, who refufed to worfhip the true 
 God wherever he was owned really and 
 immediately prefent ? For Chrift, whom 
 they held, with the papifts, to be the fu- 
 preme God; and whofe real prefence (fo 
 called) in the facrament they alfo main- 
 tained ; had faid of the facramental bread, 
 this is my body ; and their papal adverfaries 
 would well reply, that he who was the truth 
 itfelf was furely to be believed in what he 
 faid, and to be worfhiped, wherever his 
 body and prefence were acknowledged. 
 
 But thefe Arians, faid thefe Proteftant 
 perfecutors, fapped the very foundations 
 pf ChrifHanity, denied the divinity ofChrift, 
 and the atonement, and that "Jefus <was to be 
 
 x */ 
 
 ivorjhiped as God. And did not them- 
 felves deny what to the papifts appeared 
 equally fundamental j namely, that there 
 is only one, holy, Roman, catholic, apo- 
 ftolic church, out of which there is no 
 (alvation ? 
 
 What does all this on both fides amount 
 to but barely averring, " We are in the 
 
 right,
 
 t 44 J 
 
 right, you are in the wrong ?" In fliort, 
 by puniming their Proteftant brethren for 
 diflenting from them upon the doctrine 
 of the Trinity or any other point, they 
 fully juftified the papifts in putting them 
 or their fathers to the flake, and contri- 
 buted all that in them lay to perpetuate 
 perfecution and murdering of confcientious 
 men, in all countries to the end of time. 
 
 Alas ! Proteflants had then to learn (I 
 would there were none who had yet to 
 learn) the unalienable rights of confcience, 
 and the liberty from all human controul 
 in that refpect wherewith Chrifl hath 
 made us free : they had to learn the com- 
 mon equality of all men in the things of 
 God, the full import of that exprefs in- 
 junftion of their divine matter, Matth. 
 xxiii. 8. ' Be not ye called Rabbi \ for one 
 /; your mailer t even Cbrift j and all ye are 
 brethren :" They had alfo to learn the /- 
 nocency of error, from which none can 
 plead exemption ; and to bear with each 
 other in their differing apprehenfions con- 
 cerning the nature of the nrft great caufe 
 and Father of all, and the perfon of Chrift, 
 and the manner and date of his deriving 
 his being and high perfections from God; 
 
 a poin^
 
 [45] 
 
 a point this latter, which was dark- 
 ened and perverted at the very firft 
 by philofophy and vain fcience of the learn- 
 ed heathen converts, from which it hath 
 not yet recovered itfelf : but furely it muft 
 alfo be owned to have been left involved 
 in fome obfcurity by God himfelf in the 
 writings of the apoftles, (otherwife fo ma- 
 ny men, wife and good, would not have 
 differed, and flill continue to differ con- 
 cerning it j) and fo left, it mould feem, 
 on purpofe to whet human induftry and 
 the fpirit of enquiry in the things of God, 
 to give fcope for the exercife of men's 
 charity and mutual forbearance of one ano- 
 ther, and to be one great means of culti- 
 vating the moral difpofitions, which is 
 plainly the defign of the holy fpirit of 
 God in the Chriftian revelation, and not 
 any high perfection in knowledge which 
 fo few can attain. 
 
 One is grieved to find the reign of our 
 great princefs Elizabeth, ftained with the 
 blocd of men, who, if they were miftaken 
 in thefe abflrufe points, were innocently 
 fo; for I find no fedition or crime laid to 
 their charge, but only obftinacy in error. 
 
 Bimop
 
 [46 ] 
 
 Bifhop Burnet * fpeaks of fome Ana- 
 baptifts, who in the reign of Edward VI. 
 had fled hither from Germany, whofe 
 peculiar fentiment about baptifm, faith he, 
 was the mildeft of the opinions that they 
 held; for their errors were, " That there 
 was not a Trinity of perfons ; that 
 " Chrift was not God, and took not flefh 
 " of the virgin > and that a regenerate 
 " man could not ftn-f-." 
 
 Of this feel were thofe, I prefume, of 
 whom Fuller writes J. On Eafter-day, 
 1575, was difclofed a congregation of 
 Dutch Anabaptifts without Aldgate, in 
 London, whereof feven and twenty were 
 
 * Abridgment of hift. of reformation, vol. ii. p. 81. 
 
 t Mofheim relates, that at the very beginning o? 
 the reformation, feveral that went under the name of 
 Anabaptifts oppofed the received do&rine of the Tri- 
 nity. And it appears from Burnet, fhat this was one 
 of the common tenets of the Anabaptifts, at leaft of 
 many of them. It is probable, that thefe people wer e 
 of the number of thofe, who, as he tells us in another 
 place, before the time of Luther and Calvin, lay con- 
 cealed in almoft all the countries of Europe, particu- 
 larly in Bohemia, Moravia, Switzerland, and Ger- 
 many. See ecclefiaftical hiftory, vol. iv. p. 132, 
 169, and p. 183, note. 
 
 J Church hiftory of Britain, book ix. p. 104, 105. 
 
 taken
 
 f 47 ] 
 
 taken and imprifoned, and four, bearing 
 faggots at Paul's Crofs, folemnly recanted 
 their dangerous opinions." 
 
 ' Next month, one Dutchman and ten 
 women were condemned, one of whom 
 was converted to , renounce her errors, 
 eight were banimed the land, but two of 
 thefe unhappy creatures, more obftinate 
 than the reft, were burned in Smithfield, 
 and died (fays my author) in great horror, 
 with crying and roaring." 
 
 Our pious and very learned martyrolo- 
 gift, John Fox, whom the queen always 
 called her father Fox, wrote to Elizabeth 
 at the time, to move her to fpare thefe 
 poor wretches, or at leaft to mitigate their 
 .fentence, and change it into banimrnent, 
 or fome other death lefs horrible and inhu- 
 man. Fuller has preferved to us his let- 
 ter*, penned in Latin, a language the queen 
 well understood, and the common lan- 
 guage of princes and the learned in thofe 
 days. It is little inferior to the pure com- 
 pofitions of the Auguftan age, and is en- 
 forced with fuch perfuafive eloquence and 
 
 * Fuller being not in every one's hands, and faid to 
 be growing fcarce, I put the original in an appendix at 
 the end of the book. 
 
 argument,
 
 r 48 j 
 
 argument, that one wonders it did not 
 prevail *. 
 
 It is by the fame honeft and ufeful hif- 
 torian, that we are informed of another 
 perfon, who was burnt for herefy in 
 Smithfield, in the next reign. He has 
 obliged us with a very circumftantial hif- 
 tory of the man and his pejlilent opinions, 
 as he calls them, but not without premi- 
 fing a very fingular caution againft them -\, 
 
 "His 
 
 * Fuller thus apologizes for Elizabeth : " Indeed 
 damnable were their impieties, and ihe neceflitated ta 
 this feverity, who having formerly punifhed fonie trai- 
 tors, if now fparing thefe blafphemers, the world would 
 condemn her, as being more earneft in afierting her 
 own fafety, than God's honour." 
 
 Our Saviour Clmfr, defcribing beforehand to his 
 difciples the blind zeal and calm cruelty of their ad- 
 verfaries, John xvi. 2. u Yea, the time cometh, faith 
 he, that whofoever killeth you, will think that he doth 
 God fervice." This has been too fadly verified even 
 by his followers in deftroying one another, which was 
 an extreme not then to be thought of. 'Tis to be 
 hoped, that the Chriftian world has learned a better 
 leflbn, after pracliling this bad one fo long, and that 
 the time is now over. God wanteth no fuck ftrvices. 
 He is able and ready to vindicate his own honour when 
 injured, if it can be injured, which it cannot, by the 
 fpeculations of his fincere and erring creatures. 
 
 f " Before we fet down his peftilent opinions, may 
 wiiter and reader fence themfelves with prayer to God, 
 
 againil
 
 1 49) 
 
 " His damnable tenets (faith he, book x. 
 p. 63,) were as followeth. 
 
 1 . 'That the creed called the Nicene creed 
 and Atbanafius creed, contain not a profsf- 
 
 fion of the true Chriftian faith. 
 
 2. That Cbrift is not God of God, begot* 
 ten, not made ; but begotten, and made. 
 
 7 3 That there are noperfons in the Godhead* 
 
 4. That Chrifl was not God from ever la ft-* 
 ing, but began to be God, when he tookfeft 
 of the Virgin Mary. 
 
 5. That the world was not made by Chrifl. 
 
 6 . That the apo files teach Chrifl to be man 
 enly. 
 
 j. That there is no generation in God, but 
 of creatures. 
 
 j 
 
 8. That this aflertion, God to be made 
 man, is contrary to the rule of faith, and 
 monjlrous blafpheim. 
 
 9. That Chrijl was not before thefulnefs 
 of time, except by promife. 
 
 10. That Chrifl was not God, other wife 
 than an anointed God* 
 
 againft the infe&ion thereof: left othertoife, touchin^ 
 
 O * O 
 
 fuch pitch (though but with the bare mention) defile 
 us, cafually tempting a temptation in us, and awaking 
 fome corruption, which otherwife would fleep filently 
 in our fouls. " 
 
 E ii. That
 
 [ 5 ) 
 
 1 1 . That Cbrifl was not in the form of 
 God equal with God, that is, in fubjlance of 
 God, but in righteoufnefs, and giving Jafoation* 
 
 12. That Chrifl by his Godhead wrought 
 no miracle. 
 
 1 3. That Cbrifl is not to be prayed unto? 
 This perfon feems to have agreed in 
 
 fentiment intirely with thofe called Soci- 
 nians, though Fuller calls him an Arian ; 
 but this laft feems to have been a general 
 name then given to all that denied the di- 
 vinity of Chrifl. But to go on with his 
 hiflory. 
 
 " This year, 1611, that Arian fuffered 
 in Smithfield, being burn'd to death. His 
 name Bartholomew Legate, native county 
 Eflex, perfon comely, complexion black* 
 age about forty years. Of a bold fpirit, 
 confident carriage, fluent tongue, excel- 
 hntly fkilled in the fcriptures ; and well 
 had it been for him, if he had known 
 them lefs, or underftood them better ; 
 whole ignorance abufed the word of Goo", 
 therewith to oppofe God the Word. His 
 converfation, for aught I can learn to the 
 contrary, very unblameable." 
 
 " King Barnes (proceeds our hiftorian) 
 caufed thU Legate often to be brought to 
 
 him>
 
 Mm, and ferioufly dealt with him to en- 
 deavour his converfion. One time the 
 king had a mind to furprize him into a 
 confeflion of Chrift's deity (as his majefty 
 afterwards declared to a right reverend 
 prelate, archbimop Umer) by afking him, 
 whether or no he did not daily pray to Jefus 
 Cbrift ? which had he acknowledged, the 
 king would infallibly have inferred, that 
 Legate tacitly confented to Chrift's divini- 
 ty, as a fearcher of the heart. But here- 
 in his majefty failed of his expectation, 
 Legate returning, that indeed he had prayed 
 to Chrift in the days of his ignorance, but 
 not for thefe laft feven years. Hereupon 
 the king in choler fpurned at him with his 
 foot; away, bafcjellow, (faith he) it Jhall 
 never be f aid that one jta^-eth In my prefence, 
 that hath never prayed to Our Saviour for 
 feven years together." 
 
 There feems not any thing in Legate's 
 reply, deferving fuch an indecent and un- 
 manly refentment. Did the Lord Jefus 
 ever injoin men to pray to him ? Did he 
 not on the contrary always offer up his own 
 prayers to God, his Father and cur Father, 
 his Gcd and our God, John xx. 17. and al- 
 fo direct us fo to do in our devotions ; 'when 
 E 2 ye-
 
 ye pray, fc,y, Our Father which art In hea- 
 ven? Luke xi. 2. 
 
 But bigotry and zeal for certain opi- 
 nions, often little founded in God's word, 
 have too generally been fuppofed to make 
 up for defects in Chriftian obedience and 
 moral righteoufnefs. Hiftorians reprefent 
 this prince, as a man void of fincerity and 
 integrity, a common fwearer, intempe- 
 rate, of very blanieable obfcene converfa- 
 tion, and who changed his religion, fuch 
 as it was, juft as his paffions and intereft 
 directed : in Scotland, a warm Prelbyte- 
 rian and hater of ceremonies; then, when 
 he croiTed the Tweed, a moft {launch 
 churchman, a rigid Calvinift all the while ; 
 then more than half inclined towards Po- 
 pery j and at laft, verging towards Armi- 
 nianifm, as Laud, his favourite Bucking- 
 ham's favourite and confeflbr, was rifing 
 into play and power. 
 
 " In the next month (as the fame hif- 
 torian goes op to acquaint us) Edicurd 
 IVightman* of Burton upon Trent, con- 
 vidted before Richard Neile, bifliop of 
 Coventry and Litchfield, was burned at 
 Litchfield for far worfe opinions (if worfe 
 might be) than Legate maintained. Mary 
 
 Magdalene
 
 I 53 J 
 
 Magdalene indeed was poflefled with/even 
 devils, but * fen feveral herefies were laid to 
 Wigbtman's charge ; namely, thofe of E- 
 bion,Cerinthus, Valentinian, Arms, Mace- 
 donia, Simon Magus, Manes, Manichaeus, 
 Photjnus, and of the Anabaptifts." 
 
 This lift of no lefs than ten herefies, 
 for which this perfon was condemned to 
 fo (hocking a death, is very formidable, 
 and deferves to be examined. Ebion, or 
 the Ebionites, Arius and Photinus, feve- 
 rally held opinions concerning Chrift, in- 
 compatible with each other ; therefore 
 Wightman could bat be charged with one 
 of the three. Manes and Manichxus, are 
 names of one and the fame perfon or feel. 
 Of Simon Magus, Origen tells us ex- 
 prefsly, (contr. Ce!s. 1. vi. p. 272.) that 
 he .was a total unbeliever, letting himfelf 
 up, and being fet up by his followers, as 
 a rival to Chrift. Here then are four of 
 thefe herefies ftruck off the lift. 
 
 Bifhop Neile is upon record in our hif- 
 tories, but not for iuch qualities as St. 
 Paul, in his letter to Timothy, requires 
 
 * So reckoned up in the warrant for his burning, 
 fuller, Book x, p. 64. 
 
 E 3 in
 
 t 54 ] 
 
 in the epifcopal character. But furely 
 
 moft unfit was he to fit in the feat of juf- 
 tice, who betrayed fuch ignorance of what 
 he was to decide upon, as to condemn a 
 man for opinions which it was impoffible 
 for him to hold. But there will be a re- 
 hearing in a future world of thofe caufes, 
 where frail mortals have been condemned 
 for involuntary errors of judgment, and a 
 revcrfal of every unrighteous fentence. 
 Wifdom of Solomon, v. i, 2. 
 
 I {hall tranfcribe one more paragraph 
 from our author. 
 
 " About this time, a Spanifh Arian 
 being condemned to die, was notwith- 
 ftanding fuffered to linger out his life in 
 Newgate, where he ended the fame. In- 
 deed, fuch burning of heretics much ftar- 
 tled common people, pitying all in pain, 
 and prone to afperfe juftice itfelf with 
 cruelty, becaufe of the novelty and hide- 
 oufnefs of the punimment. And the pur- 
 blind eyes of vulgar judgments looked 
 only to what was next to them, the fuf- 
 fering itfelf, which they beheld with com- 
 paflion, not minding the demerit of the 
 guilt which deferved the fame. Befides, 
 fuch being unable to diftinguifh betwixt 
 
 conflancy
 
 [ ss ] 
 
 wnflancy and obftinacy, were ready to en- 
 tertain good thoughts even of the opinions 
 of thofe heretics who fealed them fo man- 
 fully with their blood, Wherefore king 
 James politicly preferred, that heretics 
 hereafter, though condemned, mould fi- 
 lently and privately wafte themfelves away 
 in the prifon, rather than to grace them, 
 and amufe others with the folemnity of a 
 public execution, which in popular judg- 
 ments ufurped the honour of a perfe- 
 cution."* 
 
 I make no comments. The reader will 
 make many for himfelf. But fome will 
 be pleafed to contrail the fpirit and temper 
 of this firft of the Stuarts, with that well 
 attested anecdote of George II. of righ- 
 teous and merciful memory ; " who put a 
 *' flop to a profecution in the eccleu"- 
 " aftical courts, commenced againft the 
 *' late Dr. Doddridge by fome dignitaries 
 ' of the church of England, for fetting 
 " up an academy, and teaching youth 
 " learning and religion, in the town of 
 * c Northampton j warmly declaring upon 
 " the occafion, that, during bis reign, there 
 ' ' JKoulabe noptrjecutlmjor confdcncejake^ . ' ' 
 
 * Fuller, as above, p. 64. 
 
 f Life of Doddridge by Orton, p. 251, 252. 
 
 E 4 During
 
 [ 56 ] 
 
 During the troubles of the next reign, 
 we find Mr. John Biddle in cuftody for his 
 opinions ; and his writings againft the 
 deity of Chrift, and of the Holy Spirit, 
 were ordered to be burn'd by the hands of 
 the common hangman* Some zealots of 
 the afTembly of (Prefbyterian) divines, 
 moved that he might be put to death : for 
 he was fo bold in propagating his opinion, 
 that he gave great offence by it. 
 
 It was happy for him, thefe Prefbyte- 
 rian divines had not power equal to their 
 good-will, or he might have been burn'd 
 in the fame fire with his writings. The 
 parliament underftood better the rights of 
 nature and of mankind, altho' they gave 
 way to his being imprifoned, perhaps to 
 fcreen him from his enemies. And, with 
 the fame humane view afterwards, when 
 the council had fent him to Newgate for 
 giving frcfh difturbar.ee by his boldnefs, the 
 proteftor thought it beft to fend him out of 
 the way, and accordingly tranfported him 
 to Scilly, and allowed him one hundred 
 crowns a year for his maintenance. The 
 ufurper Cromwell, with all his fins againft 
 the liberties of his country, " always pro- 
 
 fefTed
 
 [ 57 1 
 
 feiTed * it to be his belief, that men bad a 
 right to think and a ft for them/elves in mat- 
 ters cf religion, and that fo long as they be- 
 haved peaceably , they were free to dij/entjrom 
 the magiftrate and the prieff." This is 
 highly to his honour : and his practice was 
 conformable to his principles. 
 
 Biddle remained in the ifle of Scilly till 
 the year 1658, when the noife being over, 
 he was fet at liberty. After the protec- 
 tor's death he let up a private conventicle 
 in London, which continued till the re- 
 ftoration, when the church being reftored 
 to its coercive power, he was apprehended 
 while preaching, and committed to pri- 
 fon, where he died in September, 1662. 
 He had iuch a prodigious memory, that 
 he could repeat all St. Paul's epiftles in 
 Greek, and was reckoned by thole of his 
 perfualion a fober man, and fo devout, 
 that he feldom prayed without lying pro- 
 ftrate on the ground )*." " It was one of 
 Mr. Riddle's leilbns, that it is a duty, 
 not only to relieve, but to vifit the lick 
 and poor; becaufe they are hereby encou- 
 
 * Harris's life of Oliver Cromwell, p. 40, 43. 
 f Neal's hiftory of the Puritans, vol. iv. p. 136, 
 
 !37> J 3 8 - 
 
 raged
 
 t $8 ] 
 
 raged and comforted, and we come to 
 know of what nature and degree their 
 ftraits are, and that fomc arc more worthy 
 of affiftance than others : and their condi- 
 tion being known, fometimes we are able 
 to afiift them by our counfel or our inte- 
 reft, much more effectually than by the 
 charity we do or can beftow upon them.'* 
 Life of Mr. Thomas Firmin, p. I o, 1 1 , 
 
 It would be inexcufeable to pafs over* 
 in filence, a difciple of Mr. Biddies, an 
 Unitarian, and great fup-port of their caufe ; 
 one, though not diftinguimed by nobility 
 of birth, or titles, or deep learning, yet 
 in real ufefulneis to mankind the firft citi- 
 zen of the firft city in the world ; and 
 likely to keep his pre-eminence in the hea- 
 venly Jerufalem, if being indefatigably 
 aftive and eminent in doing good, in af- 
 fifting and relieving the poor, beyond all 
 other men ; if integrity, piety, humility, 
 and active endeavours in the caufe of truth 
 and virtue, can intitle, and nothing elfe 
 can intitle the faithful Chritfian to that 
 high diftinftion and honour. 
 
 This was Mr. Thomas Firmin, mer- 
 chant and citizen of London ; a name now, 
 it may be, unknown to many, yet the 
 1 friend
 
 [ 59 ] 
 
 friend of Whichcote, Worthington, Wil- 
 kins, Fowler, Tillotfon ; with all whom, 
 he lived in friendfliip, and in the greateft 
 intimacy with fome of them, notwith- 
 flanding their wide difference in opinion, 
 which he never difTembled, nor, to their 
 honour be it recorded, did it caufe any 
 eoolnefs in their regards towards him. 
 
 " Mr. Biddle firft perfuaded him*, that 
 the Unity of God is an Unity of perfon as 
 'well as of nature ; that the Holy Spirit is 
 indeed a perfon, but not God. He had a 
 great and juft efteem for Mr. Biddies piety, 
 exemplarinefs, and learning; and is that 
 
 * " Mr. Firmin's zeal for his inftru&or was & 
 great, that he ventured, while he was only an appren- 
 tice, to deliver a petition for his releafe out of New- 
 gate to Oliver Cromwell, who gave him this ihortan- 
 iwer : " You curl-pate boy you, do you think I'll 
 (hew any favour to a man who denies his Saviour, and 
 difturbs the government?" Birch's life of Tillotfon, 
 p. 293. 
 
 This does not contradict what was above remarked 
 of Cromwell's tolerating principles. It might be ne- 
 ceflary for the chief governor of the nation to fay this 
 in public in thofe times, efpecially to fo young a peti- 
 tioner. And there is a pleafantry and good-nature in 
 his manner, of which the gloomy bigot is utterly inca- 
 pable. This is farther confirmed by his allowing him 
 25!. a year to fupport him in his exile, no inconfidera- 
 ble fum in thofe days. 
 
 friend,
 
 [ 60 ] 
 
 friend, mentioned in Mr. Biddle's life, who 
 gave him his bed and board, till he was 
 fent prifbner by protector Cromwell to the 
 ifle of Scilly ; and when there, M.rFirmtn, 
 with another friend, procured him a yearly 
 peniion of a hundred crowns from the 
 protestor, beildes what he obtained from 
 other friends, or gave himfelf *." 
 
 Archbifhop Tillotfon, in his fermon at 
 the funeral of the Rev. Mr. Tho. Gouge, 
 fays, " This was, I think, that which 
 gave the fir (I hint to that worthy and ufe- 
 ful citizen, Mr. Thomas Firmin, of a 
 much larger defign, which hath been 
 profecuted by him. for fome years, with 
 that vigour and great fuccefs in this city, 
 that many hundreds of poor children and 
 ethers, who lived idle before, unprofit- 
 able both to themfelves and the public, 
 are continually maintained in work, and 
 taught to earn their own livelihood : he 
 being, by the generous affiftance and cha- 
 rity of many well-difpofed perfons of all 
 ranks, enabled to bear the unavoidable 
 lofs and charge of fo vaft an undertaking ; 
 
 * Life of Mr. Thomas Firmin, p. 10. 
 See alfo a fine letter of Cromwell's to the governor 
 of Edinburgh, cafHe, in Wbitelsck's memorials, p. 459. 
 
 and
 
 and by his own forward inclination to cha- 
 rity, and his unwearied diligence and ac- 
 tivity, extraordinarily fitted to fuftain and 
 go through the incredible pains of it." 
 
 " During his laft ficknefs, which was 
 very fhort, he was vifited by his moft dear 
 friend (Dr. Fowler) the bifhop of Gloti- 
 cefter. What patted between them, his 
 Lordmip hath made me to know, under 
 his own hand, in thefe words: " Mr. 
 tf Firmin told me, he was now going : and 
 " I truft, faid he, God will not condemn 
 " me to worfe company, than I have 
 " loved and ufed in the prefent life. I 
 " replied, that he had been an extraordi- 
 " nary example of charity : the poor had 
 " a wonderful blefling in you : I doubt 
 " not, thefe works will follow you, if 
 " you have no expectation from the merit 
 " of them, but rely on the infinite good - 
 l nefs of God, and the merits of our Sa- 
 " viour. Here he anfwered, I do fo : and 
 " I fay, in the words of my Saviour, when 
 " I have done all, I am but an unprofitable 
 " fervant" He was in fuch an agony of 
 body for want of breath, that I did not 
 think fit to fpeak more to him, but only 
 gave him affurance of my earneft prayers 
 
 for
 
 "r .6a i 
 
 for him, while he remained in this world. 
 Then I took a folemn and affectionate 
 farewel of him ; and he of me *." 
 
 Mr. Firmin, although no writer him- 
 felf, was a great encourager and publisher 
 of the works of others, and had fome con- 
 cern in leveral volumes of Unitarian tracls, 
 publilhed about the time of the revolution. 
 His life, from which the above extracts 
 are made, is worthy to be perufed ; as al- 
 fo an admirable fermon, occafioned by his 
 death, printed along with it. 
 
 In the year 1694 began the great conteft 
 concerning the Trinity, betwixt two cele- 
 brated doctors of the church, Sherlock and 
 South; each of them reputed and reputing 
 himfelf orthodox, and each of them ef- 
 poufed by learned and powerful partizans. 
 
 Dr. Sherlock exprefsly afferted, that the 
 three perfons in the Trinity are three di- 
 ftint infinite Minds or Spirits, and three 
 individual Subftanccs. Dr. South held 
 only one infinite eternal Mind or Spirit, 
 with three Somethings that were not three 
 diftincl: Minds or Subftances, but three 
 modes, faculties, attributes, relations, re- 
 lative properties, fubfiftencies, as they 
 
 % 
 
 * Life of Mr, Firmin, p, 82. 
 
 were
 
 t 63 ] 
 
 were varioufly denominated. Dr. Sher- 
 lock was accufed, and with great juftice, 
 if words have any meaning, of polytheifm, 
 or holding three Gcds. Dr. South, on the 
 other hand, came under the imputation of 
 explaining away the Trinity, and falling 
 into the Sabelliaji, or Unitarian fyftem : 
 and accordingly fome of the Socinians took 
 advantage of the Doctor's explication of 
 the doctrine of the church, and declared 
 in their writings, that they fhould not be 
 backward to give their approbation to the 
 liturgy and articles, if that was the kind 
 of Trinity which the language therein ufed 
 was intended to inculcate. 
 
 The univerfity of Oxford, to whom 
 Sherlock was obnoxious on account of his 
 political principles, declared for Dr. South ; 
 and the vice-chancellor and heads of col- 
 leges and halls, aiTembled November 25, 
 1695, pafled this cenfure on the oppofite 
 doctrine, viz. " That the affertion, there 
 are three infinite diftindt Minds and Sub- 
 fiances in the Trinity, is falfe, impious, 
 and heretical, contrary to the doctrine of 
 the catholic church, and particularly to 
 the received doctrine of the church of 
 England." 
 
 But
 
 Bat this cenfure had no confequenccs. 
 As both parties made no fcrupie of ufmg 
 the common language of the church, and 
 held three Somewhats, they were never 
 called in queftion, or their orthodoxy im- 
 peached. Only, the quarrel ran fo high 
 from the pulpit, that the ftate thought 
 proper to interpofe its authority to flop it ; 
 and accordingly an injunction came forth 
 from his Majefty King William, bearing 
 date February 2, 1695, with directions 
 to the archbimops and bimops to be ob- 
 ferved in their refpective diocefes. The 
 two firft of thefe were, 
 
 1. That no preacher whatfoever, in his 
 fermon or lecture, do prefume to deliver 
 any other doctrine concerning the blefled 
 Trinity, than what is contained in the 
 holy fcripture, [and is agreeable to the 
 three creeds, and the thirty-nine articles.] 
 
 2. That, in the explication of this doc- 
 trine, they carefully avoid all new terms, 
 [and confine themfelves to fuch ways of 
 expreffion as have been commonly ufed in 
 the church.] 
 
 N.B. If the words hooked in aparenthe- 
 fis had been omitted, there would have been 
 a better and a more lading foundation laid 
 for peace and truth. Thefe
 
 f 65 ] 
 
 Thefe difputes among divines, their 
 abufe of each other, and the ftrange dif- 
 tinctions and equivocation to which they 
 were" reduced to defend themfelves, and 
 maintain their directly contrary opinions, 
 contributed much to the fpreading of the 
 Unitarian doctrine *: yet it is to be feared, 
 many were thereby indifpofed to revealed 
 religion itfelf, when they faw that its 
 great doctors could not agree about the ob- 
 ject of their worfhip, whether One Being, 
 or Many. 
 
 Whoever would fee to what extravagant 
 portions, fubverfive of all religion and na- 
 tural knowledge of God, men will let 
 themfelves be driven, rather than give up 
 an hypothefis once efpoufed, needeth only 
 
 * " I own I have been unfettled in my notions from 
 the time I read Dr. Sherlock's book of the Trinity, 
 which fufficiently difcovefed how far many were gone 
 back towards polytheifm : I long tried what I could 
 do with fome Sabellian turns, making out a Trinity of 
 fomewhats in one fingle mind. I found that, by the 
 tritheiftical fcheme of Dr. Sherlock and Mr. Howe, I 
 beft preferved a Trinity, but I loft the Unity : By the 
 Sabellian fcheme of moJes, fubfiftencies, and proper- 
 ties, &c. I beft kept up the divine Unity ; but then I 
 had loft a Trinity, fuch as the fcriptures difcover ; fo 
 that I could not keep both in view at once." Emlyn's 
 works, vol. i. p, 15, 
 
 F to
 
 [ 66 ] 
 
 to read " Dr. Clarke's Ob formations en Dr. 
 Water land's feeond defence of bis Queries ;" 
 which, I believe, clofed the controverfy at 
 that time, and ought to have clofed it for 
 ever *. 
 
 The Unitarian Chriftians were much 
 affected by a (hocking act of the (late, 
 which was fuffered to pafs in thefe early 
 days of the revolution, and which will 
 remain an indelible reproach to it. 
 
 For, " by 9 and 10 W. 3. ch. 32. If 
 any perfon educated in, or having made 
 profeffion of the Chriftian religion, {hall 
 be convicted in any of the courts of Weft- 
 minfter, or at the affixes, of denying any 
 one of the perfons of the Holy Trinity to be 
 Gody &c. he (hall for the jirft offence, be 
 judged incapable of any office ; and for the 
 feeond offence, (hall be difabled to fue any 
 action, or to be guardian, executor, or ad- 
 miniftrator, or to take any legacy or deed of 
 gift, or to bear any office, civil or military, 
 or benefice ecclefiaftical for ever, and alfo 
 fhall fuffer imprifonment for three years," 
 
 If we reflect on that high eftimation, in 
 which thecelebratedDr.Clarkeand his writ- 
 ings were held foon after this time, by many 
 
 * Se&alfo Ervlyn, vol. ii. p. 451. 
 
 in
 
 C 6 7 ] 
 
 in high place, and in all places ; and alfo 
 howgreat a numberhaveefpoufed his fenti- 
 ment, or that of the Socinians, concerning 
 our Saviour Chrift, we (hall not be able to 
 think of the exiftence of fuch a law as this 
 without horror. But that benevolence of 
 the prefent times, which forbids the ex- 
 execution, fhould haften the repeal of it, 
 
 It would carry us too far beyond our 
 purpofe, or here would be the place, ia 
 the beginning of the prefent century, to 
 treat of Mr. Thomas Emfyn, an Englifti- 
 man, minifter of a congregation of pro- 
 teftant diflenters in Dublin ; who " fo no- 
 " bly fuffered unto bonds and imprifon- 
 " raent, and great worldly loffes, for 
 " maintaining the fupreme unequalled 
 " majefty of the One God and Father of 
 " all, under a mod unrighteous perfecu- 
 " tion againft him," carried on by his own 
 people, diflenters, and abetted by fome 
 great churchmen in Ireland. 
 
 His works will be a lading monumenjt 
 of his genius, learning, piety, and integri- 
 ty ; written in a clear animated ftile, equal^ 
 led by few, exceeded by none, incur Ian* 
 guage, and with fuch invincible force of 
 argument, as ftill to promote that truth 
 F 2 for
 
 t 68 ] 
 
 lor which he Was not unwilling to fuffer, 
 The persecution of the learned Mr. 
 Barnes Pierce of Exeter, eminent alfo for 
 his writings, and fufferings in the fame 
 caufe, amongft the diflenters ; and, of 
 another learned and excellent perfon, Mr. 
 Tonkins of Ne&mgtfa, muft on the fame 
 account he pafled over unnoticed. 
 
 The famous Mr. William Whi/lon end- 
 ed his courfe only about twenty years ago, 
 and his ftory is fo well known, that little 
 needeth to be faid of the perfecution he 
 underwent j -and his mofl unjuft expulfion 
 from his profeilbrfhip in Cambridge in the 
 year 1710, for maintaining, that the only 
 'God of the Chriftians is God tie Father. 
 But his undiffembled piety from his youth 
 to extreme old age, his integrity, and 
 chearfulnefs under the lofs of his prefer- 
 ments, his conftancy and courage, can 
 never be enough celebrated and admired. 
 Thofe arguments of holy fcripture, by 
 which he proved his grand point, have 
 never been confuted. But fome of the 
 good effects of his labours were obftrudted 
 by an unlucky infatuation with which he 
 was poflefled for fome ancient writings, 
 particularly the Apojlolical Conftitutions ; 
 
 which
 
 t 69 J 
 
 which he maintained to be the moft fa- 
 cred of the canonical books of the New 
 Teftament, although it muft appear to all 
 unprejudiced perfons to have been written 
 in the fourth century, but probably then 
 compiled out of fome earlier competitions 
 of the nrft and fecond. Struck with ad- 
 miration of the book at firft, as fo much 
 favouring his Arian fentiments, he thought 
 it quite divine $ and being of a warm ima- 
 gination and fanguine temper, when once 
 in fuch an error he could hardly get out of 
 it. A fmall fpeck this, in fo bright a 
 ehara&er. 
 
 The infcription on his tomb-flone, at 
 Lyndon in the county of Rutland, has 
 done juftice to his memory. It is not 
 printed along with any of his works that I 
 have feen, and therefore may not unufe- 
 fully or improperly here find a place. 
 
 " Here lyeth the body of the Rev. Mr. 
 William Wbljlon t M. A. fome time pro- 
 fefibr of the mathematics in the univerfity 
 of Cambridge ; who was born Dec. 9, 
 1667, and died Aug. 22, 1752, in the 
 85th year of his age. Endued with an 
 excellent genius, indefatigable in labour 
 and fludy, he became learned in divinity ? 
 F 3 ancient
 
 t 7 1 
 
 ancient hiftory, chronology, philofophy, 
 and mathematics. Fertile in fentiment, 
 copious in language, ikilful to convey in- 
 ftruclion, he introduced the Newtonian, 
 philofophy, then buried in the deepeft 
 recefles of geometry, into public know- 
 ledge, and thereby difplayed the wonder- 
 ful works of God : More defirous to dif- 
 cover bis uill, he applied himfelf chiefly 
 to the examination and fiudy of the holy 
 fcriptures : Refolved to pradife it, he fa- 
 crifked great worldly advantages andgreat- 
 er expectations, that he might preferve 
 the teilimony of a good confcience. Firm- 
 Jy perfuaded of the truth and importance 
 of revealed religion, he exerted his utmoft 
 ability, to enforce the evidence, to ex- 
 plain the do&rines, and promote the prac- 
 tice of Chriftianity : wormiping Go4 
 with the moft profound fubmiflion and 
 adoration, the fupreme majefty of the One 
 God and Father of all, through the inter- 
 ceffion and mediation of our Lord Jefus 
 Chrift, by the grace and influence of the 
 Holy Spirit ; and teftifying the lincerity 
 cf his profefllon by the due obedience of a 
 holy life. Striclly tenacious of his inte- 
 grity, equally fervent in piety and charity, 
 
 ardent
 
 ardent to promote the glory of God and 
 the good of mankind, zealous in the pur- 
 fuit of truth and the practice of virtue, he 
 perfevered with faith and patience, fled- 
 faft and immoveable, always abounding 
 in the work of the Lord, through many 
 trials and much tribulation, to the end 
 of his courfe, full of days, and ripe for 
 Paradife, in a firm affurance of a joyful 
 refurrection to everlafting life and happi- 
 nefs. Now, reader, whoe'er thou art, if 
 tbou canft not attain to the meajure of his 
 learning and knowledge, yet it is in thy 
 powsr to equal him in piety, probity, holi~ 
 nefs, and other Chriftian graces; and thou 
 mayeft hereby obtain, together with him, 
 thro' the mercies of God> and merits of 
 C brill, an everlafting crown of 'glory ." 
 
 Few men in any age have by their wri- 
 tings caft more light on the dark parts of 
 the word of God, or more laboured to re* 
 ftore his true worfhip, than Dr. Samuel 
 Clarke, rector of St. James's, Weftmin- 
 fter. Skilful in mathematics and natural 
 philofophy, a moft exact critic in the 
 learned languages and in the Hebrew, and 
 furnimed with all other knowledge that 
 might affift in the great deiign, he made 
 F 4 it
 
 r 7* i 
 
 it the whole bent of his ftudies to illuftrate 
 the fcriptures and teach men virtue and 
 true religion. His moft admired work, 
 the Scripture Dottrine of the Trinity y hath 
 put it in the power of all fmcere enquirers, 
 even of the meaneft capacities, to judge 
 for themfelves on a point of the greateft 
 importance ; namely, what, and who is 
 the God they are to worfhip ; " whether 
 three perfons, of one fubflance, power, 
 and eternity, the Father, the Son, and the 
 Holy Ghpft ; or one perfon, the Father 
 only be the One living and true God, 
 everlafling, without body, parts, or paf- 
 fions -, of infinite power, wifdom and 
 goodnefs, the maker and preferver of all 
 things, both vifible and invifible." Ar- 
 ticle I. 
 
 And from the moft exact, clear, and 
 impartial examination of all the texts of 
 the New Teftament relating to the doc- 
 trine of the Trinity, he hath irrefragably 
 demonflrated the great Unitarian doctrine 
 of nature and revelation, that there is but 
 One God, the Father, to whom alone ab- 
 f dutch Juprcme honour is due, and to inborn 
 divine worjhip and prayer is to be offered. 
 
 The
 
 t73 J 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Jones, in his Catholic 
 Doffrine of the Trinity, hath availed him- 
 felf of this method of our great author, 
 and endeavoured thereby to make out the 
 quite contrary doftrine. That gentle- 
 man's intrvduftory difcourfe, compared with 
 Dr. Clarke's introduction, will mew the 
 temper of each, and the methods they 
 purfue. Thofe that compare the different 
 interpretations given of the fame texts, 
 will obferve that Dr. Clarke gives the 
 fenfe the context requires ; Mr. Jones, 
 any fenfe the words will bear that may 
 fuit his fyftem, in which way the Koran 
 of Mahomet might be proved to be a moft 
 orthodox book, and any thing made out 
 of any thing. Thus his firjt proof* of the 
 
 Trinity 
 
 * cc Sciens ac volens fuperfeJeo a multis teftimoniis 
 quibus ufi funt veteres. Plaufibile illis vifum eft ci- 
 tare ex Davide xxxiii. 6, verbo Domini cceli firmati 
 funt, et fpiritu oris ejus omnis virtus eorutn ; ut pro- 
 barent non minus Spiritus Sandli opus efle mundum 
 quam Filii. Sed quum in Pfalmis ufitatum fit bis 
 idem repetere, et quum apud Jefaiam fpiritus oris idem 
 valeat (xi. 4..) atque fermo, infirma ilia ratio fuit." 
 
 Calvin. Infl'it. 1. i. p. 22. 
 
 Calvin was by fome accufed of Judaizing and Ari- 
 anizing, becaufe he gave up this paflage, and Pfalm ii. 
 
 7. Genefis
 
 [ 74 ] 
 
 Trinity in Unity is that text, Pfalm xxxiii. 
 6. " By the word of the Lord were the 
 heavens made, and all the hod of them 
 by the breath of his mouth," Whence 
 he in his way infers c< The whole Trinity 
 therefore created the world." And he 
 proves this Trinity to be but One Lord, in 
 the fame curious way, from Ifaiah xliv. 
 24. Jones's Catholic Doffrine t p. 69. 
 
 Conclufions to The religion of Chrift, or 
 
 b-. made from . . it- 
 
 the foregoing the will of God by him deli- 
 vered to men, was eafy to be 
 underftood by thofe to whom he and his 
 apoftles firft preached it. This his reli- 
 gion was afterwards put down in writing 
 by his apoftles and difciples. And this 
 faith once delivered to the faints (Jude 3.) 
 is to be carefully preferved by us. It 
 would be impious to take upon us to add 
 
 7. Genefis xix. 24. John x. 30. Hebrews i. 5. I John 
 v. 7. and would not allow them as fufficient proofs re- 
 fpeHvely, of the Trinity, or the divinity of the Son, 
 and Holy Spirit. He did not deferve the afperfions of 
 fome of his warm adverfaries, but his good fenfe led 
 him to fee, that thefe texts would rather weaken than 
 fupport tae do&rine of the Trinity. On the laft text, 
 I John v. 7, his remark is, " Quod dicit tres efTe 
 unum, ad eflentiam non refertur, fed ad confenfuru 
 potius." 
 
 to
 
 [ 75 I 
 
 v tb or diminish aught from it. This how- 
 ever has been done by many, though oft, 
 I believe, without defign and without 
 knowing it. It was by infenfible degrees, 
 and the work of many ages ; by enlarging 
 creeds one after another, and after all by 
 the laborious fophiftry of monkifh fchool* 
 men, that the prefent complicate fyftem 
 of an orthodox belief was framed. And 
 it muft be by the fame flow fleps and la- 
 bour, that we can expedl to clear away 
 and remove this rubbifh of ages, which 
 has disfigured, and nearly fmothered the 
 fair fabric of the word of God. 
 
 Thefe our honourable predeceflbrs, with 
 others before them, who, with great la- 
 bour, and hazard, and lofs, have flood 
 up to oppofe the corruptions of God's true 
 worfhip, are to be followed and imitated 
 by us. And, as they have made the way 
 of truth more eafy and acceffible to us, v 
 we (hall be without excufe, if we do not 
 endeavour to fecure and improve the dif- 
 coveries they have made, and the advan- 
 tages they have gained for us, and to hand 
 down the lamp of God to light thofe that 
 come after us. 
 
 Pious
 
 [ 5* ] 
 
 Pious perfons may be (hocked at firft 
 in furveying the great corruptions which 
 have all along prevailed, and flill pre- 
 vail in the Chriftian church. Befides 
 thofe errors which we fee and lament at 
 home amongft ourfelves, how deformed 
 the daemon worfhip, the worfhip of dead 
 men and women deified, and together 
 with it the pitiful idolatry of a breaden 
 God*, which has fubfifted for many ages, 
 
 and 
 
 * " It is affirmed by the church of Rome, that their 
 God being eaten, may by the fqueamifh fromach be 
 caft up again; witnefs that canon, fifacerdos eueharif- 
 tiam^ &c. which doth exhort the priefl when he doth 
 vtmit up the facrament to wipe it, and try once mere to 
 eat it. They alfo intimate that the communicant may 
 'pit Him out upon the ground, witnefs the caution in 
 their ritual, that after the reception of the eucharijl^ 
 they do not for a feajon fpit, ne facramenti fpecies de 
 ore decidant, left the fpecies of the Jacrament Jhould fall 
 from their mouth. And laftly, to compleat their blaf. 
 phemy, they do acknowledge that, in difeafes which 
 take away digeftion, their God comes whole out of the 
 draught ; fo it hath happened^ faith Paludanus ; fo i t 
 nutjl happen in this cafe^ faith Soto, for fliame fhould 
 not conftrain us to deny the truth. Now to be fpit 
 q at of the mouth, or caft out of the ftomach, or to be 
 ejected at the draught, arc the peculiar excellencies of 
 this waft-God^ which all the follies of the heathen can- 
 not parallel." ffhitby. Irrifio Dei panarii Rcmanen- 
 fium, the derifan of the breaden God worjhipped in 
 
 the
 
 f 77 ] 
 
 and ftill fubfifts in the church of Rome j 
 that is, a large part of Chriftendom ? 
 
 But we fhould confider, that although 
 God is perfect, and all that comes from 
 him is originally fo : yet man is a creature 
 full of prejudice, which he takes in with 
 his nurfe's milk, and overwhelmed with 
 various errors ; and that, as there is fcarce 
 any evidence fo clear which paffion and 
 corrupt intereft will not incline him to fet 
 afide, there is no doctrine fo plainly laid 
 down, which early prepofTeffion and wrong 
 habits will not darken and perplex. Un- 
 lefs then Almighty God had new mould- 
 ed the race of men, when he gave them 
 a revelation of his will, the pure dodtrine 
 of the gofpel would unavoidably take a 
 tincture from the manners, difpcfitions, 
 and habits of thofe who received it, as 
 water from the beds of minerals through 
 which it pafTes. The truth of God there- 
 fore was neceffarily left to take its chance 
 
 the Romijh church, p. 74, 75. This fine tract of this 
 learned man and true Proteftant, deferveg to be adopt- 
 ed by our religious focieties in the lift of their books to 
 bedifperfed, and would help to preferve our own people 
 Proteftants, and convert the Papifts themfelves from 
 their more than pagan idolatry, much better than graver 
 books. 
 
 'in
 
 I 78 ] 
 
 in the world, if \vc may fo fpeak, and to 
 be more or lefs corrupted in different 
 times and places ; yet not without his own 
 watchful overfight in the mean while r and 
 the fulleft aflurances and predictions, for 
 the encouragement of his true wormip- 
 crs, " that truth and virtue would finally 
 prevail over the fpirit of error and wicked- 
 nefs." We are not judges how far God 
 intended his difpenfations of light and 
 knowledge, and moral improvement, to 
 take effeft at any given time : but un- 
 doubtedly they are made to attain the end 
 he propofed, though not all that our pre- 
 cipitate judgments would lead us to 
 expect. 
 
 What Mr. Whifton remarks concern- 
 ing Biihop Smallridge, may, I apprehend, 
 influence fome worthy men like him, ta 
 fit down contented with eftablihed forms 
 of religious wormip which they are far 
 from approving ; namely, " the dread of 
 " the ill confequences of difcovering fo 
 <f great and lafting errors in the church, 
 with a fufpicion of the harm politicians 
 " and unbelievers would turn fuch dif* 
 ' coveries to, inflead of uniting with 
 
 c good
 
 t 79 1 
 
 " good men to correct the errors them- 
 felves*." 
 
 Politicians and unbelievers cannot cer- 
 tainly be expected to turn reformers. But 
 with regard to the difcoveries which Bp. 
 Smallridge was afraid of making and hav- 
 ing divulged, relating, I fuppofe to the 
 Athanafian and fcholaftic Trinity, which 
 has been held in veneration and worfhiped 
 thefe fourteen centuries paft, whatever was 
 the cafe in his time, its little agreement 
 with the fcriptures or early fathers has been 
 long no fecret to the Morgans, the St. 
 Johns, the Vdtaires, &c. nor have they 
 made any fecret of it j but have thence tak- 
 en a handle to accufe fome of our great and 
 learned churchmen of fhutting their eyes 
 for political ends, or elfe believing as little 
 of the revealed fyilem as themfelves. 
 
 We may aflure ourfelves, that no dif- 
 covery of error, no fair reprefentation of 
 facts can hurt true religion, tho* it may 
 {hake the empire of prieftcraft and fuper- 
 ftition. We ought rather to be the more 
 excited to fearch and enquire, and bear 
 our public but peaceable teftimony to op- 
 
 * Whifton's life of Dr. S, Clarke^ p. 97. 
 
 prefled
 
 [8o] 
 
 prcftcd truth, becaufe for want of this 1 
 having been done in time, things are come 
 to the pafs which we now complain of, 
 and with which the adverfaries of our 
 common faith reproach us. 
 
 But thofe men will fall under heavy 
 condemnation, who perfifl in abetting 
 known corruptions, out of mean lucrative 
 views, and the flattery of princes and great 
 men, and inftead of lending a helping 
 hand to the work, calumniate and difcou- 
 rage thole who feek to remove thefe ftum- 
 bling- blocks to truth and integrity. 
 
 This looks peculiarly ill in men famous 
 for learning and abilities, teachers of hu- 
 manity, virtue, and religion, who are 
 placed on an eminence, and draw others 
 after them. " Wo unto the world, be- 
 caufe of offences : for it muft needs be 
 that offences come : but wo to that man 
 by whom the ofTence cometh." Matthew 
 xviii. 7. 
 
 In the mean time, many are purified, and 
 made white, and tried, Daniel xii. 10, and 
 the thoughts of many hearts are revealed, 
 Luke ii 35; the true characters of men 
 are drawn out and brought to light, and 
 
 many
 
 f 81 ] 
 
 many known and unknown purpofes of 
 the divine government are anfwered and 
 ferved for the production of virtue, and 
 man's real felicity and perfection. Hap- 
 py, where no undue motive influences, no 
 blameable paflion, or difguft at human 
 things and the courfe of the world ; no- 
 thing but the pure love of truth, and 
 fenfe of duty to the great fearcher of 
 hearts, which can be known to him alone. 
 
 CHAP.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THERE, IS RUT ONE GOD, THE FATHER: RELI- 
 fllOl's WORSHIP TO BE OFFEREt) TO THIS ONE 
 GOD, THE FATHER, ONLY. 
 
 r V HAT God is O;^, and confequently, 
 the object of worfhip One only, is of 
 firfl. importance in religion. The wretch- 
 ed flate of morals iii the heathen world 
 flowed from their polytheifm. And no 
 one can remain many hours in a popifti 
 country without feeing the pernicious ef- 
 fect of their idolatrous worfhip *, in their 
 ftreets and on the high roads. Nor can 
 we Protestants be cleared from fome fatal 
 mistakes here, the fource of great unhap- 
 pinefs and diffraction in the breafts of ma- 
 ny, and of much wrong practice. For it 
 is obvious, from the converfatton and wri- 
 tings of many amongft us, that they are 
 far gone into the doctrine of Three equal 
 Gods, whom they figure and reprefent to 
 themfelves under different and very oppo- 
 jitc characters. Hence they conceive of 
 God the Father, always with dread, as a 
 
 * Erafmus, in his colloquies, has finely ridiculed 
 this depraved ftiperftition of the Papifts. See particu- 
 larly his Naufragium. 
 
 i being
 
 f 83 ] 
 
 be ng of fevere unrelenting juftice *, re- 
 vengeful, and inexorable without full fa- 
 
 tisfadtion 
 
 * " Is there no (belter from the eye 
 
 Of a revenging God? 
 Jefus, to thy dear wounds I fly, 
 Bedew me with thy blood. 
 Thofe guardian drops my foul fecure, 
 
 And wafh away my fin ; 
 Eternal Ju/lice frowns no more, 
 
 And confcience fmiles within." 
 
 Watts 's lyric poems, p. 84. 
 * c Rich were the drops of Jefus' bloody " 
 
 That calnid bis frowning face, 
 That Jprinkl' d o'er the burning throne, 
 And turn' d the wrath to grace" 
 
 Watt is hymns, p. 229. 
 
 This pious and excellent perfon lived to fee his er- 
 ror and changed his fentiments intirely on this point, 
 before he died. Towards the clofe of his days, but 
 before his faculties were impaired, by a long, ferious, 
 difpaflionate attention to the facred writings, he was 
 brought to that fentiment concerning the perfon and 
 character of Chrift, which feems to have been that of 
 his apoftles and firft followers, before philofophy had 
 corrupted the faith. For this he was rudely attacked 
 from the prefs after his death, by a famous champion 
 of orthodoxy of the times, but did not want defend- 
 ers of his fair unfpotted name. " The character of 
 the gentle, the ingenious, the pious Dr. Watts, (fays 
 one of them) muft be facrificed by the fury of two or 
 three fermons that are filled witli aqua forth. And 
 why ? truly, becaufe the Doctor had snce believed a 
 G 2 Trinity
 
 trsfadtion made to him for the breach of 
 his laws. God the Son, on the other 
 hand, is looked upon as made up of all 
 companion and goodnefs, interpofing to 
 fave men from the Father's wrath, and 
 iubje&ing himfelf to the extremeft fuffer- 
 ings on that account. And Cod the Holy 
 Ghoft is defcribed in characters of the ut- 
 moft love and kindnefs, ever waiting, and 
 ever ready to beftow his gracious commu- 
 nications and affiftances for the falvation 
 of men. 
 
 But how contrary is this language to 
 the holy fcriptures, and how injurious to 
 
 Trinity in Unity. Afterwards his judgment altered, 
 and he publifhed two tradts, in which he feems to fa- 
 vour the Sabellian or Socinian hypothefis. So far from 
 being a reproach to Dr. Watts ^ that he changed his 
 fentiments, it will be looked upon by all fober, judi- 
 cious, confiftertt proteftants, as reflecting much glory 
 upon his character; tho' Mr. Bradbury happens to 
 think it a mark of his own ftedfaftnefs, that he receded 
 not from his education-principles. Notwithftanding 
 this, he (hould allow it natural for men to have more 
 light open upon them, who are not afraid of free in- 
 quiry ; whilft the ftedfaftnefs of others may be owing 
 to the inveteracy of their prejudices, that will not fuf- 
 
 fer them to make any farther difcoveries." Extrafl 
 
 from a pamphlet, intitled, " The character of the Rev. 
 T. Bradbury^ taken from his own pen in bis difcourfes on 
 printed for Cooper, 1749. 
 
 the
 
 the God of all grace, (i Pet. v. fo.) the 
 heavenly Father and God over all, whom 
 we are there taught alone to look up unto 
 in prayer, to expect all from him, to refer 
 all to him, who (John iii. i.)Jb loved tic 
 world, that he gave hh only-begotten Son to 
 Jave men from periling for ever j and who 
 (Luke xi. 13.) giveth the Holy Spirit t9 
 them that ajk him. 
 
 It was in much mercy, that this gra- 
 cious parent of mankind, when he firfl 
 made man, did not leave him to the flow 
 procefs of reafon to find out his Maker and 
 benefactor, whom it was his chief happi- 
 nefs to know and to adore. For although 
 fpeculative enquiring minds may, in a 
 courfe of time, arrive at the difcovery and 
 knowledge of a firft great caufe and bene- 
 volent author of all things ; yet, as few 
 have leifure, or are born to be philofo- 
 phers, fome more fimple and ftriking evi- 
 dence of the being and providence of God 
 was to be defired. He therefore gave our 
 firftparents a fenfible and immediate know*- 
 ledge of himfelf,hiswill,their duty and hap- 
 pinefs. This could not fail of being hand- 
 ed down in fome degree to their posterity. 
 G 3 And
 
 [ 6 ] 
 
 And we find it a&ually was To. For the bed 
 heathen authors profefs to build much of 
 their knowledge of God on tradition, to 
 which our modern philofophers owe more 
 than they will confefs; and in the multi- 
 plicity of falfe objecls of worftiip into which 
 mankind have been led, the perfuafion of 
 One Supreme over all has ftill fecredy and 
 univerfally prevailed. 
 
 In the Bible, which contains an authen- 
 tic account of the divine interpofitions, 
 and communications to men, one would 
 naturally expert the great point, whether 
 there be One God or more, to be fettled ib 
 as to leave no room for doubt or uncer- 
 tainty. And indeed, an unprejudiced 
 perfon, of ordinary understanding, that 
 took that book in his hand, would never 
 apprehend that it was defigned to teach 
 him to philofophize and make nice dif- 
 tindions about fome unknown effence or fub- 
 ftance of God, and three perjons in that ef- 
 fence, equally God, and equally to be wor- 
 Jhipped, and yet all three but one God. He 
 would fee that there was but One God 
 without any fuch perplexity and refine- 
 ment,
 
 [87] 
 
 jnent, as clearly as he would fee that he 
 exifted at all. 
 
 Accordingly * the Hebrews, who were 
 the depofitaries of thefe divine revelations, 
 and above all other people favoured with 
 them, never had any different doctrine, or 
 difputes on fo clear a point. They never 
 dreamed of a plurality in the deity, as we 
 Cbriftians have affected to fpeak, altho' 
 fome have fathered it upon them, and 
 have pretended to gather it from the plu- 
 ral termination of a Hebrew word Eh him, 
 indifferently applied to God and man, and 
 
 * The following declaration of Bifhop Beveridge 
 will carry weight along with it, efpecially as he him- 
 felf thinks he can fee the myjiery of the Trinity in the 
 Old Teftament, tho' he owns the Jews have never 
 been able to fee it. " The great wyjien of the Trinity, 
 faith he, though it be frequently intimated in the Old 
 Teftament, yet it is an hard matter rightly to. under- 
 ftand it without the New : infomuch, that the Jews, 
 though they have had the law above three thpufand, 
 and the prophets above two thoufand years among 
 them, yet to this day they could never make this an ar- 
 ticle of faith j but they, as well as the Mahometans, 
 jftill afiert, that God is only One in .perfon as welt as m 
 nature. Private Thoughts, part ii. p. 36, 37. 
 
 G 4 from
 
 t 88 ] 
 
 from the Chaldee Targums *, or para- 
 phrafes of the Old Teftament, which yet 
 do countenance no fuch doctrine. 
 
 The 
 
 * Chaldee Targums.'] Dr. Allix, in his Judgment of 
 the ancient Jeivijh church^ labours much to make this 
 ancient Jewifli church Trinitarian. But all the Jews 
 of later times cry out againft fuch an imputation upon 
 them and their anceftors, and unquestionably the 
 Trinity is one of thofe doctrines that prejudice them 
 moft againft Chriftianity. I make no doubt but 
 this grofs error and mifapprehenfion has arifen from 
 Chriftians, like Dr. Allix, going to the reading of 
 the Chaldee and Hebrew writings, full of their own 
 Trinitarian ideas, and fixing them upon words which 
 the writers never intended to convey any thing of the 
 kind. Our Prideaux, and Louis Capellus, have fo 
 well explained this matter, and fet afide thefe fancies* 
 that the reader will thank me for producing them : 
 *' With much better reafon (fays the former) does the 
 " fame Frenchman (father Simon) difapprove of the 
 *' ufe of the Targums for the proof of the Ao-yoj, or 
 ** Word, in that fenfe in which we find it exprefled in 
 ** the firft chapter of the gofpel of St. John. For 
 44 through all thofe Targums^ in a great number of 
 " places where mention is made of God in the original 
 4 * Hebrew^ it being rendered the word of God in the 
 ** Chaldee interpretation, hence the Chaldee Mimra t 
 *' which in that phrafe ftgnifieth the Word^ hath been 
 ** thought to correfpond with the Greek Ac'yo? in that 
 *' gofpel, and both exadlly to denote the fame thing. 
 ** And therefore feveral learned men have endeavoured 
 ** to explain the one by the other, and from hence to 
 
 " prove
 
 f 89 ] 
 
 The people of God have in all times af- 
 ferted the divine Unity in the flrongeft 
 
 terms. 
 
 fi prove the divinity of our Saviour. But others, as 
 well as Monf. Simon, being fenfible of this phrafe 
 " in the Chaldee being an idiom of that language 
 *' which may be otherwife explained, they are againft 
 " preffing any argument from it for this point, becaufe 
 * it is capable of an anfwer to which we cannot well 
 '* reply :" [i. e. I prefume, it would prove, that the 
 Word in the beginning of John's gofpel is wrongly ap- 
 plied to Chrift, and is nothing but a defcription, in 
 the Hebrew way, of God himfelf ^ which feems the 
 true interpretation, tho' Prideaux and many others 
 have been unwilling to admit it.] Prideaux's Connec- 
 tion^ &c. vol. iv. p. 749, 750. 
 
 Capellus fays, " Although I will not directly con- 
 demn the conjecture, I think it not fufficiently folid 
 againft an obftinate Jew. For it is certain the Chal- 
 dee paraphrafe continually ufes the term, Mimra^ IVord^ 
 for the reciprocal pronoun, blmfelf. Continual exam- 
 ples occur of this way of fpeaking. And, therefore, 
 the Word of the Lord, Mimra Dei, can fignify no 
 more according to them, than the Lord himfelf" Lud. 
 Capelll op. p. 76. 
 
 A few inftances out of a thoufand that are produced 
 by Allix, and Bp. Kidder in his demonftration of the 
 Meffiah, will explain and confirm this interpretation. 
 
 " Genefis i. 27. Inftead of God created man, it is in 
 the Jerufalem Targum, the word (Mimra) of the Lord 
 treated man, i. e. (not the word, Logos, a diftin& 
 being, but) the Lord himfelf created man. 
 
 Gen.
 
 f 9 1 
 
 terms. One of the articles of their creed 
 is, " Credo perfecta fide, quod Deus Cre- 
 ator unus fit; quodque unitas talis qualis 
 in eo eft, in alio nemine reperiaturj" i. e. 
 I believe with an intire faith, that God, 
 the Creator, is One perfon, and that the 
 unity or onenefs which is in him is not in 
 any other. 
 
 Buxtorf, who gives us this article of 
 their faith, p. 3, in his account of their 
 daily devotions, informs us " They then 
 go on to fing, And Godfoall be king ever 
 all the earth : In that day there fljall be One 
 
 Gen. ix. 12. " And God faid, this is the token of 
 the covenant which I make between me and you." 
 Onkelos paraphrafes between my word (my Mimra) 
 and you, i. e. my f elf and you. 
 
 Exod. xx. 24. " For I will come unto thee, and I 
 will blefs thee." The Jerufalem Targu,ra has it, ny 
 word (ray Mimra) {hall appear to you and blefs you 
 i. e. I myfelf. 
 
 Pfalm ex. i. " The Lord faid unto my Lord." 
 The Chaldee paraphraft renders it, The Lord faid by 
 bis word, his Mimra, i. e. byhimfelf. Which hew- 
 cth, he did not rightly urxjerftand the words, as pro- 
 phetically addrefled to the Mefliah, according to our 
 Saviour's own interpretation of it, Matth. xxii. 44; 
 but thought it a ftrong afleveration made by God him- 
 ielf. Kiddtr's demon/lratiott of the Mfj]iab t part iii. 
 p. 108. 
 
 Goa,
 
 I 91 1 
 
 , and his name One, (Zachariah xiv, 9.) 
 in like manner as it is written in thy law, 
 Htar, O Ifrael, God mtr God is one God. 
 This (continued! he) is fo drawn up by 
 them in opposition to die belief of Chrif- 
 tians, as though we adored more Gods 
 than one, or gave him more names than 
 one, viz. that of Chrift *;" 
 
 Our Lord Jefus Chrift himfelf uniform- 
 ly and invariably taught this Jewifla doc- 
 trine of the divine Unity. One is fur-*- 
 prized how any could bring themielves to 
 think he taught any other. 
 
 Language the moft decifive is ufed by 
 him to denote the fingleneis and unity of 
 the object or perionj /, tbou, be, him-, 
 words, which in ev^ry other inftance we 
 appropriate to one, fmgk perfon ; and 
 which, without confounding all language, 
 are incapable of being applied to more 
 than one. 
 
 * Buxtorf. Synagoga Judaica, p. 165. 
 
 Athanafius, writing againft the Arians, owns 
 that, on account of the clodtrine of theTrinity, the hea- 
 thens of that time chargedChriftians with holding many 
 Gods themfelves. Well then might the Jews fo think 
 of that dodrine, which he and others had framed. 
 
 Matthew
 
 [ 9* 1 
 
 Matthew xxii. 37, 38, he inculcates 
 that firft and great commandment of the 
 law, referring no doubt to Deuteron. vi. 
 4, 5. " Thou (halt love the Lord thy God 
 with all thy heart, and with all thy foul, 
 and with all thy mind." And iupreme 
 affection cannot belong to two or more 
 perfons. We can but love One with all 
 our heart. 
 
 Chrift never referred the Jews to any 
 other than the Lord God of their fathers, 
 whofe words he quotes to them, Matth. 
 xxii. 32. I am the God of Abraham, &c. 
 Nor any other Creator than be, that 
 One, whom Mofes declared. Matth. xix. 
 4. He which made them at the beginning, 
 made them male and female : and Mark 
 x. 6, From the beginning of the creation 
 God made them male and female. 
 
 And Matth. iv. 10, he in the moft de- 
 cifivc terms declares the Lord God to be 
 One perfon> and fmgly, exclufive of all 
 others, to be the fole object of worfhip j 
 " Thou (halt worship the Lord thy God, 
 and him only (halt thou ferve." 
 
 His difciples after him fpeak the fame 
 language. 
 
 St.
 
 [ 93 J 
 
 St. Paul declares to the Athenians, 
 " Whom ye ignorantly worfhip, him de- 
 clare I unto you ; God that made the 
 world be is Lord of heaven and earth 5 
 and now commandeth all men every where 
 to repent j becaufe he hath appointed a day 
 in the which he will judge the world by the 
 man whom be hath ordained ; whereof he 
 hath given aflurance unto all men, in that 
 be hath raifed him from the dead." Acts 
 xvii. 23, &c. 
 
 See alfo the joint prayer of the apoftles, 
 -Acts iv. 24. 
 
 It is related of father Paul, N ' 
 
 of perfons in 
 
 that he was once denounced to God. 
 the office of the holy inquifition, for main- 
 taining that no proof of the doctrine of 
 the holy Trinity could be drawn from the 
 firft chapter of Genefis ; and that not be- 
 ing intimidated by the accufation, fo as to 
 retract his opinion, but perfifting in it, 
 and making his appeal to the inquifitor- 
 general at Rome, he was acquitted*. What 
 was not found to be herefy at Rome, 'tis 
 hoped, will not be fligmatized as fuch 
 
 * Vita del Padre Paolo, p. 8. 
 
 here*
 
 t 94' ] 
 
 here. Carlvin : warns his readers againfl 
 ftich (trained interpretations of fcripture*; 
 and many other; learned -men befides, who 
 have defended the received doctrine from 
 other pailages of fcripture, have rejected 
 the kind of proof here brought, as too {len- 
 der and precarious a foundation to reft 
 fuch a doctrine upon it. 
 
 The ftate of the matter is this. The 
 firft words of the Bible are, " In the be- 
 ginning God created the heaven and the 
 earth." But the word ufed for God is 
 Eloblm or Aleim (as fome write it) with a 
 plural termination ; and the verb created 
 is fingular, as though one mould fay in 
 Englifh Gods hath created ; whence they 
 would infer -f the One God to be made 
 
 up 
 
 * " Habetur apud Mofen Elohim, noraen pluralis 
 numeri. Unde colligere folent hie in Deo notari tres 
 perfonas. Sed quia parum folida mihi videtur tantas 
 rei probatio, ego in voce non inflftam. Quin potius 
 monendi funt leftores, ut fibi a violentis ejufmodi glof- 
 fw caveant." Calvin. Comment, in Gen. i. i. 
 
 f It would hence follow, that Dagon, the god of 
 the Philiftines, confided of a Trinity or plurality of 
 perfans: for Judges xvi. 23, there is exa&ly the fame 
 conftru&ion as here, where, inftead of our prefient 
 
 tranflation .** OurGW bath delivered Samfon :" 
 
 It
 
 [95) 
 
 up of more perfonS than one, altho' of how 
 many, whether three or more, cannot 
 hence be determined. 
 
 But whoever knoweth aught of the He- 
 brew language, and will judge without 
 prejudice, will perceive that there is no 
 fuch thing to be inferred, nor any myftery 
 at all couched under this conftruclion of a 
 verb fingular with a nominative cafe plu- 
 ral, or the fimilar conduction of a noun 
 fubftantive of plural termination with an 
 adjective fingular, that language abound- 
 ing with fuch irregularities. 
 
 It is in the Hebrew, Our Gods latl delivered Sam- 
 
 fon our enemy into our hand." *^tn this way alfo a 
 
 Trinity or plurality of Gods might be proved as well 
 as a Trinity or plurality of perfons, as they term it : 
 for in fome inftances, not only the nominative cafe but 
 the verb itfelf is plural as 2 Sam. vii. 23 where we 
 tranflate " whom God wen't, or hath gone to redeem," 
 it-Is') in the Hebrew, Gods have gone to redeem. And 
 fo alfo in two other places, where alfo the One true 
 God is fpoken of, in Gen. xx. 13. xxxv. 7, but 
 which cannot fo well be made to appear in our language, 
 where the fingular and plural termination of the verb 
 is the fame. But in the French it is more evident 
 where, in the firft inftance inftead of Dieu ni a con- 
 duit, it is in the "Hebrew, Dieux m' ont conduit; and 
 in the latter, inftead of Dieu lui etoit apparu la, it is 
 ia the Hebrew, Dieux lui etoient apparu la. 
 
 Thu?.
 
 [ 96 J 
 
 Thus Gen. xxxix. 3. " bis mafter faw, w 
 is in the Hebrew, " his maflers hath feen." 
 
 Gen. xlii. 30. " the man who is the 
 Lord of the land, is the man the Lords 
 of the land. 
 
 So Exod. xxi. 4. See alfo Prov. xxvii* 
 18. xxv. 13. Ifaiah xix* 4. 
 
 And yet we do not conclude any plu- 
 rality or myftery to be concealed here. 
 
 Inftances of the like ufage, are Pfalm 
 cxlix. 2. " let Ifrael rejoice in him that 
 made him," is in the Hebrew, " rejoice 
 in his makers" 
 
 Ecclef. xii. i. Remember thy Creator 
 is, thy Creators, 
 
 . Ifaiah liv. 5. " thy maker is thine huf- 
 band," is thy makers thine hujbands. 
 
 The feptuagint tranilation * of the Bi- 
 ble, which was made before our Saviour's 
 
 time, 
 
 * St. Jerom, who faw that the feptuagint tranfla- 
 tion of the bible did by no means favour his Tri- 
 nitarian notions, pretended, for he has no fort of 
 authority for it, that the Jewifh tranflators " be- 
 " lieved the do&rine of the Trinity, but conceal- 
 ** ed it on purpofe in their Greek tranflation, left 
 " Ptolemy, who was a worfiiipper of the One true 
 " God, fhould fufpeit the Jews of holding a twofold 
 
 divinity.
 
 [ 97 ] 
 
 time, and mod probably made ufe of and 
 quoted occasionally by his apoftles in the 
 writings of the New Teilament, conftant- 
 ly renders Elohim or Aleim t "?> God, when 
 fignifying the true God. And all other tran- 
 ilations agree in rendering it in the fingu- 
 lar number, considering its plural termi- 
 nation merely as an idiom of the Hebrew 
 language, which makes ufe of the plural 
 to give dignity to the perfon treated of. 
 And on this account, other words in the 
 fame language, as Adonaim, Baalim, im- 
 plying power, authority, and dignity, al- 
 tho' of plural termination, are always of 
 
 *' divinity. Ancl they were the more induced to it, 
 " (proceeds he) becaufe it fell in with Plato's doc- 
 " trine," (i. e. their notion of Chrift being zfecond 
 God.} " Laftly, fays he, wherever the fcripture af- 
 " ferts any thing concerning the Father, Son, and 
 " Holy Ghoft, they either gave a different turn to it, 
 " or pafled it over in filence, out of complaifance to 
 " the king, and for fear of divulging too much the 
 c myfterv of the faith." 
 
 See Le Clerc's remarks on Jerom in his -j^te/lionet 
 Hieronymiana y p, 304 5. This flanderous device and 
 apology of Jerom 'sfhews how nearly their new-invented 
 doctrine of the Trinity bordered upon the polytheifm 
 and idolatry of the heathens, when there was fuch 
 danger of its being mifconftrued and taken for it. 
 
 H fingular
 
 r 93 i 
 
 Cngular fignification, when one fubjedt or 
 perfon is fpoken of*. 
 
 Texts fuppofed , j h n Vt - g^ For there are 
 
 to favour a plu- 
 rality of perfons three that bep.r record [/ bea- 
 
 Trinity in' U- ven '> f ^ e Father , the Word, and 
 nit y- the Holy Ghojl ; and tbefe three 
 
 are One. And there are three that bear ivit- 
 
 * Mr. Madan, in his late Scriptural Comment on 
 the xxxix articles, p. 61, where we render Deut. vi. 4. 
 " the Lord our God is one Lord" he paraphrafes. 
 
 * c Jehovah (fubfifting in) our Aleim (or plurality of 
 perfons) (is but) one Jehovah." 
 
 According to this interpretation, what we read Deut. 
 
 x. 17. u For the Lord your God is God of Gods 
 
 would be paraphrafcd, " For the Lord, or Jehovah, fub- 
 
 Jtjting in your plurality of perfons , is plurality of perfons 
 
 of plurality of perfens. 
 
 If any are pleafed with fuch interpretations, they 
 have a right to judge for themfelves, but let them not 
 condemn thofe who are content with what is plainer 
 and lefs myfterious. 
 
 See fome good remarks on this point in the appen- 
 dix to *' An appeal to the common fenfe of all people, 
 particularly the members of the church of England, 
 with regard to an important point of faith and prattice^ 
 \mpofed upon their confciences by public authority," fir ft 
 printed for Millar, 1753 a ferious unanfwerable work, 
 and which has been ufeful in confirming many in the 
 true Unitarian doctrine of the fcriptures, that the One 
 Cod of Cbrfliam is the Father only.
 
 [ 99 ] 
 
 nefs in earth,] the fpirit, the water, and 
 the blood; and thefe three agree in one. 
 
 The words here put in a parenthefis and 
 different character, are not the genuine 
 words of the apoftle St. John *. The 
 reafons for their not being genuine, are 
 thus briefly fummed up by Dr. Clarke -f-; 
 
 " This paflage was never cited by any of 
 the numerous writers in the whole Arian 
 controverfy : nor ever cited at all by any 
 Greek father, (in any genuine work) ei- 
 ther before or after the council of Nice ; 
 though many of them quote the words 
 immediately foregoing and following : nor 
 by any of the Latins, before St. Jerom: 
 the paflage alleged by fome out of 5fi?r- 
 
 * " Dr. Jortin calls it zfpurisus text, which is 
 -ftill maintained in bold defiance to the fulleft and clear- 
 eft evidence againft it." Ecclefiajlhal hijiory, vol. iii. 
 fj. 100. 
 
 The famous Dr. Watcrland gave it up as indefen- 
 fible. 
 
 Luther and Bullinger, at the time of the reforma- 
 tion, omitted it in their German tranflations of the 
 Bible. 
 
 f But whoever, as he obferves, would fee the whole 
 matter learnedly and decjfively difcufled, may have re- 
 courfe to Mr. Emlyns full enquiry into that text I John 
 V. 7. with the defaces of it. 
 
 H 2 tullian,
 
 F 
 
 tulllan t being plainly not the words of this 
 text, but of that author himfclf ; and the 
 p aflage out of Cyprian, being only a myf- 
 tical interpretation of the 8th verfe j as is 
 more than probable, as well from the ex- 
 prefs testimonies of Euchcrius ZK&Facundus, 
 referred to by Dr. Mills, as from the text's 
 being wanting in all, even the Latin co- 
 pies, both before and long after Cyprian's 
 time. And even in the firft Englifli BU 
 bles after the reformation, in the time of 
 Henry the Eighth, and Edward the Sixth, 
 it was printed in a different character, to 
 lignify its being wanting in the original. 
 Which diftinction came afterwards to be 
 ncgle&ed. And, as to Greek manujcripts, 
 it has never yet been proved to be found 
 iji the text of any one of them, elder than 
 the invention of printing. Scripture doc- 
 trine (j the 'Trinity, p. 231, 232. 
 
 Dr. Clarke in the fame place well (hews 
 the fenle of the apoftle to be very com- 
 plete without this pafTage. 
 
 " Who is he that overcome f/j the world, 
 but hi' that believetb that Jefus is the Son cf 
 God? Ths is be that came (that was de- 
 clared and manifefted to be the Son of 
 
 God)
 
 I 101 ] 
 
 God) by water and bloid -, (by water, at his 
 baptifm, when there came a voice from 
 heaven, faying, this is my beloved fon :) 
 and by blood, viz. by his death and refur- 
 
 rection : and it is the Spirit (the gifts 
 
 of the Holy Ghoft, and the power of 
 miracles granted to the apoftles) that 
 beareth witneft > becaufe the Spirit is truth. 
 For there are three that bear record, the 
 Spirit , the water, and the blood; and thef e 
 three agree in One-, or, as fome ancient 
 writers read the text, theft three are one, 
 viz. one tejiimony, that Jefus is the Son 
 of God." 
 
 It is very remarkable, that this text, 
 for which there is fo little, or rather no 
 authority at all, is the only one * through- 
 out 
 
 * " It is certain the common people have their eyes 
 upon this, more than on artv-/< ndtubted text in the Bi- 
 ble, in this controverfy. And/3 far they muft be de- 
 ceived, if it be fpurious. And \t\s\nyourLordft>ips 
 and the Clergy s power to let them know it, and to re- 
 fer them to other texts, which you can affure them are 
 genuine. 
 
 " Nor is there any doubt to be made, but the pec- 
 pie think fome branches of the liturgy have their main 
 foundation on this one doubted text. When they hear, 
 three per fons and OneGod, in the fourth petition of the 
 H 3 Kt aw j
 
 out the whole Bi'/e that ntak;s direfffcjor 
 dottrine of the Trinity in Unit} : all the 
 other texts, that are brought for it, are 
 only inferences from what is fuppofed to 
 be implied in particular pafTages of icrip- 
 ture: but that three are one, the Fatter, 
 the Word, and the Spirit, One, is no where 
 elfe exprefsly or certainly declared. 
 
 litany j and, who with thee and the Holy Ghojl ever liv- 
 eth and reigntth One God, in the doxologies; they think 
 nothing in the New Teftament fo like it as this dubi- 
 ous text. And will you not think it great pity, that 
 your people fhould build fo weighty things on fuch a 
 flender foundation, if yourselves fo judge it ? 
 
 *' I fpeak this, becaufe I know not any other text, 
 that direftly or clearly fays tiicfame thing, viz. that 
 the Father^ Word, and Spirit, are One. They are not 
 joined in one doxohgy ; nor indeed do I find any [dox- 
 ology] given to the Holy Spirit in the New Teftament, 
 cither jointly or feparately ; much lefs is the Spirit faid 
 to be One with the Father and the Son. I read of One 
 Spirit, One Lord, One God, and Father, Eph. iv. but 
 not that thefe three are One. And if there be no 
 other text which fays this, it is not the more likely to 
 have been St. John's faying here ; but the more grie- 
 vous to have it inferteti by any who had not his autho- 
 rity." Mr. Emlyn's (ferious and affecting) dddrefs to 
 both houffs of convocation, for the removal of THIS text 
 out of our Bibles, vol. ii. p. 159, 160. 
 
 Matth.
 
 Matthew xxviii. 19. 
 
 " Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, 
 baptizing them in the name of the Fa- 
 ther, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
 Gboft." 
 
 The apoftles of our Lord, to whom he 
 delivered this direction concerning bap- 
 tifm, could not conclude from any thing 
 he had before taught them, that he in- 
 tended by it any thing like what we call 
 the doctrine of the Trinity in Unity. For 
 he had taught them, that there was One 
 God, the Father, " and none other but be" 
 Mark xii. 42, He had taught them, that 
 he himfelf was the Son of the Father, his 
 meflenger, and that he received his being, 
 doctrine, authority, power, every thing 
 from him. And he had conftantly fpoken 
 to them of the Holy Ghoft, as the Com- 
 forter or gift of God, by which he him- 
 felf had been guided and aflifted, John iii. 
 34. i. 73. Luke iv. i. and which would 
 be fent to fupply his place when he left 
 them, to affifl and fupport them in preach- 
 ing his gofpel to all nations. John xiv. xv. 
 xvi. 
 
 H 4 What
 
 [ 104 ] 
 
 What then would they underftand by 
 this form of baptifm, which we have 
 made to contain iuch a myftery, but a 
 compendious fumimry of thegofpel which 
 he had taught them *, and into which 
 all men were to be initiated, and inftiudt- 
 ed? That religion, which he received 
 from God, the Father, which he the Son 
 had preached, and which was to be con- 
 firmed and propagated by the miraculous 
 powers of the Holy Spirit. 
 
 It does not appear from what the Lord 
 Jefus had taught them, that they could 
 make any other conduction of this bap- 
 tifmal commiffion given to them : nor 
 does it appear from any thing which they 
 his apoftles afterwards taught others, that 
 they did in fact otherwife interpret it ; 
 much lefs infer from it a belief of a 
 'Trinity in Unify, or that the Son and 
 Spirit were each of them God no lefs than 
 the Father, and equally to be ivorfoiped. 
 
 * Chriftianity is the religion of Chfift ; or that doc- 
 trine of religion, which God the Father taught by the 
 Son, and confirmed by the Holy Ghoft. Matthew 
 xxviii. 19. Jffiria, vol. ii. p. 309. 
 
 For
 
 f 105 ] 
 
 For we find, that when Philip baptized 
 the great officer of the queen of Ethiopia, 
 the confeffion of faith which he made, and 
 with which Philip was fatisfied, was, " / 
 believe that Jefas Chrift is the Son of 
 God" A6ts viii. 37. And this fheweth, 
 that this was all the belief that was necef- 
 fary to qualify for baptifrn in the apoftles 
 days. 
 
 And that no fuch ftrefs was Baptifm by 
 
 f the apoflles 
 
 laid On thlS form Of words as We in the name 
 
 feem to have laid on it, and 
 that the apoftles did not think 
 themfelves fo tied up to it, but that bap- 
 tifm might be compleat without it, appears 
 from many inftances in the Ads of the 
 apoftles, and St. Paul's epiftles. For, 
 A&s ii. 38. Peter fays, " be baptized 
 every one of you in the name of Jefus 
 Chrift." And x. 48. He commanded 
 them to be baptized in the name of the 
 Lord. xix. 15. When they heard this, 
 they were baptized in the name of the 
 Lord Jefus. Romans vi. 3. Know ye not, 
 that fo many of us as were baptized into 
 Jefus Chrift, were baptized into his death. 
 Gal. iii, 27. For as many of you as have 
 
 beer;
 
 [ io6 ) 
 
 been baptized into Chrift, have put on 
 Cbrift *. 
 
 After the Nicene council had pronoun- 
 ced baptifm to be invalid that was not 
 performed in the name of Father, Son, 
 and Holy Ghoft, flatly contrary to what 
 appears to have been fometimes the prac- 
 tice of the apoftles themfelves, we find the 
 advocates of that council much perplexed, 
 how to fave its credit in making fuch an 
 unfortunate determination. But they foon 
 found out this curious folution of the dif- 
 ficulty : the name Cbrift t they faid, i. e. 
 the Anointed -f-, was itfelf a declaration of 
 the whole Trinity, as it implied God the 
 Father by whom the Son was anointed, 
 the Son himfelf who was anointed, and 
 the Spirit by which he was anointed, ac- 
 cording to Ads x. 38, God anointed Je/us 
 of Nazareth with the Holy Ghoft. And 
 thus indeed they made it out, that bap- 
 tizing in the name of Chrift might imply 
 a declaration of the whole Trinity, as they 
 called it ; but not of fuch a Trinity as they 
 
 * Gataker Adverfaria^ p. 29. 
 
 cl. 
 
 contended 
 
 t \Vhhby-Strifl.Patrum in Acl. fyojld. p. 231,
 
 [ "7 3 
 
 contended for, nor did they thereby clear 
 the Nicene fathers of fctting up their wif- 
 dom againft that of the apoftles. 
 
 But it is argued, that the Son and Holy 
 Ghoft being thus named together with the 
 Father, and baptifm being commanded to 
 be celebrated alike in the name of all the 
 three, the flrict equality of the Father, 
 Son, and Holy Ghoft to each other, may 
 be thence inferred, and that therefore they 
 are equally God, and equally to be wor- 
 ftiiped. 
 
 The weaknefs of this inference is ob- 
 yious from many parallel paffages in the 
 fcriptures. I Tim. v. 21. " I charge thee, 
 faith the apoftle, before God, and the 
 Lord Jefus Chrtll^ and the elect angels, 
 that thou obferve thefe things/' The an- 
 gels being here named along with God 
 and Cbrift, mews, that when God is join- 
 ed with other beings in the moft folemn 
 manner, no equality can be inferred from, 
 fuch a conjunction. So Sam. xii. j8. All 
 the people feared greatly the Lord and Sa- 
 wuel. i Chron. xxix. 20. And all the 
 congregation bleiTed the Lord God of their 
 lathers, and bowed jlown their heads, and 
 
 ivor-
 
 t .08 ] 
 
 tie Lord and the king. See 
 alfo Exod. xiv. 31. Judges vii. 18, 20. 
 2 Chron. xx. 20. 
 
 And i Cor. i. 15. with other like pla- 
 ces, mews, that Baptizing in the name of 
 any one does not of itfelf imply any divi- 
 nity in the perfon in whofe name baptifm 
 is made. 
 
 In (hort, nothing can be concluded from 
 the Son, and Holy Ghoft being here join- 
 ed with the Father, than what the fcrip- 
 tures ellewhere teach us concerning them; 
 and in accord with what thofe fcriptures 
 teach us, we cannot better exprefs the full 
 meaning of baptizing in the name of the Fa - 
 tber, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghoft> 
 than in the paraphrafe of Dr. Clarke, that 
 it is " receiving to a profeffion of the be- 
 lief, and an obligation to the practice of 
 that religion, which God the Father has 
 revealed and taught by the Son, and con- 
 firmed by the Holy Ghojir 
 
 This interpretation of the baptifmal form 
 is confirmed by thofe fummaries of Chrif- 
 tian faith drawn up in the firft ages after 
 Chrifl, particularly that called the apo/t/es 
 creed', which, although jiot compofed by 
 
 them,
 
 J 
 
 them, is acknowledged, the greateft part 
 of it, to be of very early times. 
 
 Well had it been for our The apoftles* 
 
 . . r \ creed cenfured 
 
 common Chnftianity, if thefe by ibme as an 
 
 models, left us by the firft be- 
 
 lievers, had been copied by 
 thofe that came after them ; and we had 
 been content in our creeds and liturgies to 
 fpeak of God, of Chrift, and the Holy 
 Ghoft, with that modeft referve and regard 
 for holy fcripture, of which the compilers 
 of thofe creeds and abftradrs of our holy 
 faith have fet us the example. This creed 
 of the apojtles, however, did not efcape 
 cenfure in after times, but has been afperf- 
 ed in moft outrageous fort, as favouring 
 the Pbotiniari) or what is now called the 
 Sociman herefy. And it mud be owned, 
 it does not favour the Athanafian doctrine 
 of the Trinity, and approaches too near 
 the holy fcriptures to content thofe who 
 are not fatisfied to exprefs their faith in 
 fcripture language. 
 
 Alphonfus de Vargas, a Spaniard, has 
 given us at large the angry criticifm, which 
 fome Englifh and Spani(h Jefuits patted 
 upon this creed, and made public. As 
 the book is rare, and the piece very cu- 
 
 rious
 
 I 'o ] 
 
 ridtis in its way, I {hall produce a few 
 tences from the conclufion, and give the 
 original in the margin. 
 
 " I believe in the Holy Gboft *. 
 tf This proportion is put with a bad 
 defign> and h defervedly to be 
 
 * Credo in Spiritum San&um. 
 
 Haec propofitio maligns propofita eft, et ex affeclata 
 brevitatc merito fufpedta haberi poteft. Subdole enirn 
 Spiritus San&i dignitatem, ejufquea patreet fUiopro-' 
 ceflionem tacet. Proindc Arianam haerefiu redolet, 
 fchifmati Grzecorum oblique favet, individuamque Tri- 
 nitatem diflblvit. 
 
 Itemque tota explicatio divinseatque individuae Tri- 
 nitatis, odlo iftis articulis comprehenfa, manca et pe- 
 riculofa eft, avertitque fidelem populum a cultu et re-? 
 verentia tribus divinis perfonis indivife atque iniepara- 
 biliter dcbita, et fub praetextu brevitatis et non nccef- 
 farize explicationis fubdole totum Trinitatii myftcrrum 
 evertit, cum tamen perfecta ejus et explicata fides me- 
 dium fit ad ialutem neceflarium. Vixque tota luec 
 doCtrina excufari poteft a dolo, quod nullam de Filii 
 aut Spiritus San6ti divinitate, aut etiam arternitate 
 mentionem faciat, fed contrarium de Filio in articulo- 
 
 tertio infmuet. Alphonfi de Vargas^ Toletani, Re'mtit 
 dejiratagematis c jefuitarum^ p. 148, 149. 1642. 
 
 But thefe Jefuits were modeft men compared with a 
 brother of theirs, Father Harduin^ almoft in our own 
 times. For he by one bold, crafty blow, annihilates 
 at once the original fcriptures of the Old and New 
 
 Teftament,
 
 [ III ] 
 
 for its offered brevity. For it craftily 
 pajjes over influence the divinity of the Holy 
 Gboft, and bis proceeding from the Father 
 and the Son. Moreover it fmells grievoujly 
 of tie Arian herejy, covertly favour eth the 
 fcbifm of the Greeks, and de/lroys the undi- 
 vided 
 
 Teftament, and all the authors and records of Pagan 
 and Chriftian antiquity, fix authors excepted, viz. 
 PlautuS) Pliny the elder, Virgil's nine eclogues and 
 georgics, Horaces fatires and epiftles, Homer's iliad 
 and odyfley, and the nine books of Herodotus; and re- 
 duces all faith and knowledge to the vulgate Latin 
 tranflation of the Bible, and the fuppofed conftant, 
 living, and oral tradition of his church. All other 
 writings he maintains to have been forged by zfet of 
 Jthei/fs in the fourteenth century. 
 
 His fociety were forced publicly to difavow him, but 
 he was to the laft privately cherifhed by them. They 
 well knew that ignorance was the mother of fuch devo- 
 tion as they taught, and that the Roman catholic 
 church, as they have modelled it, would better ftand 
 on the foot of tradition among themfelves, than on the 
 teftimony of the original fcriptures and fathers. And 
 it muft be owned, it was a noble atbeiftical effort to 
 prop the tottering fabric of popery, and in an age lefs 
 enlightened, and before the invention of printing, 
 might have caufed infinite mifchief and confufion. 
 See "Joannis Hardu'mi Jefuita ad cenfuram fcriptzrum 
 veterum prolegomena with a learned preface. - For 
 Vaillant, 1766,
 
 t "2 ] 
 
 " And tBe 'whole of this expo/titan of 
 
 ** A. *^ *J 
 
 the divine and undivided 'Trinity, contain- 
 ed in thcfe eight articles [viz. the apoftles 
 creed fo divided] n dejeftivc and dange- 
 rous. For it takes the faithful off' from 
 the worfiip ar.d reverence undivided!^ and 
 infeparably to bt paid to the three divine 
 perfom *, and under a pretence of brevity 
 and making no unneceffary enlargement t it 
 cunningly overthrows the whole my/lery of 
 the trinity, whereof the perfect tind ex- 
 plicit belief is an indifoenjibla condition 
 of falvation. So that this whole doftrim, 
 (namely t the apolties creed) can hardly be 
 looked Upon as any other than a cheat, be- 
 caufe it maketb no mention of the divi- 
 nity oj the Son or Holy Gboji y or their 
 eternity, but even infinuates the contrary 
 concerning the Son in the third article 9 
 viz. who iv as conceived of the Holy Ghojl, 
 born of the Virgin Mary" 
 
 It muft be confefled, that thefe Jefuits 
 had fome reafon in their wrath ; tor no- 
 thing could more exprefsly condemn their 
 doctrine of the divine undivided Trinity 
 than this creed of the apoftles ; and hard- 
 ly (hall you meet with two greater oppo- 
 
 fites
 
 r 3 ] 
 
 Ctes, than this creed and that which goes 
 under the name of Athanafms. 
 
 i Cor. xii. 4, 5, 6. 
 
 Now there are diverfities of gift 's, but the 
 
 fame Spirit. And there are differences of 
 
 adminiftrationst but the Jame Lord. And 
 
 there are diver/ities of operations, but it is 
 
 the fame God, that <worketb all in all. 
 
 There feems nothing on the face of this 
 
 paflage of fcripture, or on a comparifon 
 
 of it with any thing elfewhere fpoken of 
 
 the Son or Holy Spirit, to lead us to infer 
 
 from it the doctrine of a Trinity in Unity, 
 
 or the equality of any ether being or per- 
 
 fon to God. It is, on the contrary, an 
 
 exprefs afTertion of his prime over- ruling 
 
 agency, and of his effecting all things in 
 
 the Chriftian difpenfation by the miniftry 
 
 of his Son and Holy Spirit. 
 
 The apoftle's defign, in this place, is 
 to promote humility and peace; to pre- 
 vent the Chriftians at Corinth from being 
 elated on account of their own, or envi- 
 ous of the fpiritual gifts of others. For the 
 miraculous power, of itfelf, made no moral 
 change in the man on whom it was con- 
 I ferred.
 
 ferred. Without care and felf-govern- 
 mcnt, his difpofitions might even be chang- 
 ed for the worfe, by thefe extraordinary, as 
 often happens with the ordinary bleflings 
 of Providence ; and though made inftru- 
 mentol thereby to promote the falvation 
 of others, he might forfeit his own. 
 
 He tells them then, i. That there were 
 different gifts of tongues, healing, &c. 
 imparted to different perfons; all of them 
 equally good, becaufe all proceeding from 
 the fame Spirit or influence of God, but the 
 variety of them was beftowed for public uti- 
 lity, and not to generate ftrife and pride. 
 
 2. That there were different ftations 
 and offices in the church, the Chriftian fo- 
 ciety; viz, the people, and their minifters, 
 the deacons and elders ; but all were the 
 appointment of the fame Lord Jefus Chrift, 
 and in fubjection to him. And, 
 
 3. There were different itipyjparat, in- 
 fpirationst degrees of infpiration : but all 
 
 thefe extraordinary vouchfafements pro- 
 ceeded from, and were directed by the 
 fbvereign wifdom and power of God, who 
 taught men by his Son, and beftowed 
 thefe gifts on them by his Holy Spirit. 
 
 Clement,
 
 Clement, whom St. Paul fo highly 
 commends, Phil. iv. 3. feems to have had 
 this very pafTage in his eye in his letter to 
 thefe fame Corinthians j ' Have we not 
 (fays he) one God t one Chrijl" Is not 
 one fplrit of grace poured out upon us all ? 
 Wakes Apoflolical Fathers, p. 63. 
 
 The following is Athanafius's com- 
 ment upon it, for which I am obliged 
 to Dr. Clarke : " In the diftribution of 
 gifts, as the apoftle writeth to the Corin- 
 thians, it is the fame Spirit, it is the fame 
 Lord, it is the fame God, which worketh 
 all in all. For the Father himfelf, thro f 
 the Word, by the Spirit, worketh and 
 giveth all things j" i. e. as Dr. Clarke fub- 
 joins a little lower ; " In plainer words, 
 the meaning is, God does all things by 
 his Son, and by his Spirit." Scr. Dott. 
 p. 227. 
 
 2 Corinth, xiii. 14. 
 The grace of our Lord Jefus Cbrift, and the 
 
 Jove of Gody and the communion cf the 
 
 Holy Ghoft be with you all. 
 
 The Holy Ghoft here fignifies, either, 
 
 I. a divine perfon, a diftindt intelligent 
 
 agent, as fome underftand it : or, 2. the 
 
 I 2 gift
 
 t 
 
 gift of the Holy Ghoft, Afts ii. 38. which 
 Peter tells the Jews would be given them 
 on their repenting and being baptized ; 
 viz. the miraculous powers then ordina- 
 rily conferred on believers : or it may fig- 
 nify any benefit or affiflance which God 
 beftows in anfwer to our prayers : com- 
 pare Matth. vii. ii. with Luke xi. 13. 
 
 And the apoflle bids farewel to his Co- 
 rinthian brethren, by wi/hing them all the 
 bleilings of the gofpel j viz. the grace of 
 Chrift, the love of God which is the 
 fource of all, (John iii. 16.) and the gifts 
 and afliftances of the Holy Spirit. In 
 (liort, it is a fummary of the gofpel me- 
 thod of falvation, much like the baptif- 
 mal form (Matth. xxviii. 19.) above dif- 
 cufled, and can no more than that be 
 brought to prove the doctrine of a Trinity 
 in Unity, unlefs it be fuch a Trinity as 
 this, namely, ' that the One God and Fa- 
 .tber of all governs and manages the world 
 . of Chriftians by the inftrumentality of his 
 Son, and Spirit. 
 
 Thefe are the principal texts of the New 
 Teftament which are brought to eftablifh 
 the doctrine of a 'Trinity in Unity y of there 
 being three per/ons, as they fpeak, in the
 
 t "7 ) 
 
 Godhead, equal in power, federally God> 
 and yet but One God-, and upon which' 
 many parts of our liturgy, and particular- 
 ly the invocations at the entrance of the 
 litany* and the Gloria Patri, &c. are 
 founded j a weak foundation, as hath been 
 fhewn, for fuch a building. 
 
 With regard to the laft named doxolo- 
 gy t I was much difappointed, and few will 
 be fatisfied with what the late Archbimop 
 Seeker argues in its behalf, and in defence 
 of the exceeding frequent repetition of it 
 in our church fervice. 
 
 " At the end of this and each pfalm 
 (fays he) that we repeat, of whatever na- 
 ture it be, we add the fame doxology that 
 we ufed at firft : i. e. Glory be to the Fa- 
 ther, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghojl : 
 As it 'was in the beginning, is now, and ever 
 jball be, 'world without end: glory being 
 due to God, for every thing he hath taught, 
 and every thing he hath done, both in 
 former times and prefent; and for every 
 affliclion as well as for every enjoyment. 
 And therefore we do well to obferve the 
 apoflle's rule of ' giving thanks always for 
 all things unto God and the Father, in tbe. 
 name of our Lord Jefus Cbrifl. Eph. v. 20*. 
 * Abp. Seeker's pofthumous works, vol. vi. p. 188. 
 I $ Surely
 
 I "8 ] 
 
 Surely this was an unlucky ovcrfight, to 
 produce a text which, although injoining 
 thanks to be given always for all things, 
 yet tacitly condemns the practice of giving 
 {hanks to three perfons, and ordereth thanks 
 to be given unto God and the Father only, in 
 the name of our Lord Jefus Chrift. 
 
 Concerning this doxology, Dr. Lard- 
 ner thus remarks. " Douhtlefs this is faj$ 
 by many very frequently, and with great 
 devotion. But can it be fai-1 truly ? does 
 not that defer ve confideration ? is there 
 any fuch doxology in the New Teftament ? 
 If not, how can it be faid to have been in 
 the beginning ? Are not the books of the 
 New Teftament the moft ancient and the 
 moft authentic Chrftian writings in all the 
 world ? It matters not much to inquire 
 when this doxology was firft ufed, or how 
 long it has been ufed, if it is not in the 
 New Teftament *." 
 
 The 
 
 * Lardner's letter on the Logos, p. 176. See alfq 
 a fine paflage, p. 169, 170, 171. 
 
 Some jnay be curious, however, to know when it 
 firft came into ufe. In the fourth century, after the, 
 council of Nice, there were great contentions about 
 the forqa of their doxologies, thofe of holy fcripture 
 
 being
 
 [ "9 1 
 
 The law of God, given Religious 
 
 T u TV/T r J to be paid to G< 
 
 tO the JeWS by MoieS, and the Father only, 
 
 often confirmed afterwards 
 
 by the fame divine authori- 
 
 ty, invariably taught the Unity of God, 
 
 Deut. vi. 4. Exod. xx. 2, 3, &c. 6cc. 
 
 In confequence of this, the Unity of his 
 worftiip was moft. ftri&ly injoined, and in- 
 violably to be obferved. 
 
 Ifaiah xlii. 8. " I am the Lord ; that is 
 my name : and my glory will I not give 
 to another, neither my praife to graven 
 images." See alfo that fine prayer of King 
 Solomon's at the dedication of the temple, 
 2 Chron. vi. and the book of Pfalms, 6cc. 
 
 being too plain and fimple for the feveral contending 
 parties. Jerom is then firft faid to have compofed this 
 verficle, Glory be to the Father, &c. at the requeft of 
 Pope Damajus j and at his requeft to have afterwards 
 added the other, As it was in the beginning^ &c. And 
 the caufe of this addition was, becaufe, without it, 
 crafty heretics might ftill have gone on with their blaf- 
 phemy, in under/landing the Son of God, not to have 
 exifted always with the Father, but to have had a be- 
 ginning of exiftence, nonfemper cum Patrefuijfi, fed 
 a tempore ccepiJ/e."~DaI/#us de cult. Lat. religiof. 
 
 P- I! 93- 
 
 If this be a true account, it muft be owned, that this 
 
 famous doxology had but an unchristian and uncharitable 
 
 I 4 This
 
 f 
 
 This being then the Mofaic law, that 
 religious wormip was to be appropriated 
 to God, and incommunicable to any other 
 perfon whatfoever, every Jew was bound 
 to give divine honour to God, and could 
 not give it to any other, without incurring 
 the guilt of idolatry. Jefus, therefore, 
 and his apoftles were obliged by this law 
 to worfhip no other being but God, unlcfs 
 it can be proved, that Chrift, by his di- 
 vine authority, or his apoftles by his direc- 
 tion, did in any fliape repeal it. But that 
 they themfelves conformed to it, and gave 
 frem fanctions to its authority, is now to 
 be (hewn. 
 
 Our Saviour Chrift himfelf always pray- 
 ed to God, the Father, bis Father and our 
 Father, his Gcd and our God. John xx. 17* 
 
 Luke x. 21. " I thank thee, O Father, 
 Lord of heaven and earth even fo, Fa- 
 ther, for fo it feemed good in thy fight." 
 
 Luke xxii. 42. " Father, if thou be 
 willing, (or, oh, that thou wouldft) re- 
 move this cup from me : neverthelefs, not 
 my will, but thine be done." 
 
 John xvii. throughout. 
 
 Our
 
 Our Saviour Chrifl not only prayed 
 foimfelf but alfo directed prayer to be made 
 tnly to Godj the Father. 
 
 Luke xi. I, 2. Matth. iv. 10. John 
 xv. 16. 
 
 It were needlefs to multiply authorities 
 for fo plain a point. 
 
 Our Saviour Chrifl: feems, in words as 
 exprefs as can be ufed, to forbid men's of- 
 fering prayer to himfelf. John xvi. 23. In 
 that day yejhallajk me not king: verily, verily, 
 I fay unto you, whatfoever yejhalla/k the 
 Father in my name, he will give it you." 
 Hitherto he had been all along prefent with 
 his difciples, as it were in God's ftead in 
 fome refpects, with a divine power to heal 
 bodily difeafes, to inftruc't in the divine 
 will, to forgive fins, and to comfort and 
 eftablim 'em in his faith. In confequence 
 of which they had had recourfe to him in 
 all their wants and diftrefles, Matthew 
 viii. 25. " Lord, fave us, we perim." 
 Luke xvii. 5. *' Lord, increafe our faith." 
 i-r But as he was now foon going to be 
 withdrawn from them, he acquaints them, 
 that, when that event took place, they 
 were no more to apply to him for any thing, 
 but to God, the Father, (the common Fa- 
 ther
 
 3 
 
 tber of him, and of tbem a/1) in his name, 
 that is, as his difciples, relying on his au- 
 thority, and in virtue of thofe aflurances 
 and promifes from God which he had 
 given them. 
 
 I {hall need no apology for producing 
 the following important and appofite paf- 
 fage from Lattantiw. 
 
 " When God faw the wickednefs of 
 men, and that the worfhip of falfe Gods 
 prevailed over the whole earth, (for his 
 own people the Jews had not been true to 
 him,) he lent his Son on an embafiy to 
 men, to convert them from their various 
 impious and falfe worlhips, to know and 
 to worfhip him the true God, and alfo to 
 turn them from folly to true wifdom, from 
 iniquity to righteoufnefs*. Thefe are the 
 
 ways 
 
 * Hae funt viaeDei, in quibus ambulare cum prae- 
 cepit. Hsec praeceptaj quae fcrvanda mandavit. I lie 
 vero exhibuit Deo fidcm : docuit enim quod unus 
 Deus fit; eumquc folum coli oportere; nee un- 
 quam feipfum Deum dixit : quia uon fervaflet lidcm, 
 fi miflus, ut Deos tollerct, et unum aflereret, indu- 
 ccret alium practer unum. Hoc erat, non de uno 
 Deo facere praeconium ; nee ejus, qui miferat, fed 
 fuum proprium negotium gerere ; ac fe ab eo, quern 
 illuftratum venerat, feparare. Propterea, quia tarn fi- 
 
 delis
 
 ways of God, in the which he command- 
 ed him (his Son) to walk. Thefe the pre- 
 cepts, which he gave him to keep. An4 
 he was faithful to God. For he taught, 
 that God is One : that he only is to be 
 worfhipped : Nor did be ever fay that be 
 himfelf was God -, becaufe he would not 
 have been found faithful, if when fent to 
 deftroy the worfhip of many Gods, ancj. 
 aiTert the worfhip of One alone, he had 
 brought in another befides that One. 
 This would not have been preaching the 
 One God, and doing the work of him that 
 fent him, but his own work, and with- 
 drawing himfelf from Him whom he came 
 to declare. And becaufe he was fq faith- 
 ful, and aflumed nothing to himfelf, in- 
 tent only on fulfilling the commands of 
 him that fent him; therefore he was re- 
 warded with the dignity of an everlafting 
 high-prieft, the honour of a fupreme king, 
 the authority of a judge, and the name 
 (or title) of God.' 1 
 
 jlelis extitit, quia fibi nihil prorfus afTqmpfit, ut man- 
 data mittentis impleret ; et facerdotis perpetui dignita- 
 tem, et regis fummi honorem, et judicis poteftatem, 
 et Dei nomen accepit." - Laftantius de vera fapientia 
 ft religiont, 1. iv. p. 198. 
 
 One
 
 [ 124 ] 
 
 One would hardly think it poffible, by 
 any device, to evade and fet afide the force 
 of our Saviour Chrift's own example, and 
 exprefs precept of offering worfhip and 
 prayer to the One God, the Father only. 
 But nothing is too hard to be got over by 
 thofe, who have once warmly efpoufed a 
 religious fyiiem, and are unwilling to re- 
 linquim it. Hence it has been ingenioufly 
 invented by fome, though without any 
 Authority from holy fcripture, that the 
 word Father, befides fignifying the firft 
 perfon of the Trinity, as they fpeak, does 
 alfo ftand for the divine eflcnce or nature, 
 comprehending the whole Trinity, Fa- 
 ther, Son, and Holy Ghoft ; and that 
 therefore, when Chrift prays, or bids us 
 pray to the Father, he is to be underftood 
 of prayer to the whole Trinity, But what 
 a chain of abfurdities and contradictions 
 follows from fuch a fuppoiition ? 
 
 1. It would be making our bleffed Sa- 
 viour, whenever he prayed to the Father, 
 pray to himfelf. 
 
 2. To ufe Bifhop Pearfon's words " if 
 the Son were included in the Father, then 
 were the Son the Father of himfelf. Ex- 
 fq/ition of the Creed, p. 32. And, 
 
 3 , Dr.
 
 [ "5 ] 
 
 3. Dr. Clarke (reply to Mr. Nelfon, p. 
 237.) mews another ftrange confequencc 
 of fuch a fuppofition. " If, faith he, 
 the word God, which always fignifies an 
 intelligent and powerful agent, were ever 
 made ufe of in Scripture to fignify what 
 this learned author calls the divine nature, 
 viz. the 'whole three perfons> who are each 
 of them alfo in fcripture always fpoken of 
 as intelligent agents ; it would follow un- 
 avoidably, that the divine nature was a 
 fourth intelligent agent, diftindt from, and 
 conftitutedof thofe three intelligent agents. 
 Which is the utmoftconfufion imaginable." 
 
 It is from this confufed language con- 
 cerning the Deity, and a worfhip no lefs 
 confufed grounded upon it, that Chriftians 
 have been charged with \\o\&\ng four Gods. 
 
 The four invocations at the beginning of 
 the litany, can but ill be defended againft 
 fuch a charge. 
 
 Our Lord's apoftles, as may be prefum- 
 ed, were far from going contrary to their 
 divine Matter's practice aqd directions on 
 this moft important article of worfhip. 
 
 'They direff men to pray to God only. 
 Romans xv. 6, 30. Phil. i. 3, 4, 6, Col. 
 iii. 1 6, 17. Eph. v. 19, 20, &c. &c. 
 
 They
 
 f 126 ] 
 
 prayed only to God t&emfekes, 
 Afts iv. 24, 30* Rom. I. 8. xvi. ij* i 
 Tim. i. 17, &c. &c. 
 
 Chrift's charaftcr But that language COflCCf H- 
 of Mediator and . 
 
 High-Prieft ut- ing our SavioufChrift, which 
 EiShbS W apoftlc Paul ifl particular 
 theobjeaofwor- makes ufe of, i. e. ftylitjg 
 ing him the Mediator, i Tim. 
 ii. $. giving thanks and glory to God through 
 him and by him, RoiA. i. 8. vii. 25. Eph. 
 iii. 21. and above all, his calling him our 
 bigh-priejt t in allufibn to the office of thfc 
 Jewim high-prieft, fo largely infifted on 
 in the epiftle to the Hebrews, muft for 
 ever exclude the thought and pradtice of 
 making him the objedt of religious wor- 
 fhip. 
 
 Heb. iv. 15. v. 7, 8. His peculiar fit- 
 nefs for this office of high-prieft is de- 
 fcribed, as be *was a man, tempted in all 
 points like as ive are, yet without Jin, lv. i^. 
 v. 7, 8. 
 
 His admiffion into this office at his re- 
 furredtion, v. 5. 
 
 And he is now in heaven actually fuf- 
 taining that charadter, whatever it be, 
 miniftcring to God, and acting for us, iv.
 
 t 127 1 
 
 14. vii. 24, to the end. viii. I, 5, 3, 4. 
 ix. n, 12, &c. &c. 
 
 He cannot therefore be the God, to 
 whom prayer is to be offered, when he is 
 the high-pried of that God, his minifter, 
 to appear in the prejence of God for us, ix. 
 24. to make inter cefjion for us, vii. 25* 
 What a ftrange thing would it have 
 been for the Jews to have worlhiped 
 Aaron their high-prieft, inftead of the 
 great Jehovah, whom Aaron ferved ? The 
 idea exhibited to us of our Redeemer in 
 this epiftle is this, and it is full of con- 
 iblation ; that, by his love and friendship 
 for us, joined to his power and intereft 
 with God, and the divine promifes by 
 him, we are encouraged to afk of God in 
 prayer the fupply of all our wants ; and 
 are therefore exhorted to come boldly unlv 
 the throne of grace, that wt may obtain 
 mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. 
 Hebr. iv. 16. 
 
 But different conclufions having been 
 formed from other parts of the writings 
 of the apoftles and evangelifts, and a very 
 contrary practice founded thereupon for 
 many ages, we muft confider how far it is 
 really warranted by them. 
 
 Ada
 
 The principal Afts i. 24. And they prayed, 
 
 texts alledged , . ^ , 
 
 to authorize and Jaid, T.bou Lord, which 
 
 the harts of all men, 
 Jbew whether of thefe two than 
 baft cboftn. 
 
 This prayer is addrefled to God, the 
 Father, and not to Chrift. i. Becaufe in 
 a fimilar paflage that follows focm after, 
 the fame apoftles addrefs their prayer in 
 the fame terms to God, the Father, Acts 
 iv. 24, 29. u Lard, thou art God and 
 now, Lord, behold their threatenings, 
 and grant unto thy fervants, that with all 
 boldnefs they may fpeak thy word." 2. 
 For the reafon given by Grotius upon the 
 place, who quotes Jeremiah xvii. 10. ct I 
 the Lord fearch the heart j" and obferves, 
 that it is the prerogative of God only to 
 fearch the heart of man. It may be faid, 
 that, Rev. ii. 23. Chrift faith of him/elf, 
 " 1 am he which fearcheth the reins and 
 hearts." But then, this is a derived 
 power, as plainly appears from the fre- 
 quent acknowledgments of his receiving 
 every thing from God, and particularly, 
 Matth. xxviii. 18. " All power is given me 
 in heaven and in earth" i. e. beftowed upon 
 
 him,
 
 him, and intruded with him, for the go- 
 vernment of his church, but not furely to 
 erecl: him into an equal object of worfhip 
 with God, who gave it him. 
 
 Acts vii. 59. Our tranflation has infert- 
 ed the word God, when it was not in the 
 original, as is eafily perceived by its being 
 put in italics. Mr. Purver tranflates, 
 ' Thus .they ftoned Stephen, who was 
 calling on (invoking) and faying, Lord 
 Jefus, receive my fpirit!" 
 
 Unqueftionably Stephen made this re- 
 queft, addreflcd this prayer to the Lord 
 Jefus. But this can be no precedent for 
 directing prayer to him unfien> or ad- 
 dreffing him as God, whom the blefled 
 martyr declares he faw with his eyes y and 
 calls him, v. 56. " the fun of man (land- 
 ing on the right hand of God;" calls him 
 the Son of man , in that his higheft flate of 
 exaltation. Son of man, and God mojl 
 high ; what afpace between ? 
 
 Revelation i. 5, 6. 
 
 Unto htm that hath loved z<s, and wajhed us 
 
 from our' fins in his own blood^ and hath 
 
 made , us kings and priejis unto God and his 
 
 Father; to him be glory and dominion 
 
 for ever and ever. Amen. 
 
 K The
 
 The very different readings of this dif- 
 turbed paflage in the MSS. {hew that it 
 has fufTered by the negligence of tranfcri- 
 bers, which may eafily be obferved in Mill, 
 and Wetftein > and therefore no certain 
 conclufions can be formed from it. 
 
 " Dr. Mill obferves (faith Dr. Clarke r 
 Scr, Dodt. p. 146, 147.) that, in one an- 
 cient Greek manufcript, the words unto 
 him are wanting; the reading being, ri 
 a, f ya7Ti]<rocvTOiccci\vo'oaiT(%, infteadofrc; ayaTnj- 
 <rwTi xoti XxtruvTi : in which cafe the doxo- 
 logy will be, not to Chrift, but the Fa- 
 ther; and the paflage would be read 
 " And from Jefus Chrift, (who is the faith- 
 ful witnefs, the firft begotten of the dead, 
 and the prince of the kings of the earth) 
 who- hath loved us, and wafhed us from our 
 fins in his own blood." 
 
 Revelation v. 13. 
 
 Ulejing and honour, &cc. be unto him that 
 fitteth on the throne^ and to the Lamb, for- 
 ever and ever* 
 
 This is to be underftood in the fame way 
 as Ads vii. 59. The blefftng and honour 
 is tendered to the object prefcnt and vifible: 
 and not upon the throne, butftanding in the 
 midft, verfe 5. or before the midft of the 
 
 throne*
 
 throne. The reafon alfo, which is afligned 
 for this worfhip being paid him, (hews he 
 cannot be an object of wormip equal to the 
 Supreme; namely, v. 12. his being the 
 Lambjlain, and therefore worthy, i.e. fpot- 
 lefs innocence, perfect virtue and goodnefs, 
 tried and confirmed by fufferings. 
 
 The afcribing glory and honour to Chrift, 
 does in no degree imply, him to be God, or 
 authorize the vvorfhip of him, or prayer to 
 him. It is no more than a declaration of 
 our reverence of him, and high efleem of 
 his mod perfect moral character and 
 goodnefsi We may, therefore, and we 
 ought on all proper occafions to join with 
 his apoftle in faying, 2 Peter iii. 18. " To 
 him be glory both now a,ndfir ever. 
 
 i Tim. i. 12. 
 
 7 thank Chrift Jefus our Lord, who hath en- 
 abled me ', for that he counted me faithful* 
 putting me into the miniflry. 
 This is no addrefs of thanks to Chrift 
 as an object of wormip, but a fudden emo- 
 tion of gratitude in the apoftlc's mind, and 
 expreffion of his thankfulnefs to Cb rift for 
 his own miraculous converlion (Acts ix.), 
 and call to be an apoftle. 
 
 K 2 i Co-
 
 2 Corinth, i. 3. Rom. i. 7. 
 Grace to you, and peace from God our Fa- 
 ther, and the Lord Jefus Chrijl. 
 
 1 Theff. iii. 1 1. Now God himf elf even our 
 
 Father-) and our Lord Jefus Chr/Ji> dire 51 
 our 'way unto you. 2 ThefT. ii. 16. 
 
 Thefe, and other the like pafTages, are 
 only pious wiflies, not prayers. That this is 
 the true interpretation, and not mere afler- 
 tion, appears from Rev. i. 4. Otherwife it 
 may as well be faid, that the writer prays 
 to ihcfevenfpin'fs there named, which are 
 afterwards in the fame book, v. 6. called 
 the Lamb's eyes> i. e. Chrifl's angels, melTen- 
 gers, fent forth Into all the earth. 
 
 2 Cor. Till. 8. For this thing I befought the 
 
 Lord thrice* that it might depart from me. 
 
 St. Paul appears here to have directed his 
 prayer to God, the Father ; and to have had 
 in his thoughts, and imitated our Lord's 
 prayer in the garden, the night before his 
 fufferings, when he prayed three times to 
 
 God, that, if it pleafed him, the cup of af- 
 fiidtion might pafsaway from him, with- 
 out his drinking it. Beaufobre on the 
 place. 
 
 N.B.
 
 ( '33 ) 
 
 A 7 ". B. The apoftles were not fo exact in 
 the ufe of the words, Lord* Saviour, and 
 the like, which they indifferently gave both 
 to God and to Chrift ; never fuppofmg that 
 any would miflake their Lord and mafter, 
 fo lately born and living amongft men, to 
 be the fupreme God, and object of worship. 
 
 Dr. Hammond thus paraphrafes, "and I 
 earneftly prayed 'toGo tits bedelivered from it." 
 
 i Corinth, i. 2. With all that in every place 
 call upon the name ofjefus Chrijl our Lord. 
 
 Dr. Hammond rightly obferves, that it 
 fliould be translated " With all them that 
 are called by the name ofourLordJefusChrift. 
 
 '* In the ftyle of fcripture, to be called by 
 the name oj any one, or to have the name of 
 any one called upon it, fignifies to belong, to 
 be the property, or to be in fubjeclion to 
 that, whofe name is called upon the other." 
 Daubuz on Rev. p. 130. 
 
 But fee in Dr. Clarke (Scr. DocJ. No. 
 691.) an enumeration of the various fenfes 
 in which this phrafe calling on the name of 
 Chrift, and fome like it, are ufed ; among 
 which there is none that implies directly 
 invoking him, but Acts vii, 59. which has 
 been confidered. 
 
 K 3 Rev.
 
 ( '34 ) 
 
 Rev. xxii. 20. Come, Lordyefus! 
 Thefe words are only the reply of the 
 apoflle, addreflcd to the Lord Jefus prffent 
 with him in the vifion ; who had raid imme- 
 diately before, " I come quickly. 1 ' 
 
 Matth. xviii. 20. 
 
 for where two or three are gathered together 
 in my name y there am I in the midft of them* 
 It may be proper to take notice of 
 this text, though out of its courfe, left we 
 fliould pafs by any thing of confcquence on 
 the argument. 
 
 The following feems to be a valuable 
 explication of it. 
 
 . " If weconfider the whole of this paflage, 
 in which our Lord is fpeaking of the great 
 power of which his apoftles Should be pof- 
 lefled, and efpecially of the efficacy of their 
 prayers, we iliall be fatisficd, that he could 
 only mean by this form of expreffion, to re- 
 prefent their power with God, when they 
 were aflembled as his diiciplcs, and prayed 
 as became his difciples, to be the fame as his 
 own power with God ; and God heard him 
 always. That our Lord "could not intend to 
 fpeak of himfelf as the God who heareth 
 prayer, is evident from his fpeaking of the 
 
 Father 
 
 6
 
 ( '35 ) 
 
 Father in this very place, as the perfon who 
 was to grant their petitions." ver. 19*. 
 
 Le Clerc, in his harmony, feems to have 
 hadfomewhatof the like thought. " Where 
 two or three," &c. " it will be the fame 
 as if I was amcngft them, and praying to 
 God along with them -(-," 
 
 MelanBhorit in a letter to Camerarius> in 
 1532, after a prediction which hath iince 
 been but too much verified, of the difputes 
 and difturbances that would arife fome time 
 or other about the Trinity, thus concludes 
 upon the fubject; " I take refuge in thofe 
 plain declarations offcripture, which injoin 
 prayer to Chrift, which is to afcribe the 
 prope r honour of divinity to him, and is 
 full of confolation J." 
 
 * Familiar illuftrations of certain pafTages offcrip- 
 ture printed for Johnfon, Paul's Church-yard, 
 1772, p. 26, 27. 
 
 "I" ipfe inter eos efle, et Deum conjun&itn 
 cum iis orare cenfebor. Clerlct barm, evangel. 
 
 \ *' Ego me refero ad illas fcripturas voces, quae 
 jubent invocare Chriftum, quod eft ei honoretn divi- 
 nitatis tribuere, et plenum confolationis eft." 
 
 Bcnfon's account of Servetus, p. 165, note. 
 
 K 4 Obferve
 
 Obfetve here, ift. that this eminent per- 
 fon thought, andjuftly as it (hould fccm, 
 that prayer is the higheft act of worlhip, 
 the proper honour of God, and peculiar to 
 him alone. And, 2. that the principal argu- 
 ment for Chrift's divinity was to be fetched 
 from religious worship and prayer being ad- 
 dreffcd to hirr. If there be therefore no 
 authority for the latter, as we have (hewn 
 there is not, the other falleth of courfe. 
 
 But one argument of another kind is to 
 be confidered. 
 of (Thrift's high That the Lord Jefus is 
 
 power and autho- . n . . , . . 
 
 rityasa ground of intruited with a mighty ex- 
 tenfive power and dominion 
 for the good of his church and people, is 
 plainly and exprefsly revealed to us. Matth. 
 xxviii. 18, 20. John xiv. 14. Eph. i. 22. 23. 
 I Cor. xv. 24. Philip, ii. 9, 10. &c. &c. 
 
 How and in what manner he exercifeth 
 this power is wholly unrevealed, and there- 
 fore unfearchable by us, as much as the way 
 and manner of God's providence, under 
 which Chrift acteth, and which fuperin- 
 tends and over-rules all thing?. 
 
 To many, however, this high truft from 
 God, and vaft power and dominion have 
 
 fee me d
 
 leemed fufficient to warrant prayer to the 
 Lord Jefus, although he be not thefupreme 
 God. But this ground of invocation feems 
 jover-turned, 
 
 j. By what hath heen ahove fhewn, that 
 Chrift directed prayer to be made only to 
 God, the Father, and forbad it to himfelf. 
 
 2. There is no authority for it in the 
 writings of the apoftles. 
 
 3. It is fetting up an inferior object of 
 wormip without warrant, when God in- 
 vites and commands us to addrefs ourfelves 
 upon all occafions immediately to bimfelf, 
 and he is able to do more abundantly for us 
 than any other being, though ever ib great 
 and perfect. 
 
 4. It is deftroying the proper office of 
 Chrift as mediator, high prieft, and inter- 
 cefTor. 
 
 5. It diftrafts the mind of the worfhiper, 
 who will be in doubt and uncertainty, when 
 to pray to God, when to Chrift, when it is 
 right, when amifs to do it : a ftate of mind, 
 furely, that ought to have no place in fo 
 important a duty. 
 
 Love, honour, reverence, duty, confi- 
 dence, gratitude, and ebedience are, and 
 
 will
 
 ( '38 ) 
 
 v. ill be certainly for ever due from us of 
 mankind, to the Lord Jefus for his immcnfe 
 love to us, and on account of his perfect 
 holinefs, excellency, power, dignity, and 
 dominion : bat religious worfhip is the in- 
 communicable honour and prerogative of 
 God alone. 
 
 Some of the firft Socinians maintained, 
 that Chrift, although no more than a man 
 inverted with divine powers, was to be 
 prayed to and wormiped. And there is ex- 
 tant a difpute on the fubject between F. 
 Socinus himfelf, and Franc is Davides , fuper- 
 intendant of the Socinian churches in Tran- 
 fyhania, who oppofed the invocation of 
 Chrift. The latter died in prifon, in con- 
 fequence of this opinion of his, and fome of- 
 fence taken at his Jndifcreet propagation of 
 it from the pulpit. I wifli 1 could fay, that 
 Socinus or his friend Blandrata, had done 
 all in their power to prevent his commit- 
 ment, or procure his releafe afterwards *. 
 
 * The following little hiftory of a contrary beha- 
 viour, being not commonly known, and fhewing the 
 excellent perfon to whom it relates in a moft amiable 
 point of view, will be acceptable to fomc. ** Dr. 
 y afliort time before his death, began hi* felici- 
 tations
 
 I '39 ) 
 
 Momeim has fome remarks on this dif- 
 pute, which it is but fair to produce, and 
 they will not take us out of our way. " It 
 is worthy of obfervation, that the motive 
 which engaged Socinus and his friends to 
 beftow fo much pains and labour in the 
 fupprefiion of this faction, was not a perfua- 
 fion of the pernicious tendency of its doc- 
 trines, or peculiar notions. On the con- 
 trary, Socinus himfelf acknowledges, that 
 this controverfy turns upon matters of very 
 little importance, by declaring it as his opi- 
 nion, that praying or offering up divine 
 worfhip to Chrift is not neceffary to falva- 
 tion. Thus, in his anfwer to Wujeck, he 
 expreffes himfelf in the following manner : 
 
 tations at court for the releafement of Mr. Woolflon^ 
 declaring that he did not undertake it as an approver 
 of his doctrines, but as an advocate for that liberty 
 which he had through his life defended. He looked 
 on Mr. Wool/Ion as one under perfecution for reli- 
 gion, which hp thought inconfiftent with the liber- 
 ties of England, and the doctrines of Chriftianity : 
 And on this laudable principle Dr. Clarke folicited 
 the relief of the opprefled, but was hindered from 
 proceeding in his virtuous defign by death, foon af- 
 ter Mr. r/ooljlon\ commitment." Life of Mr. 
 U^oocljlon^ p. 1 8. 
 
 The
 
 Y/ie Chriftian, ivfwfe faith is fo great as to 
 encourage him to make his addrefjes habitual- 
 ly and direttly to the Supreme Being, and 
 who Jlandeth not in need of the conifer t that 
 flows from the invocation of Chrift his bro- 
 ther, ivho was tempted in all things like as 
 he is, that Chriflian is not obliged to call upon 
 the name of Jefus by prayer or fupplica tion, 
 According therefore to the opinion of So- 
 cinus, thofe who lay afide all regard to 
 Chrift as an interceflbr *, and addrefs 
 themfelves directly to God alone, have a 
 greater icafure of faith than others. But 
 if this be fo, why did he oppofe with fuch 
 vehemence and animofity the fentiment of 
 Davides, who in effed: did no more than 
 exhort all Chriftians to addrefs themfelves 
 directly and immediately to the Father. 
 From all this then it appears manifeft, that 
 Socinus and his followers were more artful 
 
 * Seldom is it that we can fairly reprefent the 
 opinions of thofe who differ from us on religious 
 points. Unlefs Chrift's making inter ccjjlon for us, be 
 Jlrangely fuppofed to authorize and encourge prayer 
 to him, certainly Socinus did the more cftablifti 
 Chrift's chara&er zs lnterceffor t by recommending and 
 preferring prayer that was made to God alone. 
 
 7 than
 
 than ingenuous in their proceedings with 
 refpect to Davides. They perfeeuted him 
 and his followers, left, by tolerating his 
 doctrine, they mould increafe the odium 
 under which they lay, and draw upon 
 themfelves anew the -refentment of other 
 Chriftian churches, while in their private 
 judgment they looked upon this very doc- 
 trine, and its profeflbrs, as worthy of tole- 
 ration and indulgence *." 
 
 Archbifhop Tenniibn's reproof of thefe 
 elder Socinians, for their inconfiftency in 
 holding fuch a doctrine as this of praying 
 to Chrift, whom they took to be only a man 
 indued with divinepower, is very obfervabk; 
 and points out the wrongnefs of praying to 
 him at all, if he be not the fupreme God. 
 
 " To fay that Chrift is a creature, yet 
 made fuch a God who can hear all prayers, 
 fupply all wants, give all graces needful to 
 his body the church, know all the fecrets 
 of all thoughts not directed to him, govern 
 and judge with wifdom all the world, and 
 to wor/hip him under this divine notion - 9 
 what is it elfe than paying an homage to a 
 
 * Moftieim, vol. iv, p, zoonote.
 
 prefumed creature, which is due only to the 
 One very God ! For what apprehenfions 
 greater than thefe do we entertain concern- 
 ing the true God, when we call upon him, 
 confide in him, or revere him * ?" 
 
 The opinion and practice of the ancient 
 Chriftians, before the council of Nice, has 
 been often (hewn from their writings, and 
 will hereafter be pointed out. But I can^ 
 not better clofe this head, than with a paf- 
 fage out of Origen de Orat. p. 4^. which I 
 remember not to have feen cited by any one* 
 
 u But if we would karn-t fays that excel- 
 lent perfon, iv hat prayer is, we mujl take 
 care not to pray to any creature, no not even 
 to Chrljl himfelf'y but to the God and Father 
 of the Univerfe alone : to 'whom this Our 
 Saviour himf elf offered up his prayers^ as we 
 have Jhewn before -, and alfo teacheth us to 
 offer up ours, for being once ajked, teach us 
 to pray, (Luke xi. j,) he teacheth not to 
 pray to bimfelf^ but to the Fa ther, fay ing> 
 Our Father who art in heaven^ 6cc." 
 
 woiflup I find not any example of 
 
 to be paid to Cod , T , , ^. r n 
 
 the Father, and not prayer to the Holy Ghoft, or 
 ' G W' Holy Spirit, as the third per- 
 
 * Tennifon of idolatry, chap ix. p. 174. 
 
 ion
 
 ( '43 ) 
 
 fon in the Trinity, as it is called, either in 
 the fcriptures of the Old or New Teftament; 
 or any countenance given tofuch a practice, 
 But it is molt fingular nd remarkable, 
 that St. Paul's epiftles in particular, and 
 thofe of the other apoftles, commonly be- 
 gin with devout withes of blejfingsjrom God* 
 and from the Lordjefus Chrijl- t but the Holy 
 Spirit is never named at all at ftich times : 
 as in the following inftances: Rom. i. 7. 
 
 1 Cor. i. 3. 2 Cor. i, 2. Gal. i* 3. Eph, i. 
 2. Phil, i, 2. ColofT. i. 2. i Their, i. i. 
 
 2 TheflT. i. i. i Tim. \. 2. 2 Tim. i. 2, 
 Tit. i. 4. Philem. i. 3. 2 Pet. i. 2. 2 John 
 i, 3. It is alfo farther to be noted, that in 
 the Revelation of St. John, where, we have 
 feveral reprefentations of the worlhip paid 
 by the Chriftian church, and the inhabi- 
 tants of the heavenly world, we have no . 
 mention there made of the Holy Spirit, as 
 
 a diftindt agent, perfon, or object of wor- 
 fliip, but the whole is directed to God, 
 with bliffing and honour, &c. to the lamb that 
 wasjlain, v. 12. 
 
 Thefe omiflions muft ftrike a ferious ob- 
 fcrver. They had fuch an effect upon one per- 
 fon, as toconvincehimof theutter wrongnefs 
 of the received doctrine concerning the Holy 
 
 Spirit.
 
 Spirit. " It cannot be, faid he, it" the Holy 
 Spirit be a perfon, and God equal to the 
 Father, that he fhould be thus patted by, and 
 left out unnoticed by the apoftles of Jefus." 
 
 " The only text that can be faid directly 
 to favour prayer to the Holy Spirit, is 2 Cor. 
 xiii. 8. the communion of the Holy Ghojl be 
 with you all. But to what hath been above 
 fuggefled concerning this text, I take the 
 liberty to add what is faid by an able wri- 
 ter, in anfwer to one who had brought this 
 as a proof of prayer being made to the 
 Holy Ghoft. 
 
 " The text contains but a pious wifli of 
 fpiritual gifts ; and it may as well be faid, 
 when St. Paul writes, Col. iv. 18. Hebr. 
 xiii. 25. Grace be with you all, that it is a 
 prayer made to Grace. And therefore, if 
 the Holy Ghoft never be called God; be 
 never prayed to in fcripture ; if we are never 
 called thejervanfs, nor church^ nor king- 
 dom, nor people of the Holy Spirit ; if never 
 required to pray, nor give thanks, nor praife 
 to the Holy Spirit (but to God, for and by 
 his Spirit) and only are bid to be guided by, 
 and not to quench, nor grieve the Spirit j 
 as may be faid' alfo of our own confcience : 
 
 if
 
 i HS ) 
 
 if fo, then what ground is there for all thefe 
 inferences of prayer and giving thanks for 
 all to the Hcly Ghoft> and joining him with 
 the Father in all our devotions ? If any 
 fuch things might juftly be inferred from 
 Chriftian principles, furely the apoftles were 
 as much concerned as any to make fuch in- 
 ferences, and to have put them in practice 
 for our imitation *." 
 
 The practice of Chriftians for a long 
 time was in ftrid: conformity with the holy 
 fcriptures on this point. We do not find, 
 that the Holy Ghojl was admitted into the 
 Chriftian church, as a feparate and diftinct 
 perfon of the Deity, until after fome ages 
 had paffed over. Not in the year 325, at 
 the time of compofing the Nicene creed : 
 for that part (the Lord and giver of life, iv/iy 
 proceedethfrom the Fat her , who with the Fa~ 
 ther and the Son together u worjhipped and 
 glorified, who fpake by the prophets) which 
 we have now adopted into the Nicene creed, 
 was not originally in it, but an addition 
 made to it at the latter end of the fourth 
 
 1 Emlyn, vol. ii. p. 447, 44,8. 
 
 L century
 
 [ i 4 6 ] 
 
 century, at the fecond council of Conftarr- 
 tinople -f-. 
 
 Some would account for this general ii- 
 knce of the early fathers, by alleging, that 
 the diftinct Deity of the Holy Spirit w*s 
 not oppofed before the time of Macedonius, 
 on whofe account the council at Conftanti- 
 nople was held, and therefore not particu- 
 larly fpecified. The real truth is, it was ne- 
 ver in their thought?. They had hitherto 
 fatisfied themfelvcs with the plain language 
 and doctrine of the fcripture itfelf, which 
 we have feen does not favour fueh a ftrange 
 worfliip. ' And what is a farther proof of 
 this, the ancient fathers, when they men- 
 tion the objections of the heathens on this 
 fubject, (viz. of Chriftians holding more 
 Gods than One) do not fpeak of them as le- 
 
 f This addition to the Nicene creed, made at the 
 fecond general council of Cottflantinoplc, was con- 
 firmed by that of Ephcfus which followed, when it 
 was decreed unlawful to make any additions to it. 
 And yet, not long after, Pope Nicholas the firft add- 
 ed and the Ssn t (fo that the creed became ay we now 
 read it, who proceedeth from the Father and the Son) 
 which was the caufe of fchifm betwixt the Greek and 
 Latin church, which continues to our time. Pear- 
 fan on the creedy note, p. 325, 316. 
 
 veiled
 
 veiled againft the notion of three Gods, but 
 of two only ; whereas, if the notion of the 
 divinity of the Holy Ghoft had been then 
 fashionable, they would have made the fame 
 objection as is now made by Jews and Mo- 
 hammedans ; not againft two Gods, but 
 againft three" 
 
 " I mall only quote La&antius, In ft. 1. iv* 
 c. xxix. " Here fome may perhaps afk, 
 how the Chriftians profcfs to worfhip but 
 One God, yet we feem to believe and holcf 
 two Gods, God the Father, and God the 
 Son. This dcdtrine hath been a great 
 ftumbling-block to many, who confefs, that 
 in other points of doctrine we fpeak what 
 is probable, and fit to be embraced - t but ia 
 this they think we ilumble, that we hold a 
 fecond God, and him alfo a mortal one, as 
 one who could die *." 
 
 The "Unitarian doctrine therefore is no no- 
 velty ; namely, that religions ivorjbip is to b* 
 addrejjed only to the One true God^ the Father* 
 
 * Ben Mordecal letter i. note, p. 107. where, and 
 alfo throughout the whole work, may be found a great 
 deal of important information concerning this point, 
 ani the fubjcft of thefe papers. 
 
 L 2 For
 
 For it was the doctrine our blefled Sa- 
 viour taught, and always practifed ; and his 
 apoftles after him : and it was alfo the uni- 
 verfal practice of the Chriftian church, with 
 little or no variation, for the firft three cen- 
 turies. 
 
 Monf. Jurieu faw this, and fairly owned 
 it; but then he maintained, in his fixth pa- 
 ftoral letter, that the myftery of a "Trinity of 
 perfons in the fame effetice, was not under- 
 ftood or fully explained, till the two coun- 
 cils of Nice and Conftantinople had mould- 
 ed it into its right fliape and form, and fet- 
 tled it, towards the end of thefourth centu* 
 ry. This, however, is a method of defend- 
 ing this doctrine which few will openly a- 
 dopt, as it mutt deprive them of the afiift- 
 ance of the whole lift of the primitive Fa- 
 thers : and yet it is an unqueftionable fact, 
 that they were utterly unacquainted with it. 
 
 The learned Biftiop Bull's fentiments on 
 this point will have weight with thofe who 
 know that his prejudices leaned another 
 way. And he confcfTes, 
 
 "In the firjl and bejl ag?s, the churches 
 of Ch rift directed all their prayer s 9 according
 
 ( 149 ) 
 
 to the fcripture , to God only, thro' the alone 
 mediation of Jefus Chrift/_^^ Bull's 
 anfwer to the Biflwp of Meaux. 
 
 And, in another place; " It is to be ob- 
 ferved, that in the Clementine liturgy, (fo 
 called,} which is by the learned, on all 
 hands, confefled to be very ancient, and to 
 contain the order of worfhip obierved in the 
 churches before the times of Conftantine ; 
 *all the prayers are directed to God, in the 
 name of his Son Jefus Chrift." Bifoop 
 Bull's difcourfe concerning the exijlence and 
 nature of angels *. 
 
 It was a great unhappinefs and overfight, 
 that when our forefathers (hook off the 
 yoke of the Bifhop of Rome, they retained 
 To much of the Roman ritual, its creeds, 
 and forms of worfhip; and that, as the com- 
 pilers of the liturgy, in the office for ordain- 
 ing priefts, exhort continually to pray to God 
 the Father ) by the mediation of our only Sa- 
 viour Jefus Chrift,for the heavenly ajjiftance 
 of the Holy Ghojl \ that this direction of 
 worfhip to its proper object, was not uni- 
 
 * Pr, Clarke Scrip, Dott. p. 435. 
 
 L 3 verfally
 
 verfally adhered to by themfelves, as it 
 ought to have been. 
 
 The litany t more than any other of the 
 offices of devotion in our church, feems to 
 deviate mod widely from this rule of Chrif- 
 tian worfhip, and to require a total refor- 
 mation. For in this, 
 
 1. God, the Father of heaven, is invoked, 
 
 2. Then follow three feveral invocations 
 of God the Son^ Gad the Holy Ghoft, and the 
 Holy Trinity. All three directly contrary 
 to what Bimop Bull above declares to have 
 been the practice of the church in the firft 
 and bed ages, and the rule of the holy icrip" 
 tures. 
 
 3. Next follow feveral addreffcs to Chrift 
 by himfelf. And after that, 
 
 4. " We finners do befeech thee to hear 
 us, O Lord God," would feem to be direct- 
 ed to God the Father. 
 
 5. Then, after a certain fpace, follow 
 many invocations of the Son, as Lamb of 
 God, Chrijl, Lord, &c. 
 
 6. Then we turn off all at once, and ad* 
 drefs ourfelves to the Father, 
 
 7. Then
 
 7 Then we return again to the Son, and 
 cenew our addrefs to him in feveral invoca- 
 tions. 
 
 8. Prefently after we go back, and fay, 
 We befeech thee, O Father. And, 
 
 9. In the very next addrefs, as placed in 
 this office, we refume our devotions once 
 more to Chrift, in the prayer of St. Chry- 
 foftom *. 
 
 Is there any thing in holy fcripture to 
 countenance this variety of addrefs, and 
 ihifting and changing from one object of 
 worfhip to another ? Can this in any fhape 
 be conftrued into a right worfhip of the 
 One infinite eternal Mind, the wife and 
 
 good Parent of the univerfe? 
 
 -j 
 
 * See Candid Difquifitions, p. 324, 325. 
 
 L 4 CHAP.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE CAUSES OF THE UNHAPPY DEFECTION, AMONG 
 CHRISTIANS, PROM THE SIMPLICITY OF RELI- 
 (JlOUS WORSHIP PRESCRIBED IN THE SCRIPTURE^ 
 OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 
 
 RAPID and aftoniming was the pro- 
 grefs and fuccefs of the gofpel of Je- 
 fus, at its firft preaching, in converting 
 multitudes in all countries of the known 
 world, from idolatry and vicious impure 
 practices to the acknowledgment of the 
 One true God, and a holy life and conver- 
 fation. But the caufe was adequate to the 
 effect. The prefence of a divine power, 
 manifefted by frequent miracles, which ac- 
 companied the humble and felf-denying 
 preachers of a religion fo pure and rational ; 
 the full aflurance of pardon to guilty mor- 
 tals, of being received into the efpecial fa- 
 vour and protection of God, in paffing thro' 
 this fcene of trial and fafFering, and the 
 animating profpedl of life and immortality 
 at the clofe of it : thefe were motives,which 
 indeed have now too much loft their power, 
 by being familiar to us, and therefore lefs 
 
 regarded,
 
 ( '53 ) 
 
 regarded, but which could not be refitted 
 at firft where men would pay any attention, 
 and had not loft all fobriety of mind, and 
 Jove of truth and virtue. The common 
 people, and the unlearned, who had nofpe- 
 culative prejudices to interfere, would rea- 
 tftly and naturally fall in with, and embrace 
 the belief and doctrine of the One living 
 and merciful God, the common Creator 
 and Preferver, and of Jefus, a divine mef- 
 fenger, prophet, and faviour, fent by him 
 to men, in all that purity and fimplicity 
 with which the apoftle: delivered it. 
 
 But the philofophic minds of others who 
 were brought to believe in Chrift, in an age 
 fo curious and inquifitive as that was, would 
 not fo foon fhake off the learned notions 
 they prized fo highly, and had acquired 
 with fo much ingenious labour, but would 
 be induced in fome fort to famion their 
 new religion by them. And this actually 
 came to pafs. Science, falfelyfo called^ as the 
 apoftle fpeaks, i Tim. vi. 20. firft corrupt- 
 dd Chriftianity, and led men into errors con- 
 cerning the perfon and true character of 
 pur Saviour Chrift j and the learned con- 
 verts from heathenifm were they that laid 
 
 the
 
 the foundation of the Niccne, Conflantino- 
 politan, and fcholaftic Trinity, as of many 
 other unfcriptural do&rines. So that to 
 know and to wormip God aright, we have 
 only to abandon the language and ideas of 
 a falfe philofophy, and revert to the pure 
 and fimple teaching and directory of the 
 word of God. 
 
 St. Paul faw thefe fatal errors in the bud, 
 and endeavoured to wain men of them, 
 and prevent their growth. Colofl". ii, 8. 
 j Tim. 6. 20. Acts xx. 30, &c. 
 
 But the apoftle John lived long enough 
 to behold and lament the unhappy fruits 
 that were grafted on this bad ftock. For 
 his firft epiflle, written at a very advanced 
 age, is chiefly levelled againft a feet of phi- 
 lofophic Chriftians, which had already 
 fprung up in Afia where he abode, who had 
 imported from their philofophy this ftrange 
 notion, that the Lord Jefus was not a man 
 in reality, but in appearance only, i. e. a 
 phantom ; and hence they had the name of 
 AoxyToii, doceta?, phantafmatici, phantomtfts 
 Offended at the meannefs of our Saviour's 
 birth and outward condition, and his fuf*- 
 fcring to death on the infamous crofs^of 
 
 wood i
 
 I '55 ) 
 
 wood; and full of Plato's fublime fpecula- 
 tions, or rather of the Orientalifts, from 
 whom Plato had borrowed them, they 
 maintained, that befides the TO ov, rayaQov, 
 the felf-exiftent Being, perfectly good y there 
 were many emanations of intelligences from 
 him ; and the firft and chief of thefe, you?, 
 Xo-j/o?, mind, reafon, wifdom, *fecondGod\ 
 and they took the Lord Jefus, whom the 
 apoftles preached, -the Son of God > to be this 
 firft emanation from God, which their phi- 
 Jofophy had taught them, 
 
 Another branch of their doctrine was, 
 that matter was in itfclf dark, evil, impure. 
 They could not therefore allow that a pure 
 emanation of Deity, fuch as they- prefumed 
 Chrift to be, could have any connection 
 with fo impure a fubftance as a human ma* 
 terial body, and fo they invented this folu- 
 tion of the difficulty, that he was man m 
 appearance only, and not in reality *, 
 
 * Hiftoire critique de Manichee, et du ManU 
 cheifme. Par M. de Beaufobre. torn. i. p. 378, 
 
 379- 
 
 Cotelier,
 
 ( '56 ) 
 
 Cotelier, in his notes on the epirtle of 
 Ignatius to the Romans, p. 24. well fays, 
 '* A man may as foon deny that the fun 
 /bines at bright noon, as that the doceta:, 
 or phantomift heretics, did not fpring up in 
 the very days of the apolties." The good 
 old apoftle, St. John's letters are pointed 
 continually at this innovation in the doc- 
 trine of his divine mafter. fc Every fpiric 
 that confeffeth that Jefus Chrljl is come in 
 the F/eft, is of God. And every Spirit that 
 confeffeth not that Jcftis Chrijl is come in the 
 fefii is not of God. For many deceivers 
 are entered into the world, who confefs not 
 that Jefus Chrtft is come in thefejh. This 
 is a deceiver, and an antichrift." i John 
 iv. 2, 3. 2 John 7. See alfo i John iv. 
 14, 15. v. i. 5, 6, 7. i. i. 19, 20, 22. 
 
 This is aifo the principal error combat- 
 ed by the apoftolic fathers. There is a very 
 itriking paffage of this fort in Jgnatitts ep. 
 ad. Tra//: which I ihall quote in Archbi- 
 (hop Wake's tranflation. 
 
 " Stop your ears, therefore, as often as 
 any one ihall fpeak contrary to Jefus Chrift, 
 of the race of David, by the Virgin Mary. 
 Who was truly born, and did eat and drink; 
 
 was
 
 ( '57 ) 
 
 Was truly persecuted under Pontius Pilate * 
 was truly crucified, and dead, both the 
 things in heaven, and the things on earth, 
 and the things under the earth, being con- 
 fcious of it. Who was alfo truly raifed 
 from the dead by his Father, after the fame 
 manner as he [the Father] will alfo raife ug 
 up who believe ,in him, by Chrift Jefus; 
 without whom we have no true life." p. 1 5 1, 
 
 We cannot wonder, that the fpirit of 
 this pious father, and faithful martyr of 
 Chrift, was flirred up againrt thofe dogma- 
 tizing fpeculatifts, ivho, by the wild fancies 
 of their metaphyfical philofophy, annihila- 
 ted ihe gofpel and the holy example of Je~ 
 fus, and turned the whole into a kind of 
 myftical fairy tranfaction. 
 
 Irenaeus often confutes thefe men, and 
 has one whole chapter exprefsly againji 
 'fiofe 'who held Chriji's appearance to have 
 been Imaginary and not real, and remarks 
 that St. John, in his epiflle, wrote purpofe- 
 ly againft them, and bids us beware of 
 them*. 
 
 They 
 
 * Adverfus illos qui dicunt Chriftum putative 
 apparuifTe, 1. iii, c, fcviiu 
 
 The
 
 They flill fubfifted in the latter end of 
 the fourth century ; for Aureiius Pruden- 
 tius, in his poem which he calls Apotheqjis, 
 confining of different pieces againft dif- 
 ferent forts of heretics, has one intitled, 
 " Againft the phantomifts, who deny 
 Chrift to have had a real human body*." 
 
 Thofe very early fathers, Irenaeus and 
 Juftin Martyr, although free from any 
 thing bordering on fuch extravagancies, 
 did neverthelefs contribute to bring into 
 Chriftianity the Platonic doftiine of zfe- 
 cond God, which they had learnt before 
 their converfion to faith ; as might be 
 fhewn by numerous inftances from their 
 writings. And Clemens Alexandrinus, 
 
 The Manicheans held this doctrine of Chrift be- 
 ing man in appearrnce only, which they drew from 
 the fame fource of a falfe philofophy. St. Auftin, 
 fpeaking of his own fentiments concerning Chrift, 
 whilft he was connected with this fet, fays, " I 
 was afraid of believing him (Chrift) born of the 
 flefh, left I fhould be forced to believe him defiled by 
 the flefh. Metuebam credere in carne natum, ne 
 credere cogerer ex carne inquinatum. Confejjldnum^ 
 /. r. e. 10. 
 
 * Adverfus phantafinaticos qui Chriftum ncgant 
 verum hominis. corpus hahuiflc, Pyudtntliop, p. 202. 
 
 and
 
 ( '59 ) 
 
 and Origen, as they were the mofl learned 
 of all the Fathers, ftill more adulterated 
 the fimplicity of the gofpel, by this and 
 other mixtures of gentile philofophy*. 
 
 All this while the true doctrine concern- 
 ing the One God, the Father, and his Son 
 Jefus Chrift our Lord, was preferved pure 
 anduncorrupted amongft the Jewim Chrif- 
 tian?. But their country and nation being 
 laid wafte and deftroyed, firft by Vefpafian 
 and Titus, and ftill more by the deplorable 
 calamities their unbelieving brethren 
 brought upon themfelves under Adrian ; 
 and being now poor and forlorn, and mak- 
 ing no pretenfions to human learning, they 
 were defpifed by the rich, and learned gen- 
 
 Le Clerc, in his article of Eufebius, ( Bibtietbeque 
 unherfelle^ torn, x.) has collected feveral teftimonies 
 of the high veneration of thefe ancient fathers, and 
 others after them, for PJato, and the fatisfa&ion they 
 exprefled in the agreement of his philofophy with 
 that of Chrift, efpecially on the fubjcftof the Lagos, 
 in the beginning of St. John's gofpel, which they 
 will have to have been the fame with this philofo- 
 pher's do&rine abovementioned. Whether there 
 was fuch an agreement betwixt the dodtrine off 
 Chrift and philofophy of Plato, in this and other 
 s, may well be doubted. 
 
 tile
 
 ( 160 } 
 
 tile Chriftians, and grew foon to be quite 
 neglected by them. 
 
 I do not mean thofe Jewim Chriftians^ 
 who have been called Ebionites, and who 
 held our Saviour Chrift to have been only 
 the ion of Jofeph and Mary: of whom, 
 however, Juftin Martyr* fpeaks moft can- 
 didly, notwithftanding this manifeft error 
 of theirs. 
 
 But I fpeak of rhofe Nazarene Chrifti- 
 aris, who believed our Lord to have been 
 born of the Virgin Mary by the miraculous 
 power of the Holy Ghoft, who fpoke of 
 God and of Chrift in the plain language of 
 the holy fcriptures, and kept clofe to what 
 they found therein revealed, without af- 
 
 * " Altho' I fhall not prove Chrift to be God,' 
 otherwife than by proving that this is the Chrift, 
 and that it was foretold he fhould be To. Yet will 
 it be juft, that thou fhouldft believe me deceived in 
 that one point, and yet not deny that this is the 
 Chrift, though he J'eem to be a man bsrn of men, and 
 laid to be chofen to be the Chrift. For there are 
 fome friends of mine amongft us [Chriftians] who 
 profefs him to be the Chrift, but affirm him to be a 
 man born of men : with whom, however, I do- not 
 agrer t nor will any fo fpcak who are of the fame 
 opinion wiih me." Jj//?;>j Martyr t dial, cum Tryph. 
 
 feeding
 
 ( 161 ) 
 
 feeling any philofophic novelties, or being 
 wife above what is there written. 
 
 When Mofheim fays, vol. i. p. 118. 
 that, although the Nazarenes and Ebio- 
 nites are generally placed among the fe<fts 
 of the apoftolic age, they really belong to 
 the fecond century, which was their earli- 
 eft appearance as a feel: j he fpeaks what 
 was the truth, though wrongly underftood 
 by him. For, indeed, the whole Chrijlian 
 church in the apojlolic age, made up of Jews 
 and Gentiles, was entirely Nazarene or Uni- 
 tarian ; and the Jewim believers, though 
 retaining fome of their Jewifh rites, as they 
 did not impofe them on others, gave no of- 
 fence, nor caufed any feparation or divilion. 
 The gentile Chriftians were the firft fepa- 
 ratifts or fedaries. 
 
 An anonymous writer * againft Artemon, 
 about the year 200, bears thtfe Jewifh 
 Chriftians this teftimony, tho' he would 
 invalidate it by the contrary on his own 
 fide, viz. that they appealed to their ancef- 
 tors, and to the very apoftles thernfelves, 
 as holding and teaching the fame doctrine 
 concerning Chrift which they did ; and 
 
 * Eufcbius, hift. ecclef. 1 v. c. ult. 
 
 M that
 
 ( '62 ) 
 
 that the truth of the gofpel, as they heUl 
 it, was preferved to the time of Vidor 
 Bifhop of Rome. 
 
 Thefe churches of Jewifh believers fub- 
 Med till the fifth century, but then funk 
 away, and we hear no more of them. Our 
 countrymen, Wall, and Lardntr, and many 
 learned foreigners, have lamented this 
 coolnefs of the Gentile Chriftians towards 
 the Jewifh believers, and their averfion to 
 all communion and correfpondence with 
 them, which St. Paul laboured to have kept 
 up, and had much at heart. Rom. xi. 
 17 24. It might have been a means of 
 keeping the Gentile church fteady in the 
 worfhip of the one true God, by the one 
 Mediator ', the man Chnjl Jefus, i Tim. ii. 
 5. and have preferved it from other griev- 
 ous errors, which have fo much defaced and 
 nearly paganized the religion of Chrift. 
 But there was to be a falling away from 
 the faith, \ Tim. iv. i. and God thought 
 not fit to interpofe, but to leave men to 
 themfelves. 
 
 But another, and a principal fource of 
 the corruption of the true Chriftian doc- 
 trine and worfhip ; the parent of the word 
 of errors, and which alfo, in the proportion 
 
 it
 
 C **3 ) 
 
 it prevails, will perpetuate them for ever ; 
 the caufe cf all the animofides, miferies, 
 and bloodfhed, that have fo often, and fo 
 long diTgraced the Chriftian name : This 
 is none other than that mohfter* 
 
 Monjlrum, horrendum, in f or me ^ gens t cui lumeri 
 adernptutn 
 
 human authority in the church of Chrift ; 
 when man or men, fingle or combined, with 
 or without the permiffion of the civil magif- 
 trate, have fet themfelves up for lords over 
 the faith and conferences of others, and 
 dictated and prefcribed to them, under 
 various pains and difcouragements, what 
 they were to believe, or profefs to believe* 
 concerning the revealed word and will of 
 God, and the way in which they were to 
 worfhip him. The apoflles of our Lord 
 afTumed no fuch powers over the minds or 
 men. They did not require obedience to 
 any doctrine of their o^n^ but only to what 
 they themfelves were taught by Chrift and 
 the Holy Spirit. 
 
 But their followers could not refrain 
 
 from fo unfeemly an ambition, even whilft 
 
 they were fufering under the crofs, and the 
 
 civil powers every where turned againft them . * 
 
 M 2 For
 
 t 164.] 
 
 For, towards the clofe of the fecond 
 century, Vi&or, bimop of Rome, excom- 
 municated all the churches of Alia for dif- 
 fering with him about keeping the time of 
 Eafter : and he (hewed the like imperious 
 behaviour in excommunicating Theodotus, 
 a Jewifh Chriftian, for not coming up to his 
 own opinion concerning Chrift, which was 
 that afterwards called Arian, and happen- 
 ed then and there chiefly to prevail. A ve- 
 ry different temper of mind this from what 
 Juftin Martyr (hewed, (as cited above,) to- 
 wards adiffenting, brother, but a few years 
 before. 
 
 But when the emperors had embraced 
 Chriftianity, and great worldly privileges 
 and emoluments became annexed to the 
 fashionable religious opinions, the intoler- 
 ance of Chriftians towards one another for 
 every little difference would have feemed 
 ridiculous, if it had not been attended with 
 lerious confequences to the unhappy dit- 
 fenters. For a long period, ecclefiaftical 
 hiftory is intircly taken up with accounts 
 of the bimops that bore the rule, travelling 
 about to lit in councils, and decide upon 
 opinions which had better have been left 
 
 unde-
 
 ( '65 ) 
 
 undecided, and would fooner have died 
 away ; and to excommunicate and depofe 
 fuch as differed in opinion from them, 
 from whom they differed as much them- 
 felves, and over whom they had no power 
 but what the civil magistrate gave them, 
 who had no right to give them any, or to 
 moleft their opponents fo long as they de- 
 meaned themfelves peaceably ; and which 
 power might, with equal juftice, have been 
 turned againft thofe who thought them-' 
 felves moft orthodox, and actually was fo 
 in the change of time?, as the reigning 
 emperor happened to be Arian or Ho- 
 mooujian * 
 
 Lord Bacon fbmewhere fays ; " futh as 
 hold prejjure of 'conference ', are guided therein 
 by fame private inter ejl of their own." 
 This is univerfally true of all oppreflbrs of 
 the confciences of others, in all ages and 
 countries. The prince's religion will 
 every where be beft -f- - y and f/iat, herefy, 
 
 and 
 
 * Eufebius, ecclef. hift. lib. v. c. 28. 
 
 j~ Mr. Hume has furnifhed us with a very fingu- 
 Jar inftance of the exertion and influence of impe- 
 rial authority in matters of religion, from our own 
 hiftory. 
 
 M 3 1571. " In
 
 ( '66 } 
 
 and to be condemned, which oppofes his 
 edifts. The fanguinary laws of the Chrif- 
 
 tian 
 
 1571. <? In the former parliament the Puritans 
 had introduced feven bills for a further reformation 
 in religion, but they had not been able to prevail in 
 any orje of them. This houfe of commons had fat 
 a very few days, when Strlclk.id, a member, revived 
 one of the bills, that for the amendment of the litur- 
 jry. Religion was a point of which Elizabeth was, 
 ifpoffible, ftill more jealous than of matters of ftate. 
 She pretended, that in quality of fupreme head or 
 governor of the church, fhe was fully empowered, 
 by her prerogative alone, to decide all queftions 
 which might arife with regard to doctrine, difcipline, 
 or worfhip ; and (he never would allow her parlia- 
 ments fo much as to take thefe matters into confider- 
 ation. Jk-The queen was fo highly offended with 
 Stricland's preemption, in moving the bill for re- 
 formation of the liturgy, that fhe fent for him to 
 the council, and prohibited him thenceforth to appear 
 in the houfe of commons. That at of power was 
 too violent even for this fubmiflive parliament. 
 Carleton complained that the liberties of the houfe 
 were violated. Yelverton enforced the principles of 
 liberty with (till greater boldnefs. The treafurer 
 warned the houfe to be cautious in their proceed- 
 ings ; neither to venture further than their aflured 
 warrant might extend, nor hazard their good opinion 
 with her majelty in any doubtful caufc. The mem- 
 ber,
 
 tian emperors of the Eaft and Weft, from 
 Conftantine wdufive, againft thofe who dif- 
 fered 
 
 ber, he faid, whom they required, was not detained 
 on account of any liberty of fpeech, but for the ex- 
 hibiting a bill in the houfe againfl the prerogative of 
 the queen ; a temerity, which was not to be tole- 
 rated. Cleeve, another member, remarked, that 
 the fbvereign's prerogative is not fo much as difput- 
 able : he added, that in quejlions of divinity ^ every 
 man was, for bis inJlruSlion^ to repair to bis ordinary ; 
 andbefeem* to infmuate that the lijhops themfehes, for 
 their iiiftruSlion^ muft repair to the Qittm, 
 
 " The Speaker moved, that the houfe fhould make 
 a ftay of all further proceedings : a motion which 
 was immediately complied with. The Queen, 
 finding that the experiment which fhe had made was 
 likely to excite a great commotion, faved her ho- 
 nour by the filence of the houfe ; and that the 
 queftion might no mere be refumed, fhe fent next 
 day her pcrmifllon to Stricland to give his attendance 
 in parliament. Notwithftanding this rebuke from 
 the throne, the zeal of the commons ftill engaged 
 them to continue the difcuffion of thofe other bills 
 which regarded religion, but they were interrupted 
 by a ftill more arbitrary proceeding of the Queen, in 
 which the Lords condefcended to be her inftru- 
 me-nt. That houfe fent a mefiage to the com- 
 mons, defiring that a committee might attend them. 
 Sogie members were accordingly appointed for that 
 M 4 purpofe ;
 
 fered in religious opinion from the fedt 
 which the amperor favoured, are {hocking 
 to humanity, and would affecl us more, 
 were not a violent diflike and prejudice 
 
 purpofc ; and the upper houfc informed them, that 
 the Queen's Majefty being informed of the articles 
 of reformation which they had canvafled, approved 
 of them, intended to publifh them, and to make the 
 bifoops execute them by virtue of her regal authority, as 
 fupreme bead of the church of England ; but that flie 
 would not permit them to be treated of in parlia- 
 ment." Hijlory of England^ 8vo. vol. v. p. ic 
 184. 
 
 The times are happily changed fince Elizabeth's 
 days. The commons houfe of parliament, on Feb. 
 6, 1772, without apprehenfion of controul from our 
 gracious fovereign, debated till near the hour of mid- 
 right, upon the petition of the clergy, &c. for the 
 removal of fubfcription to the xxxix articles; and 
 one may furely aver, that another fuch day's debate 
 muft have carried the caufe for the petitioners, with 
 all reafonable men. 
 
 And foon after in that year, and alfo in the pre- 
 fent 1773, the fame honourable houfe, after a ferious 
 and folcmn argument, voted almoft unanimouf- 
 ly for relieving diflenting minifters and fchool- 
 mafters from the fame burden of fubfcription ; not 
 without the folcmn vote, and noMe concurrence 
 rach time of many of the Temporal Peers of gieat 
 name in the upper houfe. 
 
 grown
 
 ( 169 ) 
 
 grown familiar to us from fuch bad prece- 
 dents, againft all thofe who dare to declare 
 their dijjent from a great and fpiendid public 
 ejiablifoment of religion. What miferies, or 
 elfe what fad havock of conference and in- 
 tegrity, muft that one edict of the emperors 
 Arcadius and Honorius have caufed in the 
 year 395? It runs thus. " Thofe perfons 
 are comprized under the name of heretics^ 
 and ought to fuffer according to the laws 
 made againft them, who fhall be difcovered 
 to deviate a hair's breadth from the judg- 
 ment snd track of the catholic religion *," 
 that is, the emperor s religion* or, as we 
 fpeak, the religion of the Jl ate. 
 
 I (hall make no apology for the follow- 
 ing quotation from Dr. Lardner's remarks 
 on the council of Nice. 
 
 " The introducing force and authority 
 in matters of a fpeculative nature is fubver- 
 five of true religion and virtue. t ? or what 
 avail human decifions, if they are not fa- 
 tisfying? If you can bring reafon and fcrip- 
 ture for any doctrine, men will aflent. But 
 
 ^ Sir Jfaac Newton's obfervations upon the Apo- 
 calypfe of St. John, p. 300. 
 
 to
 
 ( '7 ^ 
 
 to fay that the bimops of fuch a council 
 have fo declared and determined, is not 
 convincing. Therefore it ought not to be 
 expected, that men fhoqld confefs and act, 
 as if they were convinced. If you make 
 ufe of any methods, befide thofe of rational 
 arguments, to induce men to profefs and 
 act as you dclire, you do what lies in your 
 power to make them lye and prevaricate. 
 So did this council of Nice. 
 
 " This way of acting may be fuppofed 
 to have been the chief caufe of the ruin of 
 the Chriftian intereft in the Eafl. Thi-, 
 and the like determinations of fpeculative 
 doflrines, and the violent methods by which 
 they were enforced, may be reckoned to 
 have paved the way for Mahometanifm, 
 more than any thing elfe. By thefe means 
 ignorance, and hypocrify, and tedious ri- 
 tuals, came to take place of honefly, true 
 piety, and undiflembled fpiritual and rea- 
 fonable worlhip and devotion. 
 
 " In about three hundred years after the 
 afcenfion of Jefus, without the aids of fe- 
 cular power or church authority, the Chrif- 
 tian religion fpread over a large part of 
 Afia, Europe, and Africa. And at the ac- 
 
 cefiion
 
 ceffion of Conftantine, and convening the 
 council of Nice, it was almoft every where 
 throughout thofe countries in a flouriming 
 condition. In the fpace of another three 
 hundred years, or a little more, the purity 
 of the Chriftian religion was greatly cor- 
 rupted in a large part of that extent, its 
 glory debafed, and its light almoft extin- 
 guifhed. What can be this fo much ow- 
 ing to, as the determinations and tranfac- 
 jions of the council of Nice, and the mea- 
 fures then fet on foot, and followed in fuc- 
 ceeding times * ?" 
 
 * Lardner's Credibility, part ii. vol. via. p. 
 2224. 
 
 CHAP.
 
 C H A P'T E R V. 
 
 UNION IN GOD'S TRUE WORSHIP, HOW TO BE AT- 
 TAINED. 
 
 SYNODS and councils have in different 
 ages been affembled to promote this 
 union j creeds and confeflions of faith' have 
 
 been drawn up and.impofed, and forms of 
 worfhip prefcribed and enforced by awful 
 authority; but the defired end hath not yet 
 been attained. In the laft century, Mr. 
 Dury, a very pious good man, embarked 
 with the moft difinterefted views, in a de- 
 fign to unite all proteftants together in one 
 commoh 'confeffion of faith, and with in- 
 defatigable labour travelled over Chriften- 
 dom for near thirty years, to accomplifh his 
 benevolent defign. 
 
 His plan was, to lay down certain fun- 
 damental points, and to engage the whole 
 community of proteftants in all countries 
 to accede to them, and thus to form a 
 band of amity amongfl: them. In the let- 
 ters, that palled * between him, Mr. Mede, 
 and Mr.' Hartlib, may be feen how little 
 likelihood there was of an union in this 
 
 * Mede's works, p. 868, &c. 
 
 way.
 
 way. They could not agree upon, or fettle 
 what points were fundamental. No church 
 would renounce its peculiarities and infal- 
 libility. Indeed fuch a method was never 
 likely to fucceed. What is fundamental 
 doctrine to one man, or to a number of 
 men, and fuch as .they cannot give up, may 
 not be fo to other?, and yet all be equally 
 fincere and upright before God, and the 
 true difciples of Chrift *. 
 
 That is a fine declaration of Calvin's, 
 if he had but kept to it -f . " Since the 
 
 mind 
 
 * It was upon this principle of not laying down 
 fundamental doctrines for others, that the excellent 
 Grotius withftood the cries ofherefyand Socinianifm 
 raifed againft him from all quarters, and refufed to 
 the laft to disfigure his noble work of the Truth of 
 the Cbrijlian religion with making mention of the 
 Trinity in it. Not that he would be underftood by 
 fuch an omiflion to condemn that do&rine, much 
 lefs thofe who held it j but he perfifted in maintain- 
 ing, that it was fufficient to convince men of the 
 divine authority of the fcriptures, and leave them to 
 themfelves to find out the peculiar doctrines therein 
 revealed.-" Omnes ad facras literas ducendi funt, 
 ut inde talia hauriant, quse, nifi Deo femet patefaci- 
 ente, cognofci nequeunt." Grotiiepijl. p. 493, 761. 
 f " Cum in Dei majeftate confideranda mcns hu- 
 mana per fe omnino ccecutiat fi juxta captus fur
 
 ( '74 ) 
 
 mind of man is totally blind of itfelf when if 
 contemplates the divine Majefty, I truft I 
 {hall have the approbation of all good men, 
 if I feek God no where but in his word, 
 think nothing of him but according to his 
 word, nor fpeak of him but by his word." If 
 this fober referve and reverence for the word 
 of God be neceflary in the private confeffi- 
 on of a man's faith, fuch as Calvin was 
 then making, much more ought it to be ob- 
 ferved in the folemn public wormip of Al- 
 mighty God. Nothing of private opinion 
 or fancy mould be there admitted, nor any 
 phrafes or modes of addrefs ufed, which have 
 not the exprefs warrant of holy fcripture**. 
 
 "We 
 
 tcnuitatem Deum imaginari conetur: iftud bonorum 
 omnium pace ac venia failures confidimus, fi Deum 
 nufquam quaeramus nifi in ejus verbo, nihil de ipfo 
 cogitemus nill cum ejus verbo, de ipfo nihil loqua- 
 mur nifi per ejus verbum." -Cahini epijhl. p. 643. 
 ^ " He [the ever memorable J. Hales] exceed- 
 ingly detefted the tyranny of the church of Rome 
 more for their impofing unchaiitably upon the.con- 
 iciences of other men, than for the e r rors in their 
 own opinions : and he would often fay, he would 
 renounce the religion of the church of England to- 
 morrow, if it obliged him to believe that any other 
 Chriftian fhould be damned ; and, that nobody would 
 
 con.
 
 I '75 ) 
 
 " We ought to life no other prayers than 
 thoft which are contained in the holy firip*- 
 tnre t (fay thofe ancient Chriftians, the 
 Vaudois, in their confejjion of faith, pre- 
 fented to Francis I. 1541.) or fuck other 
 as are conformable to them for fubjlance *." 
 
 conclude another damned, that did not wifh him fa. 
 He thought that pride and paffion, more than 
 confcience, were the caufes of all feparation from. 
 each other's communion ; and he frequently faid, 
 that that only kept the world from agreeing upon f itch a 
 liturgy^ as might bring them into one communion j all 
 doftrinal points, upon which men differed in their opi- 
 nions^ being to have no place in any liturgy " Lord 
 Clarendon s hijlory of his own life, p. 54. 
 
 6 There is fuch an admirable firnplicity and" con- 
 formity to fcripture, running through the whole of 
 the confejjion of faith > from whence the above extract 
 is made, that I doubt not but I lhall do a thing ac- 
 ceptable to many of my readers in producing it. I 
 fhall therefore tranfcribe it in the Appendix. We 
 fhould have been now much farther advanced in 
 Chriftian knowledge and the pure worfhip of God, 
 if our articles, and confeffions of faith, and litur- 
 gies, had been framed after fo chafte a model, when 
 we feparated from the mother of idolatries^ the church 
 of Rome. But fchool-learning, attachment to what 
 had been eftablifhed, and a flavifh copying after a 
 fpurious antiquity, miflsd us then, and continue to 
 miflead us. 
 
 Arch-
 
 ( I? 6 ) 
 
 A ftamiing apo- Archbimop Tillotfon, fpeak- 
 
 ttolic rule con- . ,, . . . _ , 
 
 cerning prayer, ing of the grofs idolatry of the 
 
 Virgin Mary, our Lord's mo- 
 ther, among the papifts, remarks ; " That 
 the greater part of their religion, both pub- 
 lic and private, is made up of that which 
 was no part at all of the religion of the 
 apoftles and primitive Chriftians; nay, which 
 plainly contradicts it : for that exprefsly 
 teaches us, that there is but One objeft 6f 
 our prayers, and one Mediator by 'whom we 
 are to make ouraddrefies to God." " There 
 is one God ; and one Mediator between God 
 and man, the man Chrift Jefus," fays Sr, 
 Paul, i Tim*, ii. 5. when he gives a ftand- 
 ing rule concerning prayer in the Chriftian 
 church *." 
 
 Now this, which this good man, and 
 moft inftrudive preacher rightly and wife- 
 ly aflerts to be a /landing apoflolic rule con- 
 cerning prayer, from one fmgle text, has 
 been at targe evinced to be fuch, in the 
 foregoing papers, by a long deduction 
 from the holy fcriptures ; and it has alfo 
 been corroborated and confirmed by the 
 
 * Tillotfon's fcrmons, vol. x. p. 144. 
 
 con-
 
 i 3! > 
 
 .05 *'3 
 
 Concurring teftimony and confeffion of the 
 beft antiquity harmonizing in this one 
 point, however at variance in, others, that 
 prayer is to be offered to God the Fa- 
 ther dhne. It cannot but be, therefore, 
 of the moft ferious concernment to all, in 
 thefe ..enlightened times, not to go con- 
 trary themfelves, or to influence others in 
 going contrary to fo plain a prefcribed rule, 
 of worfhip, in which the honour of God 
 is. immediately concerned. . And is it not 
 inverting the very rule laid down here by 
 the Holy Spirit, to add refs prayer to the 
 man Chriji Jefus, the Mediatory as the apoftle 
 ipeaks, and not to the One God himfelf ? 
 If then, happily, every thing in our liturgy 
 that is not agreeable to this, landing apof- 
 tojic rule, and the general prefcriotion of 
 
 O 1 A 
 
 God's word, be changed or removed, all 
 Chriftian people of whatever denomina- 
 tion, ancient or modern, Arians, Atha- 
 nafians, Socinians, Lutherans, Calvinift?, 
 Ch.urchrnen, . may agree and join together 
 in the., wormip ufcd by, the apoftles of 
 
 t ^ x 4. 
 
 Chrift and primitive Chriflians. 
 
 Other agreement, than this in public 
 worship can never be attained, nor ought 
 
 N ever
 
 ( '78 ). 
 
 ever to be propofed. For, where men are 
 allowed to read the fcriptures, and think 
 for themfelves, difference in opinion will 
 be unavoidable, even on points the moft 
 important j becaufe whatever is matter of 
 confcience to any one is of the higheft im- 
 portance to him. But a form of exprefs 
 fcriptural ivorfoip mud be fatisfactory to 
 all, and fuch in which they can cordially 
 unite. " Good men, fays an excellent per- 
 fon, differing in their own expreffions, yet 
 agree infcripture forms of words, acknow- 
 ledging the meaning of the Holy Ghoft in 
 them is true ; and they endeavour to un- 
 derftand and find it out as well as they can; 
 therefore they mould continue friends ; and 
 think they agree, rather than think they 
 do not agree; becaufe they do agree in 
 what is God's, and infallible; though they 
 differ in what is their own, and fallible: and 
 upon this confederation forbear one another; 
 and not impofe their own, either fcnfe or 
 phrafe *." 
 
 But this charity, I Cor. xiii. this per- 
 fect ftate of Chriftianity, feems to be ftill 
 
 'Dr. Whichcote's letter to Dr. Tucknejr, 
 p. n. u. 
 
 afar
 
 ( '79 ) 
 
 afar off, although we* are, I truft, ap- 
 proximating towards it. Some late pub- 
 lications, and a declared indifpofition to 
 reformation, efpecially in the great objeft 
 of ivorjhip, forbid to entertain any pre- 
 lent hope of much fuccefs. In the mean 
 time, however, truth and right things 
 
 * I would hope the firft words of the following 
 paragraph, written fifteen years fince, are too ftrong- 
 ly put j for the reft, it is ferious and important. " I 
 do not fee any figns in this age, to denote it to be 
 an age of reformation, nor do I think it is the will 
 of God it fhould ; becaufe I rather think I fee fome 
 manifeft proofs to the contrary : the time, however, 
 will come, when, as St. Paul exprefleth it, i Cor. 
 xi.3. all men lhall know that the head of every man is 
 Chrift ; and as the head of the woman is the man, fo the 
 head of Chrift is God. The ample illuftration of 
 which great truth may poffibly be referved for that 
 glorious day, when the fullnefs of the gentiles 'being 
 come, the mefliahfhip of Jefus will be more evidently 
 difplayed the Unity of the Godhead be eftablifhed ; 
 and the great ftumbling-block of offence to the 
 converfion of the Jews being removed, then Jhall 
 all Ifrael be faved, Rom. xi. 25, 26. But, in the 
 mean time, there mujl needs be herefies among ft ;, 
 fays the fame apoftle, that they which are approved 
 may be made manifeft. Vindication of the hi/Va- 
 ries of the Old and New Tejiamtnt^ by BiJJjap Clayton^ 
 
 P- 34 ? 35- 
 
 N 2 fliould
 
 ( ( :8o ) 
 
 fliould be propofed to the public, however 
 unlikely to fucceed at prefent ; and often 
 propofed, that men may .not lofe fight of 
 them. And Providence will raife up in- 
 ftruments to forward its own defigns, when 
 the time comes. 
 
 It remains to be enquired what remedy 
 there may be for thofe who cannot, with a 
 fafe confcience, continue to officiate, or con- 
 flantly join in the prefent forms of our litur- 
 gy j who may be afraid of incurring his dif- 
 pleafure,whohathfaid,Exod.xx. 3. "Thou 
 /halt have no other Gods before me ;" and 
 of contravening our Saviour Chrift's ex- 
 prefs command, fo often, but not too often 
 repeated by us, ' Thou (halt worfhip the 
 Lord thy God, and him only fhalt thou 
 
 J . r 
 
 ferve." Matin, iv. 10. 
 
 Dr. Samuel Clarke's fuperior genius and 
 learning were the leaft of his excellencies* 
 His unaffuming modefty and humility, his 
 piety, integrity, ardent love of truth, and 
 zeal for God and his true wormip in the 
 world, ftill more diftinguimed him from 
 ordinary men. It appears from his con- 
 verfatkm with Mr- Emlyn, to whom he 
 
 8 opened
 
 . 
 opened himfelf without referve, that the 
 
 great object of his life, ftudies, and en- 
 deavours, was to procure the removal of 
 the declarations and fubjcriptions required 
 in our church to its articles and liturgy, 
 and the reformation of the liturgy itfelf; 
 and that, if he had been raifed to the. fee 
 of Canterbury, which, to the everlafling 
 honour of the princes of the laft reign, 
 was defined * by them for this Unitarian 
 Ofailne, he would then, indeed,, have ex-. 
 erted all his intereft and great abilities, to 
 make our church the moft ppre, as it has. 
 been long the moft refpedlable of all the 
 reformed churches. . , 
 
 It was a noble attempt that ,he made, 
 related by Mr. Whifton, to change the. 
 doxologles that were ufed in the finging 
 of 4 pfalms in his church at St. James's, 
 which, not being prcfcribed by the rubric, 
 he might think himfelf at liberty to alter. 
 But through the zeal of Robinfon, the 
 then'bifoop of London, it proved abor- 
 tive,, . 
 
 The alteration attempted to be intro- 
 duced was this : 
 
 * Emlyn, vol. ii. p. 492, 493, 494- 
 
 N 3 To
 
 t 8* ] 
 
 To God, through Chrift, his Son, 
 
 Our Lord, all glory be. 
 irrftead of 
 To Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft, 
 
 Immortal glory be. 
 
 But as the venerable apoftolic old man, 
 who has preferved this account, remarks 
 " The bi(hop, in the way of modern autho- 
 rity, was quite too hard for Dr. Clarke in 
 the way of primitive Chrift ianity *." 
 
 Dr. Clarkes heart was entirely fet on 
 bringing about fome reformation in this ca- 
 pital point of divine worfhip ; and if his va- 
 luable life had been prolonged, in whatever 
 fituation he had continued, he would have 
 ufcd his beft efforts for it ; and if no fuccefs 
 had attended them, I am inclined to believe, 
 from what Mr. Emlyn lets fall of the un- 
 eafy (late of his mind, and from his mani- 
 i'cft difapprobation -j- of all religious worfhip 
 
 * Hiftorical memoirs of the life of Dr. S. Clarke, 
 cd. 3. p. 76. Mr. Whifton was above fourfcore 
 years old, when he published this laft edition. 
 
 f This is ftrongly marked in his amendments of 
 the liturgy of our church, cited below ; in which he 
 blots out every paflage, without exception, in which 
 Chrift is confidcred as an object of worfhip, or prayer 
 offered to him. 
 
 not
 
 X 183 ) 
 
 mot immediately addrefled to God, the Fa- 
 ther, that he would have given up his pre- 
 ferment, and retired. 
 
 But what he might not perhaps have 
 been able after all to effect himfelf, he 
 was labouring at his leifure hours to make 
 more eafy for thofe that came after him. 
 
 " He once {hewed me (faith Mr. Em- 
 lyn) that he had been making fowe emenda- 
 tions in his common-prayer book. And the 
 very laft time I think I ever faw him, the 
 March before he died, in fome of our laft 
 difcourfe at parting, he afked me, if he had 
 fhewn jne what he had been doing in his 
 common-prayer book. J faid, I had juft feen 
 it once. He faid, it fhould not be loft *." 
 
 This his laft labour, as it mould feem, 
 and monument of his zeal for the honour 
 of God, and purity of his wormip, has 
 been prefented by his fon to the Britifh 
 Mufasum, where, it is to be hoped, it wilt 
 $ot be depofited in vain. 
 
 The 
 
 * Emelyn, vol. ii. p. 494. 
 
 The author of the Confeffional, (edition 3. p. 426, 
 
 noti}) has given the firft information to the public 
 
 concerning this manufcript, and at the fame time 
 
 produced from it a valuable atteftation of Dr. Clarke 
 
 N 4 to
 
 Dr Clarke's The amendments of the li-r 
 oMhe'ir: turgt, propofed by Dr. Clarke. 
 fy end r e j oin - chiefly reTate to the yight direc- 
 tion of prayer and thaiikfgiving 
 to its only obje<3, the one living and true 
 God, as taught by our Lord Jefus 'Chrift ; 
 Hot but 1 that he has mad*e fdme very confi- 
 derable improvements in other refpe&s,' as 
 he pafied along. It was nofmallfatisfac~r.ion, 
 in the perufal of them, to find that thofe 
 parts of our public fervice, which had long 
 feemed to me to countenance an urifcriptu- 
 ra), and therefore unlawful, forbidden wor- 
 fhip, i. e. the offering up of'prayer to any 
 but the one true God, the Father ; were 
 of them either cancelled or altered t)y this 
 eminent perfon. I mould have held it fit- 
 ting and needful for my own j unification, to 
 have given fome account of thofe paffages 
 in the liturgy on the article of divine wor- 
 /hip, which I had fcrupleS in rea'ding, or in 
 joining in the condant ufe of them : but I 
 reckon it a fortunate circumrtance, ' that I 
 
 to the defign of his own admirable work, which will 
 long remain a claflic tof the firfl account in our 
 church, 'till it be fuperfeded and ifet afide by that 
 full fcriptural reformation in doctrine and worfhip, 
 
 . 
 
 which it aims to promote, 
 
 am
 
 am able to fay, they were alfo, in a greater 
 or lefler degree, the objections of Dr, 
 Clarke. 
 
 JL lift of exceptionable parts of the liturgy 
 with refpeft to the object of worjhip ; all of 
 which are either quite jlruck oui y or chang~ 
 ed) by Dr. Clarke. 
 
 Glory be to the Father, and! ftruck out, 
 to the'Son, and 'to the Holy a ; d ch . a ~~ 
 
 ' . . ' ed, vvh^ 
 
 Ghoft : As it was in the begin- fever it i 
 ning, is now, and ever fhall 'be, 
 world without end. 
 
 Te Deu?n. 
 
 Thou art the king ofj glory, 
 O Chrift. 
 
 Thou art the everkftlng Son 
 of the Father. 
 
 When thou tookeft upon thee 
 to deliver man, thou didfl not 
 abhor the virgin's womb. 
 
 and chang- 
 ed, 
 
 is 
 
 ordered to 
 be read. 
 
 When thou hadft, overcome 
 the (harpnefs of death, thou did ft 
 open the kingdom of heaven to 
 all believers. 
 
 Thou iitteft at the right -h^nd 
 of God in the glory of the Fa- 
 ther. 
 
 changed ; 
 and the 
 whole di- 
 'rejSted to 
 God, and 
 not \QChrifi
 
 Te Deum continued. 
 We believe that thou 
 come to be our judge. 
 
 (hah 
 
 changed ; 
 
 and the 
 I whole di- 
 ' retted to 
 
 God, and 
 
 not MoCbriJt 
 
 We therefore pray thee to help 
 thy fervants, whom thou haft re- 
 deemed with thy precious blood. 
 
 Make them to be numbered 
 with thy faints in glory everlaft- 
 ing. 
 
 Lord have mercy upon us. ., quite flru 
 Chrift have mercy upon us. i out ' here 
 
 I and every 
 
 Lord have mercy upon us. J where, 
 
 Prayer of St. Chryfojlom. 
 when two or three are gao changed to 
 thered together in thy name 
 
 O > J J name. 
 
 The creed of St. Athanafius* ftruck out. 
 
 Litany. 
 
 O God the Son, redeemer of"! 
 the world, have mercy upon us, 
 miierable finners. 
 
 O God the Holy Ghoft, pro- 
 ceeding from the Father and the 
 Son, have mercy upon us, mi- 
 ferable finners. 
 
 O holy, bleflcd, and glorious 
 Trinity, three perfons and one 
 
 God, 
 
 changed ; 
 and the 
 whole ad- 
 drefied to 
 the eat God, 
 the Father.
 
 Litany continued. 
 God, have mercy upon us, mi- 
 ferable finners. 
 
 whom thou haft redeemed 
 with thy moft precious blood. 
 
 By the myftery of thy holy in- 
 carnation, by thy holy nativity 
 and circumcifion ; by thy bap- 
 tifm, fading, and temptatiqn ; 
 
 By thine agony and bloody 
 fweat ; by thy crofs and paffion ; 
 by thy precious death and burial; 
 by thy glorious refurreclion and 
 afcenfion ; and by the coming of 
 the Holy Ghoft. 
 
 Son of God, we befeech thee 
 to hear us. 
 
 Son of God, we befeech thee to 
 hear us. 
 
 O Lamb of God, that takeft 
 away the fins of the world, 
 
 Grant us thy peace. 
 
 O Lamb of God, that takeft 
 away the fins of the world, 
 Have mercy upon us. 
 
 O Chrift hear us. 
 
 O Chrift hear us. 
 
 Lord have mercy upon us. 
 
 changed ; 
 
 and the 
 
 refted to 
 God. 
 
 the whole 
 
 of this quite 
 
 ftruck out. 
 
 Lord
 
 i88 
 
 Litany continued. 
 
 Lord have mercy upon us. 
 
 Chrift have mercy upon us. 
 
 Chrift have mercy upon us. 
 
 Lord have mercy upon us. 
 
 Lord have mercy upon as. 
 
 From our enemies defend us, 
 O Chrift. 
 
 O Son of DavkJ, have mercy 
 upon us. 
 
 Both now and eve* votfchfafe 
 to hear us, O Gferifo 
 
 Gracioufly heat us, (!> Chrift, | 
 gracioaflyhcar us, O'Lord Chrifr. J 
 
 Prayer in time of dearth and 
 
 famine. 
 
 to whom, with thee and 
 the Holy Ghoft be alPhonotir arid 
 glory, now and for ever. 
 
 quite ftruck 
 
 dired- 
 eo to God. 
 
 iftrock 6\\r 
 here, and 
 everywhere 
 t'nj-oughout 
 the liturgy. 
 
 FIrft'Sunday in Advent. 
 who liveth' ahd reignethV 
 with thee: and the Holy Ghoft, I here, and 
 
 ] [ in 'an other 
 
 now and ever. J places. 
 
 Third Sunday in Advtnt. 
 O Lord Jefu Chrift, Who, ; 
 thy firft coming &fc. J fcd to GO'J. 
 
 Fourth
 
 Fourth Sunday in Advent. changed. 
 
 Chrijl mas-Day. 
 
 who liveth and reigneth" 
 with thee and the fame Spirit, 
 God, world without 
 
 ever one 
 end. 
 
 changed 
 >here, and 
 every where. 
 
 Sf. Stephens Day. 
 who prayed for his murder-} changed 
 ers to thee, O blelTed Jefus 
 
 changed, 
 flruck out. 
 
 Trinity Sunday. 
 
 Nicene creed. 
 
 Exhortation to the .communion. 
 
 above^ll ye muft give moft 
 humble and hearty thanks. to God 
 the Father, the Son, and the 
 Holy Ghoft, for the redemption 
 of the world by the death and 
 paflion of our Saviour Chrift, 
 both God and man. 
 
 To him, therefore, with the 
 Father,, and the Holy Ghoft, Jet 
 us .give continual thanks. 
 
 Preface upon the fe aft of Trinity, flruck out. 
 
 Prayer 
 
 changed,
 
 ( '90 ) 
 
 Prayer after the communion. 
 
 by whom, and with whom 
 in the unity of the Holy Ghoft, 
 all honour and glory be unto 
 thee, O Father. 
 
 O Lord, the only begotten 
 Son, Jefu Chrift, O Lord God, 
 Lamb of God, Son of the Father, 
 that takeft away the fins of the 
 world, have mercy upon us. 
 Thou that takeft aways the fins 
 of the world, have mercy upon , 
 us. Thou that takeft away the 
 
 changed. 
 
 fins of the world, receive our 
 prayer. Thou that fitteft at the 
 right hand of God the Father, 
 have mercy upon us. 
 
 For thou only art holy, thou 
 only art the Lord, thou only, O 
 Chrift, with the Holy Ghoft, 
 art moft high in the glory of 
 God the Father. 
 
 Public baptifm of infants. 
 
 Ye have prayed, that our' 
 Lord Jefus Chrift would vouch- 
 fafe to received him, to releafe 
 him of bis fins, to fan&ify him 
 
 changed in- 
 
 tireJy, and 
 addrefled 
 only to GgJ. 
 
 changed 
 here, and 
 alfo in the 
 >buptifm of 
 inch as are 
 of riper 
 years. 
 
 with
 
 changed 
 
 here, and 
 
 alfo in the 
 
 with the Holy Ghoft, to give 
 him the kingdom of heaven and 
 
 
 
 cverlafting life Ye have heard 
 alfo, that our Lord Jefus hath ^JgfJ" 
 promifed in his gofpel to grant 
 all thefe things. 
 
 are 
 
 of riper 
 years. 
 
 Catechifm. 
 
 What doft thou chiefly learn" 
 in thefe articles of the belief? 
 
 Firft, I learn to believe in 
 God the Father, who hath made 
 me and all the world. 
 
 Secondly, in God the Son, t>flruckout * 
 who hath redeemed me and all 
 mankind. 
 
 Thirdly, in God the Holy 
 Ghoft, who fanctifies me, and 
 all the elecl: people of God. 
 
 'J 
 
 Matrimony. 
 
 God the Father, God the 
 and God the Holy Ghoft, blefs, Changed, 
 preferve, and keep you. 
 
 Vifitation of the fick. 
 
 Abfolution, 
 
 Our Lord Jefus Chrift, 
 hath left power to his church to 
 abfolve all faners, who truly re- 
 
 pent
 
 .quite flruck 
 
 out. 
 
 pent and believe in him, of 
 great mercy forgive thee thine 
 offences; and, by his authority 
 committed to me, I abfolve thee 
 from all thy fins, in the name of 
 the Father, and of the Son, and 
 of the Holy Ghoft. 
 
 What may be I may err> and yet be fav* 
 
 done by thofe . ' J 
 
 who cannot 'fa. In the dark and .intricate 
 
 rf "Ktrnxrfr I may make . 
 eftabliflied falfe fteps, ii'ithout being: at tilt 
 
 ttcrftiF. 
 
 the more out oj my way to blef- 
 fedriefs" Sincerity and integrity are 
 things final in religion ; right opinions 
 are of inferior confideration, and inftru- 
 mental only. Earneftly as it is to be 
 wifhed for and endeavoured, that our fo- 
 lemn public addrefles to almighty God> 
 
 and worfhip of him, were framed and con- 
 
 * 
 
 dufted in the mod perfect manner, fuited 
 to the difcoveries made of himfelf and his 
 merciful defigns by our Lord Jefus Chrift, 
 and fo as bed to cultivate in us a temper 
 of devouteft reverence, fubmiflion, and 
 obedience to him, and of mod unbounded 
 love to our fello\v-creatures of mankind : 
 
 yet
 
 c 193 ) 
 
 ^et as any great degree of perfection is not 
 to be attained in human appointments, or 
 but by flow degrees 5 it.feems a duty to ao 
 quiefce in the public forms of religious 
 worfhip, though faulty and imperfect, and 
 not to make them a caufe of feparation 
 from our Chriftian brethren, where we can 
 innocently comply with them. 
 
 About five and twenty years ago, many 
 finking faults and defeats in our liturgy'and 
 church-efhblifhment, were in the moft 
 gentle and inoffenfive manner pointed out, 
 and firft, privately, and in manufcript, fub- 
 mitted to the confideration of an eminent 
 prelate, faid to be Bifhop Gibfon -, and af- 
 terwards, if not with his con fen t, yet with- 
 out a prohibition from him, laid before the 
 public* in the treatife called the Free and 
 Candid Difqui/itions^ &c. 
 
 The writers of that valuable work do 
 not rcprefent any of thofe things, of which 
 they fought the redrefs, as contrary to the 
 word of God, but as unedifying, and hin- 
 dering its good effect on the minds of his 
 worfhipers. And in particular, they ap- 
 pear fatisfied with the commonly received 
 doctrine of the Trinity, although they 
 plead for the removal of the Athanafian 
 O creed,
 
 ( *94 ) 
 
 creed, or a liberty at lead to drop it, as 
 fcrvingnogood end, and fome bad ones. 
 
 But the matter becomes infinitely more 
 ferious and important to the individual, 
 when the wormip injoined in the liturgy 
 is efteemed to be directed to a wrong ob- 
 
 D 
 
 jedt, and fmful-, finful, I mean, to his ap- 
 prehenfion, who is convinced from the fa- 
 cred fcriptures, that God, the Father, is 
 alone the object of religious wormip, and 
 that prayer ought not to be addrefled to 
 any other being or perfon whatfoever. To 
 join conftantly in forms of devotion, that 
 are directed to one or more other perfons, 
 will appear, more or Itfs, an approbation 
 of fuch wormip, and mufl influence him 
 to wim for fome other forms which he can 
 more approve, and in which he may not 
 ivorfoip God amifs. 
 
 Many members of our eftablidied church 
 arc faid to be offended with its Trinitarian 
 forms, fo a to be kept thereby from the 
 duty of affembling themfehes Heb. x. 25. to- 
 gether for religious wormip, to their own 
 moral lofs and difadvantage without extra- 
 ordinary care and holy vigilance ; and to 
 the manifeft detriment of others, by an 
 open example of irreligion. Many there 
 
 are
 
 ( '95 ) 
 
 are alfo, who are much hurt and difTatisfi- 
 ed with joining in devotions theydifapprove; 
 but are unwilling to go over to the churches 
 of our diflenting brethren, on account of 
 their preference of a prefcribed form of 
 prayer; and are therefore at a lofs where to 
 turn themfelves for focial wormip of the 
 great Creator, the God and Father of our 
 Lord Jefus Chrift. 
 
 To fuch perfons as thefe, fomething in 
 the way of Dr. Clarke's reformed liturgy, 
 holds forth every thing which they feek. 
 By adopting this, they may quiet and fa- 
 tisfy their own minds, in that great poin% 
 the right objeSl of worfoip ; and may do the 
 moft efTential fervice to the church eftablim- 
 ed, by bearing a peaceable, open, and moft 
 effectual teftimony againft her errors ; and 
 remain a perpetual ftanding monument of 
 her departure from the purity of God's 
 wormip, until me return to it. 
 
 The following paflage from an account 
 of Mr. Firmins religion^ annexed to his 
 Lift, falls in fo aptly and intirely with 
 my propofal and defign, that I may not 
 omit it. 
 
 O 2 " He
 
 [ i 9 6 ] 
 
 " He [Mr. Firmin] propofed, befides the 
 continuation* of his former efforts, to hold 
 affemblies for divine worfhip, diftincl from 
 the aflemblies of any other denomination 
 of Chriftians. But he did not intend thefe 
 aflemblies or congregations by way of -f* 
 fchifm, or feparation from the church ; but 
 on\y ^fraternities in the church, who would 
 undertake a more efpecial care of that arti- 
 cle t for the fake of which it is certain both 
 the Teftaments were written. The great de- 
 fign and fcope of both Teftaments, and the 
 
 * This refers to a fcheme of agreement betwixt the 
 church of England and the Socinians, which Mr. 
 Firmin had caufed to be publifhed, in which th* S- 
 cians declared, that they could look upon the church 
 of England to be a Socinian church, and heartily adjoin 
 themfelves to her, if all that was meant by a Trinity 
 of perfons, was only three internal relations of the 
 Deity to itfelf; an interpretation which had been pub- 
 licly efpoufed by Dr. Wallis and others, in the con- 
 troverfy with Dr. Sherlock, who had gone into the 
 contrary extreme. 
 
 f [Schifrn] Separation from a particular church, 
 on account of God's true worfhip not being rightly 
 uphJd in it, is nublamtable fchifm. Suc'j fchiftn is often 
 times a duty, and laudable. Such fchifmatics were we, 
 and the ^uhole body of proteflants, when we feparated 
 from the idolatrous church of Rome. 
 
 reafon
 
 ( 167 ) 
 
 reafon that they were given by God, was to 
 regain mankind to the belief and acknow- 
 ledgment of but One God ', to dedroy poly- 
 theifm of all forts. Mr. Firmin intended to 
 recommend it to the Unitarian congrega- 
 tions, as the very reafon of their diftincl: af- 
 fernbling, to be particularly mindful of, and 
 zealous for, the article of the Unity ; to caufe 
 it to be fo explained in their aflemblies, ca- 
 techifms, and books, that all men might 
 eafily and readily know in what fejife the 
 Unity of God is to be believed. He fear- 
 ed that, without fuch aflemblies, the con- 
 tinual ufe of terms, viz. a trinity of Divine 
 perfons, which in their ordinary fignification 
 are confeffed by all to imply three Gods> 
 would paganize in fome time the whole 
 Chriftian church, which is heathen already 
 in the majority of its members by occafion 
 of thofe terms j and that no fufficient care 
 is taken to interpret them to the people*," 
 This plan of Mr. Firmin's did not take 
 effect, probably by his being foon after re- 
 moved away by death. Nor does it appear 
 to have been put into execution by any of 
 
 * An account of Mr. Firmin's religion, p. 50. 51. 
 
 O 3 hit
 
 ( '98 ) 
 
 his friends. And near fourfcore years have 
 lapfed fince his time, whilft our church, 
 and its form of worfliip, remain the fame: 
 no alteration made in its unfcriptural lan- 
 guage on this article; but all the unlearn- 
 ed, and fome of better account, too general- 
 ly conceiving of the 'Trinity of Divine per- 
 fons, as of three equal Gods equally to be 
 wofjhiped. 
 
 tf Since, then, there is not a plurality of 
 Gods, fays our late metropolitan, and yet 
 the Son and Spirit are each of them God, 
 no lefs than the Father : it plainly follows, 
 that they are in a manner by us inconceiv- 
 able, fo united to him, that thefe three are 
 one; but ftill in a manner equally incon- 
 ceivable, fodiftinguifhed from him, that no 
 one is the other*." 
 
 From this defcription, plain ordinary 
 minds would hardly be able to gather, that 
 there is but One God. We fhould be un- 
 avoidably led to conclude that there are 
 three Gods. For the Son and Spirit are de- 
 clared each of them to be God no lefs tlian the 
 Father. And though it be in words dif- 
 
 * Archbifliop Seeker's lectures on the church 
 catechifm, vol. i. p. 190. 
 
 owned,
 
 owned, that there is a plurality of Gods, 
 yet in common arithmetic, the Son and-Spi- 
 rit, each of them God no lefs than the Fa- 
 ther, do certainly count three Gods. 
 
 In the Dean of Gloucester's fermons, very 
 lately published, at page 54, we meet with 
 the following doxology ; " To him there- 
 fore, Father, Son, and Holy Ghofl, let thefe 
 miracles of divine mercy be ever afcribed; 
 and -to them be glory, praife, majefly, and 
 dominion, both now and for evermore." 
 
 The perfonal pronoun, him, evidently 
 points to One perfon, One individual, intel- 
 ligent agent. So that how ir can relate to three 
 perfonsy Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft, and 
 they be called him, is hard to fay, or to re- 
 concile with grammar or notation of num- 
 bers : and for the latter claufe of afcription 
 of equal glory to Father, Son, and Holy Ghojl, 
 it is affuredly without precedent in the hojy 
 fcriptures. 
 
 Such fra term 'ties as thofe now mentioned, 
 i. e. churches or focieties of Unitarian Chrif- 
 tians, would by degrees contribute to the re- 
 moval of fuch unfcriptural language and 
 woifhip as this, by holding forth a better 
 O 4 pattern;
 
 ( 200 ) 
 
 pattern ; and to many other valuable ends of 
 true religion. I have often thought that if 
 the members of Mr. Whiilon's focietyfo/- 
 promotingprimitiveChriftianity*, fuch among 
 them as were of the church of England, the 
 late Speaker Mr. Onflow and others, had 
 formed fuch a fraternity or church as we are 
 here treating of, the influence of fuch an 
 example might have had great and lafting 
 good effect on their families, their friends, 
 and many others in fucceffion, and we mould 
 at this day have perceived and enjoyed many 
 fingular advantages to true Chriflianity re- 
 ful ting from it; inftead of which, by con- 
 tinuing in conftant communion with the 
 church eftablimed, the benefit of their ex- 
 ample and teflimony is almoft intirely loft. 
 
 It muft, neverthelefs, be always con- 
 fefTed and acknowledged, that different 
 perfons fee the fame thing in different 
 lights, and form contrary conclufions from 
 it -, and no one ought to condemn another 
 that diffcreth from him. What has been 
 here offered, is only applicable to thofe 
 who are perfuaded from holy fcripture, 
 
 * Hiftorical memoirs of the life of Dr. S.Clarke, 
 page 67. 7 
 
 that
 
 hu religious worfhip is to be paid to God, 
 the Father alone, in the name of Jefus 
 Chrifr, and who may efteem it unlawful 
 to join constantly in the ufe of Trinitarian 
 forms of worship, as thinking that by fo do- 
 ing they give their feal of approbation to 
 them y which, furely, to thofe that are fo 
 perfuaded, is no indifferent matter. 
 
 But, however things may appear to thofe 
 who occupy the place of hearers, who have 
 no office or authority in the church, and 
 may not fuppofe themfelves to give their 
 affent to any thing they hear, any farther 
 than it is inwardly approved by them ; it 
 can hardly be reckoned a matter of indiffe- 
 rence to thofe who lead the devotions of the 
 congregation, and thereby make them 
 much more their own, to put themfelves to 
 the neceffity of continual double meaning and 
 collufion, in addrejjing prayer fometimes to the 
 Son, fometimes. to the Spirit, as no lefs God 
 than the Father , all the while that they are 
 convinced, that there is but one perfon, the 
 objeSl of prayer, the One God, the Father, to 
 whom alone it is to be addrejfid. And this 
 brings the matter home to the particular 
 cafe and iituation of the writer. 
 
 CHAP.
 
 ( 202 } 
 
 CHAPTER VJ. 
 
 T If N n E P f *E A T T O~ Y. 
 
 MAY I have leave to fay, without 
 blame, that as far as memory goes 
 back, I was imprefled from early youth with 
 a love of truth and virtue, a fear of God, 
 and a defire to approve myfelf to him ; which 
 have never left me to, this hour, though not 
 always equally governed by them, nor im- 
 proving fo great a favour and blefling from 
 God as I ought to have done. 
 
 After the ufual time fpent at fchool and 
 in the univerfity, I entered into the miniftry 
 of the gofpel, out of a free and deliberate 
 choice, with a full perfuafion, that it was 
 the beft way in which I could ferve God, 
 and be ufeful to man, and with an earned 
 defire that J might promote thefe the great 
 ends of it. 
 
 Some things in the xxxix, articles of our 
 church I always difapproved. And I re- 
 member it ftruck me at the time, as a 
 flrange unnecefTary entanglement, to put 
 young men upon declaring and fubfcribing 
 their approbation of fuch a large heteroge- 
 neous
 
 ( 204 ) 
 
 neons mafs of pofitions and doctrines as are 
 contained in the liturgy, articles, and ho- 
 milies ; efpecially, as I had obferved, that 
 none but thofe called Methodifts, who were 
 then much fpoken of, preached in confor- 
 mity to them. But I was not under any 
 fcruples, or great imeafinefs on this account. 
 I had hitherto no doubts ; or rather, I had 
 never much thought of, or examined into 
 the doftrine of the trinity : but fuppofed all 
 was right there. 
 
 Some years after, many doubts concern- 
 ing that doctrine, which had fprung up in 
 the mind at different times and from vari- 
 ous caufes, compelled me to a clofer ftudy 
 of the fcriptures with regard to it; for the 
 flate of fufpenfe I was in was very uneafy 
 to me. The more I fearched, the more I 
 faw the little foundation there was for the 
 doctrine commonly received and interwoven 
 with all the public devotions of the church, 
 and could not but be diflurbed at a difco- 
 very fo ill fuiting my fituation. For in the 
 end I became fully perfuaded, to ufe St. 
 Paul's cxprefs words, i Corinth, viii. 6. 
 that there is but one God^ the Father, and 
 he alone to be worfhiped. This appeared 
 
 to
 
 ( 204 ) 
 
 Co be the uniform unvaried language and 
 practice of the Bible throughout. And I 
 found the fentiments and pradice of Chrif- 
 tians in the firft and beft ages* correfpond- 
 
 ing 
 
 * Athanafius, and others of the poft-Nicene fa- 
 thers, were much pofed how to digeft and reconcile 
 to their new doctrine the language that had been 
 \jfed by fuch apoftolic characters that had lived be- 
 fore them, as Dionyfius of Alexandria, and Gre- 
 gory of Neocaefarca, concerning Chrift; who hefi- 
 tated not to call him a creature, made, and the like. 
 They were reduced to fay, that fuch expreffions were 
 ufed according to a certain osconomy^ as they ftiled it, 
 but which was a thing intirely of their own imagina- 
 tions : or, that they were exprcffions uttered only in 
 the way of difpute, and to carry a point againft an 
 adverfary, and not the real fentiments of thofe worthy 
 perfons ; an imputation of difmgenuity and artifice, 
 which could only belong to thofe who invented it. 
 
 This way of getting over fuch expreffions concern- 
 ing Chrift in the fcriptures, and other early writings, 
 which are thought to lower him too much for fome 
 men's fyftems, has now given place to what is called 
 the two natures in Chrift ; a circumftance of which 
 our Saviour Chrift himfclf appears wholly unconfci- 
 ous, and his apoftlcs tells us nothing about it. Ire- 
 naeus was certainly ignorant of it, where in one 
 place, alluding to Mark xiii. 32. he fays, " Since 
 Our Lord himfelf, the Son of God, owned that th 
 
 Ftth?r
 
 in with it. In a courfe of time afterwards, 
 in the progrefs and refult of this enquiry, 
 my fcruples wrought fo far as to put me up- 
 on actually taking Come previous fteps, with 
 a defign to relieve myfelf by quiring my 
 preferment in ihe church. What prevent- 
 ed this refolution from taking place and 
 being completed, I go on to relate. 
 
 I. Deflined early, and educated for the 
 miniftry, and my heart engaged in the fer- 
 vice, when the moment of determination 
 came, I felt a reluctance at cafting myfelf 
 out of my profeilion and way of ufefulnefs, 
 that quite difcouraged me. This was pro- 
 bably heightened by my being alone at the 
 time, having no intimate friend to confult 
 or converfe with, and my imagination might 
 be mocked by the ftrangenefs and fingulari- 
 ty of what I was going to do ; for fuch fub- 
 jedts then, upwards of fifteen years ago, 
 
 Father alone knew the day and the hour of judg- 
 ment, when he faid exprefsly, " of that day, and 
 " that hour, knoweth no one, not the Son, but the 
 " Father only :" let us not think much to referve to 
 God queftions that are far more difficult in refpect of 
 our capacities. For we are not greater than our mafter." 
 
 Irenseus, lib. ii. c. 48. 
 
 were
 
 ( 206 ) 
 
 were not fo much canvafled, or become fo 
 familiarized as they have been fmce. Thefe 
 apprehenfions, I am convinced, had great 
 fway at the time, and not any worldly retro- 
 fpcdts or motives, by which I was never 
 much influenced. And befide, I had then 
 a profpect of not being left intirely defti- 
 tute of fupport, if I had gone out of the 
 church. 
 
 But I did not enough reflect, that when 
 unlawful compliances of any fort arc requir- 
 ed, the firft dictates of conference, which 
 are generally the righteft, are to be attend- 
 ed to, and that the plain road of duty and 
 uprightnefs, will always be found to lead to 
 the trueft good in the end, becaufe it is that 
 which is chalked out by God himfelf *. 
 
 God 
 
 * Says one of the eje&ed minlfters, after the rc- 
 ftoration in 1660, Mr. Qldfiell of Carfington, Derby- 
 Jhire y in his private MS. foliloquy and deliberation 
 with himfelf, which fell into Dr. Calamy* hands ; 
 * When thou canft no longer continue in thy work, 
 without difhonour to God, difcrcdit to religion, 
 foregoing thy integrity, wounded confcicnce, fpoil- 
 ing thy peace, and hazarding the lofs of thy falva- 
 tion ; in a word, when the conditions upon which 
 thou muft continue (if thou wilt continue) in thy 
 
 employ-
 
 I 207 ) 
 
 God doth not need 
 Either man's work, or his own gifts, who beft 
 Bear his mild yoak, they ferve him bed : his ftate 
 Is kingly. Thoufands at his bidding fpeed 
 And poft o'er land and ocean without reft j 
 They alfo ferve who only Jland and wait. 
 
 Milton, Sonnet xxv 
 
 2. Many worthy perfons, and fome of 
 my own acquaintance, whofe opinions 
 
 varied 
 
 employments are finful, and unwarranted by the 
 word of God ; thou mayeft, yea, thou muft be- 
 Jieve, that God will turn thy very filence, fufpen- 
 fion, deprivation, and laying afide, to his glory and 
 the advancement of the gofpel's intereft. When 
 God will not ufe thee in one kind, yet he will in 
 another. A foul that defires to ferve and honour 
 him, fhall never want opportunity to do it : nor 
 muft thou fo limit the holy One of Jfrael, as to 
 think he hath but one way in which he can glorify 
 himfelf by thee. He can do it by thy filence, as 
 well as by thy preaching, thy laying afide, as well 
 as thy continuance in thy work." And a little af- 
 ter, towards the conclufion, " 'Tis not pretence of 
 doing God the greateft fervice, or performing the 
 weightieft duty, that will excufethe leaft fin, though 
 that fin capacitated or gave us the opportunity for 
 the doing that duty. Thou wilt have little thanks, 
 O my foul, if when thou art charged with corrupt- 
 ing:
 
 ( 208 ) 
 
 Varied little from mine, could neverthe- 
 Icfs fatisfy themfelves fo as to remain in 
 the church and officiate in it. Why then, 
 it often occurred to me, and others did not 
 fpare to remonftratej why muft I alone 
 be fo (ingularly nice and fcrupulous, as not 
 to comply with what wifer and better men 
 could accommodate themfelves to, but 
 difturb others, and diftrefs myfelf, by en- 
 thufiaftic fancies, purely my own, bred 
 in gloomy folitude, which by time, and 
 the free communication and unfolding of 
 them to others, might be difperfed and 
 removed, and give way to a more chear- 
 ful and enlarged way of thinking ? It was 
 
 ing God's worfhip, falfifying thy vows, &c. tbou pre- 
 tendeft a neceffity for it, in order to a contiunance 
 in the miniftry, &c." 
 
 Calamy' > account (vol. ii. p. 175.) of minljlers who 
 fuffered themfclves to be ejctted undfilenced, to the 
 number of two tboufand, rather than fubmit to 
 the new impofitions, and fubfcribe and conform 
 to the liturgy and articles, againft their confci- 
 ences: along lift, that does honour to human na- 
 ture j and toourown country in particular, which 
 has hitherto taken the lead in the reftoration of 
 God's true religion: for/F/VMr^held up the light 
 to Luther that came after him ; and way England 
 ifcll hold it up to the reft of the nations ! 
 
 worth
 
 ( 209 ) 
 
 Worth the while at leaft to try fuch a. me- 
 thod, and not raftily to take a ftep of which 
 I might long repent. 
 
 3. It was fuggefted, that I was not au- 
 thor or contriver of the things impofed 
 and complained of; All I djd was minif- 
 terial only, in fubmiffion to civil authori- 
 ty, which is, within certain limitations, 
 the authority of God j and which had im- 
 pofed thefe things only for peace and pub- 
 lic good. 'That I ought not only to leave 
 my benefice, but to go out of the world, 
 if I expected a perfect ftate of things, in 
 which there was no flaw or hardmip.- 
 That if there was a general tendency in 
 what was eftablifhed to ferve the interefts 
 of virtue asd true religion, I ought to reft 
 fatisfied, and wait for a change in other in- 
 cidental matters that were grievous to me^ 
 but not generally felt by others. That in 
 the mean time, I had it in my power to 
 forward the defired work, by preparing 
 men's minds for it, whenever there mould 
 be a difpofition in the ftate to rectify what 
 was amifs. Therefore, if I could in any 
 way of interpretation, reconcile the pre- 
 fcribed forms with the fcripturc in my own 
 
 P mind,
 
 mind, and make myfelf cnfy, I was not on- 
 ly juftified, but to be commended. 
 
 Thefe confiderations all together were of 
 weight to divert me then from the thought 
 of quitting my ftation in the church, and 
 brought me in time to remain tolerably quiet 
 and eafy in it. Not that I now juftify my- 
 felf therein. Yea, rather I condemn my- 
 felf. But as I have humble hope of the di- 
 vine forgivenefsj let not men be too rigid 
 in their cenfurcs : let thofe only blame and 
 condemn, who know what it is to doubt; to 
 be in perplexity about things of higheft im- 
 portance 3 to be in fear of caufelefsly aban- 
 doning a ftation afllgned by Providence, and 
 being found idle and unprofitable, when the 
 Great Mafter came to call for the account 
 of the talent received. 
 
 The methods I took to fitisfy my own 
 mind v/ere thefe. My great difficulty was 
 the point of worship. In comparifon with 
 this *, fubfcription to the articles, however 
 
 momentous 
 
 * The petitioning clergy begun, where all true 
 reformation muft begin, in feekjing the abolition of 
 fubfcription. For until this foundation be kid in
 
 momentous in iifel-f, gave me then but little 
 concern. For as the dwoiions of the 
 church are framed in ftridl agreement with 
 the articles, and correfpond with them more 
 cfpecially in what relates to religious wor- 
 fliip, I looked upon my continuing to offi- 
 ciate in them as a conftant virtual repeti- 
 
 deeds as well as ^vords ) that nothing in the articles 
 or liturgy is to be received and believed, any further 
 than it is agreeable to holy fcripture, you are tied. 
 down to acknowledge another rule as fuperior to 
 Go4's word, and giving law to it, and can make 
 no reformation but in conformity with the articles 
 and liturgy to which you are bound. 
 
 However earneftly therefore fome of the peti- 
 tioners might wifh for amendments in many things, 
 they did not think, it became them to propofe any, 
 left it ihould be thought arrogating to themfelves 
 an authority of deciding for others in matters of 
 faith, and fetting up their fenfe of holy fcripture to 
 he followed by the nation. But if holy fcripture 
 was once clearly and authenticly acknowledged as 
 the only rule of faith and dodirine, and no declara- 
 tion or fubicriptfon required to any thing elfe, but 
 fo far as found agreeable with that rule, they knew 
 that Athanalianifm, Aririniftn, Socinianifm, Calvi- 
 iiifm, Pejagiariifm, all fedrs and divifions would 
 drop of thcmil-Ivcs, and Chriftians come fcrth into 
 truth, a-nd perfect liberty aa-i peace. 
 
 P 2 tion
 
 t ** 1 
 
 tion of my fubfcription j and therefore 
 I needed not, nor did decline, the aftual re- 
 petition of it, when occafion ferved : 
 though I was not forward in feeking fuch 
 occafions. 
 
 I brought myfelf to confider the Trini~ 
 tarian forms in the liturgy, and the invoca- 
 tions at the entrance of the litany, as a ///r^- 
 y^/reprefentation of the One G-od, the Fa- 
 ther, governing all things by himfelf, and 
 by his Son, and Spirit; and as a threefold 
 way of addreffing him, as Creator and ori- 
 ginal benevolent caufe of all things ; as Re- 
 deemer of mankind by his Son* and their 
 SancYifier by his Holy Spirit,, 
 
 This was the famous and avowed expli- 
 cation of the Trinity, published by Dr. 
 Wallis, Savilian profeflbr of mathematics 
 in Oxford, which was well received by the 
 Univerfity, when Dr. Sherlock's explication, 
 that there were three infinite diflinct minds 
 and fubftances in the Trinity, underwent a 
 public cenfure. 
 
 I fhall give it in theProfeflbr's own words,, 
 as I find them in a pamphlet intitled, " Con- 
 fiderations on the Explications of the Doc- 
 trine of the Trinity," p. 7, 1693. 
 
 The 
 8
 
 ( 2J 3 ) 
 
 The Unitarians having accufed th e 'doc- 
 tors of thechurch of maintaining, that there 
 was more .than one divine perfon, ,or more 
 than ofle perfon who is true and moft high 
 God, Dr. Wallis replies ; 
 
 " This reafoning is grounded on this 
 (illy miflake,, that a Divine perfon is as 
 much as to fay, a Divinity, or a God ; 
 when indeed a ,divine perfon is only a 
 mode, or refpefl, or relation of God to ,his 
 creatures. He beareih to his creatures 
 ihefe three relations, modes, or refpects, 
 that he is their Creator, their .Redeemer, 
 their San&irler : -this is what we mean, and 
 all that we mean, when we. fay God is three 
 perfons. He ,hath thofe three relations to 
 his creatures, and is thereby no more three 
 Gods, than he was three Gods to the Jews, 
 becaufe he calleth himfelf the God of 
 Abraham, the God of Ifaac, and the God of 
 Jacob." 
 
 J took all opportunities, and have done 
 for many years, both in public, and pri- 
 vately, to bear my teftimcny to this great 
 truth of holy fcripture, that there is but 
 one Cod, the Father, with great plain- 
 P 3 nefs,
 
 r.cfs, and without any referve. Butlpur- 
 pofely refrained from the ufe of thofe techni- 
 cal unfcriptnral names Trinity, Pcrfon.Sul- 
 ftancc, and the like, and every thing that 
 bore the air of controverfy, in the puJpit ; 
 for I held it an injury to my hearers to wafte 
 their hours of public religious improve- 
 ment in any thing that had not an imme- 
 diate connection .with a virtuous and holy 
 life, to which it was my mod earned defire 
 and conftant endeavour to lead them. And I 
 hoped I was laying a good foundation to 
 build on for thofc that came after me, when 
 the time of a farther reformation fliould 
 come ; and that I might thus innocently 
 tontinue* in a church where there were 
 
 many 
 
 
 * " The illuftrious Father Paul, with many 
 pther Venetians, about the beginning of the laft cen- 
 tury, were fadly weary of the corruptions of their 
 worfhip in the church of Rome, and groaning for a 
 reformation; and F. Paul in particular wiftied to have 
 left Venice and come over to England ; but he was 
 ib much efrcemed . by the fenate for his great uif- 
 dom, that he was confult^d by them us an oracle, 
 and trufted with their moft important fecrets ; fo that 
 he faw it was impoflible for him to obtain his conge^ 
 and therefore he made a ihift to comply as far as he 
 could with their eftablifhed vvay of worfhip; but he 
 
 had
 
 ( "5 ) 
 
 many things I difapproved, and wimed to 
 have amended, as 1 knew not where I might 
 he in any degree alike uielul. 
 
 Thus 1 went on in the difcharge of my 
 
 duty, till a few years ago, when, from 
 
 fome providential awakenings *, I fecretly 
 
 but 
 
 had in many things particular methods, by which he 
 in a great meafure rather quieted than fatisfied his 
 confcience. Jn faying of mafs, he part over many- 
 parts of the canon, and in particular thofe prayers in 
 which their facrifice was offered up to the honour 
 of faints. He never prayed to faints, nor joined in 
 thofe parts of the offices that went againft his confci- 
 ence ; and in private confeffions and difcourfes, he 
 took people off from thefe abufes, and gave them 
 right notions of the purity of the Chriftian religion; 
 fo he hoped he was fowing feeds that might be fruit- 
 ful in another age ; and thus he believed he might live 
 innocent in a church that was defiled. And when 
 one preft him hard in this matter, and objected that 
 he ftill held communion with ?.n idolatrous church, 
 and gave it credit by adhering outwardly to it, by 
 which means others that depended much on his ex- 
 ample would be likevvife encouraged to continue in 
 it: all the anfwer he made to this was, that God had 
 not given him the fpir it of Luther." 
 
 Eurnet's Life of Bifliop Bedell, p. 16, 17. 
 
 * te Sir Edward Atkins (that upright chief baron 
 
 of the exchequer in evil times] at the Revolution, hav- 
 
 P 4 ing
 
 but firmly refolved to feck an opportunity 
 to relinquifli a lituation, that was now be- 
 come not very fupportable to me. 
 
 I could not now fatisfy myfelf with Dr. 
 Wallis's and the like foftenings and qualifi- 
 cations of the Trinitarian forms in theliturgy. 
 J wondered how 1 had been able to bring 
 myfelf to imagine, that I was worshiping the 
 Father infpirit and In truth, John iv. 23, 24. 
 whilfl I was addreiTing two other perfons, 
 God the Son, and God the Holy Ghoft, and 
 imploring favours feverally of them in terms 
 that implied their personality and diftinet 
 agency, and deity, as much as that of the 
 Father. 
 
 If invocations fo particular, language fo 
 cxprefs and perfonal, might be lifted and ex- 
 ing fome fcruple in taking the new oaths himfelf, 
 though he condemned not thofc that did take 
 them, refigned his great poft out of a principle of 
 conference, and retired into the country. His ufual 
 faying was, when he was difcourfed with about this 
 matter, that the devil (the evil confcience within) 
 was bufy with men on their death-beds; and there- 
 fore be would keep bis mind free^ that when he Jhould 
 (omt to die, he might have, no dcults and fears on that 
 account te dijlurb his ccnfcicnce." 
 
 Life of Dean Prideaux, p. 76. 
 
 plained
 
 I 2I 7 ) 
 
 plained away into prayer to one God 
 I might by the like fuppofals and interpre- 
 tation bring myfelf to deify and pray to the 
 Virgin Mary, taking her, as the Papifts do, 
 to be now alive and beatified in heaven ; 
 and maintain that I was ftill only praying 
 to the one God, who was thus invoked in 
 his creature that was fo nearly united to 
 
 . . , rf 
 
 him. 
 
 It appeared to me a blameable duplicity, 
 that whilft I was praying to the one God the 
 Father, the people that heard me, were led 
 by the language I ufed, to addrefs themfelves 
 to two other perfons, or diflinct intelligent 
 agents ; for they would never fubtilize fo 
 far, as to fancy the Son and Holy Spirit tp 
 be merely two modes, or refpects, or rela- 
 tions of God to them. 
 
 As one great defign of Our Saviour's mif- 
 iion was to promote the knowledge and wor- 
 fhip of the Father, the only true God, as he 
 himfelf tells us, John xvii. 3. I could not 
 think it allowable or lawful for me, on any 
 imagined profped; of doing good, to be in- 
 ftrumental in carrying on a worfhip, which 
 I believed diredtly contrary to the mind of 
 phrift, and condemned by him. 
 
 If
 
 ( 2l8 } 
 
 If If it be a rule in morals, quod dubitas^ ne 
 feceris ; it is ftill more evident, that we are 
 not to do any thing that we know to be evi/, 
 no, not to procure the great eft good, Rom. 
 iii. 8. For God docs not want my finful 
 act. It would be impious to fuppofe, that 
 he cannot carry on his government, and 
 promote the felicity of his creatures, with- 
 out it. . And although in his providence 
 he may bring good out of my evil, he will 
 not let the doer of it go unpunifhed. And 
 if any thing be evil and odious in his fight, 
 prevarication and fal(hood is fuch j and 
 inoflof all an habitual courfe thereof in the 
 moft folemn act a creature can be engaged 
 in, the worlhip of him, the holy, all-fee- 
 ing God. 
 
 It is related in the life of archbimop 
 Tillotfon, that his friend Mr. Nelfon hav- 
 ing confulted him by letter from the 
 Hague, in the year 1691, with regard to 
 the practice of thofe nonjurors, who fre- 
 quented the churches, and yet profcflcd 
 that they did not join in the prayers for 
 their majcfties * ; <f As to the cafe you 
 
 r* 
 
 * Birch's Life of ArchbHhop Tiilotfon, p. 259. 
 
 put,
 
 put, replied his Grace, I wonder men 
 (hould be divided in opinion about it. I 
 think it is plain, that no man can join in 
 prayers, in which there is any petition, 
 which he is verily perfoaded is finful. / 
 cannot endure a trick any where, much lefs in 
 religion" 
 
 The archbifhop may be held by fome to 
 be too fevere a cafuift. But if it was his 
 opinion, that a man who, after the Revolu- 
 tion continued attached to the late king 
 James, could not confiftently or honeftly 
 frequent a communion of Chriftians 
 where their majefties king William and 
 queen Mary were prayed for; what would 
 he have replied, thought I often with my- 
 felf, in the cafe of one who was not 
 barely prefent, but was the mouth of the 
 congregation in offering up prayers tq 
 God, which were believed to be deroga- 
 tory and injurious 'to his peerlefs majeiiy 
 and incommunicable perfections, and, in, 
 the mind of the offerer, a falfc and unwor- 
 thy reprefentation of him to others? This 
 feemed a trick in religion, which the honeft 
 mind of that prelate would have ftill lefs 
 
 from
 
 { 220 ) 
 
 From the firft that I engaged with the 
 afTociated clergy for procuring the removal 
 of fubfcription to formularies of faith and 
 .dodrine drawn up by fallible men, I fore- 
 law, that if no relief was obtained, nor 
 any profpec^ opened of a reformation of the 
 liturgy with regard to the great object of 
 worftiip, or of a difpofuion to indulge a lati- 
 tude to private perfons to make difcretion- 
 ary alterations in it for themfelves, Jby the 
 exprefs rule of holy fcripture ; it would cer- 
 tainly terminate as to myfejf in a rcfignation 
 of my office in the church : and I thought 
 this would be a fitting feafon for ir r 
 
 The fervice done to Chrift's true religion 
 by the clergy aflbciation and petition to 
 parliament, has been great and wide fpread, 
 notwithflanding it failed of immediate fuc- 
 cefs in its primary object. A fpirit of in- 
 genuous enquiry has been ftirred up by it 
 in the minds of many. The holy fcrip- 
 tures have been feen and acknowledged tp 
 be the only rule of faith and conicience to 
 Chriftian men ; and there is alfo, in cppfe.- 
 quence of this, a very general acknow- 
 ledgment among all ranks, that there are 
 fome things extremely wrong in our efta- 
 
 blifhment,
 
 blimment, particularly as it refpects the 
 yoak of fubfcription, and the reftraint the 
 clergy are laid under in their miniftrations, 
 and in declaring the mind and will of God 
 to the people. 
 
 But nothing, it muft be owned, has hi- 
 therto turned out favourable from it, with 
 regard to the great object of ivorjhip, and a 
 fcriptural reform of the liturgy with re- 
 gard to it. Many perfons in our church, 
 known to be ill at cafe on this point, but 
 unconnected with the petitioners, flattered 
 themfelves, that the nation's eyes were 
 opening, that we were coming to a better 
 temper, and that things were working to- 
 wards a happy change in this important 
 article. Moft true it is indeed, and I have 
 found it by large experience, that the 
 gofpel light of the knowledge of the one 
 true God, and the wormip to be paid to 
 him only, as taught by Jefus Chrift, has 
 long been fpreading its beautiful ray through 
 the Britim nations, fo that many of all 
 ranks begin to fee with concern the {hik- 
 ing oppofition betwixt our public forms of 
 worship and thofelaid down in the word of 
 
 God 3
 
 ( 222 ) 
 
 God ; and a reformed liturgy in this rcfpeft, 
 whofe conformity to holy fcripture could 
 not but inftantly approve itfelf to them, 
 would be gladly received and admitted, 
 with a very general confent. But the fault 
 lies not here. It has appeared in the oppo- 
 fition made to the petitioning clergy from 
 the prefs, that not only thofe from whom 
 it might be expected, but fome that were 
 before efleemed of a more liberal caftj have 
 fhewn a difpofition very contrary to the 
 making or admitting of any reformation in 
 our unfcriptural forms of wormip. And 
 declarations of the like import are faid to 
 have fallen from their fuperiors in ftill 
 higher place. 
 
 In this ftate of things; .therefore, I had 
 no choice left; but either to change the 
 public fervice of the church, and make it 
 iuch as I could conlciemioufly officiate in ,- 
 or quietly to retire. 
 
 I could not reconcile myfelf to the for- 
 mer, becaufe I looked upon the declaration 
 of conformity and fubfcription at inftitutit n 
 to be fuch folemn ties, that I could 
 'not be eafy under fo great a violation of 
 
 them
 
 I 22 3 ) 
 
 them *. For I mufl have adopted all thole' 
 above-mentioned, as Dr. Clarke's amend- 
 ments, or even more; which would have 
 been making almoft a new fervice of it. 
 
 o 
 
 But could I have brought my own mind 
 to it, there were fome things in my fituation^ 
 in fo large a pari(h, with three chapels in 
 it, which would have mide fuch a change 
 impracticable. Not to mention alfo, that 
 when incapacitated by ficknefs, or removed 
 by death, the people in all probability muft 
 have returned back to their old forms again- 
 In mort, fuch an attempt would have 
 been likely, in my place, to have produced 
 much confufion and perplexity, to fay the 
 Jeaft : and I could not fee any adequate reli- 
 gious improvement or edification among 
 my people, likely to arife from it; the only 
 
 * The following is the form of the engagement to' 
 
 conformity at inftitution to a living before the bifhop. 
 
 " 1 do declare that I will conform to the liturgy 
 
 " of the church of England, as it is now by 
 
 " law eftabliflied. A. B. 
 
 *' This declaration was made and fubfcribed be- 
 
 (r - fore me, 6y the faid A.B. to be admitted and in- 
 
 c * fti tuted into the redtory or vicarage of in 
 
 the county of in the year of Our Lord 
 
 , and in the year of our confecra- 
 
 rion." 
 
 jufli-
 
 ( 224 ) 
 
 juftifiable end of making fuch a change,' 
 and flaying with them. 
 
 Upon the moft calm and ferious delibe- 
 ration, therefore, and weighing of every 
 circumflance, I am obliged to give up my 
 benefice; whatever I fuffer by it, unlefs I 
 would lofe all inward peace and hope of 
 God's favour and acceptance in the end. 
 Somewhat of a tendency to an ifTue of 
 this fort, my friends may have occafion- 
 ally obferved, or recollected to have been 
 dropt in converfation> or by letter : but I 
 refrained from naming it 'directly, and 
 thought it became me to be filent till the 
 time approached, as my reafons were not 
 another's ; nor my conduct a rule for 
 their's; nor did I know, or believe, that 
 any one had fuch cogent motives to leave 
 his fration and miniftrations in the church 
 as I had. 
 
 The example of an excellent perfon, now 
 living at Wolverhampton, Dr. Robertfon, 
 has been a fecret reproach to me ever iince 
 I heard of it. For I thought, and perhaps 
 juftly, that he might not have all thofe 
 reafons of diilike to our eftablimed forms 
 of wormip that I had ; and, though my-' 
 felf not without unknown ftraits and diffi- 
 culties
 
 ( 22 5 ) 
 
 culties to ftruggle with, and not alone involv- 
 ed in them, yet have I not all thofe diffua- 
 fives and difcouragements that he paints 
 forth in his affecting letter to the bifhop of 
 Ferns, fubjoinedtohisinftructive and learn- 
 ed work, and which I {hall take leave to 
 infert as an ornament and fuitable conclu- 
 lion of my fubject and book. 
 
 -" In debating this matter with my- 
 
 felf (fays that worthy man) befides the argu- 
 ments dire<flly to the purpofe, feveral ftrong 
 collateral confederations came in upon the 
 poiltive fide of the queftion* The flreight-^ 
 nefs of my circumftances prefled me clofe : a 
 numerous family, quite unprovided for> 
 pleaded with the moft pathetic and moving 
 eloquence. And the infirmities and wants of 
 age, now coming faft upon me, were urged 
 feelingly. But one fingle confideration pre- 
 vailed over all thefe. That the Creator and 
 Governor of the uni'verfe, whom it is my firft 
 duty to lyorjkip and adore, being the God of 
 truth, it mujl be difagreeable to him toprofejs, 
 fubfcribe^ or declare, in any matter relating to 
 his ivorfoip andfervice* 'what is not believed 
 ftrictly andjimply to be true *." 
 
 * Attempt to explain the words reafin, fubjlance? 
 &c. p. 241. London, 1768.
 
 [ 226 ] 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 NUMBER I *. 
 
 JOHN FOX'S LETTER TO QUEEN ELIZABETH, TO 
 DISSUADE HER FROM BURNING TWO DUTCH A- 
 NABAPTISTSFOR HERESY IN SMITHFIELD. 1575. 
 
 SERENISSIMA beatiffima princeps, 
 regina illuftriffima, patria? decus, fx- 
 culi ornamentum ! Ut nihil ab animo meo 
 omnique expeilatione abfuit longius quarn 
 ut majeflatis tuas amplitlimam excellentiam 
 molefta unquam interpellatione obturba- 
 rem ; ita vehementer dolet lilentium hoc, 
 quo hadtenus conftanter Turn ufus, non ea- 
 dt-m conftantia perpetuo tueri ita ut vole- 
 bam licuifle. Ita nunc praeterfpem ac opi- 
 iiionem meam nefcio quainfclicitate evenit, 
 ut quod omnium vo'ebam minime, id con- 
 tra me maxime faciat hoc tempore. Qui 
 cum ita vixerim hucufque, ut moleftus fuc- 
 rim nemini, invitus nunc cogor contra na- 
 turam principi etiam ipfi efle importunus, 
 non re ulla aut caufa mea, fed aliena in- 
 duftus calamitate. Q^ffi quo acerbior fit ec 
 lu&uofior, hoc acriorcs mihi addit ad de- 
 
 * See page 47. 
 
 precandum
 
 ( 22; ) 
 
 precandum ftimulos. Nonnullos intelllgo 
 in Anglia hie effe non Anglos, fed adventi- 
 tios, Belgas quidem opinor, partim viros, 
 partim fcminas, nuper ob improbata dog- 
 mata in judicium advocates. Quorum ali- 
 quot fcliciter redudti publica luerunt pceni- 
 tentiaj complures in exilium funt condem- 
 nati, idqus recti(Iim meo judicio fadtum 
 efle arbitror. Jam ex hoc numero unurn 
 efle aut alterum audio, de quibus ultimum 
 exuftionis fupplicium (nifi fuccurrat tua 
 pietas) brevi eft ftatuendum. Qua una in 
 re duo contineri perfpicio, quorum alte- 
 rum ad errorum pravitatem, alterum 
 ad fupplicii acerbitatem adtinet. Ac er- 
 roribus quidem iplis nihil poffit abfurdius 
 cfle, fanus nemo eft qui dubitar, miror- 
 que tarn facda opinionum portenta in quof- 
 quam potuifle Chriftianos cadere. Sed ita 
 habet humana infinnitatis conditio, ii di- 
 vina paululum luce deftituti nobis relin- 
 quimur, quo non ruimus prscipites ? At- 
 que hoc nomine Chrifto gratias quam 
 maximas habeo, qtiod Anglorum hodic 
 neminemhuic infanire arnne:ii vidro. Quod 
 igitur ad phanaticas iftas fcdtas attinet, eas 
 certe in republica nullo modo fovendas 
 efle, fed idonea comrirnendas correc- 
 
 tione
 
 ( "8 ) 
 
 tionc ccnfco. Vcrum enim vcro ignibus 
 ac flammis pice ac fulphure aeftuantibus 
 viva miferorum corpora torrefacere, judicii 
 magis ccecitate quam inipetu voluntatis 
 erramium, durum iftud ac Roman! ma- 
 gis exempli efTe quam evangelicae con- 
 fuetudinis videtur, ac plane ejufmodi, ut 
 ni(i a Romanis pontificibus, authore In- 
 nocentio tertio, primum profluxiflct, nun- 
 quam iftum PerilH taurum quifquam in 
 jnitem Chrifti ecclefiam ituportaviiTet. 
 Non quod maleficiis deleter, aut errori- 
 bus cujufquam. faveam, dida haec efle ve- 
 lim ; vitse hominum, ipfe homo cum fim, 
 faveo ; ideoque faveo, non IK erret, led 
 ut refipifcat: ac neque hominum folum, 
 utinam et pecudibus ipfis opitulari pofTcm. 
 Ita enim fum, (ftulte fortaffis hsec de meip- 
 fo, at vere dico,) macellum ipium, ubi 
 ma<5tantur etiam pecudes, vix prcetereo^ 
 quin tacito quodam doloris fenfu mens re^ 
 fugiat. Atque equidem in eo Dei ipiius 
 valde admiror, venerorque toto pe^lorc 
 clementiam, qui in jumentis illis brutis et 
 abjeclis, quae facrificiis olim parabantur, id 
 profpexerat, ne prius ignibus mandarentur 
 fanguis eorum ad bafim aharis efFua- 
 
 ceretur
 
 deretur. Unde difceremus, in exigendis 
 fuppliciis, quamvis juftis, non quidomnino 
 rigori liceat, fed lit dementia fimul adhibi- 
 ta rigoris temperet afperitatem. 
 
 Quamobrem fi tantum mibi apud prin- 
 cipis tanti majeftatem audere liceret fup- 
 plex pro Chrifto rogarem clementiflimam 
 hanc regia3 fublimitatis exccllentiam, pro 
 authoritate hac mea (lege tua) qua ad vi- 
 tam multorum confecrandum pellere (/. 
 confervandam pollere) te divina voluit cle- 
 mentia, ut vitae li fieri poffit, (quid enim 
 non poflet iis in rebus authoritas tua ?) mi- 
 ferorum parcatur, faltem ut horrori obfif- 
 tatur, atque in aliud quodcunque commu- 
 tetur fupplicii genus. Sunt eje6tiones, in- 
 clufiones retrufe, funt vincula, funt per- 
 petua exilia, funt ftigmata et TrX^^ara aut 
 etiam patibula j id unum valde deprecor, 
 ne piras ac flammas Smithfieldianas jam 
 diu fauftifiimis tuis aufpiciis hue ufque fo- 
 pitas, finas nunc recandefcere. Quod fi 
 ne id quidem obtineri poifit, id faltem 
 omnibus fupplicandi modis efflagito, 
 Tbro re TrsXx^yiKov pe<floris tui implofans, ut 
 menfem tamen unum aut alterum nobis 
 concedas, quo interim experiamur, an a 
 
 P eri -
 
 ( 230 ) 
 
 periculofis erroribus dederit dominus ut 
 refanefcant, ne cum corporum jadtura, ani- 
 mas pariter cum corporibus de xterno peri- 
 clitentur exitio *. 
 
 * Fuller's Church Hiilory of Britain. p. 104, 
 105. 
 
 NUMBER
 
 NUMBER II *. 
 
 A CONFESSION OF FAITH OF THE WALPENEES, EX- 
 TRACTED OUT OF CHARLES DU MOULIN DE LA 
 MON. DES FRANCOIS, p. 65. 
 
 W 
 
 ARTICLE i. 
 
 E believe, that there is hut One 
 God, that he is a Spirit, Creatour 
 of all things, God of all, who is over all 
 and through all, and in us all, who 
 ought to be wormiped in fpirit and in 
 truth, whom alone we ferve, and to whom 
 we give the glory of our life, food, rai- 
 ment, health, ficknefs, profperity, and ad- 
 verfity ; and we love him as one who 
 knoweth our hearts. 
 
 ART. 2. 
 
 We believe that Jefus Chrljl is the Son 
 and image of the Father. That in him 
 dwells all the fullnefs of the Godhead; 
 by whom we have knowledge of the Fa- 
 ther. That he is our Mediator and Ad- 
 vocate. And that there is no other name 
 under heaven given unto men, by which 
 we can be faved ; in whofe name alone 
 
 * See page 175. 
 
 WC
 
 we call upon the Father, and ufe no other 
 prayers than thofe which are contained in 
 the holy fcripture, or fuch other as are con- 
 formable to them for fubftance. 
 
 ART. 3. 
 
 We believe that the Holy Spirit is our 
 Comforter, proceeding from the Father and 
 the Son ; by whofe infpiration we make 
 our prayer?, being by him renewed, who 
 works in us all goods works, and by whom 
 we have the knowledge of all truths. 
 
 ART. 4. 
 
 We believe that there is one holy church, 
 which is the congregation of all the eledk 
 and faithful ones from the very beginning 
 of the world to the end, whereof our Savi- 
 our Chrift is the head : the which is govern-;, 
 ed by his word, and conducted by his fpirit, 
 wherewith all good Chriftians ought to 
 hold communion : for, (he prays for all 
 without ceafing, and the word which (he 
 hath is agreeable to God himfelf; without 
 which church no man can be faved. 
 
 ART. 5. 
 
 We hold that the rainifters of the 
 church, as Bimops and Paftours, ought to 
 
 be
 
 be irreprehenfible, as well in their life as 
 doctrine. And that otherwife they ought 
 to be deprived of their offices, and others 
 fubftituted in their places. As likewife, 
 that none ought to prefume to take upon 
 him this honour, but he who is called by 
 God, as was Aaron, feeding the flock of 
 God, not for the fake of difhoneft gain, nor 
 as having any lordmip over the clergy, but 
 as being fincerely an example to his flock, 
 in word, in converfation, in chanty, in 
 faith, and in chaftity. 
 
 ART. 6. 
 
 We confefs, that kings, princes, and go- 
 vernours, are ordained and eftablimed as 
 minifters of God, whom we ought to obey. 
 For they bear the fword for defence of the 
 innocent, and for the punifliment of evil 
 doers, for which caufe we are bound to 
 give them honour, and to pay them tri- 
 bute ; from whofe power none can exempt 
 himfelf; it being like wile forbidden by 
 our Lord Jefus Chrift, who was willing to 
 pay tribute, not pretending jurifdidion 
 pver the temporal powers. 
 
 6 We
 
 ART, 7. 
 
 We believe, that in the facrament of 
 baptifm, water is the vifible and external 
 fign, which reprefents unto us that which 
 (by the invifible virtue of God operating) is 
 within us; namely, the renovation of the 
 fpirir, and the mortification of our mem- 
 bers in Jefus Chrift; by which alfo we are 
 received into the holy congregation of the 
 people of God, there protefting and declar- 
 ing openly our faith and amendment of 
 life. 
 
 ART. 
 
 We hold, that the holy facrament of the 
 table or fupper of our Lord Jefus Chrift is 
 an holy commemoration and giving of 
 thanks for the benefits which we have re- 
 ceived by his death and paflion ; that we 
 ought to aflemble together in faith and cha- 
 rity, examining ourfelvef, and to eat of that 
 bread, and communicate of that his bloody 
 in the very fame manner as he hath pre- 
 fcribed in the holy fcripture. 
 
 ART. 9. 
 
 We confefs that marriage is good, ho- 
 nourable, holy, and inflituted by God him- 
 
 fclf;
 
 C 
 
 {elf; which ought not to ba prohibited to 
 any perfon, provided that there be no hin- 
 drance fpecified by the word of God. 
 
 A R T. IO. 
 
 We confefs, that thofe who fear God 
 follow thofe things which are well pleaf- 
 ing to him, and do thofe works which 
 he hath prepared to the end that we (hould 
 walk in them ; which are love, joy, peace, 
 patience, meeknefs, goodnefs, brotherly 
 kindnefs, temperance, and other the like 
 works contained and commended in the 
 holy fcriptures. 
 
 ART II. 
 
 On the contrary, we confefs that we 
 
 ought to take heed and beware of falfe 
 
 o 
 
 teachers, whofe fcope and aim is to turn 
 the people afide from the true wormip, 
 which belongs to our only God and Lord, 
 and to lean upon creatures, and to trufl in 
 them : as likewife to forfake thofe good 
 works which are contained and required in 
 the holy fcriptures, and to do thofe which 
 are only invented by men. 
 
 We
 
 ART. 12. 
 
 We hold for the rule of our faith, the 
 Old and New Teftament, and agree to the 
 general confeffion of faith, with the ar- 
 licles contained in the Apoftles Creed, 
 namely, " I believe in God the Father 
 Almighty," &c *. 
 
 * Morland's hiftory of $he evangelical churches 
 of the valleys of Piedmont, p. 37. 
 
 N I S.
 
 Lately Publijhed> and Sold by J. JOHNSON* 
 No. 72, St. Paul's Church- Yard. 
 
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 CIVIL, and RELIGIOUS LIBERTY, the fecond Edition, 
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 2. INSTITUTES of NATURAL and REVEALED RELI- 
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 32. A LETTER to Dr. Balguy, in Anfwer to his Charge. 
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 33. Two LETTERS to the Ri?ht Reverend Prelates 
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 35. LOOSE HINTS on the Subject of a farther Refor- 
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 A 
 
 SCRIPTURAL CONFUTATION 
 
 O F T H E 
 
 ARGUMENTS 
 
 AGAINST THE 
 
 ONE GODHEAD 
 
 O P T H E 
 
 FATHER, SON, and HOLY GHOST, 
 
 PRODUCED BY 
 
 The Reverend Mr. LINDSEY 
 In his late APOLOGY. 
 
 By a L A Y M A N. U 
 
 OMNES AD SACK AS LITERAS SUNT DUCENDI, ur 
 INDE TALIA HAURIANT, QU-ff, NISI DEO SE- 
 MET PATEFACIENTE, COGNOSCI NEQJJEUNT. 
 
 GROTIUS. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 Printed for W. NICOLL, in St. Paul's Church-Yard, 
 
 !774- 
 
 [PRICE THREE SHILLINGS.]
 
 Advertifement. 
 
 IN the following meets, which I am de- 
 firous of rendering univerfally ufeful, I 
 have taken care to write the third and fourth 
 chapters in fuch a manner as that they may 
 be read feparately by perfons to whom the 
 preceding part of the work might be diffi- 
 cult or unnecefiary. The plan I have pur- 
 fued throughout is as follows. Having, 
 as I think, fet afide Mr. Lindfey's founda- 
 tion of argument in the introduction, and 
 {hewed the fallacy or inconclufivenefs of 
 what he builds moil upon, I have in my 
 nrft chapter flated the proper premifes up- 
 on which our reafon is at liberty to ad~t 
 \vith refpect to fcripture truths. In my 
 fecond, I have endeavoured to mew the 
 nature of the evidence which is borne to 
 that great fcripture truth to which our faith 
 is required. And in the fubfequent parts 
 of the work have mewed what the evidence 
 
 itfelf is. 1 have but one requeft to make 
 
 of my reader, v/hich is, that he will do by 
 
 me as I did by Mr. Lindfey ; and when he 
 
 is reading my book, that he will place the 
 
 a Bible
 
 Bible befide him ; for by my agreement 
 with that only do I defire to ftand; nay, if 
 I fhall be found to difagree, I wifh to fall. 
 In Ibme few inftances, for the fake of con- 
 tinuing a fentence, I have changed the per- 
 fon ufed in a fcripture precept, and, inftead 
 of abfolutely adhering to fuch words as 
 do ye, have fometimes faid we arc dejired to 
 do, &c. and in a few inftances have omit- 
 ted a multitude of nominatives, where one 
 anfwered the purpofe full as well, as in 
 Rev. vi. 15, 16, where it is faid that the 
 kings of the earth, and the great men, and 
 the rich men, and the chief captains, and 
 the mighty men, and every bond man, and 
 every free man hid themfehes in the dens, 
 and in the rocks of the mount ains-, in this 
 cafe I have ufed only the firft. Of this 
 I think it neceiTary to apprize my reader, 
 left he mould charge me with inaccuracy in 
 my quotations; whereas I will promife him 
 that, throughout the whole work, he will 
 not find the fmalleft alteration made in the 
 fenfe. The pafiages with which I have 
 taken this liberty are but very few alfo; but 
 let him lay the Bible before him, and there 
 
 is no great danger of his being mifled. 
 
 Sometimes I have paraphrafed in/lead of 
 
 quoted ;
 
 quoted j but that will always appear in the 
 
 inftance. In the 66th page I have made 
 
 a comment upon John viii. 58, and con- 
 futed an objection brought againft it by an 
 author, who ftyles himfe,lf " a Lover of the 
 Gofpel." The paffage which I have treat- 
 ed of was pointed out to me; it remained 
 on my mind, and by miftake I have afcribed 
 it to Mr. Lindfey. This is but of fmall 
 importance. I mention it only that I may 
 apologize to him for it.
 
 ERRATA. 
 
 Page 3, line laft, for for read from. 
 
 P. 27, 1. 15, for man read men. 
 
 P. 62, laft line but one, for 22 rW 42. 
 
 P. 123, line 13, dele the. 
 
 P. 136, 1. 28, /jr Rom. nW Rev. 
 
 P. 139, line 13, for 2 read 20. 
 
 P. 149, laft line but one, for John v. &c. read i John v 
 
 &c. 
 
 P. 165, 1. 4, /or to ; it read to it : 
 P. 201, 1. 14, /or diftinion read diftra&ion. 
 
 3* The inverted commas r by which quotations are 
 marked, arc- in two or three inftances omitted ; but the 
 omiflion is of but fmall confequence,
 
 SCRIPTURAL CONFUTATION, &c. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 TH E conduit of Mr. Lindfey, in refigning 
 the vicarage of Catterick on certain fcru- 
 ples, excited my curiofity to know what his 
 particular objections to the fubfcription of 
 the articles of the church of England were. His refig- 
 nation was foon followed by a book under the captiva- 
 ting title of " The Apology of Theophilus Lindfey, 
 A. M. on refigning the vicarage of Catterick, York- 
 fhire;'' with this book, which was greedily bought up, 
 I alfo furnifhed myfelf j what I expe&ed to have found 
 in it, is of no confequence to the public; but I did 
 indeed find a much " larger circuit taken" than the 
 title promifed, and that " the defign was not barely 
 to offer a vindication of the motives and conduft of a 
 private perfon," but to aflail every fundamental doc- 
 trine of the church from the miniftry of which he 
 had retired ; to degrade the God of our Salvation ; 
 to fnatch from us the object of our religion ; and to 
 evince, that Jefus Chrift is not one with the Father 
 and the Holy Ghoft, God. Upon what foundation he 
 has raifed the flimfy fuperftrudture of his own do<Strine, 
 or rather with what engines he has endeavoured to fub- 
 vert the fixed fabrick of our religion, and force it from 
 the bafis of revelation, I fhall proceed to (hew j and, 
 A with-
 
 without infmuating pretenfions to divine afliftance, from 
 the grant of which it might be inferred, that my caufe 
 had the particular favour of heaven, I hope to evince the 
 divinity of our blefied Lord and Saviour Jefus Chrift, 
 and, in oppofition to all the human authority convened 
 by Mr. Lindfey, to fhew that God lumfelf has borne 
 teftimony to it; and if, from his revelation, it be 
 clearly fet forth that jcfus Chrift is both God and 
 man, I hope and believe th'e pofition will be acceded 
 to, however unable reajbn may be to comprehend it, or 
 how numerous foever the voices may be which have 
 lifted themfelves up againft it. 
 
 Before I enter trport the fubjecl: p'ropofed, I think it 
 necefTary to remove fome prejudices which favour Mr. 
 Lindfey's caufe, prejudices fo natural to the mind of 
 man, that he has been aware of their ufe, and, with 
 fuperfluous diligence, beftowed rrear half his book to 
 inftill them ; the influence of thefe upon my readers I 
 muft, however, try to avert before I can hope for an 
 impartial hearing; for I have refigned no vicarage; I 
 have pufhed from me no worldly advantages ; I have 
 given no proofs that a little, with a fettled conference,- 
 is preferable, in my eyes, to great ricnes retained by 
 acquiefcence in that which I do not believe; all of 
 Which he has done, and for which let me freely pay 
 him the tribute of my praife ; let me declare that I ho- 
 nour the finccrity which fuch a conduft evinces; bu? 
 let me never fay that, from the rectitude of his heart, I 
 can deduce the rectitude of his opinions. Such proofs 
 of my fiflcerity, it is true, I have it not in my power 
 to produce; but even Mr. Lindfey has borne fuch tef- 
 timony to the troubles of an unquiet fpirit, that no 
 man will conceive that I fhould fcek to incur them by 
 a voluntary engagement in the caufe of falfehood, or 
 look upon the falvation of my immortal foul as a mat- 
 ter
 
 [ 3 ] 
 
 ter of fo little importance to me, as to maintain a 
 doctrine, fo connected with the felicity of a future 
 rate, if I were not clearly convinced of its truth. , 
 
 Unlefs -then I am to cofider it written with a view 
 to prejudice the Reader, the aim of the long chapter of 
 Sufferers for the maintenance of Mr. Lindfey's doctrine 
 is altogether inexplicable to me, becaufc I am unable to 
 deduce the truth of a fyftem from any other fource 
 than that of reafon or fair argument. Submiflion to 
 mifery, in preference to the conceuioa of au opinion, 
 does indeed prove the flncerity of the fufferer, but by 
 no means the opinion for which he has fuffered *, it 
 may prove the weaknefs of hi& underhand ing, but by 
 no means the ftrength of his caufe. In India the dif- 
 tortions of the Bxarain are the teilimony of the divinity 
 of his Ixpra; in the holy oiEce a the fubrrufiion of the 
 Jew to the extremeft tortures ? Is the teftimony that 
 our Saviour had not even divine affi^lance; and now in 
 England we fijad a number of unhappy wretches fuf- 
 fering under equally .unjuft and cruel inflictions, to 
 evince a negation of our Saviour's divinity ; and this 
 lift of miferable cieatures is held out to the public by 
 a gentleman who has voluntarily added himfelf to the 
 number. I have akeady faid that I confidefed fuch a 
 conduct as a proo/ of ^ncerity, but I cannot agree to 
 allow it the name of ^Hartyrdom., or in the leaft degree 
 a proof of the juflice or ,truth of the opinion for the 
 maintenance of whiph it is fuftained j doctrines the 
 moflr contradidory would elfe be true. Papal fuprema- 
 cy and regai fupremacy have almofl mingled their bla- 
 zing teftimonies, and were they both truly to be main- 
 tained ? What horrible proofs have been given to the 
 world that flour and water are flcfh and blood ; and 
 will any man declare that the contrary doctrine has de- 
 fiyed validity for equal, nay greater,,, ftreams of blood 
 A 2 "poured
 
 I 4 ] 
 
 poured out to teftify that they were floup and water 
 flill ? No man, furely -, becaufe this is a pofition, the 
 proofs of which are fubmitted to all men, and a ftrong- 
 er degree of tefliniony, than my ftedfaftnefs, may be 
 and is borne to it by the fenfes of all mankind. Both 
 fides of this queftion have had their bleeding advocates, 
 and are they therefore both true ? I will go yet farther 
 and fay, that were I to undergo the fharpeft afflidtions 
 for entertaining the oppofite doctrine to that of Mr. 
 Lindfey, (and I would undergo them rather than de- 
 part from the belief for which I think I have fo fuffi- 
 cient grounds) yet I fhould not conceive that I had 
 added even the flighted proof of the truth of it. My 
 fmcerity the world would, I believe, allow, but what 
 could my fmcerity evince, I fuffer for a pofition, and 
 becaufe I have believed it upon arguments feeming fuf- 
 ficient to me ; if they be in fact fufficient, I have done 
 welJ to adhere to them, and they were as valid before 
 my fuffering as afterwards ; and if they are defective, 
 niy miferies cannot alter the conclusions following 
 from them. Their truth or .falfehood, the juftice or 
 injuftice of the inference are pre-exiftent to my teftimo- 
 jiy, and fo abfolutely independent of my belief, or 
 any proofs that I may give of the fincerity of my 
 belief, and are fo far from deriving ftrength from my 
 fuffering in behalf of them, that they would have 
 been precifely the fame though I had never been born, 
 as if I had made my exit at a ftake. I am anxious 
 to eftablifh this point, and therefore dwell upon it, for 
 I fear that too cafy credit may be yielded to a doctrine 
 held forth by a claimant to martyrdom ; the feal of 
 blood has given a feeming validity to many a pofition, 
 from which the aflertors had before derived no glory; 
 the ftake, where it has been the only argument, has 
 fometimes been confidered as a very convincing one ; 
 and a departure in flames has been thought to have re- 
 vealed
 
 [ 5 3 
 
 vealed the angel, where the precepts for which they are 
 fuftained had perhaps only fhewed forth the contempti- 
 ble man : But martyrdom is not now to be deduced from 
 fincerity, which is all that can be concluded from ftre- 
 mious differing. The apoftles indeed were martyrs, 
 they bore teftimony to fads fubmitted to their fenfes, 
 and had even a fenfible perception of divine afliftancc, 
 of which alfo they gave proofs to the world : They 
 bore teftimony, and they would not recede from it; 
 what they teftified they knew, and promulgated by ex- 
 traordinary aid, of which they were eminently confci- 
 ous ; what they knew, not what opinions they formed 
 without divine affiftance, was their doctrine; and from 
 the teftimony of what they knew they would not be 
 deterred ; they fuffered, and their conftancy was a proof 
 of their fincerity: But they were fincere, not in the 
 maintenance of dubious controvcrtible doctrines, but in 
 having teftified, that what they had preached they had 
 known. As then they were fincere, and had proved 
 themfelves fo, we muft conclude that they did know 
 what they had preached, and confider their ftedfaft ad- 
 herence to what they had fet out with as an exceeding 
 ftrong teftimony borne to the truth of it, and fuch a 
 teftimony as this is what is properly called martyrdom. 
 I hope that this may be fufficient tp warn my readers 
 from looking upon fincerity as a proof of the opinion 
 fincerely believed ; let it recommend the heart, but by 
 no means the hea^, the errors of which may be as fin* 
 cerely believed as the beft eftablifhed maxims. 
 
 The prodigious number of names, only pretending 
 to human authority, which arc produced by Mr. Lind- 
 fcv to fupport his doctrines, might perhaps be well op- 
 pofed by citing as great a multitude of eminent men, 
 who have agreed with the church of England, and af- 
 ffibed divinity to our bleffed Saviour. Were it bh!y ".& 
 
 fatisff
 
 [ 6 I 
 
 fetisfy him, with whom, I fear, the authority of the 
 fcriptures will fignify but little, I would purfue thi$ 
 r.ourfc of argument (if argument it may be called) j 
 but I fcorn any other foundation than that of God him- 
 felf, whofe written word, not feen through the medi- 
 um of a comment, is alone evidence to me ; let it not 
 therefore be inferred, that I am unable to meet him up- 
 on his own ground, becaufe I choofe that which is bet- 
 ter j for I could, to him, oppofe as good human autho- 
 ity to maintain my belief as any ten Dutch women in- 
 Kuropc, however ftrenuoufly they might have fuftained 
 and fuffered for the doctrines of Anabaptjfm. 
 
 The difpofitions of mankind lean toward thofe who 
 flatter their reafon, and endeavour to reduce all things 
 to her comprehenfion, or to thofe who abet that pride 
 with which fhe is defirous of rejecting whatfoever fhe 
 cannot comprehend ; from this principle it is that they 
 who familiarly illuftrate the moil unfamiliar difficulties, 
 j: flatly deny the exiftence of that which tranfcends the 
 faculties of man, arc heard with partial ears ; againft 
 this prejudice alfo, in favour of Mr. Lindfcy,. I am 
 obliged to guard ; for he has declared, that *' our Sa- 
 viour Chrift teacheth no myfterious dorines" P As I 
 have already faid, that the fcriptures lhall be my only 
 appeal ;, to this denial of a myftery, nay to that ridicule 
 with wbich the word myftery is treated throughout Mr. 
 Lindfcy's book, I {hall oppofe the fcrious declara- 
 tion of St. Paul, who, fpeaking of the gofpel of Je- 
 fus Chrift and him crucified, and. that not with enti- 
 
 cin~ words of Man's wifdom. but in demonftratio of 
 
 ' 
 the Spirit, that our faith might (land not in the wifdom 
 
 of man, but the power of God, declares, " we fpeak the 
 wifdom of God in a myftery" ; and this he fays he 
 does " by the Spirit of God, by which alone the deep 
 things of God are fearched" j and he farther declares, 
 
 that '
 
 1 7 i 
 
 that * the fptfit compares fpiritual things with fpintual , 
 but that thefe things are foolifhnefs to the natural marfj 
 who receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God.'* 
 See i Cor. ii. 
 
 Will Mr. Lihtlfey now perfevere to fay, that the doc- 
 trine of Chrift is not myfterious ? The moral do&rined 
 delivered by hifhfelf I grant, indeed, are not fo ; but on 
 the contrary moft perfpicuoufiy clear; but a manifeita- 
 tion of him who delivered thofe doctrines, and a revf> 
 lation teftifying of him, and fetting forth who he was, 
 and is, and fhall eternally be, and tfVat " in him dwell- 
 eth all the fitlnefs of the Godhead bodily, ColoflT. iii, 
 ty. Is not this a myftery ? " Now, Without controver- 
 fy, great is the rnyftery of godlihefs ; God was made 
 manifeft in the flefh, juftified in the Spirit, feen of an- 
 gels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the 
 world, received up into glory," i Tim. iii. 16. Let us 
 then beware of the philofophy of the natural man, of 
 the enticing words of man's wifdom, which St. Paul 
 has warned us againft, becaufe he well forefaw that it 
 would ftand in the way and preclude " the acknow- 
 ledgment of the myftery 6f God, and of the Father, 
 and of Chrift, Color!, ii. 2. This warning to beware 
 of the deceits of philofophy is given at fuch a time* 
 and in context with fuch a doctrine, as makes it utterly' 
 aftonifhing to me how any man in his fcnfes fhould at- 
 tempt to work it to the purpofes of overturning our Sa- 
 viour's divinity: We are deftred to beware of it, becaufe 
 k might be oppofite to the declaration which immedi- 
 ately follows, that " in Chrift dwelleth all the ful-> 
 iiefs of the Godhead bodily; that "Chrift is all in 
 all;" that Chrift forgave us all;" that, " of the 
 Lord we fhall receive the reward of the inheritance, for 
 we ferve the Lord Chrift ;" that " whatfoever we do f 
 we ihould do it heartily., as to the Lord, and not unto 
 
 man,"
 
 [ 8 } 
 
 man.'* In fhort, St. Paul has given us this warning in 
 the midft of his epiftle to the Coloffians, to which I 
 refer as a molt explicit declaration of our Saviour's di- 
 vinity throughout. Letusjuft confider now, whether 
 this warning can have any other object in view. Mr. 
 Lindfey's principal objection to the Godhead of Chrift, 
 is, that it is not reconcilable to reafon ; St. Paul fays, 
 that the Greek requires wifdom. Mr. Lindfey fays, 
 that it is a doctrine fraught not only with impiety but 
 abfurdity; St. Paul fays, that it is to the Greek fool- 
 ifhnefs* Of what dodtrines, of what philofophy now 
 was St. Paul afraid ? Will Mr. Lindfey fay, that he 
 feared that the Greeks would* from their demand for a 
 reafonable doctrine, adopt a doctrine contrary to what 
 he thinks reafonable himfelf ? Or will he fay, that the 
 apoftle apprehended, from their avcrfion to that which 
 was foolilh, their adoption of a doctrine which he him- 
 felf declares to be foolifh ? If this be his mode of rea- 
 foningj it is fo felf-fubverted that it requires only to 
 be read for its own confutation. His aflertion, that the 
 Trinity is an idea adopted from Plato, is full of impie- 
 ty, and fo extreamly weak, that I am forry to fee any 
 man capable of promulgating it; and, were I not af- 
 fured of this gentleman's fmcerity, from the proof 
 which he has given to the world, that upon the whole 
 he disbelieves our Saviour's divinity, I fhould incline to 
 conceive that he meant to impofe this on mankind up- 
 on the faith of a martyr. I will now advance one of 
 the like nature, and afl'ure Mr. Lindfey that the idea of 
 the Unity of God is derived from the philofophy of So- 
 crates, who, notwithstanding his having been educated in 
 a country where fuch a doctrine was efteemed impious, 
 yet dared to preach this imagination of his own brain j 
 how does this found ? Juft as well as the other, and is 
 advanced with fully equal truth. For my own part, I 
 muft now declare to this gentleman, that (fo far from 
 
 having
 
 [ 9 ] 
 
 .having" drawn my faith in the Trinity from Plato, the 
 only book I have ever read on the fubjeclj (except his 
 owiii which I was led to look into by my curiofity to 
 ice the motives of his uncommonly conscientious 
 conduct) is the Bible: that I have thence deduced 
 the doctrine of the trinity ; that both the Old and 
 the New Teftaments evince it j the Old, by typical and 
 verbal prophecies ; and the New, by the events which 
 juftify the prophecies; that our Saviour's life and lel- 
 ibns teach it ; and that the more explicit teftimony of 
 the Holy Ghoft declare and enforce it ; that, in the 
 epiftles of St. Paul> evaded or trifled with, it is deli- 
 vered in nearly fo many words. But I muft farther de- 
 clare, that though it be not precifely fo denominated 
 there, or in any part of the fcriptures, I cannot form 
 an idea why I am not at liberty to give a name iu 
 that, which another mall fo defcribe as to put it into 
 mv power to give it a name for the benefit of commu- 
 nication. The Godhead of the Father, and of the 
 Son, and of the Holy Gholt, is a doctrine which I de- 
 duce from the facred writings, and to thefe three per- 
 ions I am furely at liberty to give a name that fiiall at 
 once comprehend them all, and ferve the purpofe ot 
 more expeditioufly conveying my mind on the fubject, 
 whenfoever I fh.ill fall upon it, without levity. From 
 the fume fource ulfo I deduce the being of but one God ; 
 and as I have before given the name of Trinity to the 
 three Perfons, to this Godhead 1 give the name of Tri- 
 nity in Unity ; and what fhall preclude my giving a 
 name where the fcriptures have given the fubftance ? 
 I own I do not fee, nor can I conceive this objection to 
 the Trinity of perfons, and the Unity of the God- 
 head, to be a bit better grounded than that of die Qua- 
 kers to the ufe of the word \-ou 9 becauie the term is not 
 to be found in the Bible. It is objected alio to the doc- 
 trine of the Trinity, that the word wr.s r.c: formed till lat: 
 B ' iu
 
 [ 1 ] 
 
 in the fecond century. As to the date of a word I can- 
 not fee it to be of any fort of confequence, if the idea 
 to which it is annexed be but conveyed by it. If we 
 had not been termed Chriftians by the people of Anti- 
 och, and that the profeffors of Chrift's religion had, as 
 yet, continued without a name, would pofterity deny 
 the exiftence of Chriftianity, or difpute the propriety oi 
 the term, becaufe it was of the eighteenth century ? The 
 word Chrijfians was equally applicable to us before we 
 were called by it at Anroch, as after ; and the word 
 Trinity was equally applicable to the three perfons of 
 the Godhead before mankind agreed to call them by it, 
 as after. 
 
 But if the name only were in debate, I fhould be but 
 very little concerned about it, the Unity of the God- 
 head, and the Divinity of the three perfons being allow- 
 ed, I care not by what appellation they are called : But 
 I am forry to fee, at a time when I believe the doctrine 
 is what Mr. Lindfey would confute,, that he is weak 
 enough to conceive that a difapprobation of the name 
 will in the Icaft contribute to his purpofe , for either he 
 muft conceive that it does, and To- trifle; or not con- 
 ceiving fo, ackiaowledge that he is talking about words 
 only ; and furely nothing can be more uncandid than 
 fuch a procefs. He muft afiuredJy know that his deli- 
 cate conduct will procure him more readers than he 
 could with modefty have hoped for, had his book been 
 put forth without fuch a concomitant circumftancej 
 and alfo that, in the multitude of his readers, under- 
 ftandings of every fize muft be numbered ; and it is 
 therefore impoflible but he muft have forefeen that fome 
 will be of fo contracted dimenfions, as to reckon the 
 diflike of the word among the arguments againft the 
 fubftance named. To what purpofe elfe than that of 
 deception is it advanced, that to Luther " the word 
 
 1'rinit-j.
 
 [ II ] 
 
 Trinity founds oddly, and is of human invention, and 
 that it were better to call Almighty God, God, than 
 Trinity." And that Calvin fays " I like not this 
 prayer, O holy, blefled, and glorious Trinity, it fa- 
 vours of barbarifm." Are Luther and Calvin amon<r 
 
 O 
 
 the opponents of the doctrine of the Trinity ? No 
 fuch thing ; and Mr. Lindfey himfelf fhail tell you thai 
 they were well known and warm contenders for what is 
 called the do&rine of the Trinity, though they exprefled 
 fuch a diflike of the word itfelf, I cannot fee his infe- 
 rence, unlefs he would infmuate that a diflike of the 
 word, is a diflike of the doctrine, and therefore avail 
 himfelf of the authority of thefe " virtuous holy" men: 
 But that authority is altogether againft him, as himfelf 
 acknowledges ; and Calvin, by a horrible inftance, pro- 
 ved the fincerity of his belief in the Trinity, for he 
 actually brought Servetus to the ftake for oppofing it. 
 
 If this delicacy of Calvin, concerning the barbarifm 
 of a term, be admitted in argument, I fee no reafou 
 wherefore we fhould reject a claflic mythology ; or 
 why, when we fpeak of our Saviour's incarnation, 
 we fhould not ufe the words with which Erafmus ridi- 
 culed the faftidious wits of. Leo's polifhed court, and 
 fay, " E coelo defcendit filius Jovis." In fhort, I can fee 
 no reafon wherefore* we fhould not, like Leo himfelf, 
 pafs judgment upon the whole of the facred writings, 
 declare them barbarous, and never read the Bible for fear 
 of fpoiling our tafte. And with refpedl: to what is faid 
 concerning Luther, however it may be afierted that he 
 prefers the calling upon God, by the name of God, to 
 the calling upon him by the n; me Trinity, it is dedu- 
 cible from this aflertion, that he looked upon the two 
 Words as fynonimous, and confequently that the word 
 Trinity ', though it might found oddly, was expreffive 
 pf the idea, which he choofes rather to exprefs by the 
 B 2 term
 
 term God ; a. term perhaps more pleafing to his 
 car. 
 
 Thus far I have written, not with a view of deroga- 
 ting from the real worth of Mr. Lindfey, nor of leflen- 
 ing the value of fuch worth in the eyes of mankind ; but 
 with a purpofe of preventing the merits of the honeft 
 confcicntious man being carried over to his caufc, and. 
 concluded to be the merits of his argument. I am my- 
 felf deftrous that the favour which is due to his virtue 
 fhould attend his perfon, but not be converted into par- 
 tiality for his caufe. I feek not to obtain the favour of 
 the public to myfelf, but their unprejudiced ear, and 
 that men Ihould yield their convictions to truth only, 
 and not take prepofieffions for conviction. Prelimi- 
 naries being, I hope, fettled, I fhall now no longer 
 withhold my reader from that line of argument, by which 
 alone it feems to me poflible to inquire into the fubject 
 before us, and by the purfuit of which, I truft, I fhall 
 be able to evince the Divinity of our Lord and Saviour 
 Jcfus (^hrift. 
 
 CHAP.
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 On the Province of Reafon, ivitb Refpefl to its En 
 y into Scripture 'Truths. 
 
 MR. Lindfey commences with an aflertion, that 
 *' the unlearned reader fees at once, that the 
 God who made him, and whom he is to adore, is one, 
 without multiplicity or divifion, even as he knoweth 
 himfelf to be one, being one perfon and not many ;" 
 and on this pofition he proceeds to argue. If Mr, 
 Lindfey means by the unlearned reader, the reader of 
 his book, who has never read the Bible, perhaps he is 
 right ; but I believe that every reader, who has read the 
 Bible, will fee the fallacy of this great foundation of 
 all that follows in confutation of a trinity of perfons in 
 the Godhead. On a fuppofition that nature has fug- 
 gefted, and philofophy refined upon the fuggeftion of 
 a God, I do not doubc that natural religion might ac- 
 quiefce in this aflertion ; but are we to come to the 
 fcriptures, which all men allow to be the foundation of 
 our religion, with a religion already formed, and to 
 judge of the revelation made by the Qod of truth, ac- 
 cording to its correfpondence with our previous perfua- 
 flons ? Are we to exalt our own reafon, and fay, that 
 it is a ftandard whereby to mcafure the infinite extents 
 of power and wifdom; or are we to fet bounds to infi- 
 nity, and annihilate all that that ftretches beyond the 
 grafp of our limited comprehenfion ? The fhort-fighted 
 man may, with 'equal truth, and equal wifdom, deny 
 the exiftence of all objects beyond the reach of his vi- 
 fion. And yet one of thefe conf- quinces muft be in- 
 ferred from the aflertion, cither that pur reafon is infi- 
 
 nite
 
 to meafure infinite wifdom, or that the wifdom of 
 God is finite, and narrowly limited, in order to be con- 
 formable to our rcafcn ; for the faculty muft be com- 
 menfurate to the object, before it can take it into obfer- 
 yation and determine upon it. 
 
 I fhould be forry to have rt underftood, that I wHh 
 :o let up one boundary which original nature has 
 fiifFered rcafon to pafs. I think, however, that, as 
 there are boundaries already formed, beyond which (he 
 is not permitted to expatiate, it is an object of con- 
 fequence to mankind to find where they are fixed ; for, 
 try a knowledge of our limits, we fhall alfo poflefs a 
 definite idea of that which is within our comprehen- 
 iton, and' fo, inftead of idly fquandering our ufeful hours 
 in purfuit of knowledge that is too high for us, and 
 which, when we conceive that we have attained unto 
 it, terminates not in conclufion, but at the very beft in 
 fpecious fallacy, we fhall turn the force of our facul- 
 ties againft objects which muft yield to. our vigorous ex- 
 ertions, atchieve that which, retained, may be ferviceable 
 to ourfelves, or, communicated, prove beneficial to our 
 fellow creatures. 
 
 " My purpofe is only to enquire into thofc limits by 
 which reafon is circumfcribed with regard to fcripture 
 truths, and into the proper conduct of reafon within 
 thofe limits. 
 
 By the word Reafon^ I mean that faculty of the mind 
 bv which it perceives the relative qualities of the ob- 
 jects of our perception, by which it compares the ob- 
 iecb of our perception, and, upon comparifon, fees 
 the conclufions, of whatfoever nature they be, which re- 
 fult. 
 
 The
 
 [ '5 ) 
 
 The word Ccmparifon I ufe in an CAtenlivc Icniir. 
 for every manner of laying together the relative quali- 
 lities in order to infer; and I choofe to fay, that reafon 
 fees rather than forms the ccnclunons, b'ecaufe I fup- 
 pofe them to have been formed, and exifting at ail 
 times, whether obferved or not, and no more to be 
 annihilated by my withdrawing my observation, than 
 Mr. Hume is by my blowing out the candle, by the 
 light of which I had (according to his owu philofo* 
 phy) ieen him into existence. 
 
 That great truth, of fcripture which I wiih to"ho!4 
 forth for the affent of mankind, and which I wiih alib to 
 prescribe and purfue a proper manner of inquiring into* 
 is, that Jefus Chriftis with the Father, one God. 
 
 It has often been afierted, that reafoa abfolutely con- 
 tradicted the poffibii.ity of fuch a union of divine per- 
 fection and human imperfection, and thence the impof- 
 iibUity of fuch a .union. is interred, and the Godhead oi" 
 Jefus Chrift denied, upon this unwei o hed ailertjoa ; 
 whereas, were it considered, that the relative qualities 
 of God and of Man are the objects of c.omparifon, and 
 that the incompatibility of theie two natures, upon 2 
 perception of the qualities of each, mud be feen front 
 the comparifojQ, perhaps men \vho deny our Saviour'i- 
 divinity would hefitate a moment before they v/ould e\-ea 
 pronounce that dieir reaibn had, upon natural premifes, 
 given any teftimony whatibever concerning liimj.for, 
 in the procefs, it mult bo enquired into,; whether die ob- 
 iecls of die companion be really the objects of dieir 
 perception, how far even the nature of man is within 
 dieir comprehenfion, and how far the nature cf God is 
 beyond it ; and if, upon enquiry, it be found, that tru 
 relative qualities of the two natures are dtoge.ther un- 
 known, reafon muft. be declared ia-?.irrctent to make
 
 Q comparifbn, and confequently to fee dny co'ncluflon 
 whatfocver. Rcafon, therefore, can never have deni- 
 ed, that Jcfus Chrilt is both God and Man, however 
 ignorance and prdumption may, under her rcfpeetable 
 name. 
 
 I do not dcfire, on the other hand, to conclude a belief 
 in fcripture truths from the unaififted light of reafon ; I 
 only defire to put that religion, which we may imagine 
 nature has found by that light, out of the quelrion; and 
 then firft to call for the obfervation of reafon, when 
 maxims, whence argument may proceed, are eilabtofti- 
 ed ; when we fir ft find objects xvhich we may compare, 
 and from the com par! foil of which we may conclude : 
 But till fuch are found, and agreed upon, we muft 
 walk upon uncertain ground ; and if we fhould happen 
 to come ri<ht in the end, it mull be by ways of which 
 
 w . 
 
 we could not have been certain while on our progrefs; 
 l*o fabricate maxims is not the office of reaibn* but to 
 obferve upon fueh as are ready made and fubmitted to 
 her cognizance, I therefore afk jv> aid to my caufe 
 from any fuggeftions that fhe may be fuppofed to 
 have made, nor will I allow that fhe can have afford- 
 ed any to infidelity.- I *.vifh only to dilluade from look- 
 ing upon a negative as proved, becaufe the affirmative 
 does not follow from premifes not cognizable : From 
 iuch premifes we never can argue to any conclufion 
 whatlbcverj for no relation being vilible, no reiult can 
 Ulue. A declaration from natural religion that God i- 
 !7inipotent and all-wife, can by no means let afide a de- 
 claration that he has done that which to us may appear 
 weak and foolifh 5 we muft be competent to judge ot in- 
 finite power and infinite vvifdom before we can compare 
 the acl with the agency ; and we mult be very fure that 
 fhe art which is inconliftent with our degree ot v/ildom, 
 mult be incontinent \vith a greater height than our own, 
 
 where
 
 [ '7 1 
 
 before we can pronounce that it is impoflible for infinite 
 wifdom to fee a reafon for fo a&ing. Even in the courfe 
 of worldly tranfations, how often has a man of fenfe ac- 
 counted for imputed abfurdity of condu&, and, by fhew- 
 ing us the grounds of his action, extorted our applaufe 
 where we had before been too liberal of our cenfure r The 
 reafons which influence man are intelligible to man, and 
 therefore, when afligned, may indemnify his a&.; but 
 the reafons of the conduc"t of our infinite Maker muft 
 be incommunicable, becaufe unintelligible to our facul- 
 ties, unlefs our minds were enlightened above our fphere ; 
 that is, unlefs mankind were placed higher in the chain 
 cf intellectual beings, which fomewhere requires the ex- 
 iftence of fuch a creature, and fo fhould not be man. 
 We cannot then argue, from any idea we are able to 
 form of any attribute of God, to the action properly 
 proceeding from it ; and therefore can never deny an ar, 
 by himfelf afcribed to any of his attributes. Has infi- 
 nite mercy let loofe the bloody tyrant to fcourge man- 
 kind ? Or does infinite juftice choofe to afflict the meek 
 and benevolent heart? Can the aflumption of flefh, 
 and fubjeclion to the infirmities of man, be imputed to 
 the wifdom of God ? Or does infinite power and glory 
 beam from a helplefs bleeding body hanging on a crofs ? 
 And yet as reafonably may thefe two latter inftanccs of im- 
 potence and folly be afcribed to infinite extents of power 
 and wifdom, as the two former, the profperity of the wick- 
 ed, and the broken heart of the benevolent, to the infinite 
 extents of mercy and juftice. If then the conduct of the 
 affairs of this. world be not reconcilable to our ideas of 
 infinite faculties, we muft, if we interpret from the act 
 to the agent, difprove the exiftence of thofe attributes 
 with which we cannot reconcile fuch conduct, and con- 
 fequently the exiftence of .the being in which we had be- 
 fore conceived them inherent ; fo that returning to God 
 by the fame road by which we defcended from him, we 
 C no
 
 no more find him, and the infinitely great Creator of all 
 things we then difcover to have been a meer creature of 
 our own imaginations. 
 
 Such is the procefs of uncondufted reafon : With the 
 fame arguments fhe conceives and annihilates her God : 
 At every turn fhe finds and lofes him, yet ftill regrets the 
 lofs, and though fhe cannot maintain the pofleflion, re- 
 linquifhes it with reluctance. If from our longing after 
 immortality, our immortality is to be concluded, from 
 our longing after an acquaintance with an intimated 
 God, we may likewife infer the reafonablenefs of a re- 
 velation admitting us to that acquaintance, and helping 
 us to a permanent idea, which nature was never enabled 
 to acquire of herfelf. It feems then an a& confiftent 
 with our previous perfuafions, in which evert reafon ac- 
 quiefces, that a God, endowed with benignity, fhould 
 ftretch forth his hand to mankind thus wandering in 
 eternal intricacies, mercifully vouchfafe himfelf to be- 
 come his guide, lead him to truth, and make his own 
 way ftrait before him. This mode of argument, how- 
 ever, I do not infift upon, I make ufe of it raf&er to illuf- 
 trate than infer. I can do without any concdlrons from 
 reafon; for, at all events, I am certain, that, rf (he docs 
 not affirm, (he cannot, upon the principles which I 
 have already laid down, deny the confifteney of fuch 
 an a<Sl with the agent of whom it is fuppofed , but if 
 the ftrongeft external teftimony bear witneio, that Gtxl 
 has revealed himfelf, and that reafon be incapable of 
 producing any evidence to the contrary ; nay, if a re- 
 velation be what reafon might have herfelf prefcribed, 
 and hoped as a guide to her own errors, wherefore 
 ihould we not acquiefce in it when related, and look 
 upon it as a facl, that God has actually revealed him- 
 ielf? The nature and validity of the teftimony, upon 
 which the aflertion is made, is extreamly well worth 
 
 enquiry,.
 
 enquiry, and certainly fhould be inveftigated by all who 
 entertain any doubt of the fa& aflerted. For my own 
 part, I am fatisfed; and Mr. Lindfey has exempted me 
 from the neceffity of going into the enquiry here ; hav- 
 ing acknowledged that God has revealed himfelf, that 
 the Scriptures are his revelation, that they afford " an 
 evidence which no fair mind can refift," and that they 
 are " the only rule of faith and confciefle to Chriftian 
 men :" In all of which I perfectly and enjtirely agree 
 with him. The credibility of God, whom ail allow, 
 and who has pronounced himfelf, to be the God of 
 truth, is 3 ground whereon to build our faith in whatfp- 
 ever he fhall relate of his own incomprehenfible majefty ; 
 and, as I have faid before, that the conduct of God 
 can never be meafured by his attributes, fo I now fay, 
 that there lies no appeal frpm his credibility, from his 
 truth to his infcrutabie nature ; we muft acquiefce in 
 that which he has faijd; it muft be j it is true. 
 
 Having admitted the fcriptures to be the word of God, 
 and that whatfoever is fet forth in them is true, we are 
 not yet to conceive that he has fo far fubmitted himfelf 
 to our faculties as to enable us to draw any argument 
 from him; for we are not yet to compare his conduct, 
 as revealed therein, with pod himself, nor to judge of 
 the confiftency of any at therein declared to be his, with 
 the infinite Agent lr.il! left incomprehenfible ; for to 
 render him otherwife to us, the enlargment of our fa- 
 culties muft attend upon a revelation of all his glory, 
 and therefore a revelation of all his glory is not to be 
 required. Perhaps the diftin&ion is not here fo clearly 
 marked as I could dcfire, and that what I have laft 
 written may feem to be only a repetition of what im- 
 mediately precedes it; it is not fo; what I wifli to 
 inculcate is briefly this, that,, as in natural religion, no 
 jcomparifon can be had between the attributes of God, 
 
 C 2 and
 
 [20] 
 
 and the moral evils of the world fubmitted to our ob- 
 fervation, and yet that we do not quite confent to anni- 
 hilate an original to nature, becaufe his government 
 fcems to ar^ue a^ainft him : fo we fhould not, when 
 
 o o * 
 
 revelation declares a courfe of conduct, which we can- 
 not reconcile with the attributes afcribed to him, any 
 more deny that courfe of conduct, from its irreconcile- 
 ablenefs with God, than we fhould deny the exiftence of 
 moral evil, becaufe we had by nature pronounced that 
 Original to be great, wife, and good : For if moral evil 
 were incapable of rooting out the acknowledgment of the 
 exiftence of a caufe fupremely good ; fo a conduct, not 
 underftood to be wife, fhould not be admitted an argu- 
 ment a;iainft the exiftence of a revealed God : but we 
 
 o 
 
 cannot deny the exiftence of moral evil, and yet nature 
 fnys there is a good God ; wherefore then fhould we con- 
 ceive, that an acknowledgment of a conduct cOnfef- 
 fedly not underftood, and therefore not to be reprehend- 
 ed, can militate againft the acknowledgment of the 
 God who has revealed himfelf? Let us then, if we ad- 
 mit a good caufe confifteht with moral evil, not argue 
 ?gainft the confiftency of an incomprehcnfible God, 
 and an unintelligible conduct : There may fubfift an un- 
 fcen relation in this latter cafe ; v/hereas an eventual 
 evil, refulting from a fuprcamly good caufe, feems ac- 
 tually to contradict our reafon. The purpofe for which 
 1 have written this, is to put men upon their guard 
 againft any fuggeftion, that the revelation of God, made 
 by himfelf, fhould convey an adequate idea of his great 
 glory. That it fhould do fo to man I have fhewed to be 
 irnpoffible. It has indeed declared him infinite, but a 
 declaration that God is infinite, is a declaration that 
 he is incomprehenfible: An indefinite majefty is all that 
 ran poflibly be afcribed to God ; and, in the conduct of 
 incomprehenfihle wifdom, it is not probable that much 
 can occur exactly conformable to our faculties. If then, 
 
 even
 
 [ 21 ] 
 
 feven a revelation be unable to make him comprehended, 
 we are ftill to confider him beyond the reach of rcafon ; 
 and when he relates his own actions, ftill conceive that 
 the ao-ent is not cogniz ible, that he fhould be compa- 
 red with them. To make us better men upon hope 
 grounded on his mercies, is the moft beneficial purpofe 
 for which we can conceive it poflible for God to reveal 
 himfelf ; and to this very purpofe we find a rcvelut'on 
 made, wherein that providence which extends to us is 
 declared. To what end fhould God lay before our eyes 
 the government of all that we are not concerned in ? 
 That he has created and redeemed us, is a motive to 
 gratitude and to brotherly love ; it is fufficient to fhew 
 in him a power to be feared for its extent, and adored 
 for its beneficent exertion. To evince that he has pro- 
 mifed to every man the reward of his works, and 
 pointed out thofe works which lead us to hope in him 
 that is faithful, is a fully fufficient motive to faith, 
 hope, and charity; that he bears the relative fuperiority 
 of a creator over his creature, is a fufficient motive to 
 us to pronounce him our God, and afcribe to him all 
 honour and glory, without feeking for a farther revela- 
 tion of the exertion of his infinite power, which we arc 
 not concerned to know. But in the government of the 
 univerfe, it may be faid, he has felected this little orb, roll- 
 ing thro' infinite fpace, as a fcene of a moft wonderful 
 tranfaction in which we are certainly concerned; for it is 
 aflerted that our falvation is the confequence, and was the 
 end propofcd ; and are we not yet to comprehend him ? 
 By no means ; the infinite wifdom which dictated and 
 knows wherefore fuch a tran faction is the fitteft mean? 
 of our falvation, has not yet fubmitted itfelf to our 
 inveftigation, nor directly told us why this was the mod 
 adequate means to fo beneficent an end ^ he ftill remains 
 incomprehenfible, and that tranfaction by which we 
 are become partakers of eternal life, being revealed, 
 
 amounts
 
 [22] 
 
 amounts only to a foundation and motive for us to rely 
 upon God, and afc according to his will thereby decla- 
 red to us, and not to a difplay of all that muft neceflarily 
 exceed the limits of our perception. We are not called 
 upon to account for his conduct ; but we are required to 
 love him, to hope and to truft in him. A declaration of 
 his power, and the exertion of fo much of it as bears 
 Delation to us ? is all then that was neceflary for thofe 
 rnds ; thcfc arc beft declared by a revelation of the con- 
 <lul of God towards man. Such a revelation is made, 
 and there is much in it that we cannot underftand i 
 and fuch mult ever be the cafe, for in whatfoevcr ac- 
 tion \ve look upon, proceeding from a higher intellect 
 than our own, we fhall fee fomewhat not intelligible 
 till the grounds of it are communicated. In whatfo- 
 ever action of God, made perceptible to us, we look 
 upon, we fhall fee fomewhat which muft eternally 
 continue unintelligible; for it proceeds from infinite 
 heights of intellect, and confequently muft be incom- 
 municable. 
 
 Reafon is, as it were, the eye of the mind ; and as 
 the eye is incapable of comparing invifible things, or 
 viftble with invifib'e, fo is reafon incompetent to bring 
 together objects not perceptible, or to compare that 
 which it can perceive with that which is beyond her 
 perception. A view into tha which is invifible, is 
 not neceflary to give exiftence to that which the eye 
 has feen ; neither is the comprehenfibility of objefts not 
 perceptible, neceilary to the exiftence of that which is 
 fubmitted to the perception of reafon. 
 
 Having, as I hope, now proved that there can fubfift 
 no viftble relation between the conduct of God arid the 
 xmcomprehended God of jpatural religion, and therefore 
 that reafon cannot deny that he has revealed himfelf ; 
 
 and
 
 ['23 ] 
 
 and having farther fhewed, upon the fuppofition that 
 he has revealed himfelf, that it was neither necefiary 
 nor poflible for him to render himfelf comprehenfible 
 to our faculties j and therefore that his conduct, as re- 
 vealed, cannot be brought into comparifon with him- 
 felf, that it fhould be denied of him by reafon ; we 
 muft come to this conclufion, that God is not an ob- 
 ject of our perception, and confequently his faculties 
 are not a ground whence argument can proceed, that 
 which is incomprehenfible not being to be brought to 
 the teft of reafon, nor by her made a meafure for any 
 thing which may be afferted concerning them. About 
 matters which we do not comprehend, it is obvious 
 that we cannot with certainly fay any thing. The in- 
 comprehenfible attributes of God then are not fit pre- 
 mifes, no conclufion poffibly following, from any com- 
 parifon of them with whatfoever may be revealed ta 
 have been effected by them. 
 
 The infinite and incomprehenfible majcfty of 
 {hen is an object beyond the limits of reafon ; we arc 
 incapable of forming any idea of him j and confequent-- 
 ly, from whatfoever ultimate maxims reafon may pro- 
 ceed with relation to fcripture truth, flie is debarred 
 of any appeal to God himfelf, or to any imagination 
 fhe may conceive herfelf able so entertain of him. 
 
 Bat the fcriptures are admitted to be the word o* 
 God, and whatfoever is fet forth in them is admitted 
 to be true; henceforward reafon may proceed. The 
 fcriptures are that ultimate, that axiom, beyond wHich 
 j we are not to feek for the grounds of whatfoever is af- 
 ferted in them j they are the word of God, and they 
 are true. This is granted., and from this datum there 
 iies no appeal. 
 
 CQITK;
 
 Come on then, for rcafon has now found a c6m- 
 mencement to her work ; and firft fhe fays, the fcrip- 
 turcs, being true, contain no contradictions, the truth of 
 contradictories being impoflible: Her bufmefs then it is 
 to reconcile what feem to be contradi&ions ; to com- 
 pare, one with another, the paflages which lead to par- 
 ticular conclufions, and to yield her aflent to that 
 tvhich fhe cannot underftand, referring it only to the 
 credibility of him who is the author of it; to acquiefce 
 in the conduft of infinite wifdom, and not feek for 
 principles beyond her own limits. By fuch a procefs 
 fhe will never pronounce any thing to be impoflible, 
 the impoflibility of which fhe does not fee upon a com- 
 parifon of perceptible qualities ; but, acknowledging 
 herfclf incapable of giving council to her Maker, be- 
 lieve that he has employed means for our falvatioa 
 which we cannot look into ; truft him with the means 
 who has fo gracioufly employed them for fuch an end; 
 look upon the end not with vain and impious curiofity, 
 but with unbounded gratitude ; habituate our minds 
 by fuch a profpe& to love him, and from love and gra- 
 titude afcend to the defire to pleafe him; feek from him- 
 felf the means of pleafing him, and with renewed love 
 and gratitude learn that to bear good will towards men, 
 is the conduct moft conformable to his will, that by 
 which we fhall beft afcrfbe glory to God on high, and 
 by which we fhall procure to ourfelves eternal happinefs 
 through Jefus Chrift our Lord and Saviour. Is this a 
 conducl: beneath the dignity of reafon ? It is a glo- 
 rious undertaking which is committed to her charge. 
 Let us now come more directly to the point. 
 
 If then the teftimony of our Saviour be allowed, and 
 the teftimony of the Holy Ghoft, to which he refers 
 inquirers into his nature, be admitted as credible; and 
 if by thefc it be declared that Jefus Chrift is God from 
 
 cverlafting,
 
 I fee not how a doubt is to be entertained 
 that he is God, one. with, and equal to, the Father: 
 but if his having appeared clothed with fiefii among 
 men, as a man; if his fympathetiek tears ; if his ap- . 
 prchcfiffve agonies and prayers to have the cup of evil 
 JA.; away from him; if his having fallen under the 
 k-verefl afflictions, and even having fufrered an igno- 
 minious death, added to his own tcftimony and that of 
 the Holy Ghoft, be admktcd as evidence that he was 
 man, 1 fee not how a doubt can be entertained that . 
 he was man inferior to God, as we are inferior to him ; 
 and if thefe be both admitted, it muft neceiTarily fol- 
 low that Jefus Chrift is both God and Man : But if 
 both God and Man, I do not fee the force of the ob- 
 jection to his Godhead, that he has acted and fuffered 
 as man ; that he refers the preservation of his human 
 nature to the power which is alone equal to the prefer- 
 vatioa of it ; that he prays as man for the world, which 
 he fympathizcs with ; that he declares his human na- 
 ture and the man Jefus to be a meflcngcr to man, and 
 acting with power derived of God. For as I believe that 
 men, who make a difficulty of believing any union be- 
 tween the two natures being poffible, will hardly infill 
 upon their own capacity to explain the manner of it, or 
 to (hew that, upon fuch an union, fo much of the divi- 
 nity is derived to the manhcod of Chrift, as to render 
 it independent of God$ and able to act for its own 
 purpofes without farther application than the exertion 
 of this derived power : fo I will not admit of their ex- 
 planations of our blefled Saviour's prayers, and decla- 
 rations that he was lent; for thefe prayers were 
 breathed by the man Jefus; and this commiflion to die 
 for and to adopt a world, was given to the human na- 
 ture by God, and not to the divine nature of Chrirr, 
 which was itfclf the power, one with the Father, God 
 Almighty, which had fo fent forth this rr,nn to atone 
 D for
 
 1 26] 
 
 for us. 1 am far from faying that I am myfelf able to 
 explain this union, God forbid ; but that I am not able 
 to explore the ways of an Almighty God, whofe little 
 creature I am, is not a reafon why I fhould doubt his 
 word, when he is pleafed to reveal any part of them 
 to me. We are told, that the ways of God are not- 
 as our ways, nor his thoughts as our thoughts : And 
 fhall we attempt to contradict the declarations of 
 his power, becaufe we cannot exert the like ? Or 
 queftion the wifdom which we cannot comprehend, 
 merely becaufe we cannot comprehend it ? Were God 
 pleafed to open the ftores of his wifdom to our eyes, 
 but not to open our eyes to look upon them with more 
 extended faculties thaa we now enjoy, is it to be ima- 
 gined that we fliould* comprehend- them ? Surely not ; 
 and wherefore fhould we reject the belief of that won- 
 derful exertion of his power for our redemption, which 
 he has laid open to us ? It is a way of God, and not 
 of man , and is its being wonderful a caufe ? It is a> 
 way of God, and not of man ; and is its exceeding 
 the limited comprehenfions of our faculties a caufe ? 
 It is not to comprehend that we are required, but to 
 believe ; and to yield that degree of aflent which we 
 call belief, is certainly the beft, nay the only exertion 
 of our reafon in the cafe before us ; for having granted, 
 that God is true, and that he has fpoken, the inference 
 is, that what he has fpoken is true ; and as his power 
 is adequate to all things, no exercife of it can oppofe 
 the conclufion drawn ; as his wifdom is infinite, no 
 dictate of it is referred to our judgment; and there- 
 fore our judgment muft retire from giving any decifion- 
 upon other premifes than thofe laid down j and confe- 
 quently, inftead of oppofing, muft abet the conclufion- 
 that follows from thofe which are ftated. If our blef- 
 fcd Saviour himfelf, though in union with Godhead,, 
 was humble, and referred all to God, I fhould con- 
 ceive
 
 1*7,1 
 
 ceive that, inftead of arrogantly oppofing, we fhould 
 cultivate in ourfelves that mind which was in Chrift 
 Jefus, and humbly fubmit to his will, who has In part 
 revealed and in part referved for futwe revelation the 
 myftery of our redemption, for a myftery I muft agree 
 with St. Paul in calling it, rather than with any mere 
 jhuman authority in denying it to be fuch. 
 
 Mr. Lindfey fays, That, in a multitude of paffa- 
 ges to which he refers " Jefus Chrift formally pro- 
 fefles his inferiority and dependence, that he received 
 his being and all his powers from God." It is of no 
 confequence whether the paflages referred to prove it 
 or not, for I readily grant him this pofition, " There 
 is one God, and one mediator between God and 
 man, the man Chrift Jefus," I Tim. ii. 5. And 
 when I have granted it, what will he infer more 
 than I have already laid down, that as man, the 
 man Jefus Chrift (evidently intended here to be 
 diftinguifhed from God by that name only, and 
 therefore in other refpec"ts implied to be one with 
 the Father, God ) was inferior to God ; that is, 
 that having two natures, one was greater, and 
 confequently one lefs than the other. Were I in 
 the midft of art argument, proving the immortality 
 .of the foul of man, to declare, that i laboured un- 
 der a lingering difeafe of which I feared that I 
 ihould die, would even Mr. Lindfey fay, that I had con- 
 futed my own do&rine of the foul's immortality? 
 Would he pronounce that I meant my foul fhould 
 die ? And yet he might as well, as in the cafe be r 
 fore us, declare that when Jefus Chrift fpeaks as 
 man he denies his Godhead. 
 
 I do not mean to fay, that there exifts any analogy be- 
 tween the union of fpirit and fielh in man, and the 
 D 2 union
 
 [.8] 
 
 union of God and Man in Chriit ; for I do not a 1 
 understand how the union of foul and body cxilb, and 
 confequently cannot compare it with that which 
 little underitand, for I cannot fay that I underibnd it 
 Jefs; and how, if I am abfolutely unacmiainted with an 
 union, which not only fubfifls in every pt'rfon 1 hourly 
 converfe with, but even in myfelf, how, I fay, am I to 
 declare that a union between God and Man, of which 
 but one inltance has ever offered iifclf to human ob 
 vation, is impofliblc ? And I refer it to Mr. Lir,. 
 or any of his difciples, to explain the nature of Spirit, 
 and to fhew its compatibility with Flefb ; or that of 
 ; v !cih, r.nd to ihcvv its compatibility, with Spirit ; 
 if my requelt be not complied with, from their abloluti.- 
 and entire ignorance, I muft then requcft farther that 
 they will deftft from denying the compatibility of Na- 
 tures, which they muft allow they as little under!: 
 They yield their aflcnt in the one cafe, becaufe daily obfer- 
 v at io;: confirms the exigence of an anjmal in which fpirit 
 and fLTh are conjoined, pnd they take their a(icnt L 
 y. conclullon from preinifes fupplied by reafon ; but be- 
 caufe Chrili i'^ but one, they have not had an opportu- 
 nity of analysing hi:n, as they thinic they ha\'e done by 
 their own nature, and fo deny what tlv.-y could II:-\(.T 
 have undcrftood, had there been as many Chriiis a^ 
 . Would they defire fuch ap intimacy ? would 
 they defire fuch a multiplication ? fee where the impious 
 tenet ends, " Jems Chrift once crucified is not a fuf_ 
 atonement for the fins of mankind." I fhall 
 jio fan her comment than to declare, that when- 
 ,r realoji withholds belief in that which it cuivpr-c- 
 he;uls not, niere)y becaufe it is beyond the reach and 
 comprchenfion of rcafon, the union of the body ajid 
 foul in man muft be denied ; for it never can be pro- 
 ved by rcafon, which mult underftand the compatibi- 
 lity of both before the union can be dcchixd to exift. 
 
 I
 
 1 29 ] 
 
 { would then advife every man not determined to be a 
 fceptic, whom I will not hefitate to pronounce a fool, 
 to look upon a revelation of one, the fufficiency of 
 which precludes the neceifity, and confequently the 
 .exigence of more, to be adequate to a fuller view of 
 lliat which admits of a fuller view. In fhort, my re- 
 commendation amounts to no more, nor lets, than, the 
 old cfhxblimcd maxim, that proofs, and confequently 
 our credit, are to be deduced from the bcft evidence 
 the nature of the cafe admits of. 
 
 The heir evidence then, which the nature of the cafe 
 before us admits of, is the revelation of God, allowed 
 to have been made by him, and admitted incontro- 
 vertibly true. Whatfoever is related therein, is ad- 
 vanced upon authority fufficient to warrant our aflentj 
 but as the revelation is not itfUf fupportcd by an equal- 
 ly ft.rong evidence as that which, upon admittance, it 
 affords to whatfoever it teir.ifj.es, we are not required to 
 yield mere than belief to the aflertions contained in it ; 
 were it as certainly the word of God, as the word or 
 God is certainly true, we mould pofiefs little lei's than 
 certainty of the facts revealed therein ; but being al-- 
 lowed, upon that evidence which is unqucftionably 
 fufficient to induce credit, it remains to be enquired 
 into, whether it bears teftimonv to the divinity of our 
 blefled Redeemer Jefus Chrift, or .net? 
 
 . 
 
 As I- have now reached the threshold, and am ju.'l 
 entering into the proofs, and the nature of the proofs, 
 which the fcriptures afford of the truth of this grt.it. 
 myiiery, once more let me warn, and deeply incul- 
 cate the warning, to beware of the delufions of natu- 
 ral religion, if fuch a religion there be, and if that 
 which we conceive to have been derived from nature, 
 be not rather a rcfiduum, after our pride has rejected, 
 whatfoever is revealed beyond its reach. 
 
 The
 
 f 3] 
 
 The Chinefe philofopher believes, that the earth 
 ftands upon the back of an elephant, which ftands 
 upon the back of a tortoife, which ftands upon the 
 back of, &c. &c. &c. Now, fuppofe this fame phi- 
 Jofopher to be inftru&ed in the Copernican fyftem, 
 and that he had, upon full confideration, yielded his 
 uflent to the e;reat probability of its truth ; would it not 
 rather fecm abfurd in him, after a time, to recur to his 
 old tenejts, becaufe the fufficiency of the fun's attrac- 
 tive power to fupport this world, was inconfiftent with 
 the occupation of his old elephant and tortoife, and 
 that he could not fee how it fhould be poffible for ani- 
 mals fo loaded, and of thejnfelvcs none of the fwifteft, 
 to carry the earth, whirling through its orbit with fuch 
 aftonifhing velocity ? Juft fo abfurd fhall we be, if, af- 
 ter our aflent to the truth of God, and admiflion that 
 he has revealed himfclf, we fuffer any one previous per- 
 i'uafion to recur, and require that fcripture fhould be 
 confonant to it, after we have admitted that the word 
 of God is true, whether it be confonant to any previ- 
 ous perfuafion or not. The fenfible Chinefe would 
 furely rejcdt his antient tenets upon the admiffion of that 
 which he had aflentcd to, becaufe of the value of thofe 
 arguments which had induced his aflent; let us then, 
 upon the admiflion of the fcriptures as. the ultimate 
 boundary of argument, rejeft whatfoever feems to 
 make againft their ceded truth ; howfoever we may 
 perfuade ourfelvcs that reafort had fupplied it to us, 
 we mud have expatiated beyond her limits to feek for 
 the tenet, for within her proper province it is not to 
 be found. 
 
 t H A P.
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 Of the Nature of the Evidence of our Saviour's Divi- 
 nity afforded by the Scripture'. 
 
 THE full effulgence of the gofpel did not burft fud- 
 denly upon mankind 1 . That fun of rigkteoufnefs, 
 by the light of which we are enabled to walk, did not 
 at once reach its meridian height ; fo exceedingly gradu- 
 al was its progrefs, that, when firft it dawned upon the 
 world, its rays were not cuYcernihle' ; " it fhone in 
 darkneft, and the darknefs comprehended it 'not ;" it 
 encreafed in fplendour, but was not fufficient to be the 
 "light of thofe who come into the world ; at length 
 the day-ftar arofe, and a light flione forth to lighten the 
 Gentiles, and the day-fpring from on high hath vifited 
 us, to give light to them that fit in darknefs and in the 
 lhadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." 
 
 To drop the metaphor. We find the prophecies of 
 cur blefled Saviour, from great obfcurity, become more 
 and more explicit as they approach the great event : 
 At the firft they were extreamly indefinite, and fuch on- 
 ly as were adapted to the purpofes for which they were 
 pronounced. The firft hope of redemption to mankind 
 accompanied the fentence of condemnation, and was 
 gracioufly conveyed by God himfelf, who comforted 
 the forlorn ftate of our fallen parents with a promife 
 conceived in general terms, that the feed of the woman 
 fhould bruife the head of the ferpent which had beguil- 
 ed her. 
 
 Noah is afterwards taught by the Spirit to hope, and 
 to exclaim, ** Blefled be the Lord God of Shem." To 
 
 Ciew
 
 fhcw that this bkfling is a prophecy, it is enough to 
 fay, that Noah fpoke it in a train of prophecy con- 
 cerning the future irate of his own fons and their pof- 
 terity. From Shem defcendcd Abraham, to Abra- 
 ham was the promifc made, and from Abraham, u- 
 concerning the flefh, Chrift carrc. From the manner 
 in which the blefling upon Shem is pronounced, I i.n- 
 dine greatly to believe that this dcfcent was the object 
 of Noah's prophetic vifion ; it feems to have been the 
 refult of his having forefeen, that, in the progeny of 
 Shem, all the families of the earth fhould be blefied ; 
 and let it be remembered, that Noah was no uncon- 
 cerned prophet in whatfoevcr fliould happen to any 
 future inhabitants of the earth; for all were then 
 equally to defcend from him as their common parent, 
 and well might he rejoice and blefs the God of Shem, 
 by one of whole line he forefaw that all his pofteritv 
 ihould be bleiled. 
 
 To Abraham, becaufe he had obeyed the voice of the 
 Lord, it is foretold, (and this is by the New Teftament 
 tleclared to be fpoken of Jefus Chrift) that in his feed 
 all the nations of the earth fhould be blefled; and this 
 promife is from time to time renewed in that line of 
 which our Saviour was to be born ; to Ifaac, in preference 
 to Ifhrhacl ; to Jacob, in preference to Efau ; and to 
 ]udah, in preference to his eleven brothers. To Ju- 
 dah, indeed, there is fomewhat of more particular 
 revelation made, for the length of time during which 
 he fhall bear the fccptrc (that is, continue a tribe) is 
 made commenfurate with the coming of Shiloh, upon 
 which the fceptre is to depart from him. Judah alone 
 continued to be a tribe after the Afiyrian Captivity, 
 and then only ccafed when Chrift came ; whence, 
 however difficult it may be to explain this pafTage with 
 certainty, it is to be prefumed that the prophecy of 
 Jacob> concerning the fceptre of Judah and its time 
 
 of
 
 [33] 
 
 of departure, bears reference to the corning of the 
 Mefliah. 
 
 Mofes, who is the relater of what was fpoken be- 
 fore his day, in his own perfon alfo often fpeaks of a 
 future prophet: And in the compelled prophecies of 
 Balaam, when he poured forth bjeffings from a heart re- 
 plete with curfes, and in fpight of that indignation with 
 which he afcended the reck to denounce evil, fore- 
 fhewed the future brightncfs of the ftar that fhall come 
 forth out of Jacob, there is fomething which, how- 
 ever obfcure it may be, is certainly referable to our 
 Lord. 
 
 David hoped for orte of his feed to fit upon his 
 throne ; and though he looked for a defcendent from 
 
 O 
 
 himfelf, he has neverthelefs " in fpirit called him 
 Lord." That our Saviour was the object of David's 
 expectation, though he knew not why he called him 
 Lord, and only trufted that fome great good was pro- 
 mifed to him, the declaration! of the angel to the Vir- 
 gin Mary evinces, who fays to her of the child which fho 
 is to bear, and whom fhe is to call Jefus, " Fie ihall 
 be great, and fhall be called the Son of the Higheft ; 
 and the Lord God fhall give unto him the throne of 
 his Father David, and he fhall reign over the houfe of 
 Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there fhall be no 
 end," Luke i. 32, 33. 
 
 Every fucceeding prophet throughout the Old Tefla- 
 ment found a confolation to the feveral troubles of Ju- 
 dea, in looking forward to that which was revealed to 
 them in a general way by the fpirit of Chrift ; but the 
 full declaration of that which was fo revealed was with- 
 held from them; they underflood it not themfelves, and 
 even when they fpoke of the divinity of our Saviour, 
 
 E like
 
 [ 34] 
 
 like Balaam, .they fpokc it conllraincdly; they uttcrccl 
 only the word which the Lord had put info their 
 mouths. If they who fpoke it were ignorant of its 
 meaning, it is no great wonder that they who heard 
 did not underftand the full force of the prophecy of 
 the Godhead of him who was to come ; nor is their 
 mifapprehenfion a reafon why we fhould doubt that 
 the prophets foretold it. The purpofe of prophe- 
 cy is " to tell before it come to pals, that when it 
 come to pafs, we may believe," John xiv. 29. And 
 the object of the prophecy of the Old Teftament is 
 the coming of a great deliverer, of whom fuch feem- 
 ing contrarieties are declared, that it is not poflible 
 the Jews could ever have formed a definite idea of the 
 expected Mcffiah. It is forefhewn of our Saviour, 
 (whom all allow to he the Chrift) that he was to be a 
 King of the feed of David, and to fit upon his throne ; 
 that he was to be cut off", but not for himielf; that \\z 
 v/as to be exalted and extolled, and to be very high ; 
 opprerTed, afflicted, bruifed and put to grief, number- 
 ed with the trarrfgreflors, taken from prifon, and from 
 judgment, and cut off out of the land of the Jivine:; 
 ruling the nations, &c. Ilaiah lii. and liii. With fuch 
 irreconcilable declarations were the hopea of the Jews 
 kept alive ; but in all this there is nothing that could have 
 fu^gcfted an expectation that God himielf would come; 
 for how fhould the idea of his infinite majefty unite it- 
 felf with that of a man of forrows and acquainted witlv 
 grief, having a cheek turned to the fcorner ? and how, 
 indeed, could even fuch an idea as this agree with the 
 expectation oj a great King, to overcome all their ene- 
 mies ? It cannot, therefore, be admitted in argument 
 a sain ft the divinity of Jefus Chrift, that it was not 
 tmderftood by the Jews ; for how fhould they under- 
 ftand it, when the prophets, who prophefied of the 
 grace that fhouJd come unto u?, have enquired and 
 
 fearched
 
 [ 35 ] 
 
 fearched diligently of this falvation, " fearcbing whit, 
 or what manner of time, the fpirit of Chrift \vhich 
 was within them did fj^nify,. when it teflificd before- 
 hand the fufferings of Chrlft, and the glory that fhould 
 follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that, not unto 
 themfelves, but unto us, they did minifter the things 
 which are now reported unto you , by them that have 
 preached the gofpel unto you, with the Holy Ghoft lent 
 down from heaven ; which things the angels defire to 
 look into, 'i Pet. i. ic, n, 12. and that many pro- 
 phets have defire:! to fee thcfe things which our Saviour 
 (hewed forth, and have not fecn them." 
 
 To us then, who have come after the event, it belongs 
 to explain the prophecy, as th.\t which is foretold is 
 come to pafs; and therefore we mufr. ceafe to look for 
 fuch teflimony from the prophets as fhould have ex- 
 plained the fact, to fuch as had never feeri it : of tho 
 fufFerings of Chrift, and the glory that fhould follow, 
 they could form no certain idea whatfoever, nor did 
 the prophecy put things into that order as to impart a 
 notion that the glory was to be fuhfequent to the fuf- 
 ferings ; and this I afTert, notwithstanding that Ifaiah 
 had faid " he fhall divide the fpoil with the ftrong : 
 becaufe he hath poured out his foul unto cLath," Ifa. 
 liii. 12. For even the expectation of a man to arife 
 from the dead, never fccrns, bv tho hiftory of the Jews, 
 throughout the Old Tcfbment, in the leaft degree to 
 have fuggcfted itfclf to them; for if it had, Chriffc 
 crucified could not have been to the Tews a ftumblino- 
 
 V 
 
 block ; and it is even probable, that fuch a fat, clear- 
 ly underftood, might have withheld their hands r;oin 
 inflicting that death whereby " Chrift was perfected." 
 
 Still nearer to the manifeflation of Chrift the Angel 
 
 has declared, that the Prophet, who fhould be the 
 
 E 2 preparcr
 
 [ 3*] 
 
 preparer of the ways of the Lord, fhould be filled with 
 the Holy Ghoft, even from his mother's womb ; and 
 Zacharias, upon the birth of John, breaks that filencc 
 which had been impofed upon him becaufe of his un- 
 belief, and, being rilled with the Holy Ghoft, cried 
 out, " Blefled be the Lord God of Ifracl, for he hath 
 vifited and redeemed his people, and hath raifed up a,n 
 horn of falvation for us, in the houfe of his fervant 
 David ; as he fpake by the mouth of the holy pro- 
 phets, which have been fince the world began," Luke i. 
 67, 68, 69 ; and then fpeakinc* of his own fon, who 
 was the appointed harbinger of the Chrift, whom he 
 has already called the Lord God of Ifrael, he fays, 
 *' and thou child fhalt be called the Prophet of the 
 Higheft; for thou fhalt go before the face of the Lord 
 to prepare his ways," Luke i. 76. The angel faid 
 alfo to the Virgin Mary, when he gave her allurance 
 of the birth of her fon to be called Jefus, " He (hall 
 be great, and fhall be called the Son of the Hightft ; 
 and the Lord God fhall give him the throne of his fa- 
 ther David j" and " that Holy Thing which fhall be 
 born of thee, fhall be called the Son of God, Luke i. 
 32, 33, 35. The babe leapt in the womb of Kli- 
 xabeth for joy upon the falutation of Mary, and 
 Elizabeth afks this remarkable queftion, funilar in ex- 
 preflion to the prophecy of David already cited, " whence 
 is this to me, that the mother of my Lord fhould 
 rome to me? Luke i. 43 The fhepherds are told by 
 an angel, " unto you is born this day, in the city of 
 David, a Saviour, which is Chrift the Lord," Luke ii. 
 II. At the prefentation of the infant Redeemer in 
 the temple, Simeon, to whom it was revealed by the 
 Holy Ghoft that he fhould not fee death before he had 
 feen the Lord's Chrift, taking the babe in his arms 
 41 blefled God, and exprefled his contentment to depart 
 then, his eyes having feen the promifed fource of fal- 
 vation."
 
 t 37 1 
 
 vation," Luke i. 28, 29. And fubfequent to thefe 
 myfterious predictions concerning the fuppofed child of 
 a carpenter, came forth a prophet, contemporary in 
 birth with Jcfus Chrift, appointed to be his immedi- 
 ate forerunner^ to prepare the way of the Lord, and 
 to make his paths ftra^ht, and he declared of him 
 that " he that ccmeth from above, is above all ;" and 
 that " he that believeth on the Son, hath everlafting 
 life," John iii. 31, 36. 
 
 Thus, from the firft obfcure hint of falvation to 
 our firft parents, do the prophecies gradually approx- 
 imate to an explanation of the great glory which fhould 
 in the end be revealed ; but by no means have they 
 become fo explicit yet, as to render a revelation unne- 
 cefiary ; nay, there is yet to proceed a new fpecies 
 of previous intimation to mankind of " the falvation 
 of God which all flefh fhall fee," Luke iii. 6 j and 
 accordingly now came forth the great fubjecfc of all 
 that had been teftified, but not yet to be declared, nor 
 yet indeed the full fubjeiSl of the prophecv, nor of 
 the fubfequent teftimony of the fpjrit, having before 
 him that mighty work to do, toward which the hopes 
 of the prophets looked as the fource of d.liverance, in 
 vain fearching into what the manner of it was to be; 
 a work by which we have received the atonement, 
 and obtained reconciliation, the word and miniftry 
 of which was afterwards to be committed by God 
 to thofe who were to be the appointed witnefies of 
 our Lord: and this miniftry of reconciliation is that 
 which alone can be, accoiding to the fcriptures, pro- 
 nounced the manifestation of Jefus Chrift ; and there- 
 fore I confukr himfclf, even the Lord of glory, who 
 was crucified, who arofe from the grave, and afcended 
 into heaven, as only bearing, by his miracles, a 
 practical teftimony during his ftay on earth, to that 
 
 which
 
 vhich fhould be revealed of him when his work 
 fhould be finilhed. This, indeed, I admit to be a 
 much clofcr evidence of the Godhead than any given 
 before ; and that, perhaps, by v.'hich the minds of 
 men {hould be led to look upon the expeded King of 
 the Jews in a much more exalted light than the former 
 prophecies had inftru&ed them to do. It is fuch an 
 evidence as, when referred to, might well provide crc- 
 dit, when it fhould come to pafs, for that which be- 
 fore it came to pafs it had forefhewn. Our Saviour 
 himfelf, for the moft part, declines bearing witncfs 
 to 'himfelf, but refers both to the fcriptures which 
 had now begun to be fufilled, and which he defires 
 to have diligently fought into as about to receive their 
 full completion, and to the teftimony of the Holy 
 Ghoft hereafter to be given for the purpofe of ma- 
 mfefting him; and whenever he does bear record, 
 it is rather fuch as he would have fecond to that 
 which fhould follow the finifhing of his work here, 
 thence to derive its explanation, than fuch as he 
 would have principal in the line of evidence. 
 
 Had our bleffed Lord and Saviour borne any ulti- 
 mate teftimony to the Jews that he was God, they 
 would have known this hidden myftcry; and, " had 
 they known it," fays St. Paul, " they would jiot 
 have crucified the Lord of glory," I Cor. ii. 8 ; 
 and fo the very end of his coming in the flefh would 
 have been defeated ; mankind muft ftill have remain- 
 ed due to the juflice of God, without the atonement 
 which we have received by the death of Chrift. The 
 tlood of our gracious Redeemer was to be the price of 
 our falvation, and would it have been confident 
 with wifdom to take meafures to prevent the fhedding 
 of it? It was enough that his miracles fhould teftify 
 of him to thofe who were afterwards to preach him, 
 
 and
 
 [39 1 
 
 and ofter them to mankind as marks of a life confident! 
 with what they mould relate concerning his death, re- 
 furreclion, and afcenfion, which were the great per- 
 fuafives to believe in his Godhead, and in that mighty 
 work which he came in the flefh to do for our fake. 
 
 Our Saviour, I fay, did not frequently bear record to 
 himfelf ; but continuing the train of prophecy of that by 
 which we alfo have become the children of Abraham, 
 the Ifrael of God, even of that which all the pro- 
 phets had in view, the redemption of mankind, he 
 very frequently foretells his own fufferings, that " the 
 Son of man fhall be lifted up as Moles lifted up the 
 ferpent in the wildernefs ;" that u he v/ill raife the 
 temple in three days, and this he fpake of his body ;" 
 and " that he will go before us into heaven." That 
 this great event, attended by fuch mighty confe- 
 quences to us, confolatory in every woe of Ifrael. 
 and making all men heirs of falvation, {hould be 
 the object of prophecy, and of the fubfequent tefti- 
 mony of the Holy Ghoft, no man furely can doubt, 
 when, in order to enable us to become partakers of 
 the benefits thence derived to mankind, it is neceflary 
 that we believe in Chrift, " who gave himfelf a ran- 
 ibm for all, to be teftified in due time," i Tim. ii. 6- 
 " How beautiful then upon the mountains are the feet 
 of thofe who bring good tidings of good !" A preach- 
 er, even the Holy Spirit, has inftructed us in the 
 falvation which is of God, and " faiti unto Zion, 
 thy God reigneth." 
 
 This then is the line of teftimony -, this the object of 
 revelation, namely, that " Chrift, by being made per- 
 fect, has become the author of eternal falvation unto 
 all them that obey him ;" that he hath been the Re- 
 deemer of mankind by the full accomplifhrnent of ali 
 
 that
 
 [40 ] 
 
 that he came to do for us; and not, according to Mr. 
 Lindfey, that he has merely come into the world as a 
 teacher, the truth of whofe doctrines were to be wit- 
 nefled by his death. And let not this be confidcred as 
 an unfupported fuggeftion of -my own, it is authori- 
 fed by St. Luke in the firft chapter of the Ads ; where, 
 fpeaking of that hiftory which he had before fet forth of 
 the life of our Saviour, he is fo far from confidering it as 
 the manifeftation of Chrift, that he fays, " The former 
 treatife have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jefus 
 began both to do and to teach, until the day in which 
 he was taken up :" fo that all the life of our Lord in 
 the flcfh was but a commencement of that which was 
 afterwards to be revealed. In the moment of his af- 
 cent too, the fame apoftle prefents Chrift telling his 
 difciples that " ye (hall receive power after that the 
 Holy Ghoft is come upon you : and ye fhall be wit- 
 nefles unto me, both in Jerufalcm, and in all Judea, 
 and in Samaria, and unto the uttermoft part of the 
 earth," A&s i. Of what were they to be witncfles un- 
 to him ? of that which he had already died to teftify r 
 Was his death then fo defective a teftimony to thofe 
 who had feen it in Jerufalem, and who had alfo feen 
 his rcfurredtion ? If thefe were intended but as a mere 
 teftimony that he had lived, wrought miracles, and 
 taught among them, they were undergone to but 
 little purpofe, if they needed farther afliftance to evince 
 
 the moral doctrines which he had delivered amon" 
 
 o 
 
 them, of the juftice of which no man that ever read 
 ;hem has entertained a doubt, requiring fo ftrong an 
 engine as the death and refurre&ion of the preacher to 
 remove. Nay, fo far were they from requiring a teftimo- 
 ny to their truth, that many who never became Chrifti- 
 ans allowed their value j and even Trajan, who perfe- 
 cuted thofe " who called upon Chrift as God," adopted 
 from his fermans that charitable doftrine of returning 
 
 good
 
 good for evil. But of what were they to be witnefies un- 
 to him ? of his death arid refurrection ? What ? to Je- 
 rufalem, and all Judea, and to Samaria ? did Chrift hartg 
 invifible on a crofs at Jerufalem, that a witnefs fhall be 
 wanting to teftify it? or was his death and refurrcclion 
 a tranfa&ion carried on in fecret ? On the contrary, at 
 the very time when he was dragged " from judgment 
 to pour out his foul unto death; when he was numbered 
 with the tranfgreflbrs, and made interceflion for the 
 tranfgreflors," Ifaiah liii. all Judea were eye-witnef- 
 fes of the fa& ; for it was at the time of the paff- 
 bver, when all Judea had come up to Jerufalem, the 
 fcene of the tranfadtiori, to celebrate that feaft : nay, 
 farther, where all Judea, as if to fill up the meafure 
 of her rebellions, and juftify her approaching defola- 
 tion, had, with one voice, cried out, crucify him, cru- 
 cify him." Of this then they were not to be witnefles 
 unto him , but of that which the prophets had not made 
 manifeft, of that which the life and leflbns of our 
 Saviour himfelf had not made manifeft, without far- 
 ther explanation. They were to be witnefles unto 
 him that he was the expected Chrift, and that tru: 
 Chrift was the a mighty God, the everlafting Fa- 
 ther, the Prince of peace;" that the Godhead of 
 him, whom their own eyes had feen, fo far from 
 being a great king, that he was actually in *' the 
 form of a fervant," and an ignominious fuffercr, was 
 the royalty which they had looked for in the expected 
 king bf Ifrael ; that he was indeed a " king who had 
 all things put Under his feet, who had led captivity 
 captive, and hath given to us the victory over death 
 and the grave; a king, whole throne endureth for 
 ever, and the fceptre of whofe kingdom is a right 
 fceptre." To thefe witnefles of Jefus Chrift the Holy 
 Ghoft was given> even the fpirit of trut , to fhew 
 forth the means of our redemption, by v.hich his infi- 
 F nite
 
 [4* ] 
 
 tiitc mercy had reconciled mankind to his infinite juf- 
 tice: whatfoever the prophets had faid was given to 
 them to underftand, to open, and to reconcile; and 
 whatfoever our Lord had done and faid in the flefh, 
 was given to their remembrance to corroborate that 
 which they (horrid themfelves declare; and thefe they 
 have accordingly called upon, and fhewed to be a tef- 
 timony bearing toward the truth, which it was their 
 appointment to render fully manifeft, even this great 
 truth, that the blood which ftreamed from a fuppofed 
 malefactor, dying for imputed blafphemy upon a crofs, 
 was the blood of God himfelf, Acb xx. 28. " poured 
 out for- our tranfgreffions," and " by which we have 
 received the atonement." This is the full manifefta- 
 tion of Chrift to mankind; till the work was finHhed 
 k could not be related, and", \vhen done, fo porten- 
 tous was the deed in itfelf, fo above the reach of alt 
 human intellect:, that it required and obtained a mira- 
 culous teftimony; a teftimony precifely adequate to 
 that which is required of thofc who receive it, our be- 
 lief, which alone is called for as the terms upon which 
 this- great falvation is offered to us, " that eternal fal- 
 vation of which, by being made perfect, he became 
 the author unto all them that obey him," Heb. v. g. 
 
 The prophecies waited for their explanation till alV 
 which they had predicted fiiould have come to pafs, 
 and therefore were not evidence to thofe who lived be- 
 fore the event. The four gofpels relate, that a man 
 had come into the world endowed with a power of 
 working miracles, which he was perpetually exerting 
 in als of benevolence ; inftructing mankind in virtue,. 
 by leflbns fupcrior to thofe of any other man ; fpeaking 
 of the kingdom of God, and faying, that he was the 
 door by which it was to be entered; inculcating faith 
 'a God, rjid the hope in his mercies, arifing from the 
 
 cultivat
 
 [43 ] 
 
 Cultivation of piety toward him, and goodwill toward 
 man; teftifying that he was the objer. of former pro- 
 phecy ; forefhewing things which the hearers remem- 
 bered, when they came to pafs, to have heard of, but 
 not to have underftood before; dying upon a crofs, 
 arifing from the grave, and afcending into heaven ; 
 that is, the gofpels relate the hiftory of Jefus Chriir. in 
 the flefh, but have by no means revealed him, nor de- 
 clared finally who or what he is, wherefore he died, 
 arofe, and afcended. They tell us that he. did the 
 work for which he came, but the full import of this. 
 work, and why undertaken by this, man who iinifh- 
 ed it, v.as not the object of the hiftomn to reveal; 
 and till ic was finifhed it could not be revealed to what 
 end it had been done. From our Saviour we are net 
 to expe& this revelation, for his afcenfion into heaven' 
 being a part, the filial part of his work, he continued 
 not among men to declare its end. Another frftimony 
 then muft be found, and that luch as mini be very: 
 powerful; we accordingly now find the apoftolic body- 
 come forth in the ftrength of the Lord, endowed wiih, 
 miraculous powers to be exerted before all hearers, and* 
 blefled with elocution in every language, that all hear-. 
 ers might underftand and believe ; and thus the end of 
 all that has been done is declared ; that our falvaiion 
 was the objeiSt is revealed ; th~t for our fins Chriil: died,, 
 and that for our j unification he rofe agai;) ; that he has 
 taken our nature into heaven, " haying appeared to 
 put away fin, by the facrifice of himielf," Hcb. ix. 26, 
 and, " by his own blood entered in once into the holy 
 place, having obtained eternal redemption for us," 
 Heb. ix. 12. that, becaufe he can have a feeling of, 
 our infirmities, having been in all points tempted like 
 as we are, he is now cur high-prieft and intercc-flbr ; 
 and that, for the fame gracious reafon, he is to. be our, 
 judge, when, in the laft day, he {hull corns forth in 
 
 F Z his
 
 [44] 
 
 hi> glory, an<l all nations fhull be gathered before 
 him, even before their God. 
 
 I hope and btjieve now that I have pointed out the 
 degrees of proof which have been afforded to the world, 
 that the Lord of life, Jefus Chrift, who redeemed it, 
 is the God of our falvation ; and having fhewn by 
 what light he has been manifefted, even that which, 
 has come from himfelf after his afcenfion and re- 
 fumption of his former glory, it is eafy to fee that the 
 prophets and evangelifts are to be read by that light 
 only: by this alone the expectations of Ifrael are to 
 be reconciled, and the prophets found to have fpo- 
 ken confiftently ; and what other circumftances could 
 have reduced their predictions to good fenfe, but a re- 
 velation of the glory that has followed the fufferings 
 of our Lord and Saviour Jefus Chrift? w-hat other 
 circuihftances than the death, burial, refurreftion, 
 and afcenfion of a man revealed to be the " King of 
 kings, and Lord of lords," Rev. xix. j6; ** who has 
 become the captain of our falvation, who fhall come 
 once again with power and great glory, fitting upon 
 the throne of his glory, bringing his reward with him, 
 to judge all men, could reconcile the expectations 
 which the prophets had imparted, that the Mefliah 
 ihould be a King fitting on the throne of David for 
 ever, that he fhould be a great deliverer, fubduing 
 all nations under thenii and alfo, that he fhould be 
 a man defpifcd and rejected of men, wounded for our 
 tranfgreflions, and bruifed for our iniquities, upon 
 whom was the chaftifement of our peace, and by 
 v/hofe ftripes we are healed r" Ifai. liii. 5. for fuch 
 were the indefinite hopes of the Jews, and there- 
 fore their ignorance is never to be confidered as of any 
 \vei r ht in argument againft the Godhead of Chrift, nor 
 t defeiSl of teftimony in the Old Teftament taken by 
 
 itfdf,
 
 [45 ] 
 
 itfelf, and not explained by the fubfequent revelation, 
 as any ground for denying that which it was never 
 wrjtten with a view of ultimately proving. The fame 
 thing may be afferted of the four evangelical hiftories of 
 our Lord and Saviour Jefus Chrift, they were not in- 
 tended to have been ultimate ; and, confequcntly, if par- 
 tial quotations do not evince his divinity to partial 
 enquirers, it is not in the leafl decree an argument "hat 
 he was not one with the Father and the Holy Ghoft, 
 God. Thofe hiitorics, I have laid already, were 
 written with a view of fetting before all men the 
 works which our bleffed Redeemer did, in evidence of 
 a power concerning which he withheld his own teiti- 
 mony, but for the promulgation of which hi r f ^ to 
 the fcriptures already written, and to the t'jOimonv of 
 the Holy Ghoft hereafter to be afford- .!,. the trutr^ of 
 which, he forefaw, would be lefs liable to doubt than 
 that of his own record, which h^ therefore declined 
 bearing, faying, that it would not be received as 
 true. Had our Lord therefore been wholly filent up- 
 on this head, not . even his abfolute filence wc-.ild 
 have derogated . from the evidence of his diviu y. 
 " He came not to bear witnefs of himftli," " but to 
 be teftified in due- time;" and he even favv that his 
 teftimony, had he attempted to have borne it, would 
 be rejected, as an evil interpretation was put upon the 
 moft benevolent exertion of his pow.-r , fruit the faith 
 of even his perpetual hearers was defective, and that 
 they had fallen from him, becauie they could not 
 comprehend him. He therefore looked for the be- 
 lief of mankind from a miraculous declaration and 
 teftimony of his Godhead, to be borne, not after a 
 partial, but a full execution of that great work 
 which he took our nature upon him to do; and fa\v 
 that Godhrad would be mor: readily acquiefced in, 
 as in union with a man who Ihould be teftified to have 
 
 rifen
 
 [46] 
 
 rlfcn from the dead, and afcended into heaven, than 
 with one, the courfe of whofe innocent life was feem- 
 ingly unable to refift persecutions and forrows, nay the 
 infli&ion of an ignominious death, An acquaintance 
 with grief, a cheek turned to the fcorner, the grave 
 and the fhadow of death, which he had often (and 
 even with agonies which certified his feeling of our in- 
 firmities) predicted to be all before him, were fo far 
 from conveying an idea of divinity, that they afforded 
 but a very humiliating picture of humanity. The be-? 
 lief of mankind was not required from fuch circum- 
 ftances, and they who inflicted thofe miferies upon him 
 were forgiven, fbr they knew not what they did. It 
 is at the fame time true, that Jefus Chrift has not left 
 us without a record of himfelf, as I fhall hereafter 
 have occafion to (hew, but it was carried only fo 
 far as to become a teftimony, wherj explained after- 
 wards, otherwife they who crucified him muit have. 
 ' known what they did. On the day on which our 
 Lord was betrayed, knowing that his hour was come, 
 he fays to his difciples " I have yet many things to 
 fay unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit, 
 when he the fpirit of truth is come, he will guide you 
 into all truth: for he fhall not fpeak of himfelf; but 
 vvhatfoever he fhall hear, that fhall he fpeak : and he 
 will fhew you things to come. He fhall glorify me: 
 for he fhall receive of mine, and fhall fhcw jt unto 
 you. All things that the Father hath, are mine : 
 therefore faid I, that he fhall take of mine, and fhall 
 fhew it unto you," John xvi. 12, 13, 14, 15. What 
 is this but faying, that as they are as yet unable to bear 
 the fuJJ revelation of his nature, he will in a future time 
 fhew it to them by the fpirit who fhall fpeak as he fhall re- 
 ceive of Chrift. And that it is the full declaration of the 
 Godhead, which, he fays, they areas yet unable to bear, 
 and which he will reveal by the fpirit who fhall teftifyof 
 
 the
 
 [47] 
 
 the truth, is evident from the teflimony which he pro- 
 ceeds to lay this fpirit fhall bear to him ; for " he fliall 
 glorify him," having received that which he is to fhew 
 from Chrift, whofe it is, and from the Father, whole 
 it is, equal polfefibrs of the glory which {hall be re- 
 vealed. A triumph over death, and an afcent into 
 heaven, were firft to intervene ; and thefe, added to 
 tvery miracle performed in the prefence of multitudes, 
 were facts, which, when referred to, were fully fuf- 
 ficicnt to fhew forth a power that none could doubt to 
 be the power of God ; and if the Holy Ghoft, by 
 miracles fttbfequent to fuch an act as that of rifing 
 from the darknefs of the grave to the manfions of light, 
 fhould teftify of him that had fo acted, that he was 
 God, I fee not how a more proper line of evidence 
 ould have been adopted, or a more certain means of 
 fpreading information among men, not hardened 
 againft the receipt of it, devifed; nor do I lee it to be 
 lefs than an impious prefumption to deny the attefted 
 fact, becaufe we hav*e not ourfelves had the conduct of 
 the evidence, and therefore do not find it where it is 
 not reafonably to be expected. 
 
 The doctrine of Chrift's godhead then may be con- 
 fidered as imparted to us by four different forts of reve- 
 lation ; firft, by the prophecies and the law, or in ge- 
 neral terms that which was called the fcriptures, be- 
 fore the writing of the New Teftament, to- which we 
 are referred, and told that " they are they which tefti- 
 fy of me ;" fecondly, by the teftrmony of oar blefied* 
 Saviour himfelf, whether by words or works, through- 
 out the writings of the evangelifts; thirdly, by the tef- 
 timony of the apoftles, confirmed by the Holy Ghoft, 
 to which our Saviour ufually referred enquirers into his 
 nature, whether delivered by them in the gofpels, 
 which were written after the Holy Ghoft had been 
 
 giver*
 
 [43] 
 
 given to the writers, or by their explanations of* thfc 
 nature and the purpofes of his having come and fuffcr- 
 cd in the flefh, in their fermons throughout the Acts, 
 and in their epiftles ; and fourthly, by the teftimony of 
 Chrift himfclf, after his afcenfic'n and reaflumption of 
 that glory wherewith he had been glorified before the 
 world was, delivered by his having fcnt the comforter 
 according to his frequent prbmifes; and that he, and 
 that the father (promifcuoufly named) would fend him", 
 by his compliance with the prayers of the apoftles, his 
 appearance in divers circurnftances, and by the vifioh 
 fhewed to St. John in the revelation, in which he 
 i'peaks of himfelf in the fame terms, as God, before his 
 incarnation, had fpoken to the prophet?. 
 
 This is the order in which the evidence is placed 
 before us, and in which I fhall therefore produce it in 
 the following chapter. Were it to be ftated according to 
 the degree of its ftrcngth, it ought to be reverfed; 
 
 There is yet another fpecies of teftimony borne to the" 
 divinity of our gracious Redeemer, refulting from the 
 reconcilablenefs of the whole of facred writ, upon the 
 adopting this propofition as a datum, namely, that Chrilt 
 is God. Were a fubjecl: to be treated fo enigmatically by 
 a man of fenfe, as that it fhould efcape the undemanding 
 of all his readers, and yet leave them convinced upon the 
 credit of the author, that the book itfelf was worth ftudy 
 and labour ; were there fcarce an intelligible fentence 
 contained in the book, and yet a certainty that it con- 
 tained much matter ; and were there at length to arife 
 a man whofe ready faculties fhould alight upon one 
 propofition by which that whole book fhould be ex- 
 plained, to which every obfcure aflertion fhould be re- 
 ferred, and by the reference to which they fhould be- 
 come clear and pcrfpicuous; and therefore it fhould 
 appear, that this propofition was the object of every 
 
 fentence
 
 [49] 
 
 fentence, the darknefs of which it difpelled ; could 
 any man pretend that this was not the object of the 
 writer j or conceive that any one point, thus borne 
 down upon by every argument, was- not the point 
 intended to be illuftrated and proved? certainly not. 
 And if, on the other hand, the contradictory of that 
 propofition was a point to which the procefs of the ar- 
 gument fo little referred, as that it fhould ffill conti- 
 nue obfcure when referred to it; would any man fay. 
 that this was the writer's objet? certainly not. Ex- 
 adtly fuch is the ftate of the Bible; every pofition falls 
 into fen fe, the tenour of it becomes a courfe of argu- 
 ment the , inftant that the divinity of our Saviour in. 
 union with manhood is acknowledged to be its object; 
 whereas, upon a denial of this propofition, there is 
 not on earth a book fo fraught with contradictions and 
 irreconcilable abfurdities,.as that which is acknowledged 
 to be the word of the God of truth. Partial quota- 
 tions therefore, arid, paflages taken from the whole 
 confident word of God, are to be confidered as of no 
 value whatfoever in argument ; they cannot afford any 
 proof of any thing : and nothing contained in the fa- 
 cred writings is to be explained but as it (lands in con- 
 
 D 
 
 text with the whole. Nothing lefs therefore than the 
 whole of the Bible is to be confidered as the gofpel of 
 Chrift; and from the whole, taken together, his al- 
 mighty Godhead is to be deduced. 
 
 G CHAP,
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 The Evidence of our Saviour's Divinity afforded by thr 
 Scriptures. 
 
 AS I have already faid that the Old Teftament af- 
 fords but a very fmall part of the teftimony of 
 the Godhead of Jefu, Chrift, I fhajl produce but few 
 feparate paflages from it, under the head of prophecy: 
 fuch as receive their explanation from the New Tefta- 
 ment being better brought under that head. It is not 
 to hew that the prophets have foretold our Lord and 
 Saviour that I am engaged, for that were an eafy office; 
 but to (hew that they have foretold his divinity ; and 
 that the expected Mefliah was, though ignorantly, by 
 them declared to be God himfelf. 
 
 From the prophecies of the Old Tcftament I take 
 the following proofe of the Godhead of Jefus Chrift. 
 
 " Therefore the Lord hrmfelf fhali give you a figa* 
 behold a virgin {hall conceive, and bear a Son, and {hall 
 call his name Immanuel," Ifai. vii. i^ This pro- 
 phecy is referred to by St. Matthew, declared to be of 
 our Saviour, and the name interpreted to be " God 
 with us." 
 
 " For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is 
 given, and the government {hall be upon his moul- 
 der : and his name (hall be called, Wonderful, Coun- 
 fellor r the Mighty God, the Everlafting Father, die 
 Prince of Peace," Ifai. ix. 6. 
 
 " Thus faith the Lord the King of Ifrael, and his 
 kedeemer the Lord of fiofts, I am the firft, and I 
 
 am
 
 am the laft, and befides me there rs no God," 
 Ifai. xliv. 6. This aflertion is made by God to 
 Ifaiah, and by Jefus Chrift (verbatim) to St. John, 
 Rev. ii. 8. God, in the fubfequent verfes, declares his 
 prerogatives to the prophet; the fame are applicable to 
 the fame firft and laft, " is there a God befides me ? 
 yea there is no God, I know not any/* This God 
 then is Jefus Chrift. 
 
 " Awake, awake, put on ftrength, O arm of the 
 Lord ; awake, as in the antient days, in the genera- 
 tions of old. Art thou not it which hath dried the 
 fea, the waters of the great deep, that hath made the 
 depths of the fea a way for the ranfomed to pafs over ?" 
 Ifai. li. 9, 10. The anfwer to this call has the fol- 
 lowing words in it, " But I am the Lord thy God, 
 that divided the fea, whofe waves roared : the Lord of 
 Hofts is his name,'' Ifai. Ji. 15. To this entire chapter, 
 and the two following, I refer for the explanation of 
 thefe texts which I have brought to evince the divinity 
 of Jefus Chrift, and which I take to be even of them- 
 felves fufficicnt for that purpofe. The arm of the Lord 
 is here invoked, and in making anfwer, the arm of the 
 Lord declares " I am the Lord thy God." The arm 
 <5f the Lord, and the Lord God, are then with Ifaiah 
 fynonimous terms ; but he afterwards fays " the Lord 
 hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the na- 
 tions, and all the ends of the earth fhall fee the fal- 
 vation of our God," Ifai. Hi. 10: and again, ** Who 
 hath believed our report ? and to whom is the arm of 
 the Lord revealed? Ifai. liii. i. To the former of 
 thefe two texts St. Luke refers, and declares exprefsljr 
 that it is fpoken of Jefus Chrift, for he relates that 
 they were uttered by St. John the Baptift, whofe office 
 was to be the forerunner of our Saviour, Luke iii 6. 
 To the latter St. John refers, chap. xii. verfe 38, where 
 Q 2 he
 
 he quotes the vcrfe at large concerning the unbelief in 
 hrift, and fays, " thcfc things faid ECaias, when he 
 faw his glory, and fpake of him," John xii. 41. Here 
 then is the fame arm of the Lord, which is fynonimous 
 with God, declared, to be Jefus Chrift, whofe name is 
 therefore fynonimous with God, one with him who 
 is the " Lord thy God." St. Paul alfo intimates, that 
 Chrift was the leader of the Ifraelitcs through the wil- 
 <lernefs, faying, " neither let us tempt Chrift, as fome 
 of them alfo tempted," i Cor. x. 9 ; to which 1 refer 
 
 The arm of the Lord is thus foretold again, " be- 
 hold, the Lord God will come with ftrong hand, and 
 his arm fliall rule for him : behold, his reward is with 
 him, and his work before him. He fhall feed his 
 flock like a fhepherd," Ifai. xl. 10, u. In the Reve- 
 lation, our Saviour fays to St. John, " behold, 1 
 come quickly ; and my reward is with me," Rev. xxii. 1 2. 
 And in the gofpel he fays, " I am the good fbcpherd," 1 . 
 John x. u. St. Paul fays of him, " now the God 
 of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord 
 Jefus, that great fhepherd of the fheep, through 
 the blood of the everlafting covenant, make you per- 
 fect in every good work to do his will, working in 
 you that which is well-pleafing in his fight, through 
 Jefus Chrift ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. 
 Amen." Heb. xiii. 20, 21. Here we find Ifaiah's 
 words concerning the arm of the Lord (the fame as 
 God) pronounced by our Saviour concerning him- 
 felf, both in earth and in heaven, and 'alfo teftified of 
 him by St. Paul, whofe doxology affifts us to pro- 
 nounce of Jefus Chrift, in the words of Ifaiah immedi- 
 ately preceding the text before us, " behold your God." 
 
 " How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet 
 of him that brin^eth good tidings, that publifheth 
 
 peace,
 
 f 53] 
 
 peace, that bringeth good tidings of good, that pub- 
 lifheth falvation, that faith unto Zion, thy God reign- 
 eth !" Ifai. lii. 7. St. Paul, fpeaking of the neceflity 
 of a preacher to inftrudl men in the belief on Chrift, 
 that they may call upon Him and be faved, directly ap- 
 plies thefe words of Ifaiah, as being prophetick of a 
 preacher who fhould publim falvation, and fay unto- 
 Zion, " thy God reigneth," Rom. x. 15. If then 
 the promulgation of the gofpel of our blefied Lord and 
 Saviour be correfpondcnt to this prophecy, the preacher 
 of Chrift is furely he who fays " thy God reigneth.", 
 
 " Out of the mouth of babes and fucklings haft 
 thou ordained ftrength," or ^ perfected praife," (which 
 is the interpretation of the New Teftament) Pfa. viii. 2. 
 Thefe words David directs to God, v/hofe name he 
 declares to be excellent. When children in the temple 
 cried, " Hofanna to the Son of David, and the 
 Chief Priefts and Scribes were difpleafed at them for 
 it, our Saviour himfelf juftified the children by afiu- 
 ming the direction of thefe words to himfelf, and de- 
 claring them a proph .cy of his praife, to be perfe&ed 
 by the mouths of babes and fucklings ;" fo that we find 
 a prophecy, that the praife of the Lord, " who had fet 
 his glory above the heavens," Pf viii. i, is declared to 
 be fulfilled by the direction of pruife and hofannas to 
 the Son of David, who muft therefore be one with 
 the Father, God, Mat, xxi. 16. 
 
 " For thy fake are we killed all the day long ; we 
 are counted as fheep- for the {laughter," Pf. xliv. 22- 
 Thefe words directly addreffed to God, by David, are 
 by St. Paul declared to be a prophecy of the perfeve- 
 rance of the apoilles in the love of Chrift, of which 
 he fays, " Who mall feparate us from the love of 
 Chrift I ihall tribulation, or diftrefs, or perfecution, 
 
 or
 
 t 54] 
 
 r famine, Or naked nefs, or peril, or fword ? As it is. 
 Witt n, " for thy fake, &c." Rom. viii. 35. For whofe. 
 fake? certainly Chritt's, one with the Father, God. 
 
 The prophecies afforded by the New Teftament, 
 I have- already ftated m the preceding chapter, and fhall 
 not tro.uble my nader with a repetition of them. 
 
 The following proofs are taken from the declarations 
 of pur Saviour himfelf. 
 
 " Thy kingdom come," Matth. vi. 10. " Thine is 
 the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever 
 and ever. Amen. Matth. vi. ^3. That our Saviour's 
 command to the difdples, is to addrefs thefe words, 
 and the prayer in which they occur, directly to God, 
 is not only granted but contended for: but let us fee 
 now who is this God, who is this king of glory. 
 *' Then (in the laft day) fhall all the tribes of the earth, 
 rnourn, and they (hall fee the Son of man coming in 
 the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. 
 And ho fhall fend his angels, &c." Mat xxiv. 30, 31. 
 *' When the Son of man fhall come in his glory, and 
 all the holy angels with him, then fhall he fit upon the 
 throne of his glory. And before him fhall be gathered 
 all nations ; and he fhull feparate them one from another, 
 as a fhepherd divideth his fheep from the goats; and 
 he fhall fet the fheep on his fight hand, but the goats 
 on the left. Then fhall the King fay unto them on 
 his right hand, come, ye bleflcd of my Father, &c." 
 Matt. xxv. 31, 32, 33, 34. Here we fee the coming 
 of the kingdom, and we fee alfo whofe is the kingdom, 
 and the power, and the glory. Wherefore then fhould 
 we fay that Jefus Chrifr., in prescribing this form of 
 prayer, forbad wo'fhip and application to be made to him, 
 whom we find to be the very being defcribed and point- 
 ed
 
 ed out as the proper object of our adoration ? It is ma- 
 Hifeftly his command that we mould worfhip him; and 
 hence it follows, that he is one with the Father, God 
 Almighty. He fays in another place, " whofotver 
 fliall be afliamed of me, and of my words, in this 
 adulterous and finful generation, of him alfo mail the 
 Son of man be amamed, when he cotneth- in che glory 
 cf his Father, with the holy angels," Mark viii. 38. 
 On which I remark, that the glory of the Father, and 
 of the Son, is but one glory, one Godhead ; for we 
 fee our bleffed Lord coming in his own glory, and in 
 the parallel paflage, in the glory of his Father. The 
 following texts evince this, and alfo afcribe the king- 
 dom and the glory to Jefus Chrift. " The Son of 
 man {hall fend forth his angels, and they fhall gather 
 out of his kingdom all things that offend, and th-m. 
 which do iniquity," Mat. xiii. 41. " The Son of 
 man mall come in the glory of his Father, with 
 his angels ; and then he {hall reward every man ac- 
 cording to his works," Mat. xvi. 27. " Whofoever 
 fliall be afliamed of me and of my words, of him mail 
 the Son of man be amamed, when he mall come in his 
 own glory, and in his Father's, and all the holy an- 
 gels," Luke ix. 26. " No whoremonger, &c. hath 
 any inheritance in the kingdom of Chrift, and of 
 God," Ephef. v. 5. " Jefus Chrift, who- mail judge the 
 quick and the dead at his appearing, and his kingdom,** 
 2 Tim. iv. I. " The everlafting kingdom of our Lord 
 and Saviour Jefus Chrift," 2 Pet. i. n. Our Saviour 
 in. anfwer to the demand of the Pharifees, Luke xvii. 
 2O to 30, <c when the kingdom of God {hould 
 come," tells them, " the kingdom of God cometh 
 aot with obfervation ;" or as it is tranflated in the mar- 
 gin of the Bible, "with outward {how;" and theft, 
 adclrefling himfelf to his difcipks, continues to declare^ 
 no prognofticks (hall fojeftiew his dayj, but that, 
 
 CM
 
 [56] 
 
 as thfe flood was not preceded by any figns that it 
 at hand, but found men eating and drinking, and al- 
 together unprepared, fo fhould it be " in the day when 
 the Son of man is revealed." From the continuance 
 of the difcourfe, and applying ftiii the coming with- 
 out obfervation, to the coming of the kingdom of 
 God, and to his own day, which is often fpoken of 
 as fynonimou's with the day in which the Son of man 
 {hall come in power and glory, fitting on the throne of 
 his glory to judge the world, we may, without in the 
 Jeaft {training . for an inference, fay, that the day of 
 which he fpeaks to the difciplcs as coming unobferved, 
 and the kingdom of God, of which he aflcrts the fame 
 thing to the Pharifees in the fame converfation, are one 
 and the fame thing ; and if the day of Chrift be the 
 fame as the kingdom of Chrift, the kingdom of God 
 is here declared to be the kingdom of Chrift ; therefore 
 one with the Father, on that day, on the coming of 
 that kingdom to be fully revealed to be God. 
 
 The incomprchenfibility of the Father and the Son, 
 except to each other, is a mark of equality of God- 
 head, which alone can be the fubjccl: of the following 
 words of our Saviour himfelf. . " No man knoweth the 
 Son but the Father: neither knoweth any man the Fa- 
 ther, fave the Son, and he to whomfoever the Son will 
 reveal him," Matth. xi. 27. Many a man had known 
 Jefus Chrift as man; but as God, he was known then 
 to the Father only, with whom he was one God. 
 The parallel paiTage ..fays, " No man knoweth who 
 the Son is, but the Father, &c." Luke x. 22. Mr. 
 Lindfey fays he docs, but I cannot think it. How fhaJl 
 he, who is known by all his difciples to be a man, fay 
 he is unknown to all but the Father, if he fpeak not 
 of a nature not human, and of fo high a rank as to be 
 comprehcnfible to the Father only, even his Godhead ? 
 
 When
 
 [57] 
 
 When our blefled Lord, juft before he afcended in- 
 to heaven, was fending forth his difciples to baptize all 
 nations in the name of the Father, and of the Son, 
 and of the Holy Ghoft, and to teach them to ob- 
 fervc all things which he had commanded them, he 
 gives them a promife of his own afliftance in the per- 
 formance of their minion, faying, " And, lo! I am 
 with you alway even unto the end of the world," 
 Matth. xxviii. 20. We accordingly find that, upon 
 his alcent, " they went forth, and preached every 
 where, the Lord working with them, and confirm- 
 ing the word with figns following," Mark xvi. 20. 
 " How then fhall we efcape, if we neglect fo great 
 falvation, which at the firft began to be fpoken by 
 the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that 
 heard him ; God alfo bearing them witnefs, both with 
 figns and wonders, and with divers miracles, and 
 gifts of the Holy Ghoft, according to his own will ?" 
 Heb. ii. 3, 4. Here we find that the teftimony of figns 
 and miracles wrought to confirm what is preached by 
 the apoftles, is borne by God, and by the Lord 
 Chrift, therefore one, with the Father, God. 
 
 It is evident what was the faith of the father of the 
 Tick child, who " cried out, and faid with tears, Lord, 
 I believe; help thou mine unbelief, Mark ix. 24. 
 So ftrong was his faith already, that he looked upon 
 our Lord as pofTcflea of power to aflift his fpirit, and 
 fupply whatfoever was defective in his belief. This 
 application was approved and confirmed to be right by 
 our blefled Saviour himfelf, who granted the diftrefled 
 Father's prayer, and healed his fick child. 
 
 Upon hearing Jefus Chrift fay to the fick of the 
 palfy, *' Man, thy fins are forgiven thee," I cannot 
 wonder at the remark of the fcribes who faid, " Who 
 
 H can
 
 can forgive fins but God alone?" For fheir law had 
 fliewed them that God had made an exclufive claim to 
 the forgivennefs of fins, faying, " I, even I am he 
 that blotteth out thy tranfgreffions for mine own fake, 
 and will not remember thy fins," Ifaiah xliii. 25. But 
 our Saviour perceived their thoughts and healed the 
 fick man, in order to fhew " that the Son of man hath 
 power upon earth to forgive fins," Luke v. 20, 25. 
 But God has an exclufive right in pardon ; the Son of 
 man who exercifes that right, even Jefus Chrift, is 
 therefore one with the Father, God. 
 
 " BlefTed are ye when men (hall hate you, and when 
 they (hall feparate you from their company T and (hall 
 reproach you, and caft out your name as evil, for the 
 Son of man's fake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap 
 .for joy: for behold your reward is great in heaven: 
 for in the like manner did their fathers unto the pro- 
 phets," Luke vl. 22, 23. If the happinefs of the dif- 
 ciples, to whom our Saviour addrefles the words above, 
 be not to proceed from the reproach, but from the 
 caufe wherefore they are to undergo it, there is no ft- 
 militude between their cafe and that of the prophets, 
 unlefs the prophets alfo fufrered for the fake of the Son 
 of man, and for the tefHmony which they bore to- 
 him; and that this was really the intention of our 
 Lord's words, the following text, fpoken by St. Ste- 
 phen, will evince, *' Which of the prophets have not 
 your fathers perfecuted? Ami they have flain them 
 which (hewed before of the coming of the juft one; 
 of whom ye have now been the betrayers and murder- 
 ers," A&s vii. 52. Stephen was, at the time when he 
 uttered thefe words, under the perfecution which our 
 Saviour had foretold to his difciples that they ftiould 
 fuftain for his fake ; he therefore reflected on the cir- 
 cumftance pointed out by him, as a means of happi- 
 
 nefc
 
 I 59 ] 
 
 nefs and blefling, in their affli&ions, and confidered, 
 that, with the prophets, he was " a partaker of Chrift's 
 bufferings ; that when his glory fhall be revealed, he 
 might be glad alfo with exceeding joy. If ye be re- 
 proached for the nnme of Chrift, happy are ye; for 
 the Spirit of glory, and of God refteth upon you : on 
 their part he is evil fpolcen of, but on your part he is 
 glorified," j Pet. iv. 13, 14. Let us juft turn then to 
 the relation of the fufferings of this authentic martyr 
 of Chrift, and fee whether, upon the reproach incur- 
 red for his fake, the glory of God, and of Jefus fitting 
 at his right hand, was not revealed to him ; and whe 1 - 
 ther the Spirit, which proceeds from the one glory, 
 fhe one Godhead of the Father and the Son, did not 
 reft upon him, even the Holy Ghoft, with which he 
 was comforted, and by which he cried, " Lord Jefus 
 receive my fpirit," A&s yii. 51 to 59. 
 
 " Jefus fent him away, faying, Return to thine 
 own houfe, and fhew how great things God hath 
 done unto thee. And he went his way, and pub- 
 Jifhed throughout the whole city, how great things Je- 
 fus had done unto hinv" Luke viii. 38, 39. According 
 to a command, to (hev^ what God had done, the man 
 who had been healed teftificd what Jefus had done. 
 I do not look upon the evidence of this man as of 
 any great weight in the argument ; but there is cer- 
 tainly fome teftimony borne to our Saviour's divinity, 
 by the manner in which the facl: is related by an 
 apoftle filled with the Holy Ghoft, for the purpole 
 of preaching Chrift with precifion, and who has, 
 neverthelefs, repeated the fame words concerning the 
 name of God and of Jefus Chrift. It is fpmewhat 
 remarkable alfo, that in the relation of the fame facl: 
 made by St. Mark, the command to the man is fiiid to 
 have been, " so home to thy friends, and tell them how 
 H 2 great
 
 [6o] 
 
 i 
 
 great things the Lord hath done for thee," Mark v. 
 19 ; and the man's publication is exa&ly as related 
 by St. Luke, " how great things Jefus had done 
 for him." The title of Lord is fo very often, 
 nay, fo almoft peculiarly afcribed to our Saviour, 
 throughout the New Teftament, that the ufe of it 
 here feems an argument for looking upon our blefTcd 
 Redeemer to have been intended by it : if Jefys 
 Chrift then be the Lord intended here, and that 
 the title of Lord be of the fame import as the narqe 
 of " God," for which it is ufed by St. Mark, 
 then we muft acknowledge, that Chrift is the Lord, 
 and tb.e Lord he is God. There is a farther cir- 
 cumftance favouring trje pofition that Jefus Chrift \s 
 the perfon named here by the appellations of Lord 
 and God, which is, that the man whom he had 
 healed is defired to add to a declaration of what 
 the Lord had done for him, " that he had companion 
 on him," which certainly muft bear reference to 
 that tendernefs with vvhiph he felt our infirmities, 
 that fympathy with which tl Jefus wept," John xi, 
 35, for the afflictions of thofe who called upon him 
 even at the moment that he was in a6t to wipe away 
 the tears from their eyes. 
 
 I fhould not look upon the application of the dy- 
 ing thief to our Saviour, hanging alfo upon a crofs, 
 to be any proof that Jefus Chrift is the object of 
 prayer, but for the anfwer made by him, who im- 
 mediately granted that which was afked, and by ad- 
 miflion into paradife, in confcquence of a petition pre- 
 ferred to him in an hour, when, of all others, he feem- 
 ed leaft able to aflift in the time of trouble, exalted 
 th*' laft words of this poor penitent into an incontro- 
 vertible tcftimony that his is the kingdom, that " by 
 fuffering he was about to enter into his glory," afid 
 
 that
 
 that he is therefore the Lord, one with the Father, 
 God, Luke xxiii. 42, 43, and xxiv. 26. 
 
 " Jefus anfwered and faid unto them, deftroy this 
 temple, and in three days I will raife it up," in 
 faying which " he fpake of the temple of his body," 
 John ii. 19, 21. Here Jefus Chrift declares that he 
 will himfelf raifc his body from ths grave; but in 
 the grave that body lay truly dead and incapable of 
 any agency: but here he fays, that he will a, he 
 muft therefore fpcak of fome very extraordinary 
 power remaining to him. But we are often told, 
 that God raifed the body of our Saviour from the 
 grave. " This Jefus hath God raifed up," fays 
 St. Peter, Acts ii. 32 ; wherein it is obfervable, 
 that the union of the two natures being fufpended 
 during the death of the body, God is fpoken of as 
 diftincl: from Jefus, whofe body only is intended by 
 that name : this diftinction Peter feems to have had 
 in view throughout the Ats. That which Chrift 
 engaged to do, nibft afluredly he did. He engaged 
 to raife his owJ4 -body, therefore he did raife his 
 own body. But "this Jefus hath God raifed up/' 
 Jefus Chrift is therefore one with the Father, God, 
 
 " Jefus anfwered and faid unto her, If thou knew- 
 eft the gift of God, and who it is that faith to 
 thee, give me to drink ; then wouldeft thou have 
 afked of him, and he would have given thee li- 
 ving water," John iv. 10. " Whofoever drinketh 
 of the water which I (hall give him, ftiall never 
 thirft," John iv. 14. Here Jefus Chrift gives the 
 gift of God, more properly the gift of Jefus Chrift, 
 who gives it, and only reconcilable to fenfe, by ac- 
 knowledging him to be one with the Father, God. 
 f They have forfaken the Lord, the fountain of li- 
 ving;
 
 g waters," Jc-r. .xvii. 13. And he fhewcd me 
 a pure rivejr of water of life, dear as chryftal, pro- 
 ceeding out of the throne of God, and of the 
 Lamb, Rev. xxii. i. " Let him that is athirft, 
 come : anil whofoever will, let h,im take of the wa- 
 ter of life freely, Rev. 22, 17. This invitation fo 
 .mercifully made to all mankind, and in the power 
 of jail; to accept, is made by Jcfus Chrift; he there- 
 fore who gives fuch " water fpringing up into evcr- 
 lafting life,'' John iv. 14, is aflurcdly the " Lord, 
 the fountain of living waters;" \yhich Jeremiah de- 
 clares God to be. " Ho ! every one that thirftcth, 
 come ye to the waters," Ifai. Iv. I ; " for I will 
 pour water upon' him that is thirfty, and floods 
 upon the dry ground: I will pour my fpirit upon 
 thy feed, and my blefling upon thine offspring," 
 Ifai. xliv. 3. *' JeTus ftood and cried, faying, If any 
 man thirft, let him come unto me, and drink. He 
 that believeth on me, ns the fcripture hath faid, out 
 of. his belly fhaU flow rivers of living water. (But 
 this he fpake of the fpirit, whjujjfr, they that believe 
 on him fhouid receive,") Johji jiti* 37, 38. This 
 laft text clears up and explains the figure, and fhews 
 what is all along meant by living waters. But " God 
 (hall pour his fpirit upon him that is thirfty ;" and 
 according to this prophecy, J'-fu:> Chrift is to give 
 this water fpringing up into life, which is the fpirit. 
 But thefe waters are faid to proceed from God ; 
 Jefus Chrift therefore, from whom they proceed, is 
 one with the Father, God. Let us thc-n with gra- 
 titude come upon the invitation to believe ; let us 
 confefs that the blood which was fhed for us is the 
 -blood of God himfelf, Acts x%. 28, filed for our 
 redemption ; acknowledge " Chrift the Saviour of the 
 world," John iv. 22, and " with joy draw water 
 out of the wells of falvation," Ifai. .xii. 3. 
 
 " My
 
 ct My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. 
 Therefore the Jews fought the more to kill him, be- 
 caufe he not ortly had broken the fabbath, but fa id 
 alfo that God was his Father, making himfelf equal 
 with God," John v. 17, 18. As the Hebrew 
 idiom of the fcripture language is urged as a rea- 
 fon for doubting of our common acceptation of the 
 aflertions made in the New Teftament, we muft cer- 
 tainly admit the Jews to be the beft verbal inter- 
 preters of fuch phrafcs as were peculiar to them- 
 felves, and here they have taught us to understand 
 that whenfoever our Saviour, or any witnefs of his 
 gofpel, declares him to be the Son of God, they 
 intended thereby to convey an afiurance that Jefus 
 Chrift is equal with the Father, and with him one 
 God. The fubfequent verfes fay that " what thing 
 foever the Father doeth, thefe alfo doeth the Son 
 likewife." " As the Father hath life in himfelf: 
 fo hath he given to the Son to have life in him- 
 felf; and hath given him authority to execute Judg- 
 ment alfo, becaufe he is the Son of man," John v. 
 26, 27. Here he fpeaks of himfelf both as God 
 and man ; he declares the felf-exifting life equal 
 with that of the Father; declares the derivation of 
 that to his manhood, with which it was united by 
 the will of God and the Father ; and he declares 
 alfo the reafon wherefore the fecond perfon of the 
 Godhead is to have the execution of judgment to 
 be, " becaufe he is the Son of man." And St. Paul 
 has explained the force of this reafon, " for that 
 he himfelf hath fuffered, being tempted, he is able 
 to fuccour them that are tempted," Heb. ii. 18. 
 " That he can be touched with a feeling of our 
 infirmities ; having been in all points tempted like 
 as we are," Heb. iv, 15; and in the next verfe we 
 are called upon to approach the throne of .grace 
 
 boldlv,
 
 boldly, becaufe that Chrift is the Son of man, ha- 
 ving taken on him the feed of Abraham, and ha'S 
 called us brethren, and can have compaflion upon 
 fuch infirmities as he was himfclf fubjed: to in 
 the flefli : fo that whenfoever we hear our gracious 
 Lord and Saviour call himfelf the Son of man, we 
 may look upon it as an inftance of tendernefs, and 
 that he ufes that name; in order to infpire a con- 
 jfidence in mankind, his brethren, to approach his 
 throne without diftruft in his mercy. Whenfoever 
 he fpeaks of coming to judgment, he qualifies the 
 terrors of that dreadful day by faying, that it is be- 
 fore the Son of man that all nations are to be ga- 
 thered ; and in the paflage before us, declares the 
 reafon wherefore all judgment is committed to the 
 Son to be, beca,ufe he is the Son of man. Our 
 Saviour, after having faid that " the Father quick- 
 cneth the dead," John v. 21, proceeds to tell us, 
 that on that day ' the dead fhall hear the voice of 
 the Son of God : and they that hear fhall live/' 
 John v. 25. And farther, that " the hour is 
 coming, in the which all that arc in their graves 
 fhall hear his (the Son of man's) voice," John v. 
 28: fo that here, they that are in their graves, live, 
 being called upon by the Son of man, becaufe they 
 have heard the voice of the Son of God, the Fa- 
 ther being he who quickeneth the dead. Can this 
 be reconciled to any fenfej if it be not granted 
 that Jefus Chrift, the Son of God, and alfo the 
 Son of man, is equal to, and one with the Father, 
 God? And this once granted, is any pofition more 
 reconcilable to reafon? Refift this who can, for my 
 part I am unable to ftand againft it ; but verily " be- 
 lieve, and am fure that thou art that Chrift, the 
 Son of the living God," John vi. 69 ; words, which 
 I am, bold to ufe, as expreflivc of an equality be- 
 tween
 
 tween the Son and the P'ather : nay farther, of an 
 identity and unity of Godhead. As pofli-fled of this 
 Godhead " I believe on him, and I worfhip him," 
 John ix. 38. 
 
 " He that believeth on him that fent me, hath 
 everlafting life, and fhall not come into condem- 
 nation," John v. 24. " He that believeth on him, 
 (the Son) is not condemned ; but he that believeth 
 not, is condemned already, becaufe he hath not be- 
 lieved in the name of the only begotten Son of 
 God," John iii. 18. If there be no condemnation 
 for thofe who believe in the Father, how is it ne- 
 ceflary to believe in the Son in order to indem- 
 nify ? It can only be fo, becaufe that the Son is 
 one with the Father, God ; and the two pailages 
 then convey the fame inftruction. In context with 
 the laft affertion, our Saviour, fpeaking of himfelf, 
 ufes the following very remarkable words, " the 
 Son of man which is in heaven," John iii. 13. 
 This is a very exprefs declaration of his Godhead, 
 the ubiquity of which was by no means affe&ed 
 by its union with the Son of man ; for whilft he 
 was fpeaking to Nicodemus he could be on earth 
 only as a man, and as God only filling immenfity 
 could he at that moment of time have been in 
 heaven. He declares alfo, that " he came down 
 horn, heaven," in the fame verfe ; and St. John 
 Baptift, fpeaking of Jefus Chrift, tcftifies, that " he 
 that cometh from above is above all," John iii. 31. 
 The pre-exiftence of our Lord in heaven is exprefsly 
 declared by himfelf in the following words alfo. 
 ** What and if ye fhall fee the Son of man afcend 
 up where he was before ?" John vi. 62. This 
 muft refer to his Godhead, as it is no where afTert- 
 ed that his flefhly body had ever been in heaven be- 
 fore his final afcent. But when he declares, " I 
 I came
 
 [66] 
 
 came forth from the Father, and am come into 
 the world : again, I leave the world, and go to the 
 Father," " his difciples faid unto him, lo, now 
 fpeakeft thou plainly, and fpeakeft no proverb," 
 John xvi. 28, 29. 
 
 *' Jefus faid unto them, verily, verily I fay unto 
 you, before Abraham was, I am," John viii. 58. 
 There is a very ^remarkable diftinclion in this paf- 
 fage between the words was and am. By the for- 
 mer, the exiftence of Abraham is marked to have 
 had a commencement, and to have been finite; 
 whereas, by the latter, the eternity of Jefus Chrirt, 
 as God, is ftrongly pointed out. The word am 
 bears reference to a life in every moment extended 
 to all eternity ; which, as the prefence of the Al- 
 mighty fills infinite fpace, ftretches itfelf at once 
 through all duration, and is at all periods to be 
 fpoken of in the prefent tcnfe, as all periods are 
 prefent to it at once ; a life " which is, and which 
 was, and which is to come," Rev. i. 4. Jefua 
 Chrift here makes ufe of the fame expreflion which 
 God had declared to be his name to Mofes, and 
 given to him as a token whereby he fhould make 
 himfelf known to the children of Ifrael, to have 
 come from God, Exod. iii. 14; and it can hard- 
 ly be conceived that he does fo without an inten- 
 tion of marking his divinity, and declaring himfelf 
 to be that God, and that he it was, who led the 
 forefathers of thofe with whom he fpoke t out of the 
 land of Egypt by the hand of Mofes. In fome paf- 
 iges, ending in a declaration, " / am" in the ori- 
 ginal, the tranftation has fupplied the word he- t 
 becaufe a relative pronoun, the expreflion of which 
 the Greek tongue can difpenfe with, is neceflarily 
 to be expreflcd ia ours, in order to make good fenfe 
 
 of
 
 the paffage in Englifh, which is good fcnfe' in 
 Greek without it. For inftance : the woman of Sa- 
 maria tells our Saviour, that when Chrift comes, 
 he will tell us all things : to which he anfwered, 
 " I that fpeak unto thee, am," John iv. 26 ; fo it 
 ftands in the original, and requires no more words 
 to convey the idea that he was Chrift of whom ifhe 
 fpalce ; whereas it is indifpcnfibly requifite that the 
 tranflator fhall add a pronoun referring to what 
 had been faid before, and turn the pafTage, as our 
 Bible has it, " I that fpeak unto thee am he." From 
 this circumftance it is urged, that no inference, fa- 
 vouring our Saviour's divinity, is to be drawn from 
 the paiTage before us, bccaufe (as is alL-dged) it is 
 only of the fame ftamp of the others. Without 
 going farther into grammatical difquifitions, let us try 
 the experiment upon it, and write it accordingly, 
 f* Jefus faid unto them, verily verily I fay unto 
 you, before Abraham was, I am be." Who? Abra- 
 ham ? Will sry man infift on this ? The word am 
 in this verfe fignifies, I exift, in a neuter fenfe, and 
 fo cannot require a relative pronoun to follow it. 
 The context alfo requires the interpretation which I 
 have put upon thefe words ; our Saviour declares to 
 the Jews, " I am," in aufwer to their obje&iorr to 
 the poflibility of his having feea Abraham, not be- 
 ing yet fifty years old. Upon the whole, I look 
 upon this to be a very explicit declaration of his 
 Godhead and pre-exiflence to the time of his having 
 come into the world, a teftimony borne to it by the- 
 Author of our falvation himfelf, and therefore I 
 muft yield my' aflent to his word, that he is one 
 with the Father, God. 
 
 " I and my Father are one," John x. 30. When 
 our Saviour made this very literal declaration, the 
 
 I 2 JcWS
 
 [68] 
 
 Jews ftoncd him, and gave as a reafon, " becaufe 
 that thou, being a man, makeft thyfelf God," John x. 
 33. This ftiews how they underlined him ; and the 
 anfwer of our Saviour to their charge ftiews alfo that 
 they were right, for, inftead of retracing, he refers 
 them to the teftimony of his works ; " that ye may 
 know and believe that the Father is in me, and I 
 in him," John x. 38 : words, which however they 
 might admit of a figurative interpretation in any 
 other paflage, being here fpoke to confirm what he 
 had before declared, muft be interpreted by that 
 declaration, and mark a mutual relation, refulting 
 only from the pofieflion of one Godhead with the 
 father, 
 
 ** Philip faith unto him, Lord, fhew us the Father, 
 and it fufficeth us. Jefus faith unto him, have I 
 been fo long with you, and yet haft thou not known 
 me, Philip? He that hath feen me, hath feen the 
 Father ; and how fayeft thou then, fhew us the Fa- 
 ther? Believeft thou not, that I am in the Father, 
 and the Father in me ? The words that I fpeak 
 unto you, I fpeak not of myfelf: but the Father 
 that dwejleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe 
 me that I am in the Father, and the Father in, me : 
 or elfe believe me fprthe very works fake," John xiv. 
 8, 9, 10, ii. The interpretation of this paflage 
 may be drawn from the remark made upon the 
 texts laft cited, for our Saviour teftifies, that he is 
 in the Father, and the Father in him, in order to 
 evince, that Philip, in having known him, had knnwn 
 the Father. As our Lord could not mean that Phi- 
 lip's acquaintance with the Father was the fame as 
 his acquaintance with himfelf, in the flefh, he has 
 pointed out, that the means whereby he had known 
 the Father, in having known him, was by his know- 
 ledge
 
 [ 69 ] 
 
 ledge of thofe words which he had fpoken, and thofc 
 works which he had done by the operation of his 
 Godhead, one with that of the Father. Thefe had 
 been often cognizable by Philip ; he therefore in 
 having known the Son, \vho had faid and done fuch 
 things in teftimony of what he was, m; ht well be 
 faid to have known the Father, with whom our 
 Lord and Saviour was, in that refpect which was 
 pointed out, one and the fame God. 
 
 " I go unto my Father. And whatfocver ye {hall dk 
 in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be 
 glorified in the Son. If ye (hall aflc any thing in my 
 name, I will do it," John xiv. 12, 13, 14. I believe 
 no man will deny that a petition is to be made to him 
 who is to grant it. Jefus Chrift here declares to his 
 difciples, that he will fulfill their prayers, and do that 
 which they (ball afk in his name; who then can ht.fi- 
 tate to pronounce this doctrine of our Saviour a com- 
 mand to afk of him, a declaration that he is the God 
 of our falvation, from whom cometh help? " I take 
 refuge" with Mclancihon, (as quoted by Mr. Lindfey, 
 for what purpofe I cannot comprehend) " in thofe 
 plain declarations of fcripture, which ir.join prayer to 
 Chrift, which is to afcribe the proper honour of divi- 
 nity to him, and is full of confolation." And with 
 Mr. Lindfey himfejf I obferve, ift, that this eminent 
 perfon thought, and juftly as it mould feem, that prayer 
 is the higheft act of worfhip, the proper honour of God, 
 and peculiar to him alone. And, 2clly, that the principal 
 argument for Chrift's divinity was to b ; fetched from 
 religious worfhip, and prayer being addreiTed to him.** 
 Apology, p. 135. Mr. Lindfey 's candour is fuch that 
 I rely upon his not ftarting from this conclusion, which 
 he admits as neceflarily following from Chrift's being 
 proved the object of prayer and religious worihip. I (hall 
 
 therefore
 
 [70] 
 
 therefor?, if the above texts afford a proof, or many 
 others which I fhall call up in evidence of this faft, 
 teftify that Chrift is properly to be adored, per:mpto- 
 rily demand and infift upon Mr. Lindfey's acquiefcence 
 in this pofition, that Jefus Chrilt is one with the Father, 
 God. It is a certain fact, even upon a fuppofition, 
 that our Saviour was no more than man, that he was 
 44 without fin," and, confcquently, that he did not in 
 any inftancc contradict himfclf, whereby he-muft have 
 once fpokea that which was not true; but he fays to 
 his difciples, " And in that day ye (hall afk me no- 
 thing : verily verily I fay unto you, whatfoever ye 
 fhall afk the Father in my name, he will give it you; 
 John xvi. 23. As our bk-flx-d Redeemer cannot mean 
 here to fay that he had before fpoken an untruth, 
 thefe words muft have exactly the fame meaning as 
 thofe before us; for, if not, they flatly contradict them. 
 That I will grant your prayers, and that the Father 
 will grant your prayers, muft therefore fignify that the 
 one Godhead of the Father aixl the Son will grant 
 them; and therefore it follows, that the Father and the 
 Son are one God. " If ye fhall afk any thing, in my 
 name, I will do it," fays our Snviour ; whence I have 
 inferred, that he it is of whom the demand is to be 
 made; but I forefee a poflible objection to be m:\de to this 
 inference, which I (hall endeavour to obviate. It is 
 this, that in this cafe Jefus Chrift has commanded 
 prayer to be preferred to himfelf in his own name; to 
 this I anfwer, that fo to have done is exactly corre- 
 fpondent to the conduct of God, fo rong as he had a fe- 
 ledted nation his worfhippers, and dealt by them as a 
 peculiar people to call upon his name; and that there- 
 fore, when they were to ceafe to be peculiar, and that 
 a whole world was to be adopted, there is no force in 
 the objection, which only {hews God governing his ad- 
 ditional adorers, as he had governed their predecertors. 
 
 Before
 
 [7' 1 
 
 Before God was to be adored through Chrift, he was 
 to be adored through thofe benefits which he had con- 
 ferred upon the children of Ifrael ; before the name of 
 Chrift was given, through which he was to be invo- 
 ked, his innumerable mercies were commanded to be- 
 held in remembrance, and in the name of them he was 
 to be called upon ; and accordingly we find the He- 
 brews adored him as the God of Abraham, the God 
 of Ifaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of their 
 fathers, to whom he had promifed, and frequently re- 
 newed the promife of a bleffing to all nations of the 
 earth to proceed from them. They adored him as the 
 God of their fathers, who had led them out of the 
 houfe of bondage into a land flowing with milk and 
 Honey; and, as the God who had dealt thus gracioufly by 
 them, he prefcribcd to them, and prefaced the deca- 
 logue with a claim to th^ir obedience, and to their 
 worshipping him only, grounded upon that debt of gra- 
 titude, which they owed for the protection and deli- 
 verance which he had vouchfafed them; and he has 
 exprefsly commanded them to call upon him as the 
 God of their fathers, and made this " his name for ever, 
 and his memorial unto all generations," Exod. iii. 15. 
 But he has fince been pleafed to hold out a light to 
 lighten the Gentiles, and, remembering his mercies, 
 hath holpen his fervant Ifrael, according to his pro- 
 mifes; wherefore then {hall we refrain from offering up 
 the facrifice of praife and thankfgiving to God, in the 
 name of his mercies vouchfafed to us by his having 
 taken our nature upon him ? in the name of that man 
 in whofe flefh he was manifefted *, and in which our 
 eyes have feen, and our hands have handled the word 
 of f lif~ e > even that word which is $ God ? Wherefore, 
 in remembrance of fo great benefits, ihould we not 
 
 * i Timi itt. J 6. f I John i. z. J John i. i. 
 
 fay.
 
 1 7* 3 
 
 fay, c< by thine agony and bloody fweat, by thy crof* 
 and paflion, by thy precious death and burial, by thy 
 glorious rcfurre&ion and afccr.ficn, good Lord deliver 
 us? The fenfe, in which I underftand the words calling 
 upon God in the name of Chrift, is calling upon God 
 to affift u:;, whom he had already thought worthy of fo 
 great benefits, in memory of thofe benefits which 
 he fuftcred in the flefh, in order to confer. And furely 
 in this fenfe, it is perfectly conformable to the courle 
 of God's government, that our Saviour fhould defire us 
 to call upon his Godhead in inrmory of what he has 
 done for us us man, having already declared that he had, 
 in remembrance of his former m^ rcies, holpen us. 
 
 " It is expedient for you that I go away : for if" 
 I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you ; 
 but if I depart, I will fend him unto you," John xvi. 7. 
 '* The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghoft, whom 
 the Father will fend in my name, he (hall teach 
 you all things, rnd bring all things to your re- 
 membrance, what foe ver I have faid unto you," 
 John xiv. 26. Here Jefus Chrift fends the Holy 
 Ghoft, and the Father at the fame time fends the 
 Holy Ghoft j therefore the Father and the Son are 
 one God, from whom the Spirit is to proceed. He 
 fays in another paflage, " but when the Comforter 
 is come, whom I will fend unto you from the Fa- 
 ther, even the Spirit of Truth, which proceedeth 
 from the Father, he (hall teftify of me," John xv. 26. 
 The Holy Ghoft here proceedeth from the Father 
 only; we find that the fame witnefs of Chrift preceded 
 his coming, and teftified of him beforehand, as well as 
 after his afcent ; " For the prophecy came not in old 
 time by the will of man : but holy men of God fpake 
 as they were moved by the Holy Ghoft," 2 Pet. i. 21. 
 But we find the prophets themfelvcs, who fpake as they 
 
 were
 
 [73] 
 
 we're moved by the Holy Ghoft, '< fearching what, or 
 what manner of time the fpirit of Chrift which was in 
 them did fignify, when it teftified beforehand the fuffer- 
 ings of Chrift, and the glory that mould follow, i Pet. i. 
 1 1 ; fo that the apoftles, filled with the Holy Ghoft, 
 haVe here exprefsly declared what glory that is which 
 fhould be teftified after the fufferings of Chrift, efen 
 that the fpirit which proceedeth from the Father is the 
 fpiHt of Chrift, therefore one with the Father, God. 
 But our Saviour himfelf, as if determined to put the 
 matter out of doubt, by preparing the ears of his au- 
 dience to hear the teftimony of the Holy Ghoft con- 
 cerning him, declares that " he mail glorify me : for 
 he mail receive of mine, and mail fhew it unto you. 
 All things that the Father hath, are mine: therefore 
 faid I, that he {hall take of mine, and mew it unto 
 you," John xvi. 14, 15. 
 
 Our blefled Lord and Saviour, having taken our na- 
 ture upon him, and having been in all points tempted 
 like as we are, on the approach of that hour in which 
 he was to be made perfect by fuffering death for all 
 men, and in which he was to finifh the great end of his 
 having come in the flefh, confoles himfelf by looking 
 beyond his grave, and contemplating the glory that 
 fhould follow; and as a man about to endure great 
 afflictions, and, furmounting them, to take our nature 
 " into heaven itfelf, now to appear in the prefence of 
 God for us," Heb. ix. 24. addrefles himfelf to that 
 Being to which, as man, he was inferior, faying, " Fa- 
 ther, the hour is come ; glorify thy Son, that thy Son 
 alfo may glorify thee," John xvii. i. " And now, 
 O Father, glorify thou me with thine own felf, with 
 the glory which I had with thee before the world was, 
 John xvii. 5. " For thou lovedft me before the foun- 
 dations of the world," John xvii, 24, The pre-exiftence 
 K of
 
 [74] 
 
 of our Saviour is exprefsty declared here, and the 
 identity of that Godhead with which he and the Fa- 
 ther are mutually to glorify each other; that glory 
 which the Son had in all refpec"ls equal with the Fa- 
 ther, before he had, for the fake of mankind, taken 
 upon him that nature whereby he was, upon earth, infe- 
 rior to him. 
 
 " Pilate therefore faid unto him, art thou a king 
 then ? Jefus anfwered, thou fayeft that I am a king. 
 To this end was I born, and for this caufe came I into 
 the world, that I ihould bear witnefs unto the truth. 
 Every one that is of the truth, heareth my voice," John 
 xviii. 37. Thefe words are preceded by a declaration 
 made by our Saviour, that, " my kingdom is not of 
 this world " and the whole together is laid by St. Paul 
 to be " a good confeflion witnefTed before Pilate," 
 i Tim. vi. 13. That Nathanael, an Ifraelite indeed, 
 in whom was no guile, underftood the prophecies sf 
 our Saviour's kingdom in this fenfe is evident, for, 
 upon feeing him an unattended man, he pronounced 
 him " the Kino; of Ifrael," which he muft have feen 
 
 
 
 that he was not in any other acceptation of the terms 
 than as he was the " Son of God," John i. 4.9. and 
 this interpretation he put upon the prophecies, upon 
 feeing our Saviour poflefled of an extraordinary know- 
 ledge. Greater things have been referved for us to fee 
 than Nathanael fawj why then fliall we hefitate to 
 fay, according to the teftimony which this great witnefs- 
 of the truth bore to himfelf, " thy kingdom is not of 
 this world," and with Nathanael, " thou art the King 
 of Ifrael, the Son of God ;" words which I have al- 
 ready fhewed, when fpoken by a Jew, to mean, thou/ 
 haft equality of Godhead with the Father. 
 
 And
 
 [75 ] 
 
 " And Thomas anfwered and faid unto him, my 
 Lord, and my God. Jefus faith unto him, Thomas, 
 becaufe thou haft feen me, thou haft believed," John 
 xx. 28, 29. To call this faying of Thomas an excla- 
 mation, is a poor and difmgenuous evafion of the Bi- 
 ihop, quoted by Mr. Lindfey; for it is declared to be 
 an anfwer and an addrefs to him who had convinced 
 him that he was the fame Jefus who had been dead and 
 was alive again; an argument which I fhould conceive 
 fufficient to evince the truth of doctrines which 
 Thomas had heard before, but through a defective 
 faith did not underftand, and to induce that confeffion 
 which he now makes, faying unto him, " my Lord 
 and my God." When Mary, ver. 16. faw and knew our 
 Lord after his refurreftion, fhe made no exclamation, 
 but directly addrefTed herfelf to him, faying, " Ma- 
 fkr," acknowledging him to whom fhe fpoke. Mary 
 had not been a witnefs of all the declarations of his 
 own nature -which he had made to his apoftles, who 
 were to be witnefies unto him, fhe acknowledges him 
 as fhe had known him before ; but Thomas, who con- 
 fidered a refurreciion from the dead to be a conclufive 
 proof of the truth of whr-t he'hrid often heard, inftant- 
 ly draws the natural inference, and acknowledges him 
 to be his Lord and his God. If the works of this bi- 
 fhop of Mcpfueftla^ which have not reached us, be of 
 the fame ftamp as the fragment quoted by Mr. Lind- 
 fey, we have no great reafon to regret ths lofs, .or cen- 
 fure our anceftors for having config-ned the reft of them 
 
 O O 
 
 to oblivion. The poor bifhop himfelf muft alfo be 
 obliged to thofe who have redeemed him from our cen- 
 fure. 
 
 Next in order follows the teftimony borne to the di- 
 vinity of Jefus Chrift by the apoftles, men appointed 
 to be his witneffes, on whom " he breathed and faid," 
 K 2 " receive
 
 1 76] 
 
 " receive ye the Holy Ghoft," " the fpirit of truth, he 
 will guide you into all truth ;" u he lhall teach you all 
 things, and bring all things to your remembrance, 
 whatfoever I have laid unto youj" " he will {hew you 
 things to come; he {hall glorify me," Men, " whofe 
 underftanding he opened that they might underftand, 
 the fcriptures," " holy men of God who have made 
 known unto us the power and coming of our Lord 
 Jefus Chrift, for they were eye-witnefles of his Majef- 
 ty." To perfons thus qualified, fpeaking as they were 
 moved by the Holy Ghoft, coming in due time to 
 fpeak of him who had given himfelf a ranfom for all, 
 * 4 underftanding the myftery of Chrift, which in other 
 ages was not made known unto men, as it is now re- 
 vealed unto his holy apoftles and prophets by the Spi- 
 rit j" taking the prophecies from a dark place to fpread 
 abroad their radiance, and render their fure word a 
 light to us ; to fuch men we {hall do well that we 
 take heed, to their teftimony it is eflential to our own 
 eternal happinefs that we give credit, and not that we 
 look upon all fuch things as occur in their writings, 
 which are " hard to be underftood, as given to our ig- 
 norance and inftability to wreft to our own deftru&ion ;" 
 they have pointed out the way to a blefled immortality ; 
 it is our duty to fearch into what they have faid, and 
 where we cannot underftand to confide. From the 
 apoftles we are to expect the manifeftation of fpiritual 
 things, and as fuch are certainly beyond the reach of 
 our farther enquiry, it is but reafonable to truft thofe 
 who were permitted to look into them, and to pro- 
 mulgate fo much as concerns us to know. 
 
 " And they prayed, and faid, thou Lord, which 
 
 knoweft the hearts of all men, {hew whether of thefe 
 
 two thou haft chofen, that he may take part of this 
 
 miniftry and apoftJeftiip," Acts i. 24. This prayer 
 
 is
 
 [ 77 1 
 
 is preferred to the Lord who had fent forth his dif- 
 ciples, faying, " ye (hall bear witnefs, becaufe ye 
 have been with me from the beginning," John xv. 
 27. " Go ye into all the world, and preach the 
 gofpel to every creature," Mark xvi. 15 j and by 
 whom, St. Paul fays, " we have received the apo- 
 irlefhip," Rom. i. 5 ; to that Lord, who knew to 
 whom he fhould commit himfelf, " becaufe he knew 
 all men, and needed not that any fliould teftify of 
 man ; for he knew what was in man," John ii. 25. 
 And the petition is that out of two men, namely, Juf- 
 tus and Matthias, fele&ed from thofe " who had been 
 with our Saviour from the beginning," " which have 
 companied with us, all the time that the Lord Je- 
 fus went in and out among us, beginning from the 
 baptifm of John, unto that fame day that he was 
 taken up from us," A&s i. 21, 22; he Ihould or* 
 dain one to be a witnefs of his refurre&ion in the 
 place of Judas, who had fallen by tranfgreflion. That 
 it is addrefled to Jefus Chrift, not only the context, 
 but the following circumftance may thoroughly evince: 
 the very fame call being to be made of another 
 apoftle, as the Lord is now defired to make, a light 
 fhone from heaven round about Saul, and of the voice 
 which fpoke it is thus declared: " the Lord faid, I 
 am Jefus whom thou perfecuteft:" " and the Lord 
 faid, arife, and go into the city, and it (hall be told 
 thee what thou muft do," A&s ix. 5, 6. But when 
 Saul, according to this commandment, eame into Da- 
 mafcus, " he is met and received by a certain difciple 
 named Ananias, to whom faid the Lord in a vifion, 
 Ananias. And he faid, behold I am here Lord. I hava 
 heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath 
 done to thy faints at Jerufalem : and here he hath au- 
 thority from the Chief Priefts, to bind all that call upon 
 thy name. But the Lord faid unto him, go thy ways 
 
 for
 
 for he is a chofen veflel unto me, to bear my name be- 
 fore the Gentiles, and Kings, and the children of 
 Ifrael," Ads ix. 13, 14, 15. That the veflel which 
 was to bear the name of Chrift before the Gentiles, 
 &c. was to be chofen by him is here evident; and St. 
 Paul himfelf farther fays, *' Chrift fent me (not to 
 baptize, but) to preach the gofpel," i Cor. i. 17. To 
 him who was to choofe, it is therefore to be concluded, 
 the petition was preferred, that he would fhew whether 
 of thefe two he had chofen to preach his gofpel, and 
 take part of that miniftry to which *' the wifdom of 
 God," Luke xi. 49, even " Chrift,'' Mat. xxiii. 34; 
 faid, fct I will fend them prophets and apoftles :" fo 
 that here is an inftance of adoration incontrovertibly 
 offered up to Jefus Chrift; therefore one with the Fa- 
 ther, God, the proper objeft of prayer and religious 
 worihip. 
 
 But, throughout the relation, there is a farther tefti- 
 mony to be found of the adoration of Jefus Chrift ; for 
 Ananias, himfelf a difciplc, declares, that Saul was a 
 perfecutor of thofe who called upon the name of Chri/t^ ' 
 and " the difciples of our Saviour were therefore afraid 
 of him when he aflayed to join himfelf unto them, 
 Acts ix. 26; for " all that heard him preach Chrift 
 in the fynagogues were amazed, and faid, is not this 
 he that deftroyed them which called on this name in Je- 
 rufalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might 
 bring them bound to the Chief Priefts ?" A6h ix. 
 2O, 21. We have here dircdt proof that the difciples 
 of Chrift called upon his name, both from thofe who ' 
 did, and thofe who did not call upon it. 
 
 I (hall in this place take notice of Mr. Lindfey's af- 
 fertion, (fupportcd by quotations from various authors) 
 that, to call upon the name of Jefus is the fame as to 
 
 be
 
 [79] 
 
 be called by the name of Jefus, or to have the name of 
 Jefus called upon the fubject fpoken of. This declara- 
 tion he has made in his very extraordinary comment 
 upon i Cor. i. 2. Apology, p. 132. And he farther 
 declares, that Stephen's calling upon the name of Jefus, 
 is the only paflage in which thefe words mean directly 
 the fame as invoking him. Notwithstanding that the 
 name of that great critick in the Greek language, Dr. 
 Clarke, is produced in evidence of 'this aflertion, I 
 own I am not convinced of its truth ; nor can I fee a 
 reafon why the identical word, fignifying an invocation 
 in one place, fhall be denied to have the fame fignifi- 
 cation in another, where the context is exactly fimiiar 
 to that in which it is allowed to have that meaning;, 
 and indeed in which it requires to be fo interpreted, 
 in order to its bearing any meaning at all. But, with 
 refpect t% the paflage before us, it rs a little remarkable 
 that the -name of Chrift had not yet been called upon 
 his difciples, and that for want of a name to com- 
 prehend them all, the commifiion to Saul is couched 
 in the following aukward terms : " that if he found 
 any of this ttwy, he might bring them bound unto Je- 
 rufalem," Acts ix. 2. In the execution of this war- 
 rant from the priefts it was, that Saul was chofen to 
 bear the name of Jefus Chrift to the Gentiles ; and this 
 happened exactly two years after the afcenfion of our 
 Saviour, whereas it was not till ten years after that 
 event that the difciples were firft called chriftians at 
 Antioch. How difingenuoufly then do men deal, not 
 with the world only, but with themfelves alfo, in. 
 wrefting words from their true meaning, to the fupport 
 of their own fuggeftions. If one man, filled with the 
 Holy Ghoft for the purpofe of " guiding him into all 
 truth," has invoked Jefus Chrift, is not fuch an act, 
 once fo performed, fufficient to evince the propriety of 
 the invocation, and to eftablifh the rie;ht of Jefus 
 
 Chrift
 
 [8o] 
 
 Chrift to be invoked ? And if adoration then be the 
 due of Chrift, why fhould we deny a literal interpre- 
 tation to words by which it is aliened, that the difciples 
 of our Lord rendered him that praife and adoration to 
 which he is entitled ? Is it meant that the difciples con- 
 tradict the teftimony of the Holy Ghoft by which Ste- 
 phen called upon the Lord Jefus ? They were themfelves 
 filled with the Holy Ghoft; and is the Spirit of Truth 
 divided againft himfelf ? If this be the aflertion^ either 
 Stephen, or the difciples, or Dr. Clarke, or Mr. 
 Lindfey, are guilty of an impious and abfurd blafphe- 
 my, and I leave it to my reader to choofe the blafphe- 
 mer. " He is a chofen vefTel unto me," fays Jefus 
 Chrift to Ananias, A&s ix. 15. " The God of our 
 Fathers hath chofen thee/' fays Ananias to Saul, 
 A6ts xxii. 14. Who can now withhold the application 
 of the following addrefs to the Lord Jefus, or his con- 
 currence with me in faying to him, " Lord thou art 
 God." 
 
 There is yet another circumftance in the paflage be- 
 fore us, which proves that the prayer was addrefled to 
 Jefus Chrift. Peter, who had, upon his own appoint- 
 ment to the miniftry, taken our Lord to witnefs that 
 he loved him, and would with fidelity difcharge the 
 truft of feeding his fheep committed to his keeping, 
 faying, " Lord, thou knoweft all things ; thou know- 
 eft that I love thee," John xxi. 17. was certainly the 
 chief fpeakerj and the perfon who preferred the prayer 
 of this venerable aflembly; it is therefore highly pro- 
 bable, that he who had accepted of his own apoftlefhip 
 with fuch an acknowledgment of our Saviour's omni- 
 fcience, repeated the like acknowledgment when call- 
 ing upon him to choofe another to aflbciate with them, 
 who fhould alfo love him, and faithfully acquit himfelf 
 of a part in the fame apoftlelhip. When Peter fpoke 
 
 thofe
 
 [8. ] 
 
 th'ofe words to Jefus Chrift in his own cafe, he certainly 
 alluded to his knowledge of the heart, for " he was 
 grieved j" and well he might upon recollection of the 
 event which induced the declaration, for he had an ach- 
 ing memory of our Lord's more intimate knowledge of 
 his own heart than he was himfelf poflefled of, when 
 upon his confidence of his own faith, faying, " I will 
 lay down my life for thy fake. Jefus anfwered him, 
 wilt thou lay down thy life for my fake ? verily veri- 
 ly I fay unto thee, the cock (hall not crow, till thou 
 haft denied me thrice," John xiii. 37, 38. This he knew 
 to have been truly fpoken by his Mafter, and for him, 
 v/hofe own particular experience had taught him that 
 Jefus Chrift was acquainted with man, and need- 
 ed not that any fhould teftify of man, it is exceeding- 
 ly natural that he fhould on fuch an occafion fay to 
 him " who knew all things," "Lord which knoweft the 
 hearts of all men, &c." 
 
 When Peter and John had, " in the name of Jefus 
 Chrift of Nazareth," healed the lame man at the 
 gate of the temple, the people who faw it ran to- 
 gether greatly wondering; " and when Peter faw it, 
 he anfwered unto the people, ye men of Ifrael, why 
 marvel ye at this ? or why look ye fo earneftly on us, 
 as though by our own power or holinefs we had made 
 this man walk?" Acts iii. 12. " Be it known unto you 
 all, and to all the people of Ifrael, that, by the name 
 of Jefus Chrift of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, 
 whom God raifed from the dead, even by him doth this 
 man ftand here before you whole," Acl:s iv. 10. Upon 
 which, the Rulers, having threatened Peter and John, 
 were obliged to let them go, " for all men glorified 
 Gad for that which was done," A6b iv. 21. Peter, 
 \vhen he reftored Eneas to health at LyJda, called him 
 L from 

 
 from his bed in the following remarkable terms : 
 " Eneas, Jefus Chriil maketh thee whole : arife, and 
 make thy bed," A&s ix. 34. He arofe immediately, 
 and the confequence was, that " all that dwelt at 
 Lydda, and Saron, faw him, and turned ta the Lord" 
 ver. 35. 
 
 *' When they heard thefe things, they were cut to 
 the heart, and they gnalhed on him (Stephen) with 
 their teeth. But he being full of the Holy Ghoft, 
 looked up ftedfaftly into heaven, and faw the glory of 
 God, and jefus ftahding on the right hand of God, 
 and faid, behold^ I fee the heavens opened, and the 
 Son of man Handing on the right hand of God. 
 Then they cried out with a loud voice, and flopped 
 their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, and 
 caft him. out of the city, and ftoned him : And the 
 \vitnefies laid down their clothes at a young man's 
 feet, whofe name was Saul. And they ftoned Ste- 
 phen, calling upon Gad, and faying, Lord Jefus re- 
 ceive my fpirit. And he kneeled down, and cried 
 with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this fin to their 
 charge," Acls vfi. 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60. 
 
 Mr. Lindfey's remark upon this palTage is fo very 
 particular, that I will give it at large, and then pro- 
 ceed to (hew its futility to the Very few of my readers, 
 who fhall not have found it out of themlelves. 
 " There is no doubt but Stephen made this re- 
 queft, addrefTed this prayer to the Lord Jefus. But 
 this can be no precedent for directing prayer to him 
 unfeen^ or addreffing him as God, whom the blefled 
 Martyr declares be faw with' his eyc^ and calls him 
 " the Son of man (landing on the right hand of God." 
 Calls him the Son of man, in this his higheft ftate of 
 exaltation. Son of man t and God mo/l bigh : what a 
 
 fpace 
 
 J
 
 fpace between?" Apology, p. 129. Docs this gentle- 
 man conceive that the actions of an almighty God are 
 circumfcribed by the limits appointed to his cpmpre- 
 henfion, that the fpace beyond which his imagination 
 cannot pafs, is equally an obftruction to the will 
 of him to whom all things are poffible," and that 
 the Omnipotent is to paufe in his progrefs, till Mr. 
 Lindfey (hall have leifure to come up with him and 
 mark his footfteps ? I hope I have already evinced the 
 abfurdity of this appeal from the written word to natu- 
 ral religion, and (hewed that the Scriptures only are 
 the fountain from whence the courfe of our argument 
 is to flow j they are granted to be true, and to be ulti- 
 ma^e, and if from them I find that God has put hU 
 own nature into union with that of man, I will be- 
 lieve that he has done foj that he has formed us a 
 creature, with whom it was poflible for him who had 
 " put all things into his own power" to come into 
 union, notwithstanding that neither Mr. Lindfey nor I 
 know any thing of the manner. The fpace between God 
 and man may be utterly unfurrnountable to our con- 
 ceptions, but (hall it therefore impede the Almighty ? 
 It is not reafon which (rands in the way of our belief, 
 but the impious pride of ignorance, u (peaking evil of 
 that which it understands not," " beguiling unflable 
 fouls," " withdrawing from the knowledge of the 
 Lord and Saviour Jefus Chri{l, by which we had be- 
 fore efcaped the pollutions of the world/' 2 Peter ii. 
 Mr. Lindfey having allowed th.at " the principal argu- 
 ment for ChrhTs divinity is to be fetched frqm reli- 
 gious worfhip and prayer being addreued to him," 
 Apology p. 135, is mod exceedingly diftrefled at the 
 paflage before us, and accordingly ufes his unnoft dili- 
 gence to extricate himfelf from the melancholy necef- 
 fity of yielding up his fpirit into tli3 hands of his Re- 
 deemer, his Mediator, and his Judge; and left it (hould 
 L 2 follow
 
 [ 8 4 ] 
 
 follow that he who " bought us with the price of his 
 own blood," " and fo loved us that he gave himfelf a 
 ranfom for all," has any right in his purchafe, or 
 fhould " in due time be tedified," by the invocation of 
 St. Stephen, to be one with the Father, God, recourfe 
 is had to an expedient, the mod fingular perhaps that 
 ever was made ufe of to any purpofe whatfoever, and it 
 is aflerted that this fird Martyr of our Saviour having 
 feen the Lord Jefus with bis eyes when he prayed, af- 
 fords no precedent for directing prayer to him unfcen. 
 The very fail, as dated by Mr. Lindfey, is difputable ; for 
 although it be faid that Stephen, while before the coun- 
 cil, and under their difpleafure, fo long as he looked up 
 ftedfadly into heaven faw Jefus Chrid, it by no means 
 follows that the vifion continued, or that he could con- 
 veniently keep his eyes fixed dedfadly upon it at the 
 time when they ran upon him, caft him out of the ci- 
 ty, and doned him; that is, at the time when he called 
 upon the Lord Jefus ; but I will, for argument's fake, 
 admit that Stephen dill continued to haye his eyes up- 
 on him, and that, " being rilled with the Holy Ghod, 
 he ft ill faw the glory of God, and Jefus Chrid danding 
 at the right hand of God." Is not God himfelf here 
 equally before the eyes of thjp blefTed Martyr as the Son 
 of man ? why then fliould his view of the one in- 
 duce prayer more than his view of the other ? Nay, 
 wherefore fhould he pafs down from God mod high 
 through that immenfe fpace which lay between him 
 and the Son of rnan, unlefs that, conducted by the 
 Holy Ghod, fent " to guide him into all truth," 
 John xvi. 13. he faw that Father and Son were not 
 one and another, but one and the fame God, and that 
 there was no fpace between the Son of man and Go4 
 mod high ? unlefs indeed he faw the Lord Jefus, into 
 whofe hands he commended his fpirit, to be the al- 
 mighty God to whom David had faid " into thine 
 
 hand
 
 hand I commit my fpirit : thou haft redeemed me, O 
 Lord God of truth ?" Pfalm xxxi. 5. Will Mr. Lind- 
 fey perfift to fay that the Holy Ghoft had led him into 
 error ? and yet into an error he has led him, if Jefu$ 
 Chrift, even in this his higheft (rate of exaltation, be but 
 his fellow creature. But becaufe Jefus was in fight he 
 was to be worfhipped ; and there is nothing wrong in 
 worfhipping a vifible creature. If the command be, and 
 if the duty of a chriftian therefore be to worfhip God 
 only, I own myfelf too blind to difcern how the vifibi- 
 lity of any creature (hould fuperfede the commandment, 
 and alter the unalterable law of God. The Angel 
 was vifible to St. John, Rev. xxii. 9. yet retrained 
 l.'im from worfhip, which Chrift did not do by his 
 adorer ; but he, who was equally vifible to Stephen as 
 the Son of man, winked at the difrefpecfc with which 
 he pafled by his own glory, and addrefTed himfelf to 
 the Lord Jefus, and by a difplay of that glory tcftified 
 in the higheft his approbation of that addrefs which 
 was preferred to the Son of man by this holy Martyr^ 
 *' with the Spirit of Truth," as being confident with 
 the command, as a direct obedience to his will declared 
 in thefe words, " Thou {halt worlhip the Lord thy 
 God, and him only {halt thou worfhip." " Worfhip 
 God," faid the Angel to St. John ; our Saviour faid no 
 fuch thing to Stephen, ncr referred him to that God 
 whofe glory was before his eyes. . I therefore think it 
 evident, that God, and God only, Stephen did wormip, 
 in the perfon of Jefus Chrift, one with the Father, 
 God. I grant Mr. Lindfey's aflertion, that the word 
 *' God" is fupplied in the 59th verfe, " calling upon 
 God) and faying Lord Jefus receive my fpirit." It is of 
 no confequence if it be omitted, for then the invoca- 
 tion is made directly to Chrift, and remains a proof 
 that he is God, though he be not addrefled by that 
 name. The word " God" being inferted by the tranf- 
 
 lators
 
 [86] 
 
 lators, fliews how they underftood the pafTage before us, 
 and though I do not choofe to make ufe of human au- 
 thority, I cannot help this once faying that I look up- 
 on this conclufion, drawn by men of great abilities, 
 znd employed in the moll diligent pcrufal of the whole 
 Bible, as more than a balance to every quotation pro- 
 duced by Mr. Lindfey from men purfuing fyftems, and 
 wrefting half fentences to their own particular purpofes. 
 Upon the whole, unlefs it be admitted that being vifible 
 is a reafon wherefore prayer fliaH be add relied* to any 
 thing we are looking at, here is an inftance of adora- 
 tion, a precedent of religious vvor&ip to our Lord and 
 Saviour, and, if " religious worftiip and prayer be a 
 proof of Godhead,*' I demand Mr. Lindfey's acqui- 
 efcence in this conciufion, that Jefus Chrift is one with 
 the Father, God ; who has faid, *' am I a God at 
 hand, and not a God afor off ?" Jer. xxiii. 23. 
 
 I mean now to refume what for a time I admitted, 
 that Stephen had Jefus Chrift before his eyes when he 
 was caft out of the chy and ftoned. The fcriptures 
 are feldom fo vague as to require OUT belief of that 
 which is not particularly revealed. The ftar which 
 appeared to the wife men is never withdrawn from before 
 their eyes till it ficod over the houfc where the young 
 child was. The evangdift has conftantly kept it in view, 
 whereas there is no mention made that the heavens con- 
 tinued open to Stephen, from the time he was taken 
 from before the council j and therefore we have no rea- 
 fon to affirm that they did. The very prayers which 
 our Lord and Saviour, fuffering in the flefh, preferred, 
 are preferred by Stephen, who therefore muft be aware 
 of the force of example ; or, if not fo acute himfeJf, 
 muil have known by the Spirit of Truth that future 
 times would refer themfelves to the conduct of this 
 martyr; and that men, like him, in articulo mortis, 
 
 would
 
 would commend their fpirit to the Lord Jefus. Did 
 the fpirit mean to deceive ? It furely has not guided to 
 all truth, if it did not, and that Mr. Lindfey's hy*'- 
 potheiis be true; and therefore even the Holy Ghoit 
 comes under this gentleman's charge of iricompetency 
 to be a witnefs to the great preferver of all fpirits. 
 
 Before I difmifs this fubjecl: I fhall add one more re- 
 mark, which, if it do not afford conclufive proof of 
 what has been advanced already, muft be allowed 
 greatly to corroborate the force of it. 
 
 ** Beholdj" fays Stephen,, ** I fee the heavens opened^ 
 and the Son of man itanding on the right hand of 
 God; then they cried out with a loud voice, and flop- 
 ped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, &ci" 
 Ab vii, 56, 57. *' Hereafter," fays our Lord, {hall ye 
 fee the Son of man fitting on the right hand of 
 power, and coming in the clouds of heaven : then the 
 high prieft rent his clothes, faying, he hath fpokert 
 blafpherny," " then did they fpit in his face, and buf- 
 feted him, &c." Matth. xxvi. 64, 65, 67. *' Art 
 thou the Chrifr, the Son of the bleffed ? and Jefus faid, 
 I am. And ye lhall fee the Son of man fitting on the 
 right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of hea- 
 ven. Then the high prieft rent his clothes, and faith, 
 What need we any farther witnefles, ye have heard the 
 blafpherny? what think ye? and they all condemned 
 him to be guilty of death, and fome began to fpit on 
 him, &c." Matth. xiv. 61 to 65^ When Jefus faid, 
 " before Abraham was, I am," " the Jews took up 
 iiones to caft at him ;" when he faid " I and my Fa- 
 ther are .one, they took up ftones again to ftone 
 him," faying, " becaufe that thou being a man tnakeft 
 thyfelf God." The Jews alfo fought to kill him, " be- 
 caufe he faid that God was his Father, making himfelf 
 
 equal
 
 [88] 
 
 with God." Here the ground of the Jewifli rt- 
 fentrn?nt appears, they were Unitarians, and looked 
 Upon an equality or unity of Godhead between the Fa- 
 ther and Son as the greateft indignity to the God of their 
 fathers. To the words for which our Saviour was con- 
 demned by the high prieft and his council, we may 
 therefore afcribe the fame meaning, and conclude that 
 they were deftgned to convey the fame idea of our Lord's 
 equal and one Godhead with the Father, The very 
 fame thing which Jefus here fays they fhall hereafter 
 fee, St. Stephen declares to the very fame tribunal to 
 be now before his eyes, and the Very fame confequence 
 attends his declaration ; fo that we may coufider Ste- 
 phen as having in this refpe6l alfo borne his teftimony 
 to the one Godhead of the Father and of the Son of 
 man. 
 
 After Peter had healed Eneas at Lydda, faying^. 
 " Jefus Ghrift maketh thee whole, arife," the friends 
 of Tabitha, who was fick, and had died at Joppa, in 
 the neighbourhood of the town where he had wrought 
 this mil acle, folicited his immediate attendance ; upon 
 which he arofe and went with them, and coming 
 into the chamber where they had laid her body, and 
 having put forth all thole who ftood weeping by, 
 " he kneeled down and prayed, and turning him to 
 the body, faid, Tabitha, arife. And fhe opened her 
 yes : and when (he faw Peter, fhe fat up," Ads ix. 
 40. " And it was known throughout all Joppa ; and 
 many believed in the Lord," verfe 42. The words 
 which Peter fpoke to Eneas were addrerTed to him in 
 order to induce his faith, and that of thofe who faw 
 the work which he had done, in the Lord. But in 
 the cafe of Tabitha, where he had put forth thofe 
 whofe clamarous grief might interrupt the fervour of 
 his devotion, and remained alone with the dead body, 
 
 fuch
 
 fach language being abfolutely unneceflury, it is very 
 probable that Peter did not ufe it on that account ; but 
 as there is no doubt that the fame Jefus Chrift, who 
 had made Eneas whole, now called Tabitha back to 
 life, it is furely to be inferred that the prayer of 
 Peter was preferred to him, and this is the more pro- 
 bable, when we fee that the confequencc of her revival 
 on the call of Peter was, that " many Relieved on the 
 Lord," for many who faw what had been done to 
 Eneas " turned to the Lord." 
 
 c< When God had to the Gentiles alfo granted re- 
 pentance unto life," " fome of the difciples which 
 were come to Antioch, fpake unto the Grecians, 
 preaching the Lord Jefus. And the hand of the 
 Lord was with them : and a great number believed, 
 and turned unto the Lord :" upon which, when the 
 church at Jerufalem heard it, " they fent forth Bar- 
 nabas, that he fhould go as far as Antioch. Who, 
 when he came, and had feen the grace of God, was 
 glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpofe of 
 heart they would cleave unto the Lord," A&s xi. 18, 
 20, 21, 22, 23. Upon the hand of the Lord being 
 with them, Barnabas is glad to have feen the grace 
 of God j or, he was glad upon having feen the " grace 
 of God, who hath to the Gentiles alfo granted re- 
 pentance unto life :" '* but we believe that through 
 the grace of the Lord Jefus Chrift, we {hall be faved 
 even as they," A6ts xv. n. Here the grace of the 
 Lord Jefus, and of God, are one and the fame, the 
 fame alfo is the one Godhead of the Father and of 
 the Son. 
 
 That our Saviour was not intended " to be a light 
 
 to lighten the Gentiles," and confequently, that the 
 
 full manifeflation of his Godhead was delayed till 
 
 M after
 
 after his afcenfion, as I have already {hewed, 15 evi- 
 dent from the following words of St. Paul to tho> 
 Jews at Antioch, who 'were contradicting and blaf- 
 pheming, becaufe he gratified the rcqueft of the Gen- 
 tiles, afid on the fabbath day preached to them alfa 
 *' the word of God." " It was neceflary," faid he 
 and Barnabas, " that the word of God fhould firft have 
 been fpoken to you : but feeing ye put it from you, 
 and judge yourfelves unworthy of evcrlafting life, lo! 
 we turn to the Gentiles. For fo hath the Lord com- 
 manded us, faying, I have fet thee to be a light of the 
 Gentiles, that thou fhouldeft be for falvation unto the 
 ends of the earth," Acts xiii. 45, 46, 47. Thefe 
 words were fpoken by the Lord to Ifaiah, when he afk- 
 ed him, was it a light thing that he appointed him to 
 be his fervant, and " for a light to the Gentiles, that 
 thou mayeft be my falvation unto the end of the earth?" 
 Ifai. xlix. 6. Thefe words evidently fpokeri by God 
 to Ifaiah, and as evidently alluded to by St. Paul, who 
 declares them a prophecy of the appointment made by 
 the Lord Jefus Chrift to his apoftles, whom he had, 
 commanded " to go forth and preach his name to all 
 natioas, and to be his witnefTes unto the uttermoft 
 parts of the earth," to teach repentance and remifiion 
 of fins among all nations in his name, " and to bear 
 his name to the Gentiles," are an uncontrnvertible evi- 
 dcnce that the Lord, who commanded the apoftles, 
 faying, " I have fet, &c." is the fame God who hadj 
 before fpoken by his holy prophet. It is farther re- 
 markable, that our Saviour then firft " opened their 
 underftanding that they might understand the fcrip- 
 tun'S, and fee the neceflity there was that Chrift fhould 
 fufFer and rife from the dead the third day, when he 
 was about to commifiion them to go forth and preach 
 him to the Gentiles, which was not till after his refur- 
 re&io, not indeed till the moment preceding his afcen- 
 
 fion-
 
 . 
 
 fion. He was not fent but to the loft fheep of the houfe 
 of Ifrael, Matth. xv. 24. " for it was neceflary that 
 the word of God mould firft have been fpoken to them j" 
 " but when they had put it from them," and offered up 
 this great facrifice for the fins of the whole world, 
 hanging upon a crofs " the Lord of glory," we rind 
 that after he was made perfe& by fufferirig death, and 
 by his fuffering had atoned for and adopted all na- 
 tions, he was to be preached to th'e Gentiles, fo that 
 the whole which He Came to do according to the fcrip- 
 tures, by which it was feen that it behoved him to die 
 and rife again from the dead, could not have preceded 
 his death, for fo the profit had beeri only to Ifrael ; to 
 them were his life and leflons, but to the whole world 
 his falvation, which was to be promulgated after he 
 had died for it ; he therefore now fent out the apoirles 
 to hold forth this great light to lighten the Gentiles 
 lfo according to the prophecy before, certifying to 
 them that < they fhould be for falvation unto the ends 
 of die earth." Paul and Barnabas continued fome 
 time at Antioch preaching " the 1 word of God," " and 
 when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and 
 glorified the word of the Lord : arid as many as were 
 ordained to eternal life, believed. And tne word of 
 the Lord was published throughout all the region," 
 A&s xiii. 4$, 49. The Jews having ftirred up thft 
 honourable women, and raifed a perfecutkm againft 
 them, they proceeded to Iconium, where they " fo 
 fpake, that a great multitude both of the Jews, and 
 alfo of the Greeks, believed," " long time therefore 
 abode they, fpeaking boldly in the Lord, which gave 
 teftimony unto the word of graCe^ and granted fign 
 and wonder* to be done by their hands," Afts xiv. i, 3; 
 What Paul and Barriabas preached is to be collefted 
 from its being faid, that both Jews and Greeks belie- 
 ved. The God of the Jew and of the Unitarian is 
 M 2 the
 
 [92 ] 
 
 the fame ; it was not therefore the God of the Jew' 
 that the Jews were now firft induced to believe ; the Jews 
 preached not their Jehovah, they fought not to make 
 profelytes, it was not therefore in the God of the Jews 
 that the Greeks believed ; but Paul was fent " to bear 
 the name of Chrift to the Gentiles, and to all nations 
 beginning from Jerufalem ;" that the fecond perfon 
 of the GodheaH was then the object of Paul's doctrine 
 to thofe who needed not a teacher of the one Godhead, 
 but knew nothing before of the three Perfons in that 
 Godhead, is evident hence, and therefore we may with 
 thofe believing Jews lay afide the Unitarian fyftems of 
 Mr. Lindfey, and believe, that Jefus Chrift, who, ac- 
 cording to his promife that " he would be with them 
 alway, even unto the end of the world," Matth. 
 xxviii. 20. " continued working with them, and con- 
 firming the word with figns following," Mark xvi. 
 20. " and who now gave teftimony unto the word of 
 his grace, and granted figns and wonders to be done 
 by their hands," A&s xiv. 3. is one with the Father, 
 that " God who bore them witnefs, both with figns 
 and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of 
 the Holy Ghoft, according to his own will," Hcb. ii. 
 4. " that God who wrought fpecial miracles by the 
 hands of Paul" before thofe " who heard him preach 
 the word of the Lord Jefus, both Jews and Greeks", 
 A&s xix. u, 10. 
 
 When the fame Lord, who, juft before his afcenfion, 
 had " opened the underftanding of his difciples, that 
 they might underftand the fcriptures," Luke xxiv. 45. 
 had opened the heart of Lydia, a feller of purple, 
 at Thyatira, that fhe attended unto the things which 
 were fpoken of Paul, and conftrained him to abide 
 with her; a damfel, poflelTed with a fpirit of divina- 
 tion, " followed Paul, and us, and cried, faying, 
 
 thefc
 
 [93 ] 
 
 thefe men are the fervants of the moft high God, 
 which (hew unto us the way of falvation," Acts xv*. 
 14, 15, 1 6, 17. Jefus Chrift, when veiled in the flefh, 
 " fuffered not the devils to fpeak, becaufe they knew 
 him," Mark i. 34; even the teftimony of this fpirit 
 of divination then is to be admitted, and it has called 
 Paul, who declares himfelf to the Romans i. i. to be 
 " a fervant of Jefus Chrift," " a fervant of the moft 
 high God." The fpace contracts itfeif exceedingly 
 between Son of man and God moft high. Paul has 
 himfelf addrcffed not the Romans only, but the Philip- 
 pians, under the title of the fervant of Jefus ChrHt," 
 Philip, i. i. and to Titus he commences his epiftle by 
 the name of " Paul, a fervant of God," Titus i. i. 
 Thefe terms are therefore fynonimous. 
 
 The doctrine of Paul and Silas to the keeper of the 
 prifon at Philippi, and the confequence of it, are ie- 
 markable. The keeper faid to Paul and Silas, hLs pri- 
 foners, " Sirs, what muft I do to be faved ? and they 
 faid, believe on the Lord Jefus Chrift, and thou (halt 
 be fayed, and thy houfe. And they fpake unto him the 
 word of the Lord, and to all that were in his houfe. 
 And he took them the fame hour of the night, and 
 wafhed their ftripes ; and was baptized, he, and all, his j 
 ftraightway. And when he had brought them into his 
 houfe, he fet meat before them, and rejoiced, believing 
 in God with all his houfe," A&s xvi. 30 to 34. 
 Here is a very rapid translation. Paul and Silas being 
 at prayer, and finging hymns at midnight, the founda- 
 tions of the prifon are fhaken, the doors flying open, 
 and the bands of the prifoners loofedj the keeper, ter- 
 rified at the probability of their efcape, falls into de- 
 fpair; and, about to kill himfelf, is reftrained by Paul, 
 who, to his aftonifhmcnt, {hewed himfelf and the reft 
 undii'mayed, without chains, artd yet not making ufe 
 
 of
 
 fef fo favourable an opportunity; convinced that Tome 
 jjjower controlled the ordinary courfe of nature, and 
 had interfered in behalf of his prifoners, the man im- 
 mediately applies to them to know what he fhould do 
 to be faved : and here the apoftles preach to a heathen, 
 that his falvation is to be the confequcnce of his belief 
 in the Lord Jefus Chrift; and accordingly we find 
 him, even at the fame hour of the night, rejoice, and 
 indeed believe in the Lord JefUs Chrift, one with the 
 Father, God. 
 
 In the A&s,' St. Luke fays, that " becaufe Paul 
 preached Jefus to the Athenians, they faid he feemed to 
 be a fetter forth of ftrange gods," A&s xvii. 18. Ori 
 this they qucftioned him, and his anfwer was, that ha- 
 ving feen among them an altar infcribed To THE UN- 
 KNOWN GOD, *' whom therefore ye ignorantly wor- 
 fhip, him declare I unto you," ver. 23. Here, upon 
 a call to explain Kimfelf, and anfwer the charge of 
 fetting forth ftrartge gods, in having preached Jefus, 
 he avows, that he whom he had preached was that God 
 whom they knew not, but Worfhipped igriorantly : but 
 he had preached Jefus; therefore Jefus Chrift was that 
 God hitherto unknown to them, arid one with the 
 Father. The attributes with which the apoftle proceeds 
 to characterize the God, to whofe worfhip he is per- 
 fuading the Athenians, are as follow, and, in apportion 
 to them, I will put thofe attributes which are by the 
 fame preacher afcribed to Jefus Chrift; and if upon 
 comparifon it be found that he has arrayed him with 
 the fame power and glory as he propofes to the Athe- 
 nians to invite their adoration to God, we may, we 
 muft fay, that he is that God, and that honour and 
 religious worlhip are his due who is poflbfied of the 
 lame glory to excite them. 
 
 Of
 
 [95] 
 
 Of God whom he 
 preached at Athens, even 
 Jefus, he fays, 
 
 " God that made the 
 World, and ail things 
 therein, feeing that he is 
 the Lord of heaven and 
 earth," ver. 24 ; " for in 
 fcim we live, and move, 
 and have our being," 
 ver. 2%. 
 
 Of Jefus Chrift, e 
 prefsly fo named, he fays,. 
 
 " By him were all 
 things created that are in 
 heaven and that are in 
 earth, vifible and invi- 
 fible, whether they be 
 thrones, or dominions, 
 or principalities, or pow- 
 ers : all things were cre- 
 ated by him, and for him. 
 And he is before all 
 things, and by him all 
 things confift, ColofT. i, 
 16, 17. 
 
 If then the exclufive prerogatives of God be in 
 Jefus' Chrift, and that we fee him clothed in that glory 
 of which God has fpoken, faying, " I am the Lord, 
 that is my name, and my glory will I not give to ano- 
 ther," Ifai. xlii. 8. we muft furely fay of him whq 
 wears it, that he is one with the Father, God. That 
 which is but one, even the glory, and which the de- 
 claration of God had made incommunicable, rnuft be a 
 diiUnguifhing mark of him who has declared that he 
 will not impart it. Jefus Chrift has this glory : the 
 declaration therefore came from that Godhead which is 
 his equally as the Father's. 
 
 " And Crifpus, the chief ruler of t]>e fynagogue, 
 believed on the Lord with all his houfe : and ma- 
 ny of the Corinthians, hearing, believed, and were 
 baptized. Then fpalce the Lord to Paul in the night 
 by a vifion, be not afraid, but fpeak, and hold not thy 
 peace : for I am with thee, an J no man (hall fet on 
 
 thee,
 
 [96] 
 
 thre, to hurt thec : for I have much people in this 
 city. And he continued there a year and fix months, 
 teaching the word of God among them," A6b xviii. 8, 
 g, 10, II. That they who were baptized believed 
 upon Jefus Chrift, on hearing him preached, is evident 
 from the neceflity of that belief to baptifm : that it was 
 Jefus Chrift whom Paul preached, is therefore evi- 
 dent alfo, for " how fhould they believe without a 
 preacher." But Paul is in a vifion called upon by the 
 Lord to perfevere without apprehenfion of danger, and 
 accordingly we find him continue to teach the word of 
 God among them, the fame doctrine that he had before 
 held forth, that they might believe and be baptized. Left 
 it fhould be doubted who the Lord was who fpake to 
 him, I will remind my reader of a fimilar vifion, 
 wherein " in the night," w the Lord flood by him, 
 and faid, be of good chear, Paul: for as thou haft 
 teftified of me in Jerufalcm, fo muft thou bear witnefs 
 alfo at Rome," A&s xxiii. n. As we know well 
 whofe name Paul was chofen to bear before the Gen- 
 tiles, and that he was the Lord who fpake to him now, 
 we have no reafon to doubt that it was the fame Lord 
 Jefus Chrift who cheared him in the inftance before 
 us, and allayed the apprehcnfions which a man, who 
 had undergone fuch perfections for the fake of Chrift, 
 might reafonably entertain, if he perfevered in the 
 maintenance of his teftimony. 
 
 That the prophecies were in themfelves inefficient to 
 make a perfect revelation of Chrift, nay, that the bap- 
 tifm of John was not fufficient to make him known, 
 is evident from the cafe of Apollos, ** a man mighty 
 in the fcriptures, fervent in fpirit, who fpake and 
 taught diligently the things of the Lord, at Ephefus;" 
 but that thefe were a ftrong afliftant teftimony to the 
 jnanifeftation of his Godhead, afterwards by the fpirit 
 
 of
 
 bf truth, is evident alfo from the doctrines of the fame 
 man, who, " knowing only the baptifm of John, was 
 ioftrucled by Aquila and Prifcilla, who expounded 
 unto him the way of God more perfectly," upon which 
 " he helped them much which had believed through 
 grace ; for he mightily convinced the Jews, and that 
 publickly, (hewing by the fcriptures, that Jefus was 
 Chrift," Ads xviii. 24 to 28. 
 
 Paul having continued, by the fpace of two years$ 
 daily difputing in the fchool of one Tyrannus, " all 
 they which dwelt in Afia, heard the word of the Lord 
 Jefus, both Jews and Greeks," A6ts xix. 10. And 
 having manifcfted that God bore witnefs to that which 
 he teftified by fpecial miracles wrought by his hands, 
 " fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Je- 
 fus was magnified. Many alfo of them which ufed 
 curious arts, brought their books together, and burned 
 them before all men : and they counted the price of 
 them, and found it fifty thoufand pieces of filver. So 
 mightily grew the word of God, and prevailed," A6ts 
 xix. 17, 1 8, 19, 20. But it was the word of the Lord 
 Jefus which they had heard ; therefore it was his word 
 that grew and prevailed; his name therefore is worthily 
 magnified, being one with the Father, God; 
 
 When Agabus foretold to Paul, that he fhould be 
 bound at Jerufalem, and delivered into the hands of 
 the Gentiles, the difciples " befought him not to go 
 up to Jerufalem. Then Paul anfwered, what mean ye 
 to weep, and to break mine heart? for I am ready, not 
 to be bound only, but alfo to die at Jerufalem for the 
 name of the Lord Jefus. And when he would not be 
 perfuaded, we ceafed, faying, the will of the Lord be 
 done," Ats xxi. n, 12, 13, 14. The context. here 
 fhews, that the Lord, to whofe will the apoftlcs re- 
 
 N figned
 
 figned themfelves, was the Lord Jcfus, for whofe name 
 Paul was ready to refign himfelf, not to bonds only,- 
 but to death. This example therefore authorifes us to 
 nddrefs to the Lord Jefus that cxpreflion of our fub- 
 miflivenefs to his pleafure in the Lord's prayer, u thy 
 will be. done in earth," Matth. vi. 10. 
 
 " Arife, and be baptized, and wafli away thy fins, 
 caJling on the name of the Lord," A&s xxii. r6. Be- 
 lief in the Lord Jefus Cbrift is throughout the fcrip- 
 tures made neceffary to baptifm ; and the teftimony of 
 Saul's belief, which is required by Ananias here, in or- 
 der to his being baptized, is nothing lefs than invoca- 
 tion itfelf. 
 
 ** And it came to pafs, that when I was come agairr 
 to Jerufalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was 
 in a trance: and faw him faying unto me," Acts xxii. 
 17, 1 8. Whom did Paul fee? the pronoun him has no* 
 antecedent fubftantive to which it fhould be referred, 
 though it be made the fubjeft of a long fubfequent de- 
 tail ; the antecedent then- mufl be fought for from the 
 meaning of the fentence altogether ; but it is therein' 
 declared that Paul prayed. The objct of his adora- 
 tion then is the fubjecl; of the propofition, and this fub- 
 jedl: is then found to be the antecedent to this pronoun; 
 but of this object of Paul's religious worfhip-,- it is faid, 
 that he " faw him faying unto him r Make hafte, and 
 get thee quickly out of Jerufalem: for they will not re- 
 ceive thy teftimony concerning me. And I faid, Lord,- 
 they know that I imprifoncd, and beat in every fyna- 
 gogue them that believed on thee. And when the blood 
 of thy martyr Stephen was (bed, I alfo was ftanding 
 by, and confenting unto his death, and kept the rai- 
 ment of them that flew him," A&s xxii. 18, ig> 20. 
 That it was of Jefus Chrift Paul was to bear teftimo-
 
 [99] 
 
 By, is a vvell-eftablifhed facl ; and that it was of Jefus 
 Chrift that the Jews would not receive Paul's teftimo- 
 ny, is clear from this, that they were very ready to 
 receive an Unitarian doctrine. That Stephen, at whofe 
 blood-fliedding Paul ftood by, confenting to his death, 
 was the martyr of Chrift, is alfo certain; for the word 
 martyr fignifies no more than witnefs, and it was for 
 the teftimony of Chrift that he died. That Jefus Chrift, 
 upon the whole, was the objeft of Paul's religious wor- 
 fliip in the temple, is evident ; and therefore Mr. Lind- 
 fey himfelf muft conclude him, one with the Father, 
 God. 
 
 Paul charged before Felix with " having gone about 
 to profane the temple," and being " a ringleader of the 
 feel of the Nazarenes," Acts xxiv. 5. declares himfelf 
 not guilty of any profanation of the temple ; but to the 
 .other part of the accufation he anfwers, " But this I 
 confefs unto thee, that, after the way which they call 
 herefy, fo worship I the God of my Fathers, believing 
 all things that are written in the law and the pro- 
 phets," Afts xxiv. 14. The fcriptures, that is the hw 
 and the prophets, " are they which teftified of Chrift," 
 John v. 39. according to that teftimony, which Paul's 
 *' underftanding was opened that he might under- 
 ftand," this bold apoftle of our Lord declares himfelf a 
 worfhipper of the God of his Fathers; but this he ac- 
 knowledges he is, according to the charge before Fe- 
 lix, that he was a ringleader of the feel: of the Naza- 
 renes. Jefus Chrift of Nazareth is here therefore pro- 
 nounced by Paul to be the God of his Fathers, even 
 one in Godhead with Jehovah, the Father. 
 
 St. Paul commences his epiftle to the Romans thus., 
 ?' Paul, a fervant of Jefus Chrift, called to be an apo- 
 ftle, and feparatcd unto the gofpel of God," Rom. i. i. 
 
 N 2 and
 
 and then making a declaration of his great good-will 
 towards them, he fays, " For God is my witnefc, 
 whom I fcrve with my fpirit in the gofpel of his Son, 
 that without ceafmg I make mention of you always in 
 my prayers," Romans i. 9. So that here, in the fame 
 breath, this great apoftle of our Lord and Saviour de- 
 clares himfelf the fervant of Jefus Chrift, the preacher 
 of the gofpel of God, and the fervant of God, the 
 preacher of the gofpel of Jefus Chrift. One only is 
 the Mafter whom Paul ferved, and he, whofe gofpel 
 Paul preached, but one,- even Jefus Chrift one with 
 with the Father, God. 
 
 " Thinkeft thou that thou fhalt efcape the judgment 
 of God?" Rom. ii. 3; but " the Father judgeth no 
 man, but hath committed all judgment unto the 
 Son," John v. 22. who " fhall reward ever) man ac- 
 cording to his works," Matth. xvi. 27. Who then is 
 that God whofe judgment is inevitable? certainly Je- 
 fus Chrift one with the Father, that " God, who 
 will render to every man according p his deeds," 
 Rom. ii. 6. 
 
 " Or defpifeft thou the riches of his goodnefs, and 
 forbearance, and long-fufFering; not knowing that the 
 goodnefs of God leadeth thee to repentance," Rom. ii. 
 4. to " repentance unto life," A6ts xi. 18. " How- 
 beit," fays the fame apoftle, " for this caufe I obtained 
 mercy, that in me firft Jefus Chrift might fhew forth 
 all long-fuffering, for a pattern to them which fhould 
 hereafter believe on him to life gveriaftiflg," I Tim. i. 
 1 6. We muft then *' account that the long-fuffering 
 of our Lord is falvation ; even as our beloved brother 
 Paul alfo, according to the wifdom given unto him, 
 hath written," 2 Pet. iii. 15. Who then is this Lord, 
 who " is long-fuffering to us-ward?" not willing tha,t 
 
 any
 
 any fhould perifh, but that all fhould come to repen- 
 tance," 2 Pet. iii. 9. Certainly he is the fame Lord 
 Jefus Chrift who mercifully fhewed all long-fuffering 
 to Paul, for a pattern to them who fhould hereafter 
 believe on him to everlafting life, one, with the Fa* 
 ther, God, the riches of whofe goodnefs, and forbear- 
 ance, and long- fuffer ing, leadeth to repentance unto 
 life. 
 
 The argument carried on through the latter part of 
 the third, and the whole of the fourth chapter of St. 
 Paul's epiftle to the Romans, affords a ftrong proof of 
 the Godhead of Chrift. Abraham was faithful in 
 God, his faith was imputed to him for righteoufnefs, 
 and the promife was therefore made to him$ he be- 
 lieved in God, and was juftified by his belief j but 
 God is declared to be the " juftifier of him that belie* 
 veth in Jefus," Rom. iii. 26. The faith of Abraham, 
 and the fruits of it are fet forth as a pattern and per- 
 fuafive to us to have faith in Jefus ; but the faith cf 
 Abraham, whereby he was juftified, was in God. Were 
 Jefus Chrift therefore other than God, he could not 
 have been held out to us by this eloquent preacher of 
 his gofpel, as an objet of faith after the example of 
 Abraham. The fame mode of argument is carried 
 through the nth chapter of Hebrews, and in the 1 2th 
 we are told that Jefus Chrift is the object of faith. 
 
 " Ye are not in the flefh, but in the fpirit, if fo be 
 that the fpirit of God dwelleth in you. Now, if any 
 man have not the fpirit of Chrift, he is none of his," 
 Rom. viii. 9. Here the context, and the courfe pf 
 St. Paul's argument, put it out of controverfy, that the 
 fpirit of God and the fpirit of Chrift are fynonimous 
 terms ; but of him, whofe this fpirit is, it is faid, that 
 tf he raifed up Jefus from the dead," Rom. viii. XX. 
 
 which
 
 [ 102 ] 
 
 which affords an apoftolical expreflion of that which I 
 have already laid down, that the one Godhead of the 
 Father, and of the Son, was indeed the power which 
 raifed up the man Jefus from the deadj for though I 
 aflcrt that Chart is God, I never yet denied that he 
 tvas alfo a Man, and that his manhood was inferior to 
 that Godhead which was in the flefli, and upon which 
 the ftate of man is necefliirily dependent. 
 
 " Whofe are the Fathers, and of whom as concern- 
 ing the flefti Chrift came, who is over all, God blef- 
 fed for ever. Amen," Rom. ix. 5. As it is not a 
 very common cafe for men to come of their fathers as 
 concerning any thing elfe than the flefh, St. Paul has 
 ufed an cxpreffion concerning Chrift, which implies, 
 that he had come of fome other origin than of the 
 Jews, and in fome other manner than as conperning 
 the fiefli, and therefore has rendered an explanation 
 neceflary, which he accordingly proceeds to make - y and 
 in order to (hew what that nature of Chrift was, from 
 which he had diftinguifhcd his flcfh, he directly af- 
 ferts in fo many exprefs words, that " he is over all, 
 God blefled for ever. Amen." 
 
 " For the fame Lord over all, is rich unto all that 
 call upon him. For whofoever fhall call upon the naire 
 of the Lord, {hall be faved. How then {hall they call 
 on him in whom they have not believed ? and how 
 fhall they believe in him of whom they have not heard ? 
 and how {hall they hear without a preacher? Rom. x. 
 12, 13. St. Paul is here preaching Jefus, of the con- 
 feflion of whom cometh falvation, and in whom, he 
 fays, whofoever believeth {hall not be afliamed : and, as 
 a reafon for what he had faid, declares him rich to all 
 that call upon him, and that falvation is the fruit of 
 invoking him. Here Mr. Lindley muft confeis him 
 
 one
 
 one with the Fatter, God. He' is here preaching to the 
 Jew as well as the Greek ; and to the Jew a preacher 
 was furely not wanting to induce his belief in Jehovah, 
 the God of the Unitarians, 
 
 He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God 
 thanks ; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth 
 not, and giveth God thanks. For none of us liveth to 
 himfelf, and no man dieth to himfelf. For whether 
 we live, we live unto the Lord ; and whether we die, 
 we die unto the Lord : whether we live therefore or 
 die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Chrift both 
 died, and rofe, and revived, that he might be Lord 
 both of the dead and living," Rom. xiv. 6, 7, 8, 9. 
 St. Paul here makes our eating " to the Lord" depend 
 upon our giving God thanks, which are therefore a de- 
 dication of the a<ft ; but this dedication of the a<3 is 
 to God, whereas the al itfelf is, in confequence of it 
 " to the Lord :" the Lord therefore to whom we find 
 it to be done muft be the fame God, to whom by 
 thankfgiving it had been addrefled. But who that Lord 
 is to whom we eat or eat not, to whom we live or 
 die, and whofe we are, the following verfes render ve- 
 ry certain ; and he it is who died, and rofe, and re- 
 vived, even Jefus Chrift, over all, one with the Fa- 
 ther, God, blefled for ever, the proper objeft of our 
 gratitude and thankfgiving, " to whofe glory, whether 
 we eat, or drink, or whatfoever we do, we mould do r 
 all," i Cor. x. 31 : for the earth is the Lord's, and 
 the fullnefs thereof," I Cor. x. 28. 
 
 " For we fhall all ftand before the judgement-feat of 
 Chrift. For it is written, As I live, faith the Lord y 
 every knee mall bow to me, and every tongue fhall con- 
 fcfs to God. So then every one of us fhall give account 
 of himfelf to God," Rom. xiv. xo, ir, 12. Here, in 
 
 bowing
 
 [ 104 ] 
 
 bowing the knee to Jefus Chrift, we fulfill the prophecy 
 that is cxprefsly fpox.cn to Ifaiah, by God, of himfelf, 
 44 I have fworn by myfeli", the word K-. gone out of my 
 mouth in righteoufnefs, and fhall not return, that 
 unto me every knee ihall bow, every tongue lhall fwear," 
 Ifaiah xlv. 23. If this then be fulfilled by the bowing 
 the knee to Chrift, Chrift is that God who fpoke this 
 prophecy. I tnuft then refer to the whole chapter, 
 every declaration in which is made of him who has fo 
 fpoken, even Jefus Chrift : " there is no God elfe be- 
 fide me, a juft God, and a Saviour, there is none be- 
 flde me. Look unto me, and be ye faved, all the ends 
 of the earth : for I am God, and there is none elfe," 
 Ifaiah xlv. 21, 22. Befides this circumftance, every 
 nnan is here confeffing to God before the judgement- 
 feat of Chrift, therefore that God, (one with the Fa- 
 ther) before whom they are confefling, " for we muft 
 all appear before the judgement-feat of Chrift; that 
 every one may receive the things done in his body, ac- 
 cording to that he hath done, whether it be good or 
 bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we 
 perfuade men," 2 Cor. v. 10; and furely when arrayed 
 in all the terrors with which he will come to judgement, 
 " it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living 
 God," Hcb. x. 31. 
 
 " I know, and am perfuaded by the Lord Jefus, that 
 there is nothing unclean of itfelf," Rom. xiv. 14. We 
 do not find any particular revelation made to Paul that 
 there is nothing unclean : he muft then have had it from 
 Peter, to whom it was revealed, and who fays, " God 
 hath (hewed me, that I fhould not call any man com- 
 mon or unclean ;" and this the Lord had fhewed him 
 by a vifion in which Peter is called upon to eat things 
 heretofore common and unclean, but now cleanfed by 
 .God. If Paul therefore was perfuaded by Jefus Chrift, 
 
 through
 
 r 
 
 through the relation made by Peter, we find him look 
 upon our Lord to be the God which had fhewcd the 
 vifion to him ; or, if Paul had a like vifion, it is very 
 probable that it was prefented to him and to Peter by 
 the fame agent : but as Paul is not fard to have had 
 iuch a revelation himfelf, the former fuppofition is moft 
 to be relied on. But if it be infifted on that Paul was 
 perfuaded by the Spirit, with which he was full, it muft 
 follow, that the Holy Ghoft, proceeding from the Fa- 
 ther, proceeds equally from the Son, by whom Paul 
 declares himfelf to be perfuaded. 
 
 " That I fhould be the minifter of Jefus Chrift to the 
 Gentiles, miniftering the gofpel of God," Rom. xv. 16. 
 He goes on to fay, that, according to this appointment, 
 " from Jerufalem and round about unto lllyricum, I 
 have fully preached the gofpel of Chrift," Rom. xv. 19 j 
 but he declines boafting of the mighty figns and won- 
 ders which he did in confirmation of this gofpel by 
 the power of the fpirit of God. The grace which was 
 given to him, that he fhould be a minifter of Chriir, 
 is that wherein he fays he may glory, and not in the 
 miracles he had wrought, which, however, he declares 
 to be the work of Chrift by the hands of thofe who 
 do them. The gofpel of God is here the gofpel of 
 Chrift, that which is God's is not another's : Jefus 
 Chrift is therefore one with the Father, God. 
 
 " The churches of Chrift falute you," Rom. xvi. 16. 
 " Paul called to be an apoftle of Jefus Chrift, through 
 the will of God, and Softhenes our brother, unto the 
 church of God which is at Corinth," i Cor. i. r, 2. 
 It is remarkable that St. Paul wrote from Corinth to 
 Rome, and in his epiftle thence calls the churches there 
 the churches of Chrift ; and that when he is at another 
 time writing to the very fame churches which he had fo 
 O denominated,
 
 denominated, he addrefles himfelf " to the church of 
 God which is at Corinth," and defcribes the members 
 of this church to be " fancUfied in Chrift Jefus, called 
 to be faints, and calling tipon the name of the Lord Je- 
 fus, both theirs and ours." There is but one church- 
 of God, and that is of Chrift who is called upon in it: 
 Jefus Chrift is therefore one with the Father, God. 
 44 Grace be unto you," fays St. Paul, immediately af- 
 ter addrcfling the church which called upon the Lord 
 Jefus, whom he profefles to be his Lord and theirs, 
 " and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord 
 Jefus Chrift;" and then he proceeds, " I thank my 
 God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which 
 is given you by Jefus Chrift," i Cor. i. 3, 4. This 
 K a very extraordinary gift for our Saviour to make if 
 it v/as not his to give; but he has given it. The grace 
 of God is therefore the grace of our Lord Jefus Chrift, 
 with the Father, one God". 
 
 " So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for 
 the coming of our Lord Jefus Chrift : who fhall allb 
 confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blamelefs in 
 the day of our Lord" Jefus Chrift," i Cor. i. 7, 8. 
 " He that judge thme is the Lord. Therefore judge no- 
 thing before the time, until the Lord come, who both 
 will bring to light the hidden things of darknefs, and 
 will make manifeft the counfels of the hearts : and then 
 fhall every man have praife of God," i Cor. iv. 5. 
 That God, for whofe praife Paul is contented to wait, 
 rather than feek the praife of men, is certainly the Lord 
 who will come to judge,, and to make manifeft the 
 counfels of the hearts. But that the Lord who " judg- 
 cth Paul" is the Lord Jefus, whofe coming he defires 
 the Corinthians to wait for, that in his day they may- 
 be found blamelefs, is alfo certain : the conclufion is, 
 that the Lord Jefus Is the Lord, and that " the Lord 
 
 he
 
 [ 7 1 
 
 he Is God ;" and if this needed farther proof, it 
 will appear from the following texts to be the Lord 
 Jefus Chrift whofe praife he defireth : " we are come 
 as far as to you alfo, in preaching the gofpel of Chrift: 
 having hope, when your faith is encreafed, that we 
 fhall be enlarged by you according to our rule abun- 
 dantly, to preach the gofpel in the regions beyond yon, 
 and not to boaft in another man's line of things made- 
 ready to our hand. But he that glorieth, let him glory 
 jn the Lord. For not he that commendeth himfclf is 
 approved, but whom the Lord commejideth, 2 Cor. x. 
 J4 to 1 8. 
 
 '< For it hath been declared unto me, that there are 
 contentions among you. Now this I fay, that every 
 one of you faith, I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and 
 I of Cephas, and I of Chrift. Is Chrift divided ? 
 was Paul crucified for you ? or were ye baptized in the 
 name of Paul ? i Cor. i. u, 12, 13, From Chri it's 
 not being divided, he difluades them from divifions, 
 ver. jo. " Whp then is Paul, and who is Apoilos, 
 but minifters by whom ye believed, even as the Lord 
 gave to every man ? I have planted, Apollos watered : 
 but God gave the encreafe," i Cor. iii. 5, 6. So that 
 God who gave to every man the encreafe, that is, af- 
 fifted them in receiving ihe gofpel, which was planted 
 and watered by Paul and Apollos, is the Lord, ac- 
 cording to whofe gift they believed. Of Jefus Chrift 
 it is faid, that V he fhall confirm them unto the end," 
 i Cor. i. 8. That which was giyen to every man, 
 confirmation in faith, is then the gift c.f Jefus Chrift 
 the Lord, but God gave the encreafe -, therefore Jefus 
 Chrift, the Lord who gave it, is one with the Father, 
 God. 
 
 O2
 
 " I thank God, that I baptized none of you, but 
 Crifpus and Gaius : left any fhould fay, that I had 
 baptized in my own name," I Cor. i. 14, 15. As 
 Jefus Chrift had given command to his difciples to bap- 
 tize " in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy 
 Ghoft," one God; and as they, in obedience to this 
 command, went forth into all nations, baptizing in the 
 name of Jefus Chrift, one with the Father and the II- 
 Jy Ghoft, God, (for I dare not fuppofc them difobedient 
 to the voice of their afcending Lord.) Paul having re- 
 prehended the Corinthians for looking upon him, Apol- 
 los, and Cephas, as equally objects of their adherence 
 as Chrift, who alone was crucified for them, proceeds 
 to return thanks to God that he had not led fuch unfta- 
 ble fouls into farther errour, and by the excrcife of that 
 duty which was to be performed in the name of God, 
 brought them to transfer that divinity to himfelf which 
 belonged to Chrift only ; for if their preaching Chrift 
 crucified could bring his hearers to conceive the preach- 
 ers as Chrift, he eafily faw that baptifm in his name 
 would have induced them to look upon them as bapti- 
 zing in their own name, and afluming to themfelves 
 that Godhead, to the belief in which baptifm was ad- 
 miniftered in the name of Chrift; an errour of fo great 
 magnitude, that the apoftle is very happy in not havin^- 
 afforded occafion for it to men whom he faw fo ready to 
 mifintcrpret the miniftry and apoftlcfhip of the gofpel 
 which he had preached among them. Mr. Lindfey 
 draws a very extraordinary conclufion from the paiTa^e 
 before us, and fays, it affords a proof that " baptizing 
 in the name of any one does not of itfelf imply any 
 divinity in the perfon in whofe name baptifm is made." 
 I requcft that this chapter may be turned to, and refer 
 it to the mcaneft reader, who fhall honour me with a 
 perufal, whether Mr. Lindfey has not fallen into the 
 very errour which St. Paul is here cenfuring in the Co- 
 rinthians j
 
 [ I0 9 ] 
 
 rinthians ; for at the leaft it muft be admitted that Paul's 
 thankfgiving is made either that they did not account 
 him as Chrift, or Chrift as him. 
 
 As I have already proved that it was Jefus Chrift 
 who fent forth the apoftles to preach him, and v/ho had 
 chofen thofe veflcls which (hould bear his name before the 
 Gentiles, I fhall not now repeat the arguments already 
 made ufe of, but defire my reader may compare the paf- 
 fages brought together to that purpofe, with the follow- 
 ing declaration of St. Paul, " that not many wife men 
 after the flefh, not many mighty, not many noble are 
 called. But God hath chofen the foolifh. things of the 
 world, to confound the wife ; and God hath chofen the 
 weak things of the world, to confound the things 
 which are mighty \ that no flefh fhould glory in his 
 prefence," I Cor. i. 26, 27, 28, 29. This he fpeaks 
 of the preachers of the gofpel who had been fent by Je- 
 fus Chrift ; for he fays, " it pleafed God by the fool- 
 ifhnefs of preaching to fave them that believe," I Cor. i. 
 21. Jefus Chrift therefore, who chofe them, and 
 " whofe ftrength is perfected in weaknefs," is one with 
 the Father, God ; who hath chofen the weak things to 
 confound the mighty. " He that glorieth, let him 
 glory in the Lord," i Cor. i. 31, and 2 Cor. x. 17; 
 in which latter place it is evidently fpoken of Jefus 
 Chrift. It is reafonably to be concluded then that he 
 is the Lord, in whom Paul dcfires us to glory ; " as it 
 is written," by Jeremiah, to whom God fpeaks, " let 
 him that glorieth, glory in this*; that he underftandeth 
 and knoweth me, that I am the Lord, which exercife 
 loving-kindnefs, judgement and righteoufnefs in the 
 earth : for in thefe things I delight, faith the Lord.," 
 Jer. ix, 24. 
 
 "Had
 
 [ 1I( ? J 
 
 " Had they known it, they would not have crucihcd 
 the Lord of glory," i Cor. ii. 8. " Ye killed the 
 Prince of Life," or, as it ftands in the margin of the 
 Bible, " the Author of Life." And now, brethren, 
 I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did alfo your 
 rulers," Ads iii. 15,17- " My brethren, have nof 
 the faith of pur Lord Jcfus Chrill the Lord of glory, 
 with refpecl of perfons," James ii. i. In this laft 
 text the tranflation has fupplied the words " the Lord," 
 but the following wprds " of glory," which exprefs the 
 whole meaning in the Greek, require them, or others 
 to the fame purpofe, to exprefs it in Englifh ; and 
 St. Paul's having ufed the whole phrafe is a fufficient 
 warrant to the tranflators for preferring that which 
 they have ufed. And the Lord of Glory is a title not 
 very applicable to a creature ; for God has faid, " I am 
 the Lord, that is my name, and my glory will I nof 
 give to another." " Who is this King of glory r the 
 Lord of Hofts, he is the King of glory," Pfa. xxiv. 10. 
 Who is this Prince and Author of life ? " The Lord 
 God who formed man of the duft of the ground, and 
 breathed into his noilrUs the breath of life," Gen. ii. 7. 
 
 *' We fpcak the wifdom of God in a myftcry." 
 " The things of God knowcth no man, but the fpirit 
 of God." " But God has revealed them unto us by 
 his fpirit :" " we have received, not the fpirit of the 
 world, but the fpirit which is of God :" " but the na- 
 tural man receiveth not tlge things of the fpirit of GoJ ;" 
 " for who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he 
 may inftruct him ? but we have the mind of Chrift," 
 J Cor. ii. 7, to the end. This needs no comment. 
 
 That Chrift himfelf fpoke by the apoftles, is evident 
 from what follows. Paul fays to the Corinthians, 
 44 Now, concerning virgins, I have no commandment 
 
 of
 
 [Ill ] 
 
 bf the Lord: yet I give my judgement as one that hath 
 obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful/' j Cor. viL 
 25. Here the preacher makes a diftinction between 
 that effect which the immediate dictate of the Spirit 
 hud on him, with fhe authority of fpecch derived from 
 thence, and the improvement of his natural judgement 
 by the means of habitual faith, through which indeed 
 he became a wifer and a better man, but not more au- 
 thorized to prefcribe. St. Paul often fpeaks of his ha- 
 ving obtained mercy of Jefus Chrifl, whence it is evi- 
 vent that Chrift is the Lord meant here* " To the 
 Lord our God belong mercies, and forgivenefles." 
 Let him then who extends them be acknowledged to be 
 the God of our falvation. 
 
 St. Paul fays to the Corinthians, *' We know that 
 an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none 
 other God but one/' I Cor. viii. 4. This unity of 
 the Godj of whom, and by whom he declares all 
 things to be, is oppofed to the multitude of idols to 
 which the Corinthians offered facrifice. Thefe he is 
 about to put down, and in their place to eftablifh the 
 worfhip of the true God; and now, if ever accuracy 
 of exprefTion be neceffary, it was incumbent upon St. 
 Paul to difHnguifh between the Father and the Son, in 
 terms never to be confounded, to afcribe fuch attributes 
 to each as muft perfectly diftinguifh him from the 
 other; nay, perhaps he fhould have gone farther, 
 and have abfolutcly omitted the name of him, who was 
 not to be considered as a proper object of worfhip, left 
 his idolatrous hearers, to whom a multitude of gods 
 would not have been exceptionable, fhould interpret 
 his words into an implication, that he, who was de- 
 fcribed to them with attributes the very fame as thofe 
 bcftowed upon God, was pointed out as an object of 
 adoration, inftead of the idols which they heard him
 
 I "2 ] 
 
 object to, and inflead of which he was about to fubftN- 
 tute a God for them. Has this been the conduct of 
 the apoftle? has he diligently withheld the name of Je- 
 fus Chrift, while he recommends a new worfhip? If 
 not, I think it reafonably to be concluded, that he did 
 recommend the worfhip of Jefus Chrift to them, to 
 whom he fays, " though there be that are called Godsj 
 whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be Gods ma- 
 ny, and Lords many) but to us there is but one God, 
 the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him ; 
 and One Lord Jefus Chrift, by whom are all things, 
 and we by him," i Cor. viii. 6. To me this text ap- 
 pears conclufive for the one Godhead of the Fa- 
 ther and of the Son. In the fame manner Paul 
 and Barnabas, after they had at Lyftra, " preached 
 the gofpel," and, by a miracle of healing, confirmed 
 the teitimony which they bore to the truth of their 
 doctrines, and had received divine honours from the 
 idolaters of the country, diiluade them from doino- 
 facrifice unto them, but " preached unto them, that 
 they fhould turn from thefe vanities unto the livin? 
 God, which made heaven and earth, and the fea, and 
 all things that are therein," Acts xiv. 7, 15. I 
 fhall here take occafiort to obfcrve, upon a very parti- 
 cular mode of argument, made ufe of by Mr. Lindfey, 
 in order to get rid of the conclufion, which naturally 
 follows from the application of the fame attributes to 
 the name of the Father^ and of the Son, fo frequently 
 made by the difciples of our Lord. " The apoftles," 
 fays this gentleman, Apology, p. 132, " were not fo 
 exact in the ufe of the words, Lord, Saviour, and the 
 ///*, which they indifferently give both to God and to 
 Chrift, never fuppofing that any would miftuke their 
 Lord and Mafter fo lately born, and living amongft 
 men, to be the fuprcme God and object of worfhip." 
 If the apoftles, who, it is allowed, forelaw that men 
 
 would
 
 [ "3 1 
 
 would in future time depart from the truth, and, as 
 Mr. Lindfey fays, adopt a trinity from Plato, never 
 conceived the pofiibility of fuch a miftake 5 they Were, 
 of all men, not only the tnoft carelefs and inattentive, 
 but the moft heinoufly fmful ; for they finned againft 
 the Holy Ghoft, whole infpiration had given them a 
 a view into futurity, and that for the purpofe of ma- 
 king them inftrumental to the propagation and fupport 
 of truth only ; but they have moft wickedly neglected 
 this firft caufe of their appointment; and mifreprefen- 
 tation, inftead of being the fault of our perverfe wills, 
 muft hereafter be afcribed to the infufficiency of reve- 
 latioiij to the incompetency of thofe whom God's 
 choice had pronounced competent, or to their wilful 
 omiffion of that duty, to which God had been pleafed 
 to call them, and affift them with a " guide to all 
 truth" for our inftru&ion. I refer it to reafon, whe- 
 ther common attributes do not imply, nay more, do 
 not evince, a common nature, and if to be our Lord, 
 and our Saviour, and the like^ be equally the attributes 
 of God, and of the Son, whether the Son be not 
 therefore God ? 
 
 But thefe fame apoftles, according to Mr. Lindfey, 
 not endowed with a prophetick view, but not even 
 fuppofmg a miftake poffible, muft have been very ex- 
 traordinary reafoners, though they even derived their 
 confidence, that v/e fhould not conclude the God- 
 head of Chrift from their application of the divine 
 attributes to his name, from the circumftances of his 
 having been born, and fo lately living amongft men. 
 Will any man pretend that the birth and life of our 
 Saviour were fuch as mould mark his nature to be 
 no more than that of the reft of mankind ? his death, 
 his refurredlion from the dead, and his afcenfion into 
 heaven, followed immediately by the gift of the Holy 
 P Ghoft,
 
 [ "4] 
 
 Ghoft, according to his promife, might alfo lead the 
 apoftlcs to confider, and preach him as fomething more 
 than an ordinary man ; nay, that very birth which Mr. 
 Lindfey thinks a proof that he was a meer man, the 
 apoftles, who have related it to us, knew to have been 
 of a Virgin found with child of the Holy Ghoft, and" 
 overfhadowed by the power of the Higheft, and that 
 the Holy Thing, which was born of that Virgin, was 
 declared to be the Son of God. They alfo knew that 
 life, which- he paft amongft men, to have been fpent 
 in daily miracles, to have been fo interrupted, and fo 
 refumed, that it is aftonifhing to hear the birth and 
 life of our Saviour made ufe of as a reafon why we 
 fliould doubt the veracity of the apoftles, when they 
 declare him to be God, and why they fhould not have 
 conceived it neeeffary to mark fuch a diftinction as 
 fhould preclude the poflibility of fo momentous an errour, 
 if an errour it be to afcribe divinity to him, inftead of 
 ufmg an inaccurate expreffion, whereby we fliould be 
 led into an opinion that he is God. From that very 
 birth and life, teftifying whence, and with what en- 
 dowments he came, I am led to interpret even ambi- 
 guous expreffions as atteftations of his Godhead, much 
 more to yield my a/Tent to fuch as are perfectly expli- 
 cit, and declare it without any ambiguity at all ; of 
 the latter fort there are multitudes, from which the 
 former derive their explanation; for if it be in one in- 
 ftance declared exprefsly, that " Chrift is over all, God 
 blefled for ever," it will be no difficulty to redeem 
 the names of the difciples of our Lord from the cruel 
 charge of having lied to the Holy Ghoft, or neglect- 
 ingly rejected the conduct of this " guide to all truth;" 
 and when they have ufed the words, Lord, and Savi- 
 our, and the like, and indifferently given them both to 
 God, and to Chrift, to declare that they have inten- 
 tionally done it, in order to inculcate the doctrine of 
 
 our
 
 ur blefled Redeemer's divinity, inftead of imputing to 
 thefe infpired men a criminal inaccuracy, the confe- 
 xjuence of which could not efcape the forefight of the 
 meaneft human underftanding. " Ye know that ye 
 were GentHes, carried away unto thefe dumb idols, even 
 as ye were led. Wherefore I give you to underftand, 
 that no man fpeaking by the fpirit of God, callcth Je- 
 fus accurfed, and that no man can fay that Jefus is 
 the Lord, but by the Holy Ghoft," i Cor. xii. 2, 3. 
 *' God is not the author of confufion," i Cor, xiv. 33. 
 I fhall therefore rely upon the identity of exprellion 
 jufed in fpeaking of God and of Chrift, as proof of the 
 identity of the Godhead of the Father and of the 
 Son; and as the paflages occur, in which fuch lan- 
 guage is ufed, I fliall quote them as teftimonies of it. 
 
 Speaking of the Sacrifices of the Gentiles, which he 
 fays were offered not to God but to devils, St. Paul 
 fays, " Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the 
 cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's ta- 
 ble, and of the table of devils," i Cor. x. 20. 21. 
 Here is manifeftly a declaration made, that the taking 
 the cup of bleffing, and the bread which we break, as 
 the communion of the blood and body of Chrift, is an 
 act of worfhip to him, adequate to that of the Gen- 
 tiles' facrifices to their idols. He does not indeed call 
 it a facrifice, nor intimate that it is one, but fays, that 
 it is an afcribing of honour to him, inconfiftent with 
 honour being paid to devils. In the fame manner as 
 our Saviour himfelf has faid, " Ye cannot (erve God 
 and mammon," St. Paul fhews. that they cannot, con- 
 f$tntly with the worfhip of the true God, afciibe 
 honour to idols. c< What concord hath Chrift with 
 Belial ? or what part hath he that believeth, with an 
 ^nfidel ? and what agreement hath the temple of God 
 P 2 with
 
 with idols ? for ye arc the temple of the living God, &c." 
 2 Cor. vi. 15, 16. 
 
 " We preach not ourfelves, but Chrift Jcfus the 
 Lord,-' 2 Cor. iv. 5. Thefe words I produce only to 
 fhcw the object of the apoftle's preaching, a circum- 
 ftance to which I am frequently obliged to refer. 
 Paul has alfo defined the gofpel to be " the tJlimony 
 of our Lord Jefus Chrift," 2 Tim. i. 8. The preach- 
 ing of the gofpel is therefore the bearing teftimony to 
 him, which I wifh to have remembered and carried on 
 in the mind of my reader. 
 
 Were I to quote every pafTage in the fecond epiftle 
 of St. Paul to the Corinthians that affords a proqf 
 of our Saviour's Godhead, I fhould be under a nc- 
 ceffity of tranfcribing the whole epiftle, to which I 
 therefore choofe to refer my reader. One paflage 
 however I muft fcle&, and fhew its weight in the 
 argument, becaufe Mr. Lindfey has taken foine pains 
 to extricate himfelf from the neceffity of bending un- 
 der it. It is indeed furprizing, that a man who has 
 {hewed fo evidently his attachment to what he believes 
 the truth, fhould not be more circumfpecl: in the pur- 
 fuit of her, but allow himfelf to be deceived by every 
 painted fallacy that fhall appear ever fo little like the 
 original. I am at a lofs to conceive how the following 
 daubed mafic fhould be taken for the native and un- 
 adorned fimplicity of truth, by one who profefies himfrlf 
 enamoured of thut fimplicity. But upon the I2th chap, 
 and 8, g ver. of 2 Cor. a Mr. Bcaufobre has afforded 
 the following comment, to which Mr. Lindfey acced/s 
 with the moft fupine facility. " For this thing I be- 
 fought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me," 
 2 Cor. xii. 8, 9. " Paul appears here to have directed 
 lib prayer to God, the P'ather, and to have had in his 
 
 thoughts
 
 thoughts and to have imitated our Lord's prayer in the 
 garden, the night before his fuffsring, when he prayed 
 to God, that, if it pleafed him, the cup of afHi&lon 
 might pafs away from him without his drinking it." 
 Beattfibre on the place. Apology, p. 132. Let us 
 taice the whole paflage together, and examine it with 
 the context, and then fee whether the apoftle had any 
 fuch ftuff in his thoughts as the dreams of Mr. Beau- 
 
 O 
 
 fobre are made of. St. Paul having faid, " of myfelf 
 
 1 will not glory, but in mine infirmities," proceeds 
 to give an account of thofe infirmities, and to affign 
 the reafon why they are an object of glory to him, fay- 
 ing, " left I mould be exalted above meafure through 
 the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me 
 a thorn in the flem, the mefleno-er of Satan to buffet 
 
 * O 
 
 me, left I fhould be exalted above meafure. For this 
 thing I befought the Lord thrice, that it might depart 
 from me. And he faid unto me, my grace is fufficient 
 for thee : for my ftrength is made perfect in weaknefs. 
 Moft gladly therefore will I rather glory in mine infir- 
 mities, that the power of Chrift may reft upon me. 
 Therefore I take pleafure in infirmities, in reproaches, 
 in neceffities, in perfecutions, in diftrefles for Chrift's 
 fake : for when I am weak, then am I ftrong," 
 
 2 Cor. xii. 5, 7, 8, 9, TO. Wherefore docs St. Paul 
 glory? wherefore take pleafure in his infirmities ? that 
 the power of Chrift may reft upon him ; for, by 
 fufFering fuch infirmities as contribute to perfect the 
 ftrength of the Lord (to whom he prayed) in weak- 
 nefs, he is then ftrong when he is weak : but he glo- 
 ries in his infirmities for Chrift's fake ; it is the ftrength 
 of Chrift then that is perfecbd in his weaknefs : but it 
 is the Lord who faid, my ftrength is made perfect in 
 weaknefs; the Loid therefore who fo fpoko, i c Chrift: 
 but of the Lord who fo fpoke, Paul thrice b:fought 
 the departure of " this thing." The Lord then being
 
 Chr'rft, and Paul having thrice preferred his {appli- 
 cations to him, it neceflarily follows, that the Lord 
 Jcfus Chrift is a proper object of prayer and religious 
 xvorfhip, and therefore that he is one with the Father, 
 God. Such is the conclufion from the context j 
 whereas a delufive aflcrtion is inferred by a Mr. Beau- 
 fobre, from a partial quotation of but one fmall part 
 of the paflage, in itfelf proving nothing, but made 
 the fubject of the weakeft comment that ever obtained 
 the acquiefcence of a man of virtue ; a man, whofe 
 errors afflict me, as I honour his worth. I cannot 
 fee him turn afide from the ftudy of the word of God 
 itfelf, to the ftudy of the manner in which partial vi- 
 fionaries have interpreted it, without fenfible regret. 
 I do not defire that even my comment fhould fupplant 
 a fingle inference drawn by a fenfible and candid man, 
 from a perufal of the fcriptures themfelves; it can- 
 not therefore be expected that I ftiall indulge Mr. Lind- 
 fey in laying afide the ufe of his own better under- 
 ilanding, that he may adopt the doctrines of a multi- 
 tude of defigning or filly men and women upon whom 
 he places fuch implicit reliance. I only afk of him, 
 and every other reader, that they will take the uncor- 
 rupted word of God itfelf into their own confideration, 
 and, with diligence, fearch the fcriptures only, and 
 thence deduce, for their own ufe, fuch tenets as the 
 Holy Spirit (hall be found to have teftified. 
 
 St. Paul, in his epiftle to the Galatians, commences 
 with a declaration that he is " an apoftle (not of men, 
 neither by man, but by Jefus Chrift, and God the Fa- 
 ther,") Gal. i. i. Here the Father and Son are put into 
 oppofition to man, and declared to be the Being from 
 whom the apoftle had his authority ; and he declares 
 farther, that " the gofpel which was preached of me, 
 is not after man. For I neither received it of man, 
 
 neither
 
 t "9 1 
 
 neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jefui 
 Chrift," Gal. i. n, 12. Who then is Jefus Chrift 
 who has thus revealed the gofpel to Paul, and whofe 
 authority is fo very high above that of men ? One with 
 the Father j God. 
 
 " For do I now perfuade men, or God ? or do I 
 feek to pleafe men ? for if I yet pleafed men, I mould 
 not be the fervant of Chrift," Gal. i. 10. This is in 
 context wkh the laft cited paflages, and the apoftle, {till 
 preferving the diftinclion between God and man, (hews 
 the Galatians the authority with which he is about to 
 reprove them, and, that they may not expect too great 
 lenity, he fhews that he does not feek to pleafe them, 
 but Chrift, whofe fervant he fhould not be if he neg- 
 lected to maintain that gofpel which fome among them 
 had perverted. He diftinguifhes himfelf from thofe who 
 ** defire to make a fair fhew in the flem, left they 
 fhould fuffer perfecution for the crofs of Chrift," 
 Gal. vi. 12 ; whereas " he bore in his body the marks 
 of the Lord Jefus," ver. 17. 
 
 " God hath fent forth the fpirit of his Son into your 
 hearts, crying, Abba, Father," Gal. iv. 6. There 
 is fomething very remarkable in the courfe of St. Paul's 
 argument here, and the manner in which he has afcend- 
 ed to the aflertion before us. He is mewing that the 
 law was given as " a fchoolmafter to bring us unto 
 Chrift, that we might be juftified by faith," that it was 
 given in the interval of time,, between the promife and 
 the time of fulfilling it ; but by no means with a view 
 of fupplying the place of that which was promifed, for 
 it was impoflible that a law could be given by which 
 righteoufnefs could come; he farther fays, that, being 
 juftified by faith, the tuition of the law became unne- 
 neflary, and that being therefore emancipated from the 
 
 bondage
 
 t I2 J 
 
 bondage of the Law; " we arc made the children of 
 God, by faith in Chrift Jclus :" and now he fays, that 
 the fullnefs of time being come, " God fent forth his 
 Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to re- 
 deem them that were under the law, that we might re- 
 ceive the adoption of fons." Is not ftlis affigning a rca- 
 fon wherefore Chrift took: manhood, and particularly 
 why he was fent to the loft fhcep of the houfe of Ifrael ? 
 But he has, according to " the gofpel, preached before 
 to Abraham," Gal. iii. 8, fuffered, and redeemed them, 
 whereby they have been juftified by faith, and by faith 
 to j unification become children of God ; and what is 
 now the procefs ? After we have received the adoption 
 of fons, the fpirit is fent forth into our hearts to make 
 us acknowledge him to be God, whom, till he had fo 
 redeemed us to faith, we had only feen to be a man, 
 " made of a woman, under the law." In the paflage be- 
 fore us we are told, that God fent forth the fpirit of his 
 Son ; and by the fame preacher it is declared to the 
 Romans, that it is by " the fpirit of him that raifed 
 Jcfus from the dead, that we are led, in order to be the 
 fons of God, and that by this fpirit of adoption we cry, 
 Abba, Father," Rom. viii. n, 14, 15. That fpirit, 
 which raifeJ Jefus from the dead, is therefore that 
 eternal, and invifible, and incomprehenfible God, who 
 was in union with him, while he was living, and 
 who again refumed our nature upon its refurreclion 
 from the grave. " No man can fay that Jefus is the 
 Lord but by the Holy Ghoft," i Cor. xii. 3. Through 
 faith then, having received the adoption of fens, and 
 by the fpirit of our blefied Redeemer fent forth into our 
 hearts, let us, without hefitation, cry to him, " Abba, 
 Father," and addrefs the Lord's prayer to him, through 
 whom, and by whom only, we have been called fons, 
 and are enabled to fay, " that Jefus is the Lord," " our 
 Father." I muft obferve here, that as St. Paul was 
 
 preaching
 
 preaching to men difpofed to Judaifin and the do&rines 
 of the law, the fpirit of adoption, fent after juftification 
 by faith in Chrift Jefus, was by no means neceflkry to 
 induce them to cry Abba, Father, to the God of the 
 Unitarians; for this they were difpofed to do before, 
 and not to recede from it. Somewhat not acceded to by 
 the followers bf Mdfcs was then the doclrine of the 
 apoftle of Jefus Chrift ; and he therefore teaches, that 
 by faith in him they are juftified, and thereby receive 
 the fpirit by which they cry to him Abba, Father. 
 
 " In whom we have redemption thrdugh his blood, 
 the forgivenefs of fins, according to the riches of his 
 grace," Eph. i. 7. " Unto me; who am lefs than the 
 leaft of all faints, is this grace given, that I fhould 
 preach among the Gentiles the unfearchable riches of 
 Chrift," Eph. iii. 8. " For this caufe I bow my knec.s 
 unto the Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift, of whom 
 the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that 
 he would grant you according to the riches of his 
 glory," Eph. iii. 14, 15, 16. " Or'defpifeft thou 
 the riches of his goodnefs, and forbearance, artd long- 
 fuffering ; not knowing that the goodnefs of God lead- 
 eth thee to repentance ?" Rom. ii. 4. "What if God, &c. 
 that he might make known the riches of his glory," 
 Rom. ix. 23. The riches of God and of Chrift are 
 here made fynpnimous terms, and furely the riches of 
 grace, and of glory, and of long-fuffering, can only be 
 the attributes of God. But left it mould be doubted 
 what are the Unfearchable riches of Chrift, St. Paul 
 fays, that he prays, that his hearers "may be able to 
 comprehend with all faints, what is the breadth, and 
 length, and depth, and height; and to know the 
 love of Chrift, which pafieth knowledge, that ye may 
 be filled with all the fulnefs of God," Eph. iii. 18, 19 : 
 fo that all the fulnefs of God, and the knowledge of 
 Q. the
 
 t 122 ] 
 
 the love of Chrift, are again made fynonimous terms. 
 But this fulntfs of God is attained only by having 
 " Chrift to dwell in our hearts by faith," Eph. iii. 17 ; 
 and then when we have attained this, and " come in 
 the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the 
 Son of God," what is the confeque nee ? are we then 
 " filled with all the fulnefs of God?" moft certainly 
 we are, for we come ** unto a perfect man, unto the 
 meafure of the ftature of the fulnefs of Chrift," Eph. iv, 
 13. Unto himfelf St. Paul fays this knowledge was 
 given, that he might preach the myftery of Chrift to 
 the Gentiles, that they fhould be partakers of the pro- 
 mife in Chrift by the gofpe}, " whereof I was made a 
 minifter,- according to the gift of the grace of God 
 given unto me/' Eph. Hi. 7. " But unto every one of 
 us is given grace according to the meafure of the gift 
 of Chrift," Eph. iv, 7, " O the depth of the riches 
 both of the wifdom and knowledge of God ! how un- 
 fearchable are his judgements, and his ways paft find- 
 in^ out ! for who hath known the mind of the Lord, 
 or who hath been his counfelJour r" Rom. xi. 33, 34. 
 Thefe laft words afford at once an argument, and no 
 uriufeful k-flbn to a reader of the word of the God of 
 truth. 
 
 " When he afcended up on high, he led captivity 
 captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he af- 
 cended, what is it but that he allb defcendcd firft into- 
 the lower parts of the earth ? He that defcendcd, is the 
 fame alfo that afcended up far above all heavens, that 
 he might fill all things") Eph. iv. 8, 9, 10. St. Paul 
 feems here to enter into the argument, and by the man- 
 ner in which he puts the above aflertions, to have con- 
 fronted himfelf to Mr. Lindfey ; from which I con- 
 clude that he had at leaft an equal forefight of the 
 Lindfeian, as of the Platonick fchifm. He forefaw 
 
 that
 
 t "3 1 
 
 that our Lord's pre-exiftence would be denied, and has 
 therefore made his afcent a proof that he had before 
 .defcended to the earth, (for that is all that is meant by 
 the lower parts of the earth) and had again returned to 
 where he had been before, to heaven. (For that in the 
 fame manjner is all that is meant by, far above all hea- 
 vens ; and the two terms are ufed in order ftrongly to 
 contraft his dignity and condefcenfton.) He forefaw 
 that his divinity would be denied, and has therefore 
 lifted him far above the heayens, and extended him 
 even that he might fill ali things. Let us then 
 " henceforth be no more children, tofled to and fro, 
 and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the 
 fleight of the men, and cunning craftinefs, whereby 
 they lie in wait to deceive. But fpeaking the truth 
 in love, grow up into him in all things, which is the 
 Head, even Chrift," Eph. iv. 14, 15. 
 
 " Servants, be obedient to theni that are your mafters 
 according to the flefh, with fear and trembling, in 
 finglenefs of your heart, as unto Chrift : not with 
 eye-fervice, as men pJeafe.rs, but as the fervanti of 
 Chrift, doing the will of God from the heart ; with 
 good will doing fervice, as to the Lord, and not to 
 men: knowing that whatfoever good thing any man 
 doeth, the fame fhall he receive of the Lord, whe- 
 ther he be bond or free," Eph. vi. 5, 6, 7, 8. If 
 >vords could be found more explicitly declaring that 
 the fervant of Chrift and of God is one, whilft " no 
 man can ferve two mafters ;" and alfo that the fervice 
 done as to the Lord, is diftinct from that which is 
 done to pleafe men, I ihould endeavour to paraphrafe 
 this pafiage. I (hall only now remark, that, in' a 
 parallel pailage to the Coloflian fervants, he fays, 
 inftead of " with fear and trembling, in finglenefs 
 of heart, as unto Chrift ;" " not with cye-fervice, 
 Q 2 as
 
 as men pleafers, but in fingleuefs of heart, fearing 
 God," Colo!!", iii. 32. 
 
 " Who being in the form of God, thought it not 
 robbery to be equal with God : but made himfelf of no 
 reputation, and took upon him the form of a fervant, 
 and was made in the likenefs of men: and bein^ found 
 
 O 
 
 in fafhion as a man, he humbled himfelf, and became 
 obedient unto death, even the death of the crofc," 
 Phillip, ii. 6, 7, 8. If Mr. Lindfey, who denies 
 not that Jefus Chrift was a man, will not deny that 
 he is here declared to be fuch, I think he cannot 
 deny that he is here declared to be God : for if the 
 xvords the form of a fervant^ the likenefs of men, and 
 the fajhion of man, be exactly of the fame import as 
 an. aiTertion that he was actually a man, it neceflarily 
 follows, that the fr.r.ilar exprefiion, " being in the 
 form of God," muft have a fimilar interpretation, and 
 fignify that he is actually God; and from the whole 
 paflage our Saviour's pre-exiftence (in a ftate of glory) 
 to the time of his being " made man" is fo necefla- 
 rily deducible, that it cannot be avoided ; the conde- 
 fcenfion of Chrift, eciual with God, in taking on him 
 a nature fo inferior as that of man, being the propofed 
 example of humility, by which we are exhorted to be 
 humble. If this text ftood without another to fupport 
 it, it is conclusive for the Godhead of Jefus Chrifr. 
 Being in the form, of God, having the fame meaning 
 as the being actually God, we are thereby enabled to 
 interpret St. Paul's aflertion that our Saviour " is the 
 image of the invifible God," ColofT. i. 15 ; and many 
 other paflages declaring him to be " in the form of God." 
 
 " For our converfation is in heaven, from whence 
 alfo we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jefus Chrift," 
 Philip, iii. 20. St. Paul having declared that his expec- 
 tation
 
 tation of the Saviour is from heaven, pronounces the 
 Saviour tq be Jefus Chrift-, but to Timothy he fays, 
 that he is '" an apoftle of Jefus Chrift by the command- 
 ment of God our Saviour," i Tim. i. i. That pray- 
 ers and Applications, and giving of thanks for all men, 
 " is good and acceptable in the fight of God our Savi- 
 our, i Tim. ii. 3. " We truft in the living God, who 
 is the Saviour of all men, fpecially of thofe that be- 
 lieve," i Tim. iv. 10. And to Titus he fays, that God 
 *' hath in due times manifefted his word through preach- 
 ing, which is committed unto me, according to the 
 commandment of God our Saviour," Titus i. 3 : fo 
 that God our Saviour, is the Saviour whofe corning 
 from heaven Paul looked for, even Jefus Chriii-, one 
 with the Father ; that God who committed the preach- 
 in of his word, and the manifeftation of himfelf to 
 
 O 
 
 be made in due time, faying, '* I am Jefus whom thou 
 perfecuteft," Ab ix. 5. 
 
 " Who is the firft-born of every creature," Col. ?. 
 
 15. Inftead of conceiving that thefe words in the leaft 
 decree derogate from the dignity of Chrift as God, oj 
 in the leaft point him out to be even the firjl and 
 pure/} Creature of God, I believe them to have the 
 very reverfe tendency ; for from the context we may 
 find St. Paul ufmg the benefit of our redemption thro* 
 the blood of Chrift, which he declares to be forgive- 
 nefs of fins, deliverance from the power of darknefs, and 
 tranflation into the kingdom of the Son, by whom he 
 fays, " were all things created that are in heaven, and 
 that are in earth, vifible and invifible, whether they be 
 thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all 
 things were created -.y him, and for him, and he is be- 
 fore all things, and by him all things confift," Col. i. 
 
 1 6, 17. And this redemption, which is afforded to us, 
 the apoftle teftifics to be by the blood of the Son, who 
 
 is
 
 is the " firft-born of every creature." By the facrincc 
 of Chrift, and by the fufficiency of his body once of- 
 fered, we find the daily facrifice for the people taken 
 away, and a full atonement made at once: by his daily 
 prophecies, we find the deftru&ion of the Jewifh tem- 
 ple, and confequently of the Jewifh ritual at hand j 
 and the event foon juftified the prophecy: we find therr 
 altars and offerings aboliftied, and their nation ceafe to 
 be a people peculiar to God: but we find alfo the 
 adoption of all mankind to be, as it were, the children 
 of the promife through faith. Now, as the entire hif- 
 tory of the Jewifh nation is a typical prophecy of our 
 bleffed Saviour's incarnation, fufferings, and the adop-j 
 tion of all mankind thro' him, and that their peculiar 
 fanclity was maintained by blood, and by facriHces ; fo 
 we find, that this blood, and thefe facrifices were a 
 type of the facrifice to be made for all mankind in order 
 to their adoption; for, as the facrifice was for aa 
 atonement for the fins and crrours of the people, fo is 
 the facrifice of Chrift once offered an atonement for 
 the fins of thole who were thereby adopted. But we 
 find alfo, that the Jews were to be fan&ified by the 
 offering up of the firft-born to God ; and among other 
 parts of their ritual, this fanftificatior,, now no longer 
 ferviceable, was to be fet afide ; that event, of which 
 it was a type, having taken place, and our fanftification 
 to God, by the offering up of Jefus Chrift to be " the 
 firft-born of every creature" being accompliflied. But 
 it may be faid, that the offering of the firft-born child 
 was long before fet afide, and a compenfation taken by 
 God, who accepted of the whole tribe of Levi to be 
 fervitors in the fervice of the ark, and afterwards of the 
 temple, inftead of the firft-born child through Ifrael. 
 But this very compenfation being now to be fet afide, 
 the newly adopted world required a firft-born after the 
 type of Ifrael, and found it accordingly in Chrift Jefus, 
 
 who
 
 v/ho not only gave himfelf for the whole of mankind*,- 
 to be " the firft-born of every creature," but alfo has, 
 inftead of the Levitical priefthood, flood forth himfeff 
 to be an High-prieft for us, whom he hath bought with 
 his blood. If this interpretation of the words before 
 us, which is altogether confonant to the do&rine of St. 
 Paul to the Hebrews, by whofe rites he declares oar 
 Saviour's facrifice forefhewed, be not accepted, let the 
 " firft-born of every creature" be referred to a declara- 
 tion in a few verfes after, that Jefus Chrift is " the 
 hrft-born from the dead," Col. i. 18. Words fpoken 
 with refpccl to his refurredlion, whereby our refurfe&ion 
 to life eternal thro' him is obtained, as he has become 
 the Captain of our falvation, our Leader to a triumph 
 over death and the grave, the firft-born of a regenerate 
 world. No man who ever read the context, and faw 
 thefe words joined to a declaration, that by Jefus 
 Chrift all things were made, and that by him all things 
 confift, &c. could conceive them intended to convey 
 an idea that <* the Creator of all things that are in hea- 
 ven, and that are in earth, vifible and invifible," was 
 no more than a mecr Creature, and the work of his 
 own hands. Some other meaning correfponding to the 
 general fenfe of the apoftle muft be fought for, and I 
 fincerely think that I have affixed the true one to the 
 words before us, and am certain that, if I have not, I 
 have not deviated farther from it than they who tranf- 
 late " firft-born" into " firft-made." Companion for 
 the unhappy Servetus feems altogether to have abforbed 
 Mr. Lindfey's attention ; his death is made into a mar- 
 tyrdom, and his martyrdom into an argument fufEcient 
 to make any thing St. Paul fays on this fubjeft altoge- 
 ther unnece/Tary to be enquired into. The little paf- 
 fuge is taken apart, and an interpretation fattened upon 
 it, which, when it is reftored to its original connee-. 
 tion, it altogether rejects. 
 
 The
 
 The following is an explicit declaration that Jeta*: 
 Chrift is both God and Man, " For in him dwelleth 
 all the fulnefs of the Godhead bodily," Col. ii. 9. 
 
 To forgive fins is the peculiar attribute of him to 
 whom belong mercies and forgivenefs ; and according- 
 ly we are called upon by St. Paul to " put on (as the 
 elect of God, holy and beloved) bowels of mercvi 
 kindnefs, humblenefs of mind, meeknefs,' Ibng-fuffer- 
 tng; forbearing one another, and forgiving bite ano- 
 ther, if any man have a quarrel againft any : even a 1 ', 
 Chrift forgave you, fo alfo do ye," Col. iii. 12, 13. 
 This pafllige is immediately preceded by a declaration} 
 that " Chrift is all in all/' 
 
 " Of the Lord ye fhall receive the reward of thr 
 inheritance: for ye ferve the Lord Chrift. But he 
 that doeth wrong, fhall receive for the wrong which* 
 he hath done : and there is no refpecl of pcrfons," 
 Col. iii. 24, 25. Before whom is there ho refpecl of 
 perfons ? certainly before him who is to deal out the 
 reward impartially, whom we ferve; but we are told 
 that " God will render to every man according to his 
 deeds," " for there is no refpeft of perfons with God," 
 Rom. ii. 5, n. And in the Ephefians, St. Paul fays, 
 having called us firft " fervaflts of Ghriftj" " your 
 Mafter alfo is iri heaven, neither is there refpecl of 
 perfons with him," Eph. vi. 6, g. And accordingly 
 we find St. James fay, " My brethren, have not the 
 faith of our Lord Jefus Chrift, the Lord of glory, 
 with refpecl of perfons," James ii. i. 
 
 To the Theflalonians, St. Paul fays, c< We were 
 bold in our God, to fpeak unto you the gofpel of God, 
 with much contention," I Theff. ii. 2. *' We were 
 willing to have imparted unto you, not the gofpel of 
 
 God
 
 'God only, but alfo our own fouls," " for labouring 
 niffht and day, becaufe we would not be chargeable 
 unto any of you, we preached unto you the gofpel of 
 God," i ThefT. ii. 8, 9. " and fent Timotheus our 
 brother and minifter of God, arid our fellow labourer in 
 the gofpel of Chrift, to eftablifh you, and to comfort you 
 concerning your faith," i Their, iii. 2. If Chrift be 
 not God, is this the method of eftabliftiing their faith ? 
 ho, but of (baking it to its foundation, for the idea 
 that he is God is fuggefted by it. Either St. Paul in- 
 tended to inculcate that doctrine, or he did not; if he 
 did, we muft accede to it; if he did not, he has lied 
 to the Holy Ghoft, given " to guide him into all 
 truth," John xvi. 13. or the fpirit of truth has, by in- 
 accuracy, deceived and dealt by our faith with duplicity. 
 But as Paul has declared his exhortation to have been 
 *' not of deceit, nor of uncleannefs, nor in guile," 
 i Theff. ii. 3. I will believe that this eloquent apoftle 
 fpoke the dictate of the fpirit without ambiguity; and 
 though Mr. Lindfey has charged the appointed witnef- 
 fes of our blefled Redeemer with equivocation, I am 
 confident he will not blafphemoufly dare to impute 
 iaifehood to the fpirit of truth itfelf. If Paul then 
 ipeaking, with the Holy Ghoft, has fuggefted that 
 Chrift is God, we muft neceflarily believe that he 
 meant to inculcate that doctrine, and therefore that Je- 
 ius Chrift is one* with the Father, God. 
 
 Reminding the Theflalonians of his former lefibns, 
 St. Paul lays, " For ye know what commandments we 
 gave you by the Lord Jefus. For this is the will of 
 God," i Theft, iv. 2, 3. He then proceeds to inftruct 
 them in brotherly love, as the will of God, the com- 
 mandment of the Lord Jefus. 
 
 R "It
 
 tc It is a righteous thing with God to rccompence 
 tribulation to them that trouble you j and to you who 
 arc troubled, reft with us, when the Lord Jefus fhall 
 be revealed from heaven, with his mighty angels, in 
 flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know 
 not God, and obey not the gofpel of our Lord Jefus 
 Chrift: who fhall be punifhed with cverlafting deftruc- 
 tion from the prefencc of the Lord, and from the glory 
 of his power; when he fhall come to be glorified in 
 his faints, and to be admired in all them that believe 
 (becaufe our teftimony among you was believed) in that 
 day", 2 Theflf. i. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. Seeing then that Jefus 
 Chrift is revealed from heaven, taking vengeance, and 
 deftroying by everlafting expulfion from before the pre- 
 fence of the glory of his power; is not he that God 
 with whom it is a righteous thing to recompence tribu- 
 lation to them that trouble, to them* that know him not 
 to be God in obedience to the gofpel of our Lord Jefus 
 Chrift, " that the name of our Lord Jefus Chrift may 
 be glorified r" See the entire chapter. The glorifica- 
 tion of the name of our blcfTed Lord gives a fan&ion 
 to our addreffing him in thcfe words, " Hallowed be 
 thy name," Matth. vi. 9. " The Lord Jefus fhall be 
 revealed, taking vengeance on them that obey not the 
 gofpel of our Lord Jefus Chrift;" and " what fhall 
 the end be of them that obey not the gofpel of God ?" 
 i Pet. iv. 17. 
 
 " Now our Lord Jefus Chrift himfelf, and God 
 even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given 
 us everlafting confolation, and good hope thro' grace, 
 comfort your hearts, and eftablifh you in every good 
 word and work," 2 Thcfl". ii. 16, 17. I am not yet go- 
 ing to enquire into Mr. Lindfey's curious do&rine of 
 pious wifhes, but, exclufive of the general fenfe of this 
 paflage, to make a remark on the great fingularity of 
 
 the
 
 the exprefiion. Either there are two nominatives join- 
 ed by the copulative "and," or there is but one prece- 
 ding the verb in the fen ten ce before us, and in that 
 cafe, the copulative unites two fpccific terms put in 
 appofition to the one general nominative; if the former 
 were the cafe, the verb muft necefiurily have been put 
 in the plural number, whereas, from its {landing in 
 the fingular, we muft conceive it governed by one no- 
 minative only; now, if there be found one term in the 
 fentence including the reft within its general import, 
 that is the nominative cafe governing the verb ; but I 
 have all along aflerted, that the Father is God, and 
 that the Son is God, and therefore now fay that thp 
 word "God", is here that general term comprehending 
 within itfelf, " our Lord Jefus Chrift himfelf, and 
 even our Father," one God, which hath lov;-d us, and 
 lath given us everlafting confolation. St. Paul feems 
 to have been diligent to eftablifh this point by the erjcr- 
 
 o-etick addition of the word "hirnfelf" after the name 
 c 
 
 of our Lord; for thus emphatically to dwell upon a 
 word to be di unified inftantly from being of any confc- 
 quence in the conftru&ion of a fentence, is a practice 
 unknown to any writer in any language, and furely not 
 to be imputed to one of the moft accurate, concife, 
 and obftrufive fpeakers that ever forced the meaning of 
 words upon the umierftanding of mankind , a preacher 
 who gave words only to his ideas, and never fought an 
 expletive to grace, much lefs to difgrace his language, 
 and diftrat his argument. After he had thus given 
 them a bleiling from his warm and benevolent heart, 
 this excellent man calls upon his hearers for their pray- 
 ers, and, in conhderation of the benediction that he 
 has already beftowed on them, " that God fhould efta- 
 blifh them in every good word and work," he fays, 
 " the Lord is faithful, who fhall ftablifh you, and keep 
 you from evil," 2 ThefT. iii. 3.- 
 
 R 2 " And
 
 ** And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of 
 
 God, and into the patient waiting for Chrift;" or, as 
 
 it ftands in the margin of the Bible, " the patience of 
 
 Chrift," 2 Their, iii. 5. Here is the LoTd, according 
 
 to Mr. Lindfey's manner of interpreting, quite neuter, 
 
 being neither God nor Chrift, for, apart from both, 
 
 he is to lead to the love of the one, and to the patience 
 
 of the other. But I believe this gentleman will hardly 
 
 infift upon it that he is not either in this paflage \ and 
 
 if not, here I refer it to the candour of every advocate 
 
 of the Unitarian fyftem, whether a diftin&ion between 
 
 the Father and Son, as God, is intended to be marked 
 
 in fuch paflages as the following : " now thanks be to 
 
 God which always caufeth us to triumph in Chrift, 
 
 2 Cor. ii. 14. " In the fight of God fpcak we in 
 
 Chrift," 2 Cor. ii. 17; and in a multitude of texts, 
 
 where the diftindtion is marked only as in that before 
 
 us, where the neuter word Lord is certainly both that 
 
 God and Chrift from whom he fcems to be diftinguifh- 
 
 cd by the action appointed to him. 
 
 * c There is one God, and one mediator between God 
 and man, the man Chrift Jtfus ; who gave himfelf 
 aranfom for all, to be teftified in due time," i Tim. ii. 
 5 6. Having already commented on the former part 
 of this paflage, I fhall not now weary my reader by 
 repetition, but remark that, from a declaration that 
 Chrift had given himfelf a ranfom to be teftified in 
 due time, and that that time was now come, in which 
 God our Saviour will have all men come to the know- 
 ledge of the truth by the teftimony of the apoftolical 
 preaching, with the Holy Ghoft, Paul inftantly paflcs 
 on to fay, that having been himfelf appointed a wit- 
 nefs of our Saviour, a preacher, and an apoftle, teach- 
 ing of the Gentiles in faith and verity, " I will there- 
 fore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, 
 
 without
 
 [ 33 1 
 
 without wjath and doubting," I Tim. ii. 7, 8. Where- 
 fore ? becaufe he is 'a witnefs to teftify of Chrift who 
 gave himfelf a ranfom for all. And how does this au- 
 thorize him to will that all men fhould pray? there can 
 be but one anf er given to this, namely, that he, 
 whom he teftified, was the proper obje& of that prayer 
 which he defired fhould be preferred, even Jefus Chrift 
 one with the Father, God. 
 
 St. Paul, about to fend Timothy to preach " found 
 doctrine, according to the glorious gofpd of the blefled 
 God, which was committed to his truft," i Tim. i. 
 10,11. gives him the following epitome of -what he 
 would have him promulgate and teftify; " Now with- 
 put controverfy, great is the myftery of godlinefc : God 
 was manifcft in the flefh, juftified in the fpirit, iecn of 
 angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the 
 world, received up into glory," I Tim. iii. j6. What 
 can more demonstrate the Godhead of him who, ha- 
 ving been manifeft in the flefh, was witnefled by the 
 apoftles to have afcended into heaven, and who, by 
 them, was now preached xinto the Gentiles, than this 
 direct affertion, that he, of whom it was afjerted, was, 
 and is God. And fhall we now deny that the revela- 
 tion of godlinefs is a myftery? 
 
 Forewarning Timothy of future defection from the 
 truth, and recommending perfeverance, St. Paul fays, 
 " We both labour, and fufFer reproach, becaufe we 
 truft in the living God, who is the Saviour -of all 
 men," I Tim. iv. ro. " This" he declares to be " a 
 faithful faying, and worthy of all acceptation;" and 
 in fo many words he has aflerted the fair.-e thing of the 
 following fat, that " Jefus Chrift came into the world 
 to fave finncrs," i Tim. i. 15. To be the Saviour 
 then is die common attribute of God and of Chrift. 
 
 who
 
 is therefore God ; for Jefus Chrift Is not faid to 
 have been the means of falvation, which v/ould have 
 better defcribed the inftrument of God in our re- 
 demption, but he is one and the fame Saviour with 
 God. Of the man Chrift Jefus of the feed of David, 
 it is indeed faid that he was railed from the dead, 
 3 Tim. ii. 8. But Jefus Chrift as God, clothed with 
 eternal glory, is he by whom we have obtained eternal 
 Salvation, 2 Tim. ii. 10. 
 
 " I give thee charge in the ftght of God, who quick- 
 cneth all things, and before Chrift Jefus, who before 
 Pontius Pilate witnefted a good confeflion; that thou 
 keep this commandment without fpot, unrebukeablc, 
 untill the appearing of our Lord Jefus Chrift : which 
 in his times he fliall fhew, who is the blcfled and only 
 potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; who 
 only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no 
 man can approach unto, whom no man hath feen, nor 
 can fee : to whom be honour and power everlafting. 
 Amen," I Tim. vi. 13, 14, 15, 16. Here even the 
 glory of God, unapproachable by man, is afcribed to 
 Jefus Chrift ; and this is only afcribable to his divi- 
 nity, as many men had feen the man Jefus ; and St. 
 Paul fays, *< yea, though we have known Chrift after 
 the flefh, yet now henceforth know we him no more," 
 2 Cor. v. 1 6. That he is the King of kings, and 
 Lord of lords, is not only aflerted here, but is in fo 
 many terms declared to be the name of Jefus Chrift by 
 St. John, Rev. xix. 16. His Godhead is therefore 
 incontrovertibly eftablifhed here. That St. Paul mould 
 fpeak of the Son only, is an inference naturally re- 
 fulting from the confideration that he was making 
 out an appointment to Timothy to go and to preach 
 Jefus Chrift, of whom he fpeaks in fuch terms in the 
 firft chapter of this epiftle, that I choofe to refer to it, 
 
 rather
 
 [ '35 1 
 
 rather than make a partial quotation^ and the whole 
 is too long to infert. The pious wifh, or rather let 
 me have liberty to call it the benedi&ion of the apoftle, 
 is " grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father, 
 and Jcfus Chrift our Lord " a wifh, which I cannot 
 well imagine how he Ihould expecl to have gratified by 
 a mere creature ; nay, he fays more^ that the grace of 
 our Lord was exceeding abundant^ fets forth, that to 
 his truft was committed the glorious gofpel of God, 
 and inftantly thanks Jefus for putting him into the 
 miniftry ; declares Jefus Chrift to have come into the 
 world (a phrafe extraordinary, if the commencement 
 of our Saviour's life was in the flefh) to fave fmners; 
 and having recounted the particular mercy and long- 
 fuffering of Jefus Chrift toward himfelf, his gratitude 
 breaks out into a doxology, the object of which muft 
 evidently appear to be the fame as the Being from whom 
 he received the benefits that invite his praife. " And 
 now" he faysj x< unto the King eternal, immortal, in- 
 vifible, the only wife God, be honour and glory, for 
 ever and ever. Amen." He muft be a perverfe inter- 
 preter who can underftand thefe words in any other 
 fenfe than that of a declaration that the merciful and 
 long-fuffering Jefus, the abundance of whofe grace 
 had pardoned his multitudinous perfecutions and blaf- 
 phemies, for a pattern to all who fhould hereafter be- 
 lieve to life everlaftirigj " is the King eternal, the only 
 wife God, to whom he afcribes honour and glory, in 
 confideration of the exceedingly great benefits which 
 he had received of him, and which were now fo ftrongly 
 imprefled upon his mind, as at once to call forth his 
 acknowledgments and his exulting praife." 
 
 St. Paul fays to Timothy, whom he is fending to 
 " do the work of an Evangelift," " I charge thee 
 therefore before God and the Lord Jefus Chrift, who 
 lhall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing, 
 
 and
 
 and his kingdo;n : preach the word,&c." 2 Tim. iv. r 
 And " unto all them that love his appearing," he fays, 
 " the Lord the righteous Judge (hall give a crown of 
 rightcoufnefs at that day," ver. 8. Here the king- 
 dom, the judgement-feat, and the appearing, are aflign- 
 ed to Jefus Chrift, and the crown of righteoufnefs is 
 conferred on ail thofe who love his appearing, accord- 
 ing to what he fays to Titus, to whom he is giving 
 a like charge : " looking for that b'.efled hope, and 
 the glorious appearing of the great Gad, and our 
 Saviour Jefus Chrift," Titus ii. 13. That thefe then 
 are all fynonimous terms I fliall not affront the under- 
 ftanding of my reader by an attempt to make more 
 evident than it muft at once appear ; and our Saviour 
 Jefus Chrift is therefore one with the Father, God. 
 
 In the charge to Titus laft cited, St. Paul holds out 
 *' this blefled hope, and glorious^ appearing of the great 
 Godj and our Saviour Jefus Chrift/' to fuch as deny 
 worldly lufts, and who, by fo doing, ** adorn the doc- 
 trine of God our Saviour," Titus ii. 10. Jefus Chrift 
 was the do&rine committed to Titus, and more parti- 
 cularly " how our falvation arofe from his having gi- 
 ven himfelf for us, that he might redeem us from 
 all iniquity ;" " that having been difobedtent, ferving 
 1 ufts and pleafurcs, not our merits, but his mercy 
 {bone forth in faving us^" that therefore, " Jefus 
 Chrift having loved us, ami waihed us from our fins 
 Jn his own blood," Rom. i. 5. u the kindnefs and 
 love of God BUT Saviour appeared, by wa/hing of re- 
 generation, and renewing of the Hojy Ghoft; which 
 was fhed on us abundantly, through Jffui Cbriji our 
 Saviour^" Titus iii. 4, 5, 6. Here, fpeaking to a 
 man who was to acl under him, and wtoofe difcbargc 
 of the office conferred upon him, muft bn a great mea- 
 &re depend upon the accuracy of St. Paul's cxpreffion, 
 apoftle, " preaching that which rrs committed to 
 
 him.
 
 [ '37 1 
 
 him, according to the commandment of God our Sa- 
 viour," falls into a mode of expreflion, which, if Je- 
 fus Chrift be not God, muft perpetually miflead Titus, 
 keep him wandering in continual errour, and utterly 
 incapacitate him to " exhort and convince by found 
 doctrine." That mankind had obtained falvation, is 
 the committed doctrine ; that God is our Saviour, and 
 that Jefus Chrift is our Saviour, are fentences occurring 
 every where through the epiftle, nay, in contiguous 
 verfes; for, after declaring himfelf an apoftle by the 
 commandment of God our Saviour^ St. Paul proceeds 
 to fay, " To Titus mine own Son after the common, 
 faith : grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father, 
 and the Lord Jffus Ghriji our Saviour" Titus i. 3, 4. 
 Did he mean to diftract him ? if not, he is very defec- 
 tive in his addrefs; but if he meant to inculcate the 
 divinity of Chriftj and to fhew that the Father and the 
 Son are one God, our Saviour, he has fpolcen to the 
 purpofe, and confiftently with the coherent itile that fo 
 exceedingly diftingui/hes the writings of St. Paul. 
 
 44 Verilv, he took not on him the nature of ano-els 
 
 9 ' i O * 
 
 but he took on him the feed of Abraham," Heb. ii. 
 1 6. This is urged as a perfuafive to us to lay hold of 
 and embrace the great falvation, afforded to us by fo 
 wonderful an inftance of condefcenfion as that of our 
 Saviour's having taken our nature upon him, which he 
 is declared to have done,that he might, as man, become 
 the Captain of our falvation, by fuffering death for all 
 men. But St. Paul fays, that he took not on him the 
 nature of angels, but defcended a little lower ; what 
 is this but faying, that, out of two things equally pofli- 
 ble to him, he has made a choice? and to that which 
 is not yet ufliered into being, we know that there is 
 not any thing poflible ; therefore Jefus Chrift had pre- 
 cxiftence to the time he came in the fleihi but he ve- 
 S rrly
 
 E 
 
 rily took not on him the nature of angels; therefore, in 
 his pre-exiftent ftate, he was not an angel. But while 
 the power of making choke among all inferior natures 
 which he would take was his, he aflumed that in which 
 a purpose beneficial to mankind was to be anfwered; 
 and we are accordingly invited to offer up the tribute 
 of our gratitude and confidence to him who had been 
 thus merciful. But who was he to whom fuch a 
 choice belong'd ? Certainly God, to whom alone all things 
 are fubfervient,. " by whom, and for whom all things 
 were created, that are in heaven, and that are in 
 earth," Col. i. 16. who can exalt, as well as debafe, 
 the works of his own hands, and take into himfelf 
 whatfoever nature it {hall pleale him to honour. This 
 ftupendous dignity he has conferred upon ours; and 
 for our advantage has become man, even the man Je- 
 fus Chrift. Th-is adopted nature, this progeny of his 
 power and mercy he has declared his Son; and for the 
 i-ake of this his " holy child J-efus," who, notwith- 
 ftanding that he was in all points tempted like as we 
 are, continued to the end doing the will of God, fpot- 
 lefs, without fin-, became obedient to the death for our 
 redemption, and having fuffercd, thereby to become 
 the Author and Captain of our falvation, accompanied 
 the * rcafcending God into heaven, there for ever to 
 remain our Mediator and Interceffor ; for his fake, I 
 fay, has God been pleaf* d to extend falvation to us ; 
 " for this beloved Son, in whom he is well pleafed," 
 and whom therefore he has eternally united with 
 himfelf, has undertaken the caufe of our infirmities, 
 and has gracioufly condefcended to call us brethren; 
 he has even called us fons ; and having taken part in 
 that flefh and blood whereof we are partakers, pro- 
 nounced 
 
 * Now, that he afccuded, what is it but that he alfo defceadtd fitft 
 . into the lower parts of the earth ?" Eph. iv. 8.
 
 nounced us his children ; and with more than paternal 
 kindnefs bowed himfelf down to death for our fan&ifi- 
 cation, " that he might thereby deftroy him that had 
 the power of death, that is the devil, and deliver them 
 that, through fear of death, were all their life time 
 fubjedl to bondage." See Heb. ii. throughout. Let us 
 then, in memory of that fellowship which God himfelf 
 has with us, having been -" partaker of that flefh and 
 blood," through the mercies which he has thereby 
 vouchsafed us, approach the throne of his grace with 
 confidence, " knowing that we have a new and living 
 way confecrated to us, through the vail, that is to fay, 
 his flefh," Heb. x. 2. " And having," therefore, " an 
 high prieft over the houfe of God, let us draw near 
 with a true heart, in full affurance of faith," " without 
 wavering ;" for if we fin wilfully, after that we have 
 received the knowledge of the truth, " of the offering 
 of the body of Jefus Chrjft once," " there remaineth no 
 more facrifice for fin, but a fiery indignation fhall de- 
 vour the adverfary, who hath trodden under foot the 
 Son of God, and counted the blood of the covenant 
 wherewith be was fanclified an unholy thing, and hath 
 done defpite unto the fpirit of grace ; for we know 
 him that hath faid, vengeance belongeth unto me, I 
 will recompence, faith the Lord. And again the Lord 
 ihall judge his people," Htb. x. throughout. 
 
 Where now is Mr. Lindfey's analogy between the 
 offering up of prayer and religious worlhip to Aaron 
 the high prieft of the Jews, and to our great high prieft 
 Jefus Chrift ? between the prieft " that ftandeth daily 
 miniftering and offering oftentimes the fame Sacrifices, 
 which can never take away fin," and this Man, who, 
 after he had offered one facrifice for fins, for ever fat 
 down at the right hand of God ; who, by one offering, 
 hath perfected for ever them that are fcn&ified ? " For 
 S 7. the
 
 the law maketh men high priefts ; but the word of the 
 oath which was fmce the law, maketh the Son, who 
 is confecrated for evermore ;" " who, having as a prieft, 
 once made facrifice, having offered up himfelf," is fet 
 on the right hand of the throne of the majefty in the 
 heavens, where he has become the mediator of the 
 new covenant; in which he has declared, " I will 
 put my laws into their minds, and write them in t'r/ir 
 hearts, and I will be to them a God, and they ftuili be 
 to me a people," Heb. vii. and viii. chap. And he, 
 who has, by his flefh, broken down the partition wall 
 that divided God 2nd man, and whofe human nature, 
 perfected by fufferings for an atonement to reconcile 
 man to God, is now in eternal union with the divine 
 nature, and clothed with the one glory, is furely a 
 mediator, a high prieft, of a dignity to which the 
 pofterity of Aaron never nfpired ; " he is a high prieft 
 in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation 
 for the fins of the people ;" and he is an object of 
 our adoration and religious worlhip ; " for in that he 
 himfelf hath fuffered, being tempted, he is able to 
 fucccur thorn that are tempted," Heb. ii. 17, 18. To 
 this high honour the glorified body of Chrift is called, 
 after it had been made perfect, and thence become the 
 author of our falvation : whereas of Aaron's priefthood 
 it is faid, that " the facrificcs which were offered year 
 by year continually," under it, " could never make 
 the comers then unto perfect," Heb. x. I. Are Aaron 
 and Jefus Chiift now equally objects of our adoration ? 
 or are we equally to withhold pur worfhip from both, 
 him who cannot, and him who can fuccour us ? from 
 him who daily fried the infufficicnt blood of bulls an4 
 goats, for the crrours of the people, and from him who 
 aboliftied the facrifice and offering by the one facrifice, 
 the one offering of his own " prepared body, which 
 came and bled for us, that we might be enabled to do 
 
 thy
 
 thy will, O God", Heb. x. 5, 6. that we might be a 
 party to the new covenant? The doctrine of the 
 apoille is therefore here manifeftly, that, inafmuch as 
 the flefh and blood of the man Jefus is now in union 
 with the eternal Godhead, and that in the world he 
 had fuffercd fo much for us, and had called us bre- 
 thren, we may entertain great hope in the mtrcy of 
 him, whofe experience of human infirmities and temp- 
 tations, can caufe him to hsve compafilon on us; and 
 therefore we are dcfired to call upon God through thefe 
 mercies, through Jcfus Chrift, his name, as our ran- 
 fom from death, abciifhed by the death of his human 
 body. It is not to " the unlearned reader" that I refer 
 what I have now written, for I do not expect it to 
 have any weight with fuch as have not read the law of 
 Mofes, and compared the types of the Jewifli ritual 
 with the ereat event of which it was the fliadow ; and 
 alfo attended to the courfe of the apoftle's argument 
 throughout his epiftle to the Hebrews. Before I con- 
 clude this comment I mull inftft upon the circumftance 
 of the law having been no more than a ihadow of the 
 things to come, and not the exact portraiture; and 
 therefore cannot refrain from exprefling my furprize at 
 feeing Aaron and our blcfled Lord fo clofely brought toge- 
 ther and affimilatcd by Mr. Lindfey, who will not admit 
 of even a fhadowy reprefentation, throughout the law, 
 of that which was to come, when it happens to typify 
 that which oppofes his own fyftem. But as I have the 
 word of God for it, I fhall venture to affert, that the 
 government of the Jews, by God, was an epitome of 
 the government of the afterwards adopted world ; that 
 the felection of the Jews, for the faith of Abraham 
 their father, was an inftance of the value of faith in the 
 pure eyes of God, and an epitort e of the adoption '' of 
 many fons," to be elected through faith in Jefus Chrift ; 
 that the purifications by blood, - and the atonement, 
 
 by
 
 [ 14*] 
 
 by facr'tfices for the people, were a type of that great 
 facrificc of the body of our Lord, offered once for our 
 atonement, by which we are reconciled and reftored to 
 that bleired hope of everlafting life, which we had for- 
 feited as heirs to the tranfgrefiion of Adam ; for as in 
 Adam all men died, and as the law was given that fin 
 might abound, fo by Jefus Chrift are all men made 
 alive, and by the abundance of fin, his grace has the 
 more abounded to us, by faith in our redemption, by 
 the blood of the new covenant, to which the old co- 
 venant was a guide, that new covenant, of which 
 the man Jefus perfected by death, and in eternal union 
 with God, is the mediator. Let us then, on our part, 
 declare, that we will be to him a people, as he has, 
 upon his, promifed, that he will be to us a God ; and 
 let us, when we hear the voice of " the Son of God" 
 from our graves, acknowledge " the God who quick- 
 eneth the dead," and " rejoice in the appearing of the 
 Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven ;" when 
 we confider that for our fakes he took our nature upon 
 him, that he might have compaffion upon our infirmi- 
 ties ; and that ne is our appointed judge, " becaufe he 
 is the Son or man." 
 
 As it is already laid down, and, I prefume, well re- 
 membered, thac all are to be judged by our Lord Jefus 
 Chnft, when he ihall come in his glory on his own day, 
 with the holy angels, bringing his reward with him, 
 and recompenfing every man according to his works, I 
 (hall not repeat the proofs of it. " Of the Lord then, 
 whofe coming draweth nigh," St. James fays, " be 
 ye patient therefore brethren unto the coming of the 
 Jx>rd ; the judge ftandeth before the door; we count 
 them happy which endure ; ye have heard of the pa- 
 tience of Job, and have feen the end of the Lord : that 
 the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy," James v, 
 
 8,
 
 , 9, 10, II. The patience of Job is here urged a? 
 an example to them who were dehrous of haftening the 
 day of the Lord j but the patience of Job was in wait- 
 ing the end of God, whofe pity and tender mercy at 
 length amply rewarded his reiignatioh. The pitiful 
 and t-nderly merciful Lord, who fhall recompenfe 
 them who, after the example of Job, and " the pro r 
 phets, who ipoke in the name of the Lord," with pa- 
 tience wait for his own appointed day, is therefore the 
 fame God who rewarded Job, and for whofe coming 
 the prophets waited. But St. James goes on and fays, 
 that with refpett to fick perfons the elders of the church, 
 are to be called for, and to pray over them, " and the 
 prayer of faith fhall fuve the fick, and the Lord fhall 
 raiie him up," James v. ,14, 15. This is in context 
 with the preceding pafTage, which renders it manifefi 
 who the Lord is that fhall hear the prayer of faith, and 
 heal the ncjc ; even the fame Lord of whom St. Peter 
 laid to Eneas, at Lydda, " Jefus Chrift maketh thee 
 whole, arife," Ach ix. 34 j who laid himfelf to her 
 that, with full afiiirance of his power, touched but his 
 garment, and had her iffue of blood ftaunched, " daugh- 
 ter, be of good comfort : thy faith hath made thee 
 whole," Luke viii. 48 ; and who, without the interme- 
 diate ufe of any other name, faid to the leper who be- 
 fbught him with a prayer of faith, " I will f ; be thou 
 clean," Luke v. 13: of Jefus Chrift then we are to 
 afk and have. He therefore is one with the Father, 
 God. 
 
 In the commencement of his epiftle, James calls 
 himfelf u a fervant of God, and of the Lord Jefus 
 Chrift, James i. i. As a reafon why we fhould " not 
 
 have 
 
 f Qwa-e, How do this ftand in the French? is it jefaubaite? or if If 
 be, what does it fignify ? See Apology, note, f. 5.
 
 [ 144 ] 
 
 hive the faith of our Lord Jefus Chrift, the Lord of glory, 
 with refpedl of perfons," James ii. i, he fays, "hearken, 
 my beloved brethren, hath not God chofen the poor of 
 this world, rich in faith^ and heirs of the kingdom which 
 he hath promifed to them that love him ?" James ii. 5. 
 " If ye have refpcft to perfons, ye commit fin," James ii. 
 9. For he {hall have judgement without mercy, that 
 hath (hewed no mercy ; and mercy rejoiceth againft 
 judgement," ii. 13. 
 
 In order to avoid repetition" of arguments already 
 ufed, I (hall obferve upon but one paflhge in St. Peter's 
 firft general epiftle in its courfe. 
 
 " The elders which are among you, I exhort, who 
 am alfo an elder, and a witnefs of the fufferings of 
 Chrift, and alfo a partaker of the glory that (hall be 
 revealed : feed the flock of God which is arnon^- you," 
 
 O / * 
 
 *' neither as beino; lords over God's heritage, but beinz 
 
 O w3 * O 
 
 enfamples to the flock. And when the chief fhcpherd 
 (hall appear, ye fliall receive a crown of glory that fa- 
 deth not away," i Pet. v. i, 2, 3, 4. If it be remem- 
 bered that this charo-e comes from St. Peter to men en- 
 
 O 
 
 gaged in the fame occupation as hirrtfelf, it is but 
 reafonable to fuppofe that he had in mind thofe words 
 of our blefled Lord when he conferred the charge of his 
 flock upon him, which were fo emphatically fpoken, and 
 fo affe&ingly received by him. After his refurretion 
 from the dead, Jefus having on the third time fhewed 
 himfelf to his difciples " when they had dined, faith to 
 Simon Peter, Simon fon of Jonas, loveft thou me 
 more than thefe ? he faith unto him, yea, Lord ; thou 
 knoweft that I love thee. He faith unto him, feed my 
 Iambs. He faith to him again the fecond time, Simon 
 fon of Jonas, loveft thou me ? he faith unto him, yea, 
 Lord j thou knoweft that I love thee. He faith unto 
 
 him,
 
 him, feed my flieep. He faith unto him the third 
 time, Simon fon of Jonas, loved thou me? Peter was 
 grieved, becaufe he faid unto him the third time, lo- 
 veft thou me ? and he faid unto him, Lord, thou 
 knoweft all things ; thou knoweil that I love thee. 
 
 - . O ' 
 
 Jefus faith unto him, feed my fheep," John xxi. 14, 
 15, 1 6, 17. A charge attended by fuch circumftances, 
 and repeatedly conveyed in fuch terms, muft necefTarily 
 have been deeply imprefied on the memory of Peter, 
 who was grieved that he who knew all things fhould 
 think it neceflary to renew it a third time. That 
 Peter fhould therefore ever afterwards confider the 
 office conferred upon him as that of a fhepherd, and 
 thofe to whom he was fent as the flock of the chief 
 fhepherd who had committed them to him, is not to 
 be wondered at ; and accordingly we find him in ano- 
 ther place fay of him, who had declared himfelf " no 
 hireling, but the fhepherd, whofe own the fheep 
 are; the good fhepherd, who giveth his life for the 
 fhcep," John x. 13, 14. " Ye were as fheep going 
 aft ray; but are now returned unto the fhepherd and 
 bifhop of your fouls," i Pet. ii. 25. So that here is 
 that flock of Jefus Chrirr, the good fliepherd, whofe 
 own the fheep are, exprefsly declared to be the flock of 
 God. St. Paul too has called " Jefus Chrift, that 
 great fhcpherd of the fheep," Heb. xiii. 20 ; and fpeak- 
 ing to the Ephefian Elders, he defires them to " take 
 heed to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghoft 
 had made them overfeers, to feed the church of God," 
 Acts xx. 28. From the chief fhepherd alfo, when he 
 fhall appear, we are to receive a crown of glory which 
 fadeth not away. " Blefled is the man that endureth 
 temptation; for when he is tried, he fhall receive the 
 crown of life, which the Lord hath promifed to them 
 that love him," James i. 12. This promife is ex- 
 plained : " Hath not God chofen the poor of this 
 
 T world.
 
 [ '46 ] 
 
 world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom, which 
 he hath prom i fed to them that love him ?" James ii. 5. 
 From whom now are we " * to obtain an incorrup- 
 tible crown," " a crown of righteoufrrefs, which the 
 Lord, the righteous Judge, fhall give at that day, un- 
 to all thorn that love his appearing f ?" Certainly from 
 that God who hath prom i fed the kingdom; that Lord 
 who hath promifed the crown of life to them that love 
 him, fhall we receive a crown of glory which fadeth 
 not away, when the chief fhepherd fhall appear as a 
 righteous judge to give an incorruptible crown of righ- 
 teoufnefs to all them that love his appearing. This 
 chief ffoepherd is therefore that righteous Judge, that 
 Lord, that God who hath promifed, and will give a 
 crown of glory to all that love him, even Jefus Chrift, 
 one with the Father, God; " to whom be praife and 
 dominion for ever and ever. Amen." i Pet. iv. u. 
 
 The firft verfe of the firft chapter of St. Peter's fe- 
 cond epiftle general, has thefe remarkable words, as li- 
 terally translated in the margin of our Bible. " Simon 
 Peter, a fervant and apoftle of Jcfus Chrift, to them 
 that have obtained like precious faith with us, through 
 the righteoufnefs of our God and Saviour Jefus 
 Chrift," 2 Pet. i. I. Paul to Timothy, alfo calls him- 
 felf " an apoftle by the commandment of God our Sa- 
 viour, and Lord Jefus Chrift, which is our hope," 
 I Tim. i. i. 
 
 " An entrance fhall be miniftered unto you abundant- 
 ly, into the everlafting kingdom of our Lord and Sa- 
 viour Jefus Chrift," 2 Pet. i. u. 
 
 * I Cor. ix. 25. f 2 Ti. iv. 8. 
 
 The
 
 1 147] 
 
 " The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the 
 night; in the which the heavens fhall pafs away with a 
 great noife, and the elements fhall melt with fervent 
 heat, the earth alfo and the works that are therein 
 fhall be burnt up. Seeing then that all thefe things fhall 
 be diflblved, what manner of perfons ought ye to be in 
 all holy converfation and godlinefs, looking for and ha- 
 'fting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the 
 heavens being on fire fhall be diflblved, and the ele- 
 lements fhall melt with fervent heat," 2 Pet. Hi. ro, 
 ii, 12. As there is but one day mentioned in this 
 paiTage, it is evident that the Lord, whofe day it is 
 called in the firft, is the fame as the God, whofe day 
 it is faid to be in the laft verfe; one and the fame God. 
 But, that the fttecified Lord, who is God, is our Lord 
 Jefus Chrift, the context, to which I refer, fhews beyond 
 contradiction. Belides other circumftances evincing 
 this fa& throughout the whole chapter, the apoftle fays, 
 " the long fuffering of our Lord is to be accounted 
 falvation; even as our beloved brother Paul alfo hath 
 written unto you," 2 Pet. iii. 15. Now the words of 
 Paul, to which St. Peter here refers, are, " For this 
 caufe I obtained mercy, that in me firft Jefus Chrift 
 might fhew forth all long- fuffering, for a pattern to 
 them which fhould hereafter believe on him to life 
 everlafting," i Tim. i. 16. Here then, mercy and 
 life everlafting, which are falvation, are preached to all 
 thro' the long-fuffering of Jefus Chrift, after the pat- 
 tern of Paul, to which Peter has referred, calling him, 
 who is by Paul called Jefus Chrift, Lord; and immedi- 
 ately after calling him, whom he had himfelf named 
 Lord, God. Let us not therefore *' fall from our fted- 
 faftnefs, but grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our 
 Lord and Saviour Jefus Chrift: to him be glory both 
 now and forever. Amen." 2 Pet. iii. 18. 
 
 T 2 "He
 
 [ '48 ] 
 
 " He is Antichrift, that dcnieth the Father and the 
 Son," i John ii. 22. How is he who dcnieth the Fa- 
 ther, Antichrift? How is he who dcnieth Jeftis to b<- 
 the Chrift, and ** confefleth not that he is come in the 
 flefh," to be confidered as denying the Father r Foi 
 this plain reafon, that the San is one with the Father, 
 God ; and confequently the Father is denied upon the 
 denial of him who is with him, one. 
 
 " Every fpirit that confefleth not that Jcfus Chrift is 
 come in the flefh, is not of God," i John iv. 3. 
 Though the apoftle's intention in this verfe be to (hew 
 that Jefus Chrift was truly man, yet it is no ftraineu 
 inference to fay, that the Being, who came in the flefh, 
 had pre-exiftence to the time of taking it upon him ; 
 and this indeed follows the more naturally when we 
 confider that this denial is made " by the fpirit of An-, 
 tichrift," which <fcnieth the Father and the Son. 
 
 As I do believe the yth verfe of the 5th chapter of 
 St. John's i ft epiftle to be at the beft a very dubious 
 text, I refign all advantage that might accrue to my 
 caufe, from its having come from his infpired pen. 
 But I fhall beg leave to exprefs myfelf in the words of 
 it, which very well comprize the conclufion following 
 from the whole of facred writ, and which I hope I 
 have rendered obvious by this time. In my own perfon, 
 then I fay that I believe in *' the Father, the word, 
 nd the Hcjy Ghoft, and theie three are one." 
 
 If v/ords could be found more directly enjoining 
 prayer to Jefus Chrift than thofe which follow, I 
 fhould endeavour to enlarge on the fubjett ; but as the 
 beloved difciple of our Redeemer has given us the pre- 
 cept, I fhall leave it to Mr. Lindfey to draw the cou- 
 chifion, for which he (lands engaged, and to acknow- 
 ledge
 
 [ J 49 ] 
 
 ledge that Jefus Chrift is one with the Father, God. 
 ** Thefe things have I written unto you that believe on 
 the name of the Son of God ; that ye may know ye 
 have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name 
 of the Son of God. And this ii the confidence that 
 we have in him, that if we afk any thing according to 
 his will, he heartth us. And if we know that he hear 
 Us, whatfoever we afk, we know that we have the pe- 
 titions that we defired of him," i John v. 13, 14, 15. 
 " Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have 
 VTC confidence towards God. And whatsoever we afk, 
 we receive of him, becaufe we keep his command- 
 ments," i John iii. 21, 22. Here exactly the fame pre-< 
 cept is repeated ; but the one Godhead is named in the 
 latter, inftead of the fecond perfon of the Trinity fpe- 
 cified in the former paflage. 
 
 " And we know that the Son of God is come, and 
 hath given us an underftanding, that we may know him 
 that is true : and we are in him that is true, even in 
 his Son Jefus Chrift. This is the true God and eter- 
 nal life," i John v. 20. It is remarkable that this de- 
 claration is followed by a defire to w keep from idols,* 
 to the overthrow of whofe worfhip he preaches the 
 Godhead of Jefus Chrift, the Son. But left it fhould 
 be faid that the elder was inattentive to the confequence 
 of fpeaking in ambiguous language to idolaters, con- 
 cerning the God whom he preached to them, I will 
 produce proofs from the context to teftify that Chrift is 
 here fpoken of, and pointed out for adoration. " He 
 that hath the Son, hath life," and " God hath given 
 us eternal life, and this life is in his Son," and 4 ' theie 
 things have I written unto you that believe on the name 
 of the Son of God ; that ye may know that ye have 
 eternal life," John v. ij, 12, 13. Thefe words ex- 
 plain who is the true God in whom we have this eter- 
 nal
 
 1 150 ] 
 
 nal life ; befide?, the gift of undemanding is an a& of 
 Godhead, and is here made to us by the Son. Suppofe 
 for a moment with Mr. Lindfey that the prophetick 
 eyes of the apoflles were blinded to the opinion after- 
 wards to be entertained by mankind, who have fmce 
 their day believed Jefus Chrift to be God, notwith- 
 ilanding that they had feen him a man born and living 
 amongft men, even this abfurd fuppofition wpuld not 
 extend to St. John, nor indeed to St. Paul, who were 
 themfelves witnefles of that early herefy by which 
 the manhood of Jefus Chrift was denied, and had 
 heard that body vhich he had come in, declared only 
 to have been an appearance ; fo that their own living 
 experience might have given them a hint, that accuracy 
 in the application of the terms Lord, end Saviour, and 
 the iike^ was necefiary, if they had not been the 
 moft ftupid as well as wicked men that ever lived 
 on the eart,:. They were accurate men, they were 
 honeit men, and by the application of thofe terms to 
 both the Father and the Son, they have left us an irre- 
 fragable proof that the Father and the Son are one 
 God. 
 
 The goodnefs of God, and that gracious indulgence 
 with which he has confulted the infirmities of our 
 irate, is, in this refpecr., alfo very ftrongly difplayed, 
 that he took manhood on him, in order to give a fen- 
 fible object of worfhip to mankind, incapable of form- 
 ing any adequate idea of the abftracl: God, whofe qualities 
 are of a nature incomprehenfible by our minds. The 
 world, merged in idolatry at the time of his incarna- 
 tion, was mercifully indulged with an object of fcnfe, 
 to which men could look according to habit alfo, as 
 well as the natural incapacity to conceive a God only 
 fpiritual, and to whom, even by the exertion of the 
 
 fame
 
 fame faculties by which they had adopted and adored 
 idols, they could prefer worfhip without the imputa- 
 tion of idolatry. A refting place is hereby given to 
 the mind, inftead of its being continued under the ne- 
 ceflity of launching out into vaft infinity and eternity, 
 and vainly endeavouring to engage itfelf in the con- 
 templation of matters, of which it can form no idea 
 at all. 
 
 " Whofoever tranfgrefleth, and abideth not in the 
 doctrine of Chrift, hath not God : he that abideth 
 in the doctrine of Chrift, he hath both the Father 
 and the Son," 2 John 9. After having fhewed who 
 had not God, the elder goes on to fhew of the direct 
 contrary character, that he hath the Father and the 
 Son, who are therefore that God which abideth in him , 
 " Whofoever denieth the Son, the fame hath not the 
 Father," I John ii. 23. But " whofoever {hall con- 
 fefs that Jefus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in 
 him, and he in God," i John iv. 15. "If we love 
 one another, God dwelleth in us," I John iv. 12. 
 Who now is the Father and the Son, who dwell- 
 eth in us if we abide in the doctrine of Chrift? 
 
 " Jude, a fervant of Jefus Chrift, and brother of 
 James, to them that are fanctified by God the Father/' 
 Jude i. Paul, who has frequently called himfelf both 
 the fervant of God and of Jefus Chrift, (fee Phi- 
 lip, i. i, and Titus i. i.) has in like manner addrefiM 
 the Corinthians, " to them that are fanctified in Chrift 
 Jefus," i Cor. i. i. 
 
 Speaking of the judgement that awaits <e ungodly 
 men, turning the grace of God into lafcivioufnefs, and 
 denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jefus Chrift," 
 * who fpeak evil of thofe things which they know not," 
 
 he
 
 t is* 
 
 he fays, that " Enoch alfo, the feventh from Adanij 
 prophefied of thefe, faying, behold, the Lord cometh 
 with ten thoufands of his faints, to execute judgement 
 upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among 
 them, of all their ungodly deeds, which they have un- 
 godly committed, and of all their hard fpeeches, which 
 ungodly fmners have fpoken againft him." Now we 
 know very well that Jefus Chrift is to come to judge- 
 ment, with the holy angels, that to thofe who work 
 iniquity he fliaJl give everlafting punifhmcnt, but unto 
 the righteous, eternal life. We muft therefore con- 
 clude him to have been the object of Enoch's prophecy 
 and the more fo, as the apoftle proceeds to recommend 
 the remembrance and obfervation of what " the apoftles 
 of our Lord Jefus Chrift had fpoken, that in the latter 
 times there ftiould be mockers, fenfual, not having the 
 fpirit," and to defire that they to whom he writes, 
 " building up themfelves in our mod holy faith, fhould 
 pray in the Holy Ghoft, keep themfelves in the love of 
 God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jefus Chrift, 
 unto eternal life. Now unto him that is able to keep 
 us from falling, to prefent us faultlefs before the pre- 
 fence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wife 
 God, our Saviour, be glory and majefty, dominion 
 and power, both now and ever. Amen." See Jude 
 threughout. A comment muft be unneceflary here. 
 
 As I prefcribed to myfelf the order in which the 
 books of the fcripturc are arranged, and had determi- 
 ned to enquire of the teftimony afforded by each in its 
 courfe; and as I had but one conclufion in view, to 
 the evidence of which alone proofs were to be brought, 
 my intelligent reader will fee the impoflibility of ftep- 
 ing from proof to proof in a mathematical procefs, or 
 of producing an encreafing teftimony commencing at a 
 partial, and, in the end, refulting in a full demonftra- 
 
 tion
 
 tion of the truth of that one propofition, which muft 
 be rendered equally manifeft by the firft, as by the laft 
 argument in its behalf. That the fcriptures have de- 
 clared the divinity of our Lord, it is my office to mow ; 
 and that this declaration is true, if made, muft necef- 
 farily follow, upon the conceffion that the fcriptures 
 are the word of God, and therefore true ; and as this 
 conceffion is made, I am only to produce fuch declara- 
 tions as are contained in them: this muft be at once 
 feen to preclude progreffive enquiry. I have however, 
 for the gratification of my reader, referved a very few 
 paflages, in which it is more directly and literally af- 
 iferted that Jefus Chrift is one with the Father, God ; 
 and with thefe I fhall clofe the evidence of the apo* 
 ftles, the appointed witnefles of our blefied Redeemer. 
 
 " Hereby perceive we the love of God, becaufe he 
 laid down his life for us," i John iii. 16. The name 
 bf "Jefus Chrift." does not once occur in the preceding 
 part of the chapter, of which this is the i6th verfe, 
 fo that it cannot poffibly be referred to by the pronoun 
 ** he ;" our Lord and Saviour is therefore literally de- 
 clared to be God. The courfe of the argument alfo 
 makes a literal interpretation abfolutely neceflary, for 
 the beloved difciple is perfuading us to love one ano- 
 ther in confequence of our brotherhood, a motive 
 which God could not have, to love beings fo infinitely 
 Inferior to him; but that God loved us, is manifefted 
 by his having rendered himfelf fubjecl: to death for our 
 fake ; we are therefore defired to love one another, from, 
 the equality and fympathy of our nature : the love of 
 God is perceived, becaufe he laid down his life for us; 
 and therefore, " we ought to lay down our lives for 
 the brethren," i John iii. 16. 
 
 U St.
 
 [ '54] 
 
 St. Paul preaches thus to the Ephefians, whom he 
 had called to Mfletus, and whom he appointed eldeis 
 over the church to preach the gofpel. 
 
 " Take heed therefore unto yourfelves, and to all 
 the flock over the which the Holy Ghoft hath made 
 you overfeers, to feed the church of God,- which he 
 hath purchafcd with his own blood," Ads xx. 28. 
 What can convince if this be unable ? Shall we fee the 
 blood of God himfelf ftreaming for our redemption, and 
 ftill deny that God and man are one Chrift? or fhall 
 we not rather feek to be of the fold, " return to the 
 fhepherd of our fouls," to the " Lord God, who fhall 
 feed his flock like a fhepherd ? who fhall gather the 
 lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bofom/' 
 Ifai. xl. ii. But St. Paul forefaw that men would 
 look upon this pofition, which he has laid down, as a 
 difficulty, which would turn afide fuch as yielded not 
 their faith, but mould proceed to enquire of the hidden 
 myfrery, and withdraw from the acknowledgment of 
 fpiritual things, becaufe they were not in pofleflion of 
 fpiritual things to compare with them, whereby they 
 fhould comprehend the things of God, into which the 
 natural man is unable to enquire ; and therefore he has 
 faid even to thefe elders to whom he directs his charge, 
 " For I know this, that after my departing, fhall grie- 
 vous wolves enter in among you, not fparing the flock. 
 Alfo of yourfelves fhall men arife, fpeaking pervcrfc 
 things, to draw away difciples after them," Acls xx. 
 29, 30. I wifh that St. Paul may not have had our 
 prefent day in view when he fpoke thus. 
 
 To the Hebrews, St. Paul fays, that the addrefs 
 from the Majefty on high to him, " by whom he made 
 the worlds," is, " Thy throne, O God, is for ever 
 and ever j a fceptre of righteoufnefs is the fceptrc of 
 
 thy
 
 [ '55 ] 
 
 fky kingdom : And, ihou Lord, in the beginning haft 
 Jaid the foundation of the earth; and the .heavens are 
 the works of thy hands. They fhall perifh, but thou 
 remained: and they all fhall wax old as doth a gar- 
 ment; and as a veil u re fhalt thou fold them up, and 
 they fhall be changed : but thou art the fame, and thy 
 years fhall not fail," Heb. i. 8, 10, II, 12. That the 
 attributes here afcribed, are afcribable only to God, I 
 believe will not be denied; but they are afcribed by 
 .God himfelf, and to whom? To Jefus Chrift, after he 
 had laid afide the form of a fervant, and again taken 
 upon him the form of God, the exprefs image of his 
 perfon; when he had by himfelf purged our fins; 
 and, being the brightnefs of his glory, fat down on 
 the right-hand of the Majefty on high. They are af- 
 cribed to Jefus Chrift, upon the reaflumption of that 
 glory which he had laid down, v/hen he was made a 
 Jittle lower than the angels, that, by the grace of God, 
 he might tafte death for every man ; that, by fuffering, 
 he might be made perfect, to lead mankind to falva- 
 tion ; to him who had called us brethren, and had now 
 taken up his anointed body, " anointed with the oil of 
 gladnefs above his fellows;" that body, by which he 
 became our fellow, our brother, and our Saviour; and 
 by the afcent of which he has marfhalkd our way to 
 his eternal kingdom. To him, I fay, who had been 
 partaker of our flefh and blood, and who, having 
 made himfelf acquainted with our infirmities, has ta- 
 ken into heaven that nature, by which he can be 
 touched with a companion ate feeling of them ; and has 
 therefore become our 4 .' merciful high prieft and inter- 
 ceflbr," are thefe attributes afcribed, this addrefs of ex- 
 ultation is made; it is (if I may fo fay) the welcome of 
 God to the captain and leader of mankind to glo- 
 ry. And, if I may dare to ufe the expreffion, we 
 find, as it were, a paflion of joy in the great God 
 
 U 2 of
 
 [ 156] 
 
 of our falvation, at feeing the means of his grace 
 take effect in rcftoring mankind to that forefeited hap- 
 pinefs, from which by tranfgreffion he had fallen, in 
 reconciling him to himfelf, in feeing that a paflage 
 is now opened into his own eternal happinefs to man, 
 by the taking the manhood into God, as the Godhead 
 had before on earth rendered one man a worthy and 
 fufficient atonement for all men. His grace is now 
 perfected ; our nature is feated in heaven ; and the glo- 
 ry which Chrift had with the Father before the foun- 
 dations of the world were laid, is now afcribed to him ; 
 the Father has glorified him with his own felf ; he is, by 
 the majefty moft high, declared to be one with him, de- 
 clared to be God, whofe throne endureth for ever, and 
 whofe years fhall never fail : the man was feen to af- 
 cend ; but the God is acknowledged by him to whom 
 alone the God is comprehenfible, " who only knoweth. 
 who the Son is." I do not fee how it is poffible to 
 avoid, or evade, the ftrength of this proof, refulting 
 from the application of thefe words of David to the 
 Son, of whofe Godhead they are as exprefs a declara- 
 tion as words can convey. God himfelf acknowledges 
 gnd declares the fecond perfon in himfelf; and this is 
 exactly conformable to our Lord's own words, upon 
 feeing Judas go out with a refolution to betray him; 
 his hour he knew was now come, and, " therefore, 
 when he (Judas) was gone out, Jefus faid, now is the 
 Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If 
 God be glorified in him, God (hall alfo glorify him in 
 himfelf, and fhall ftraightway glorify him," Johnxiii. 
 31, 32. And as fuch a doxology, according to this 
 prediction, comes from God himfelf to Chrift, I own 
 that to me it appears an impious perverfenefs to withhold 
 prayer, an impious ingratitude to withhold our praife and 
 thankfgiving from him. When we fee our own falvation 
 the fource of fuch joy in heaven - t when we fee the in- 
 finitely
 
 [ '57 ] 
 
 finitely great " maker of all things that are in heaven, 
 and that are in the earth," take fuch an intereft in the 
 happinefs of us his very little creatures, we have an 
 additional encouragement to approach the throne of his 
 mercy with thankfgiving for our redemption ; for which 
 he not only fuffered, but rejoiced in his fufferings, 
 and efteemed them glory for our fake. Let us then 
 acknowledge, that " of the Jews, as concerning the 
 flefh, Chrift came, but that he is over all, God blefled 
 for ever. Amen." Rom. ix. 5. " Jefus Chrift, the 
 fame yefterday, and to day, and for ever," Heb. xiii. 8. 
 
 I now come to the fourth kind of teftimony borne to 
 the divinity of our Lord and Saviour Jefus Chrift, 
 that which he has afforded himfelf, by the revelation 
 made to St. John, after his afcenfion, and in which he 
 has, in his glorified ftate, declared his own nature. I 
 do not mean to difcufs the prophecy contained in the 
 apocalypfe, but to produce fuch evidence as the book 
 affords to my point only ; fuch other proofs as are re- 
 ferable to this head, I have noted, as they have occur- 
 red in the former parts of this enquiry. 
 
 Jefus Chrift reveals himfelf to St. John in the fol- 
 lowing words: " thcfe things faith the firft and the laft, 
 which was dead, and is alive," Rev. ii. 8. God fays to 
 Ifaiah, " I am the firft, and I am the laft, and befides 
 me there is no God," If. xliv. 6. Hence we fee, that 
 befides the firft and the laft, there is no God : but Jefus 
 Chrift fays, " I am the firft, and I am the laft ;" the 
 conclufion is, that befides Jefus Chrift, one with the 
 Father, there is no God, and he is the " alpha and 
 omega, the beginning and the ending, which is, and 
 which was, and which is to coine, the Almighty," 
 Rev. i. 8, and xxii. 13. 
 
 Jefus
 
 [ '58 ] 
 
 Jefus Chrift fays, " I am he that fearcheth the reins 
 and hearts : and I will give unto every one of you accord- 
 ing to your works," Rev. ii. 23. God fays to Jeremi- 
 ah, " I the Lord fearch the heart, I try the reins, even to 
 give every man according to his ways, and according to 
 the fruit of his doings," Jer. xvii. 10. Here God has 
 declared himfdf the fcarcher of hearts. Is there any other 
 fearcher of hearts ? None. But Jefus declares that he is 
 he that fearcheth the hearts, as there is none other that 
 fearcheth, and that Jefus Chrift has declared that he 
 fearcheth : Jefus Chrift is none other than God Al- 
 mighty, one with the Father ; " the Lord of hofts, 
 that judgeth righteoufly, and trieth the reins and the 
 heart," Jer. xi. 20 ; " the Lord of hofts, that trieth the 
 righteous, and feeth the reins and the heart," Jer. xx. 
 12; and the unity of the Godhead of the Lord, the 
 Kinf of Ifrael, and his Redeemer the Lord of hofts, is. 
 thus afTerted by the one firft and laft. " Thus faith 
 the Lord the King of Ifrael, and his Redeemer, the 
 Lord of hofts, I am the firft, and I am the laft, and 
 befides me there is no God," If. xliv. 6. 
 
 " I am alpha and omega, the beginning and the end- 
 ing, faith the Lord, which is, and which was, and 
 which is to come, the Almighty," Rev. i. 8. To the 
 proof already given, that thefe words are fpoken by 
 "fefus Chrift, I will add this, that the declaration fol- 
 lows a defcription of the coming of the Lord, exactly 
 correfponding to that given by our Saviour of the co- 
 ming of the Son of man; " then fhall all the tribes of 
 the earth mourn, and they fhall fee the Son of man 
 coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great 
 glory," Matth. xxiv. 30. " Behold, he cometh with 
 clouds; and every eye fhall fee him, and they alib 
 which pierced him : and all kindreds of the earth fhall 
 wail becaufe of him," Rev. i. 7. He then proceeds to 
 
 declare
 
 declare himfelf to be the Lord, which is, and which 
 was, and which is to come : to Jefus Chrift the Lord, 
 then the four beafts " reft not day and night, faying, 
 holy, holy, holy^ Lord God Almighty, which was, 
 and is, and is to come," Rev. iv. 8. 
 
 " I am he that liveth, and was dead ; and beholdj I 
 am alive for evermore. Amen." Rev. i. 18. That 
 thefe words are fpoken by Jefus Chrift, cannot admit 
 of a doubt. " And when thofe beafts give glory, and 
 honour, and thanks to him who fat on the throne, who 
 liveth for ever and ever, the four and twenty elders fall 
 down before him that fat on the throne, and worlhip 
 him that liveth for ever and ever, and caft their crowns 
 before the throne, faying, thou art worthy, O Lord, 
 to receive glory, and honour, and power : for thou haft 
 created all things, and for thy pleafure they are, and 
 were created," Rev. iv. 9, 10, n. Such is the ho- 
 nour afcribed in heaven to him who is " alive for ever- 
 more. Amen." And fliall we, who are a part of his 
 creation, " by whom are all things, and we by him," 
 alone withdraw ourfelves from the worfhip of the " one 
 Lord, Jefus Chrift," "by whom all things confift?" 
 And fhall we not rather join our voice to the voices in 
 heaven, and fay, " hallowed be thy name. Thy will 
 be done in earth, as it is in heaven?" Matth. vi. 9, 10; 
 fee alfo i Cor. viii. 6, and ColofT. i. 17. 
 
 The following words of our Saviour to St. John, to 
 be delivered by him to the church of Philadelphia, war- 
 rant our preferring that petition of the Lord's prayer to 
 him, " lead us not into temptation, but deliver us 
 from evil," Matth. vi. 13. "I will alfo keep thec 
 from the hour of temptation, which fhall come upon 
 all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth," 
 Rev. iii. io. 
 
 " As
 
 " As many as I love, I rebuke and chafteh," fay, 
 Jefus Chrift to St. John, Rev. iii. rg. Behold, 
 happy is the man whom God corredlcth," Job v. 17. 
 " For whom the Lord loveth he chafteneth, and 
 fcourgeth every Ton whom he receiveth. If ye endure 
 chaftening, God dealeth with you as with fons: for 
 what fon is he whom the Father chafteneth not?" 
 Heb. xii. 6, 7. 
 
 " Grace be unto you, and peace from him which 
 is, and which was, and which is to come ; and from 
 the feven fpirits which are before his throne ; and from 
 Jefus Chrift, who is the faithful witnefs, and the firft- 
 begotten of the dead, and the Prince of the kings of 
 the earth : unto him that loved us, and warned us from 
 our fins in his own blood, and hath made us kings 
 and pricfts unto God and his Father ; to him be 
 glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen." 
 Rev. i. 4, 5, 6. If it be allowed that there is an 
 errour in the manufcript whence our translation of the 
 firft chapter and fifth verfe of the apocalypfe was taken, 
 there is but very little loft by the conceffion; for fubfti- 
 tuting the words IB ayairijcranV ** AaVam? inftead of the 
 accepted reading*]* ayanrnVairn *i Aao-am, and then adopt- 
 ing Mr. Lindfey's own tranflation, I do not fee that 
 the doxology contained in the pafTage, is by any means 
 turned away from its proper object, Jefus Chrift ; for, 
 taking the whole together, it runs thus, " grace be 
 unto you, and peace from him which is, and which 
 was, and which is to come ; and from the feven fpirits 
 which are before his throne ; and from Jefus Chrift, 
 who is the faithful witnefs, and the firft-begotten of the 
 dead, and the Prince of the kings of the earth, who 
 lath loved us, and warned us from our fins, in his own 
 blood, and hath made us kings and priefts unto God 
 and his Father j to him be glory and dominion for 
 
 ever
 
 [ 161 ] 
 
 ever and ever. Amen." Rev. i. 5, 6. It is difficult 
 to imagine how any man fhould conceive " htm" to be 
 referable to any preceding term in the fentence, befides 
 that to which the multitude of epithets is referred ; and 
 that this is Jefus Chrift, does not admit of a doubt. 
 This I fay even upon a fuppofition that Mr. Liridfey 
 lias taken the text as it was actually written ; but I 
 will now withdraw that tonceffion, upon an aflurance 
 that the commonly accepted reading is fupported by at 
 leaft equal authority as that of Dr. Mill, and that the 
 tranflators of our Bible have thought it the preferable 
 one. But if I were altogether to relinquifh this text, 
 which will however admit of no other fenfe than that 
 I have afcribed to it, it would avail this gentleman but 
 very little, for the fifth chap, and thirteenth verfe affords 
 a doxology which I will not refigrv fo eafily a<= he may 
 expect, " BlefHng and honour, and glory, and pow- 
 er be unto him that fitteth, upon the throne, and un- 
 to the Lamb for ever and ever," Rev. v. 13. Is this 
 doubtful ? No, nor a doubt pretended : but Jefus 
 Chrift is in fight, and therefore, fays Mr. Lindfey, 
 an -object of worfhip. God only, fays this gentle- 
 man in another part of his book, is the proper ob- 
 ject of worfhip- but here Jefus Chrift in fight is a 
 proper object of worfhip.-- I, will draw the necefTary 
 conclufion; therefore Jefus Chrift in fi^ht is God. 
 And, " am I a God at handj faith the Lord, and not 
 a God afar off?" Jer. xxiii. 23. Is this to be acceded 
 to? If Jefus Chrill be a creature, he is not an object 
 of worfhip ; and my turning my eye upon him can ne- 
 ver confer infinity and eternity on that which was be- 
 fore local and temporary ; but Mr. Lindfey perfifting 
 in it that he is a creature, has given the beholders a 
 power of looking him into the one Creator. This is 
 too abfurd to dwell on. I fhall only afk, if Jefus 
 Chrift has not any right to our adoration, how he is 
 X authorized
 
 authorized to demand it on fight? and, if he be in any 
 cafe entitled to our adoration, " the incommunicable 
 honour and prerogative of God alone *," and that 
 therefore he be God, whether it be not the depth of 
 flupidity, as well as impiety, to deny that our Lord 
 and Saviour Jefus Chrift is one with the Father, God ? 
 " Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of the Lord 
 and Saviour Jefus Chrift: to him be glory both now and 
 forever. Amen." fays St. Peter; and one fuch declara- 
 tion, that glory is his for ever and ever, is equal to a 
 thoufand ; and, were every other one to be given up, 
 this would remain a fuificient eftablifliment of the eter- 
 nal glory of Jefus Chrift; but, when we find glory once 
 fo afcribed, I do not fee ar.y reafon for doubting fuch 
 doxologies as repeat the pniifes of our Lord and Savi- 
 our; for, one efta'olifhing the right, it is but reafon- 
 able to believe, that men, who faw with the fame en- 
 lightened underftanding as Peter did, fhould equally 
 afcribe to him the glory which they muft have equally 
 fcen to be his due. 
 
 " The kings of the earth, &c. hid themfelves in the 
 dens, and in the rocks of the mountains; and faid to' 
 the mountains and rocks, fall on us, and hide us from 
 the face of him that fitteth on the throne, and from 
 the wrath of the Lamb : for the great day of his 
 wrath is come; and who fliall be able to ftand ?" 
 Rev. vi. 15, 16. This fpeaks for itfelf. There is 
 in context with it a remarkable paflage, by which 
 Jefus Chrift, coming to judgement, a5ts exactly in 
 correfpondence with thofe words which are addref- 
 fed to him by the Father upon his afcenfion into 
 heaven; " The heavens fhall perifh, and wax old 
 as doth a garment, and as a vefture flialt thou fold 
 them up," Heb. i. 12. " And .the ftars of heaven fell 
 
 unto 
 
 Apology p. 137.
 
 ,'ttRto the earth, even as a fig-tree cafteth her untimely 
 figs when fhe is fhaken of a mighty wind : and the 
 heaven departed as a fcrowl when it is rolled together," 
 Rev. vi. 13, 14.. 
 
 " And I faw another angel fly in the midft of hea- 
 .ven, having the everlafting gofpel to preach unto them 
 that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kin- 
 dred, and tongue, and people, faying with a loud 
 voice, Fear God, and give glory to him, for the hour 
 of his judgement is come: and worfhip him that made 
 heaven and earth, and the fea, and the fountains of 
 waters," Rev. xiv. 6, 7. Paul, who had often term- 
 ed himfelf " a prifoner of Jefus Chrift," Philemon 9. 
 and who tells the Romans, " I am not aftiamed of the 
 gofpel of Chrift,!' Rom. i. 16. fays to Timothy, " Be 
 not thou therefore afhamed of the teftimony of our 
 Lord, nor of me his prifoner," 2 Tim. i. 8 ; and alfo 
 fays to the Philippians, that though fome do preach 
 Chrift out of contention,, and fome of love; yet, 
 .being " fet for the defence of the gofpel ; what then ? 
 Notwithstanding every way, whether in pretence, or in 
 tnith, Chrift is preached ; and I therein do rejoice ; 
 yea, and will rejoice," Phil. i. 17, 18. Thefe paflages 
 .precifely afcertain the meaning of the words preaching 
 the gofpel^ and mew them to be of the fame import as 
 preaching Chrift, or bearing the tejlimony of ChrijL Now, 
 in the text before us, we fee an angel flying in the 
 midft .of heaven to preach the euerlajling gofpel. And, as 
 we well know that it is " the Lord Jefus Chrift, who fhall 
 judge the quick and the dead at his appearing, and his 
 kingdom," 2 Tim. iv. i. what does this cceleftial har- 
 binger of our Judge proclaim ? Fear God and give 
 glory to him, for the hour of his judgement is come:" 
 "We have one Lord Jcfus Chrift, by whom are all things, 
 and we by him," i Cor. viii. 6. " All things were cre- 
 X 2 ated
 
 atcd by him, and for him, and lie is before 
 things, and by him all things confift," Col. i. 16, 17. 
 But the angel proceeds, " worfhip him that made 
 heaven and earth, and the fen, and the fountains of 
 waters." A new and heavenly preacher of the gof- 
 pel, that is of Chrift, here directly afcribes to our. 
 Judge the name and attributes of God.: let us then, 
 upon the teftimony qf this herald, " fear and give 
 glory to the Lord Jefus Chrift," the final preacher ot 
 whofe gofpel has declared him to be one with the Fa- 
 ther, God. 
 
 " The Lamb fhall overcome them : for he is Lord 
 of lords, and King of kings," Rev. xvii. 14. " The 
 King of kings, and Lord of lords" appears again in 
 the igth chap, and i6th verfe, mounted upon a white 
 horfe, and followed by the armies in heaven; he is 
 afTailed by the bead, and the kings of the earth, and 
 their armies ; but the beaft is taken, and his armies arc 
 overcome; and " the remnant were flain with the 
 fword of him that fat upon the horfe; and all the fowls 
 were filled with their fiefh," Rev. xix. 21. In the iyth 
 verfe of this chapter, before the war, in which the 
 King of kings and Lord of Lords overcame and flew 
 the beaft, and the armies, and the kings, " an angel 
 cried with a loud voice, faying to all the fowls that fly 
 in the midft of heaven, come and gather yourfelves to- 
 gether unto the fupper of the great God; that ye may 
 cat the flcfh of kings, and the flefn of captains, and 
 the flefh of mighty men, and the flefh of horfes, and 
 of them that fit on them, and the flefh of all men, both 
 free and bond, both fmall and great," Rev. xix. 17, 
 1 8. The war immediately enfues; and he that fat up- 
 on the horfe, having overcome and flain thofe who 
 came againft him, " filled all fowls with their flefh ;" 
 fo that we find that fupper given to them by the King 
 
 of
 
 of kings, and Lord of lords, to which they are invited 
 by an angel as to the fupper of the great God. Him 
 then we muft believe to be the great God, who fuppli- 
 ed it to them who were called to co e to ; it but Jefus 
 Chrift fupplied it to them; Jefus Chrift is therefore 
 one with the Father, that great God. 
 
 " His name (that fat upon the horfe) is called the 
 word of God," Rev. xix. 13. As there is not the leaft 
 doubt that it is Jefus Chrift who fat upon the horfe, 
 we may venture to explain the beginning of the flrft 
 chapter of St. John's gofpel by this declaration, that 
 " his name is called the word of Go. 1 ;" and whatfo- 
 ever is there fpoken of the word cf God, muft be al- 
 lowed to have been faid of him who fat upon the horfe, 
 even Jefus Chrift, " the victorious Lamb, the King of 
 kines and Lord of lords;" and there it is exprefsiy 
 declared that " the word was Goci," John i. i; that 
 " the word was made flefh, and dwelt among us, and 
 we beheld his glory," John i. 14 ; that " the fame 
 (word) was in the beginning with God, and that by 
 him, who was in the world, and who came unto hi:; 
 own, the world was made," John i. 2, 10, II. And as 
 45 in the beo-innin^ God created the heaven and the 
 
 * O 
 
 earth," Gen. i. i. " that all things were made by 
 him; (the word) and without him was not any thing 
 made that was made;" that " in him was life, and 
 the life was the light of men," John i. 3, 4. To 
 the fame purpofe are the following texts ; " I am 
 the light of the world," fays our Lord j and " he that 
 followeth me, fhall not walk in darknefs, but (hall have 
 the light of life," John viii. 12. " We declare unto 
 you, that Qod is light," fays the fame Evangel ift, 
 I John i. 5. " We have looked upon, and our hands 
 have handled of the word of life; (for the life was ma- 
 nifefted, and we have feen it, and bear witnefs, and 
 
 fhew
 
 [ '66 ] 
 
 fhew unto you that eternal life which was with the Fa- 
 ther, and was manifefted unto us)" i John i. i, 2. 
 ** God was manifeft in the flcfh," fays St. Paul, 
 T Tim. iii. 16; and that " the word of God liveth 
 and abideth for ever," is the declaration of St. Peter, 
 1 Pet. i. 23. " Through faith we underftand rhat the 
 worlds were framed by the word of God," Heb. xi. 3. 
 " By whom alfo he made the worlds," Heb. i. 2. 
 Here every attribute of God is afcribed to the word of 
 God, to have been from the beginning, to have been 
 the original and author of all created things ; or, to ufe 
 St. John's expreffion, " the beginning of the creation 
 of God," Rev. iii. 14. to have life in him, and to be 
 the light. But it is farther added, that this word came 
 in the flefh, in which it was manifeft, feen, and hand- 
 led in the world ; this therefore is evidently fpoken of 
 Jefus Chrift. But the word of God (here feated on a 
 horfe, and declared to be Jefus Chrift himfelf under 
 that appellation) is exprefsly faid to be God : Jefus 
 Chrift therefore being that word manifeft in the flefh, 
 and that word being God, Jefus Chrift is therefore one 
 with the Father, God. The gofpel is the teftimony of 
 Chrift, " but the word of the Lord endureth for ever. 
 And this is the word which by the gofpel is preached 
 unto you," i Pet. i. 25. John Baptift was certainly the 
 appointed forerunner of our Lord, and it was of him 
 therefore that John gave teftimony. ** John bore wit- 
 nefs of him," John i. 15. It is very remarkable that 
 thefe words are not once preceded, in St. John's gofpel, 
 by the name of Jefus Chrift ; but that they immediately 
 follow a declaration, that " the word was made flefh 
 and dwelt among us ;",the word therefore is Jefus Chrift", 
 and " the word was God j" Jefus Chrift is therefore 
 one with the Father, God. 
 
 As
 
 t '67} 
 
 As to Mr. Lindfey's laborious diilertation on the 
 Chaldee Targums and the word Mimra, I have nothing 
 to fay to it, it does not properly come within my pro- 
 vince ; one fhort remark, however, I will make on it, 
 If the word Mimra fignify both " word and felf," as 
 it is certain that Jefus Chrift is " the word of God,"' 
 the word being the fame as the felf of God, Jefus Chrift 
 is therefore the " felf of God " or, to ufe a more 
 common expreffion, Jefus Chrift is therefore God's own 
 ielf *. This I infer from Mr. Lindfey's own premifes; 
 ?.nd fo obvious is the conclufion from the manner in 
 which he has fupplied them from half a dozen writers, 
 that I wonder how it efcaped even his own observation. 
 I will take occasion here to'fayv that I wave all advan- 
 tage that I might derive from the idiomatick plurals of 
 the Hebrew language (if only idiomatick they be) pre- 
 ceding verbs of the fingular number. They may afford 
 argument to thofe who, with better knowledge than f 
 am poflefled of, fhall look for it among them : but I am 
 in purfuit of truth, and not of fyftem ; I am in purfuit 
 of truth too momentous to be trifled with, and, while 
 I call upon men to yield their aiFeht to a propofition 
 effential to the hapipinefs of their immortal fouls, God 
 forbid that I fhould knowingly call one fophifm into 
 proof, or offer that as argument to my readers, which 
 did not carry conviction to my own breaft. At the 
 fame time that I relinquish this argnment,' it is but for 
 myfelf I do, or can relinquifh it. 
 
 When Mr. Lindfey has declared the office of a prieft 
 to be " to offer up the prayers of other?," Apol. p. 127, 
 he fhould not therefore have precluded prayer to Chrift, 
 and the practice of making him the objeft of religious 
 worftiip, unlefs he were very certain that no priefthood 
 had been appointed to him ; but " they fhall be priefts 
 of God and of Chrift," Rev. xx. 6. I have brought 
 
 this 
 
 * Glorify thou me with thine own felf, John xvii. 5.
 
 t 168 ] 
 
 this verfe to eftablifh the Divinity of our blefTed Re- 
 deemer, upon a foundation which negligence or blinded 
 prejudice overlooked ; but upon which I now demand 
 the acquicfccnce of the Unitarians in the Godhead of 
 Jefus Chrift ; we fee it allowed an argument if it can 
 be brought, and here it is for them. It is remarkable 
 alfo that the fe pricfts of Chrift are thofc who are pur- 
 takers of the firft refurre&ion,' of whom it is faid lt that 
 they are blcfled and holy :" to thofe then who are blef- 
 fcd and holy we have reafon to conclude, that 'this my- 
 ftery of the Godhead of Chrift will be more manifeftly 
 difplayed than to us who are yet to taftepf death. Surely 
 there can be no more uncomfortable conviction than 
 that all the ftorcs of God's wifdom are open to us here, 
 and that in a future ftate there can be found nothing to 
 add to knowledge -, the very expectation of feeing far- 
 ther into the government of the univerfe, directed by 
 power and wifdom that are infinite, is a motive to obe- 
 dience i and a full infight into a myftery which is the 
 means of our own entrance into eternal happinefs^ is a 
 hope fo delightful in itfelf, that it fliould make us 
 thankful for fuch a revelation as intimates it to us, yet 
 withholds the full manifcftation for a part of our reward 
 44 who wait patiently the coming of the Lord," " for 
 behold, we count them happy which endure," James v. 
 
 Jefus Chrift was indeed on earth a pricft, and accord- 
 ingly here difcharged his faccrdotal office, by offering 
 up the one fufficient facrifice of himfelf for all man- 
 kind, and " by the blood of fprinkling, that ipeaketh 
 better things, than that of Abel," which cried 'from 
 the ground, he has made us a party to the covenant of 
 which he is himfelf the mediatour ; and by his blood 
 which does not cry againft us, but on the contrary 
 aiaketh interceflion for us, (that body from which it was 
 poured out being cur expiation) he has extended falva- 
 
 tion
 
 [ 169 ] 
 
 {ion to all that believe on him. The writer to the He- 
 brews has fo clearly pointed out to them how their own 
 ritual was a type of Chrift's prepared body and blood 
 flied as a facrifice for the fins of all men ; fo literally pro- 
 nounced him our atonement ; and fd explicitly laid open 
 the nature of his priefthood, and the fubfequent media- 
 tion of his fufferings in our behalf) that I ihould afk 
 my reader's forgivenefs for fo frequently entering into 
 that fubjecl ; but when the whole doctrine of atone- 
 ment by the death of our Saviour is denied, and that he 
 is declared to have died only as a proof that he had 
 lived, I cannot but think it neceflary to fpeak of it, as 
 the occafion offers, in the courfe of my enquiry ; and the 
 rather, when I confider how vaftly more probable it is, 
 that even my book fhall be read by the Unitarians than 
 the Bible. 
 
 " And I faw the dead, fmall and great, ftand before 
 God ; and the books were opened : and another book 
 was opened, which is the book of life : and the dead 
 were judged out of thofe things which were written in 
 the books, according to their works. And the fea gave 
 up the dead which were in it ; and death and hell deli- 
 vered up the dead which were in them : and they were 
 judged every man according to their works. And 
 death and hell were caft into the lake of fire: this is 
 the fecond death. And whofoever was not found writ- 
 ten in the book of life, was caft into the lake of fire," 
 Rev. xx. 12, 13, 14, 15. I need not repeat the nu- 
 merous pafiages in which it is fet forth, that " the Son 
 of. man ftiall come in his glory, and all the holy angels 
 with him, then fhall he fit upon the throne of his glory. 
 And before him fhall be gathered all nations ; and he 
 fhall feparate them one from another," Matth. xxv. 31, 
 32. " Then (hall he (the Son of man) reward every 
 man according to his works," Matth. xvi, 27 j and 
 
 Y that
 
 [ 1? J 
 
 that " things which offend, and them that do iniquity; 
 he (the Son of man) (hall caft into a furnace of fire : 
 there fhall be wailing and gnaftiing of teeth," Matth. xiii. 
 41, 42. Here every a& of bur Saviour's office as the 
 judge of th'e world, who has declared his own determi- 
 nation to call all flefh to account, is given to God, be- 
 fore whom St. John fees the dead, fmall and great, 
 ftand, and all nations gathered to receive judgement, 
 " every man according to his works," and by whom 
 " they that do iniquity" " are caft into a furnace of 
 fire." There can be no truth in fuch a vifion, if it be 
 not that the very fame thin^ is prefented to the view of 
 St. John, which is foretold by our Saviour ; and that he 
 who declared that he would judge, even Jefus Chrift, 
 has, according to his declaration, proceeded to judge, 
 and to teftify himfelf to be one ^vith the Father, God. 
 The book of life is faid, in another place, to be " the 
 Lamb's book of life," Rev. xxi. 27. It is declared 
 that, " the Father judgeth no man, but hath commit- 
 ted all judgement unto the Son," John v. 22. And a 
 reaibn is given for this appointment, " (the Father) 
 hath given him (the Son) authority to execute judge- 
 ment alfo, becaufe he is the Son of man." As the Son 
 of man only he could receive an appointment, and to 
 him who, as a Son of man, has called us brethren, and 
 can have a feeling of our infirmities, it is moft merci- 
 fully made. All men are here aflembled to judgement 
 "before the great God ; but " the Father judgeth no 
 man" ; before the Son then are they aflembled : but 
 they are before God ; the Son therefore is one with the 
 father, God. 
 
 " The Lamb which is in the midft of the throne, 
 (hall feed them, and fhall lead them unto living foun- 
 tains of waters," Rev. vii. 17. Jefus faid to John, 
 " I am alpha and omega, the beginning and the end, 
 
 thy
 
 the firft and the laft," Rev. xxii. 13. " And he (that 
 fat upon the throne) faid unto me it is done. I am 
 alpha and omega, the beginning and the end: I will 
 give unto him that is athirft, of the fountain of the 
 water of life freely. He that overcometh, fhall in- 
 herit all things, and I will be his God, and he fhall 
 be my Son," Rev. xxi. 6, 7. Here every attribute of 
 him who has called us, if we fhall prove victorious, his 
 fons, is equally the Son's as the Father's ; he is en- 
 throned ; he leads to the living fountains of water, 
 and he is the one firft and laft; therefore he is with 
 the Father, one God : what an invitation do the Uni- 
 tarians decline ! 
 
 In the holy Jerufalem, " I faw no temple therein : 
 for the Lord God almighty, and the Lamb, are the 
 temple of it. And the city had no need of the fun, 
 neither of the moon to fhine in it : for the glory of 
 God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light there- 
 of," Rev. xxi. 22, 23. " For the Lord God giveth 
 them light," Rev. xxii. 5. " The throne of God and of 
 the Lamb fhall be in it ; and his fervants fhall ferve 
 him, and they fhall fee his face; and his name fhall be 
 in their foreheads," Rev. xxii. 3, 4. Here God and the 
 Lamb are but one temple, fhed one light, which is 
 the one incommunicable glory of God, and pofiefs one 
 throne, prefent one face to the view of his fervants, 
 and his fervants ferve him, that is God and the Lamb, 
 fpoken of in the fingular number as but one God. To 
 the trinal unity of God, then I am not afraid to af- 
 cribe the excellent doxology of Dr. Tucker, who, 
 when he ufed it, remembered that there is but one God, 
 and that there are three perfons; " to him therefore, 
 Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft, let thefe miracles cf 
 divine mercy be ever afcribcd ; and to them be glory, 
 praife, majefty, and dominion, both now and for ever- 
 
 Y 2 more."
 
 more." " The psrfonal pronoun him" fays Mr. Lindfey,, 
 " evidently points to one perfon, one individual intelligent 
 agent * ;" fo that as God and the Lamb are, in the 
 paflage before us, pointed to by this fame perfonal pro- 
 noun hint) let God and the Lamb, even Jefus Chrift 
 be acknowledged to be one individual intelligent agent, 
 one God blcfled for ever. " I will write upon him 
 my new name," lays our Saviour, Rev. iii. 12. "A 
 Lamb flood on the mount Sion, and with him an hun- 
 dred forty and four thoufand, having his Father's name 
 written in their foreheads," Rev. xiv. i. Conformable 
 to the fuperfcription of the name of the Father, and the 
 new name of the Son, our Lord fays, " I will write 
 upon him the name of my God," Rev. iii. 12. 
 
 The ajigel who fpoke to John, and fignified to him 
 thofe things which he was fent by Jefus Chrift to re- 
 veal to his fervant John, Rev. i. i. teftifies as follows, 
 " the Lord God of the holy prophets fent his angel to 
 {hew unto his fervants the things which muft fhortly 
 be done," Rev. xxii. 6. And our Saviour immediate- 
 ly after, fpraking of this very angel, which has faid 
 that he was fent by, and has called himfelf the angel 
 of the Lord, declares, " I Jefus have fent mine angel 
 to teftify unto you, thefe things in the churches," 
 Rev. xxii. 16. Jefus Chrift, who fent his angel, which 
 was fent by the Lord God, is therefore one with thq 
 Father, the Lord God. 
 
 Such farther evidence as I m~an to produce from the 
 holy fcriptures, to prove the Godhead of our gracious 
 Redeemer, I fhall referve till I come to confider and 
 confute the arguments by which Mr. Lindfey has en- 
 deavoured to depofe him from the throne of his glory; 
 and as I clofed the apoftolical teftimony of our Sa- 
 viour's 
 * Apology, p. 199.
 
 [ '73 1 
 
 viour's divinity, by {hewing that the appointed witnef- 
 fes of Jefus Chrift had brought God himfelf to fpeak 
 the fact, and to pronounce that he who had been (lain, 
 and had taken that body, by the blood of which we are 
 cleanfcd, into heaven, there for ever to remain, is one 
 with himfelf, " God almighty, whofe throne endureth 
 for ever and ever, and the fceptre of whofe kingdom 
 is a fceptre of righteoufnefs ;" fo I fhall conclude this 
 chapter by bringing together thofe doxologies with 
 which all things both in heaven and in earth have glo- 
 rified the Son of man ; and if by thefe alfo, the king- 
 dom, and the power, and the glory be afcribed to him, 
 who, of ranfomed mariffnd, admitted to fellowihip with 
 him, can then refufe to " magnify the name of the Lord 
 Jefus," and to unite his voice with " ten thoufand 
 times ten thoufand, and thoufands of thoufands of an- 
 gels, who reft not day and night, faying, holy, -holy, 
 holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and which.. is, 
 and which is to come," " worthy art thou O Lord to 
 receive glory, and honour, and power a ," " worthy is 
 the Lamb that was flain to receive power, and riches, 
 and wifdom, and ftrength, and honour, and glory, and 
 bleffing b ," " and with every creature which is in 
 heaven and in earth, and under the earch, and fuch 
 as are in the fea, and all that are in them, faying, 
 Plefling, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto 
 him thaf fitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb 
 for ever and ever. Amen c ." " Salvation to our God 
 which fitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb d ," 
 " which is in the midft of the throne c ?" for fuch is 
 the fong of angels, and of every creature " created by 
 him, and for him f j" fuch are the grateful hymns of 
 thofe who are redeemed by the blood of the " flaughter'd 
 Lamb g ," which have come out of great tribulation, 
 
 and 
 
 a Rev. iv. 8, 11. b Rev. v. 12. c Rev. v. 13. 
 
 <1 Rev, vii. 10. cRev. vii. 17. f ColofT. i. 16. g If. liii. 7.
 
 trtd have waflied their robes, and made them white in 
 the blood of the Lamb," and who " therefore are be- 
 fore the throne of God, and ferve him night and day 
 in his temple," " a great multitude, which no man could 
 number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and 
 tongues, ftanding before the throne, and before the 
 Lamb clothed with white robes h . To thefe the glo- 
 rious company of the apoftles have added their praife, 
 faying, " to the King of kings, and Lord of lords V 
 " who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light 
 which no man can approach unto, whom no man hath 
 feen, nor can fee, be honour and power everlafting. 
 Amen k . '* To our Lord and Saviour Jefus Chrift be 
 glory both now and for ever. Amen ' :" " to whom be 
 praife and dominion both now and for ever. Amen m ." 
 " Wherefore feeing we alfo are compafled about with fo 
 great a cloud of witnefies, let us lay afide every weight, 
 and the fin which doth fo eafily befet us, and let us run 
 with patience the race that is fet before us, looking 
 unto Jefus, the author and finiftier of our faith, who, 
 for the joy that was fet before him, end ured the crofs, 
 defpifing the fhame n ," which was undergone for our 
 redemption ; and let us " with every tongue confefs that 
 Jefus Chrift is Lord, with every knee, of things in 
 heaven, and things in earth, and things under the 
 earth, bow our knee alfo at the name of Jefus ;" and 
 knowing that the fame Lord over all is rich unto all 
 that call upon him, let us alfo call upon the name of 
 the Lord, and be faved; and to him that fitteth on 
 the throne, and the Lamb, one God, the Father 
 and the Son, with the whole hoft of heaven and earth 
 and all created beings, join in afcribing blefling and 
 honour, and glory, and power. Amen." 
 
 CHAP. 
 
 l Rev. vii. 9, 14, 15. Rev. xvii. 14. k i Tim. vi. 15, 16. 
 l z Pet. iii. 1 8. m i Pet. iv. n. Heb. xii. i. o Philip, ii. IQ.
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 Controverted Evidence cf our Saviour's Divinity ejiablijh- 
 ed. Objections anfwered. The Divinity of the Holy 
 Ghojl proved from the Scriptures. 
 
 4 T> Eligious worfhip", fays Mr. Lindfeyy < is the 
 J\. incommunicable honour and prerogative of God 
 alone," Apology, p. 137. Among the multitudinous 
 proofs which I have already given of our Lord's divinity, 
 I have produced many inftances of prayer, of praife, and 
 thankfgiving, preferred to him both in earth and in hea- 
 ven; by angels and thofe who have already become par- 
 takers of the benefits of his paffion in heaven ; and in 
 earth, by men filled with the Comforter, the holy fpirit 
 of truth, to whom " the teftimony of Jefus" * was gi- 
 ven. Thefe I look upon to be acts of religious worfhip; 
 but this honour and prerogative of God alone is afcribed 
 to Jefus Chrift ; it is incommunicable, and muft there- 
 fore perfectly and eflentially diftinguifh the poffeflbur ; 
 but Jefus Chrift is the pofleflbur ; Jefus Chrift is there- 
 fore one with the Father, that God alone wliofe incom- 
 municable honour and prerogative it is to be the object 
 of our religious worfhip and adoration. 
 
 Mr. Lindfey is fo exceedingly anxious to emancipate 
 himfelf from the fervice of Jefus Chrift, whofe fervant 
 and prifoner Paul declares it is his joy and glory to be ; 
 he bends fo reluctantly under the eafy yoke, the light 
 burden of the gofpel ; he fo boifteroufly dafhes about the 
 bonds of peace, and fo fretfully endeavours to caft the 
 cords from him ; and with fuch a foaming hydrophobia 
 flies from " the fountains of living waters," that he has 
 really become a very melancholy fpectaclc, and there- 
 fore 
 
 * Rev. xix. ic.
 
 t 176 ] 
 
 fore I feel it a duty incumbent upon me to force, ^s 
 ftrongly as I can, this conviction upon him, that if he 
 will drink of thefc Waters, they will refrefh him, and he 
 fhall not thirft again ; that if he return to Chrift, the 
 great fhepherd and bifhop of our fouls, however forrowful 
 and heavily laden he may be, he fhall find reft to his 
 foul; that if he knock, Chrift fhall open; and, that 
 " if he afk any thing; according to his will, the Son of 
 God will hear him, and he fhall have the petition that 
 he defircd of him * ". Let me therefore now, prefu- 
 mino- that Chrift at hand is not different from Chrift 
 
 D 
 
 afar off; and that no merits can ; ut any created being 
 into poflfeflion of the incommunicable prerogatives of 
 God, or render inferiour natures worthy of the honour 
 which belongs to God alone, recapitulate, and once 
 a<^ain prefent him with an inftance of each ; of prayer, 
 by that of Stephen, " Lord Jefus receive my fpirit;" 
 Lord, lay not this fin to their charge." Of praife, 
 by that in the Revelation, " Blefling, and honour, and 
 glory, and power, be unto him that fitteth upon the 
 throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever;" " falvz- 
 tion to our God which fitteth upon the throne, and 
 unto the Lamb ;" and of thankfgiving, by that of St. 
 Paul, u I thank Chrift Jefus our Lord, for that he 
 counted me faithful, putting me into the miniftry." 
 
 There is yet another fpecies of religious worfhip, 
 which I have intentionally omitted to take notice of in 
 its courfe; it is Bened region ; and my reafon for defer- 
 rin^ to obferve upon it, is, that it demanded a feparate 
 conlideration, on account of Mr. Lindfey's doctrine 
 concerning it. He denies benediction to be any evi- 
 dence at all ; and, till I had eftablifhed its competency, 
 it is therefore eafy to fee I fhould have produced it out 
 of its place before. Mr. Lindfey's afllrtion, Apology, 
 
 P- '3 1 * 
 
 i John v. 14.
 
 [ 1 77 ] 
 
 pt 131, concerning fuch paflages as I Cor. i. 3. is, " that 
 they are only pious wifhes, not prayers." Admitting 
 for a moment only this diftin&ion between prayers" and 
 pious wifhes, and the conclufion thence inferred, I be- 
 lieve thefe fame pious wifhes Will be found to be very 
 impious wifhes, and a wifh that God fhould have an af- 
 fiftant in conferring bleflings on mankind, be acknow- 
 ledged rather derogatory from the all-fufficiency of his 
 power; but I do not fee how any inference can be drawn 
 from a wifh different from that which follows from a 
 prayer, they both equally acknowledge the power which 
 they defire to have put into exertion ; arid if the power 
 be acknowledged by a declaration of it to a third perfo'n, 
 cntrufted with an afTurance that I wifh it to be exerted, 
 I canriot imagine why the pofTeflbur of it fhould not be 
 addrefTed and let into the fecret alfo, he may hot elfe 
 khow my mind, and the power may not therefore be 
 quite fo beneficially exerted as I could pioufly wifh. Is' 
 it that a Being whofe power is to be acknowledged ade- 
 quate to the gift of blcffings is unintelligent an'd uriable 
 to hear our prayers ? or are We not to addrefs him be- 
 cSufe he is uriable to grant them ? If the latter; we re- 
 ject our own conclufion, and wafte our wifhes ; and I 
 believe the inconfiftency of the former fuppofition is too 
 apparent to require a comment. The fame confequence 
 is inferred, I fay, by our wifhes as by our prayers, and 
 if the powef of God is acknowledged by prayer to be in. 
 Jefus Chrift, by our wifhes alfo that he would exert 
 that power, it is equally acknowledged, fo that even this 
 (I think difingenuous) evafion will not invalidate the 
 force of that teftimony which is afforded to this dreaded 
 pofition, that Jefus Chrift is one with the Father, 
 God, by the benedictions of the apoftles, the appoint- 
 ed witnefFes of our Lord. 
 
 Of
 
 [ '78 I 
 
 Of thefe benedictions I need only produce one from 
 St. Paul, becaufe it comprehends in it the fubftance of 
 all the reft, which he has beftowed upon his hearers, 
 " Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father, and 
 the Lord Jefus Chrift our Saviour," Titus i. 4. From 
 God alone can the bleflings of grace, mercy, and peace 
 proceed ; but I will (hew that they have all proceeded 
 from jtfus Chrift ; for St. Paul himfelf, who knew 
 the ability of him whom he thus invoked, and that " he 
 is able to fuccour," fays, " I thank Jefus Chrift our 
 Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me 
 faithful, putting me into the miniftry ; who was be- 
 fore a blafphemer, and a pcrfecutor, and injurious. 
 But I obtained mercy, becaufe I did it ignorantly in un- 
 belief: and the grace of our Lord was exceeding abun- 
 dant," i Tim. i. 12, 13, 14. Here we firtd grace and 
 mercy beftowed by the fearcher of hearts, who, through 
 the veil of blafphemy and perfecution, diftinguifhed 
 that faith which enabled Paul to be put into the mini- 
 ftry by the Lord Jefus Chrift. We do not find this ac- 
 curate apoftle ever fay grace, mercy, and peace from 
 Apollos or Cephas ; he knew that they, on whom he 
 beftowed his blefling, were not of Apollos nor of Ce- 
 phas, who were only fellow-labourers with himfelf } 
 and that, had he been to the end of time calling down 
 grace and mercy from them, they had it not to impart ; 
 from Chrift, that God who gave the encreafe, when 
 they watered what he himfelf planted, he called for 
 bleflings ; from God alone, to whom belong mercies, 
 it was fit that he fhould call them down, becaufe that 
 he alone could anfwer and confer them. " My peace 
 I give you," fays Jefus Chrift, " not as the world giveth 
 give I." If grace, mercy, and peace then be in the power 
 of our gracious and merciful Redeemer to beftow, every 
 benediction of the apoftle of the gofpel of peace is to be 
 confidered as a fhort prayer preferred to him ; and be- 
 nedictions
 
 nediftions being thus confidered as a part of religious 
 worfhip, it is eafy to fee the conclufion, that Jefus 
 Chrift, to whom it is offered, is one with the Father, 
 that God, whofe incommunicable prerogative and ho- 
 nour religious worfhip is. " Let us therefore, beloved, 
 not feparate ourfelves, having not the fpirit, but build- 
 ing up ourfelves on our moft holy faith, praying in the 
 Holy Ghoft, keep ourfelves in the love of God, look- 
 ing for the mercy of our Lord Jefus Chrift unto eter- 
 nal life," Jude 19, 20, 21 ; and " believe that through 
 the grace of our Lord Jefus Chrift we (hall be faved," 
 A&s xv. ii. 
 
 But it has been faid that the interpofal of the con- 
 junctive and, enumerates diftindt natures between the 
 Father and Son ; and that grace, mercy, and peace may 
 proceed from, or glory, honour, and dominion be af- 
 cribed to one part of the fubje.il:, without affecting the 
 other. Not to infift on the abfurdity of introducing a 
 name, to fay nothing about it, in any proportion ; ou 
 other grounds alfo, the diftincr.ion between God and 
 Lord, how well foever it may have been fupported by 
 an epigram *, feems to me not only weak but infmcere. 
 " From God the Father and our Lord Jefus Chrift," 
 are words that occur perpetually in St. Paul's critics ; 
 and I think that candour will allow tli^: " ih- Fa- 
 ther, and our Lord Jefu , Chriil, ar:-, in fuch plages, 
 put in apportion to " GoJ,". and maiic. a diftinction of 
 perfons indeed, but undoubtedly an luirty, ;./. identity 
 of Godhead ; for, were that copulative find to be taken 
 as a mark of any other diftinclion, unrj in: 'led (mas 
 introdudlory of a fecond pov/er, however , ;bordir.ate 
 it may be to the Father, and acting under him ; the 
 confequences of fuch a manner of understanding it 
 might prove v~ry fatal to the caufe it is brought to 
 fupport; for the fame copulative is ufcd by St. James, 
 Apology, p. 6. 2 2 in
 
 in a manner that would deftroy the Godhead of the 
 Father himfelf ; for by it the word u Father" is fet 
 apart from God. He fays, " true religion, and unde- 
 filed before God and the " Father", where the copu- 
 lative is ufed exactly in the fame manner as by St. 
 Paul; if it be admitted then that the perfonal terms 
 Hand in appofition to the general name of " God", all 
 is at once accounted for ; whereas, on the other hand, 
 if it be infifted upon, that, in the one cafe, the con- 
 junctive enumerates diftincl natures, a confequence 
 will neceflarily follow, which even an Unitarian 
 would ftart at drawing from it. St. James does rrot 
 ftand alone in this manner of diftinguifhing between 
 God and the Father; St. Paul has afforded many in- 
 ftances of a like nature, " giving thanks to God and 
 the Father," Col. iii. 17. Now, God himfelf, and 
 our Father, and our Lord Jefus Chrifr, direft our way 
 unto you," i ThefT. iii. 11. In the fight of God 
 and the Father," j Thef]", i. 3. Hew uncandidly 
 then does even this honcft and difinterefted man deal by 
 himfelf, in making ufc of, or yielding his aflent to 
 fuch weak fophifms; but I am forry to fay that every 
 thing feems an argument in his eyes, that only appears 
 to make againft " the acknowledgment of the myftery 
 of God, and of the Father, and of Chrift," Col. ij. 
 2. " Now, unto God and our Father, be glory fqr 
 ever and ever. Amen." Phil. iv. 20 *. 
 
 In 
 
 * If it be infilled upon, that the following words, " Peace from God 
 our Father, and the Lord Jcfus Chrift," have any other meaning than that 
 the Father and the Lord Jefus Chrift are the one God, by which name the 
 three perfons of the Trinity is comprehended, I (hall in/ift upon the dif- 
 tincYion between " God and the Father" hcic, and maintain that they 
 have diftincl meanings alfo, and that the Father is therefore not intended 
 by the word God in this doxology; but in that cafe the word God is with- 
 out any meaning at all. To this I anfwcr, that it has a meaning, and fi:;- 
 riifies the Son, our Lord Jefus Chrift, to whom, as well as the Father, glo- 
 ry is afcribed. I give Mr. Lindfcy his choice how he will interpret; U.r, 
 let him take it cither way, the divinity of our Lord follows.
 
 In the Jewifh ritual, the neceffity of repeating the 
 facrifice is made ufe of as a proof of the infufficiency 
 of any fingle victim, to eftablifh thofe who came to 
 the altar; for, had any one offering been anfwerable to 
 fo great an end, the daily facrifice had been taken 
 away, that work for which it had been appointed be- 
 ing finifhed. Juft fuch is the cafe with Mr. Lindfey's 
 arguments ; the facrifice of to-day manifefted the weak- 
 nefs of the facrifice of yefterday; and the offering now 
 made upon the altar of fophiftry, manifefts the infuf- 
 ficiency of that which has preceded it, to cftablifh the 
 votary, that (loftrine, of which he ftands the prieftj 
 it acknowledges the weaknefs of the pricflhood, and 
 that it is not faultlefsj like that of the Jews, there- 
 fore, I entertain a chearful hope that the whole (hall 
 at length vanifli away. This gentleman, therefore, 
 very juftly confidering all that he has already urged as 
 no argument at all, proceeds to infmuate, rather than 
 fay, (for he has not put it into fo many words) that 
 the junction of the name of Chrift, in doxologies and 
 benedictions, with the name of God, which is invoked 
 or glorihed in them, does not afford any proof that Je- 
 fus Chrift is God, becaufe that to their names fome- 
 times other names alfo are joined. Had the fat been 
 as here ftated, I fhould have allowed it fome weight, 
 and therefore looking on it as material, I did literally 
 " fearch the fqriptures," arjd throughout could find but 
 that one inftance in which Mr. Lindfey has exemplified 
 the rule. It is the benediction of St. Johji in the firfl 
 chapter and fourth verfe of the Revelation, " Grace be 
 unto you, and peape from him which was, and whicii 
 is, and which is to come, and from the feven fpirits 
 which are before his throne; and from Jefus Chrift,'" 
 Rev. i. 4, 5. And here it muft be granted, that unlefs 
 the feven fpirits be God alfo, the junction of the name 
 of Jefus Chrift is not a proof that he is God ; but I 
 
 may
 
 may poflibly furprize Mr. Lindfey by an aflurance that 
 thcfe feven fpirits alfo are God; and this is a pofition 
 eafily explained to any man who remembers that " No- 
 ah found grace in the eyes of the Lord *;" " The feven 
 fpirits are the eyes of the Lamb \ ;" and grace, in the 
 eyes of the Lamb, is furely a blefling devoutly to be 
 implored, when we confider who that Lamb is, even 
 our Lord Jefus Chrift himfelf, " the Lord of Lords;" 
 and when we reflect on the advantages that accrued to 
 Noah from his having found favour in his eyes before. 
 According to Mr. Lindfey's mode of arguing, we 
 might as well declare that St. Paul meant to diftinguifri 
 between God and the hands of God, when he fays, 
 c It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the li- 
 ving God," Heb. x. 31. For, if thefe terms be not 
 only different appellations of the fame Being, I will 
 then allow that to find grace from God, and from the 
 eyes of God, have Hkewife diftincl: meanings. 
 
 This is the only benediction againft which this charge 
 is brought, and I hope I have fhewed its inability to 
 afFecl the Godhead of our blefled Lord ; had it been 
 proved I fhould have allowed it an argument, as it is 
 true that God alone is the fountain whence grace and 
 mercy can flow, and from which alone the apoftles, with 
 the fpirit of truth, could feek to draw them : but fure- 
 ly if the names of other Beings be found joined with 
 that of God in the performance of actions, of which 
 other Beings are capable, it can never be admitted an 
 argument againft the divinity of Chrift, whofe name is 
 often found joined with God, and invoked to per- 
 form actions of Which God alone is capable. To 
 Timothy St. Paul fays, " I charge thee before God 
 and the Lord Jefus Chrift, and the cleft angels," 
 
 i Tim. 
 
 * Gen. vi. 8. f Rev. v. 6.
 
 t '83] 
 
 I Tim. v. 21 ; and on this paflage Mr. Lindfey makej 
 the fame obfervation as that above, faying, " the an- 
 gels being here joined with God and Chrift, fhewS 
 that when God is joined with other Beings in the moft 
 folemn manner, no equality can be inferred from fuch 
 a conjunction," Apology, p. 107. Now I deny that 
 God is in this inftance joined with other Beings in the 
 moft folemn manner, the conferring of a charge upon 
 Timothy was an al of which every Being, upon whom 
 God had beftowed the powers of difcernment^ was a 
 proper and competent witnefs before whom he fhould 
 confer it, and therefore, had the apoftle joined man 
 and every intelligent nature to the name of God, and 
 of Jefus Chrift, and the ele<5t angels, it could not in the 
 leaft derogate from the dignity of God, or ever be in- 
 terpreted as conferring upon them a claim to Godhead. 
 That it fhould argue againft Chrift's divinity, it is ne- 
 ceflary to fhew that it proves too much, and therefore 
 nothing, and that too-much, which it is fuppofed to 
 prove, is, that the angels are God alfo ; but does any 
 fuch confequence follow ? Certainly not ; and there- 
 fore this moft folemn conjunction cannot impeach the 
 divinity of our Lord. I do not defire the aid of this 
 verfe in proof of our Saviour's Godhead, there being 
 no greater power called into exercife than that of wit- 
 nefling a charge to which the witnefs of God will add 
 folemnity indeed, but which is an a& that he has given 
 power to inferibur natures to perform. " Ye are my 
 witnefies, and God alfo," i Theff. ii. 10, fays St. 
 Paul : now which does this moft folemn conjunction of 
 God and the Theflalonians prove, the Theflalonians to 
 be God, or God a Theflaloniin ? Neither, one nor the 
 other; for the conduct of Paul, which he called upon 
 God and them to teftify to be juft and holy, was per- 
 formed equally before God and them, and they being 
 endowed with adequate faculties, were therefore equally 
 
 competent
 
 t '3*1 
 
 Competent witfiefies of it. But with refpeft to the 
 fage before us, the apoftle, about to fend forth a preach- 
 er of the gofpcl of Jefus Chrift, and recommending 
 perfeverance and conftancy in " the teftimony of our 
 Lord," has, with peculiar accuracy, feleled the wit- 
 nellcs to his charge to Timothy, remembering that 
 Jefus Chrift, coming to judgement, is to be attended 
 by the holy angels, who are therefore on that day, 
 when all flefh {hall be affembled befcre God, to be 
 witnelles to the manifeftation of all the hidden things, 
 and the counfels of all hearts'! before them therefore 
 Paul has judicioufly chofen to give his charge, as in 
 their prefence Timothy well knew he fhould in the 
 end render an account of his apoftlcfhip, arid, according 
 to the difcharge of his holy function, " have praife 
 of God," or " be made a fpe&acle to angels'/' i Cor. iv. 
 qj for Jefus Chrift has himfelffaid, " whofoever fhatf 
 confefs me before men, him fhall the Son of man 
 alfo confefs before the angels of God," Luke xii. 8. 
 
 I have now brought to an end, not indeed the whole 
 of the evidence of our Saviour's divinity afforded by 
 the fcriptures, but the whole of that which I intend 
 to produce-, for, " if they fhould be written every 
 one, I fuppofe that even the world could not contain 
 the books that fhould be written." Somewhere how- 
 ever I miift pau/c, and therefore confider myfelf as 
 well warranted to do fo now, as I fhould be after a 
 much more voluminous work : for to my apprehenfion, 
 I have already exhibited proof amply fufficient to efta- 
 blifh my point, and therefore fmcerely hope for the 
 concurrence of my intelligent, and not " unlearned 
 reader," in this conclufion from the whole, namely, 
 that our Lord and Saviour Jefus Chrift is with the Fa- 
 ther the one ** flrft and laft, which was dead and is 
 
 alive
 
 alive for evermore, the Almighty, befides whom there 
 is no God," If. xliv. 6. Rev. i. 8, and ii. 8. 
 
 I by no means confider every one of the fcriptural 
 proofs which I have made ufe of, as equally able to 
 fuftain the argument by itfelf; for fome among them 
 may be of difputable interpretation, but at the fame 
 time, being united with fuch as are incontrovertible, 
 (for many fuch I am bold to declare there are) they 
 borrow light from them, and ftrength to fupport their 
 part of the burden : but let me carry this idea to 
 the utmoftj and fuppofe every aflertion that Chrift is 
 God, which I have brought from fcripture, confuted 
 and {hewed to be mifapplied, one only exempted, 
 that one to which no anfwer can be given muft remain 
 as cbmpleat a proof of our Saviour's divinity as ten 
 thoufand repetitions of it could afford j for all fcriptures 
 being written by inspiration, there is no aflertion for 
 the truth of which God himfelf is not refponfible, and 
 that which God has once faid requires no farther con- 
 firmation 5 but if it be found that he has once decla- 
 red the Godhead of Jefus Chrift, that fad is immuta- 
 bly eftablifhed; and being eftablifhed, may well be al- 
 lowed a matter of fufficient importance to be frequently 
 referred to, nay, (though not neceffarily for the con- 
 firmation of God's truth, yet for the more extenfive 
 information of mankind) to be frequently repeated. 
 If then many texts in fcripture, upon inconteftible 
 proof of Chrift's Godhead from any one, admit of an 
 eafy interpretation by referring them to that great 
 truth, why fhould we hefitate to interpret them by it, 
 inftead of wrefting them to fenfes that they will not 
 endure ; Procruftes-like, torturing them down to the 
 diminutive bulk of our own imaginations ; and there- 
 by rendering the word of God, which alone is true 
 and vvife, inexplicable and inconfiftent with itfelf? It 
 A a is
 
 [ ,86] 
 
 is cmly the facts which are revealed, and not the man- 
 ner of relating the facts contained in fcripture, that are 
 faid to be to the Greeks foolifhnefs ; were the relation 
 inconfiftent with itfelf, it would be juftly chargeable 
 with folly before God himfelf, who cannot lye. That 
 folly which St. Paul apprehends the Greeks will lay to 
 the charge of his gofpel, is, that it did not coincide 
 with their doctrines. Ineonfiftency with itfelf is incon- 
 fiftency with God, who fees things only as they really 
 are, and confequently not as they arc not ; whereas in- 
 confiftency with my opinion may be wifdom, though to 
 me foolifhnefs ; for I may have feen things as they are 
 not, or not have feen them as they really are. What 
 God relates cannot be but true ; he cannot relate con- 
 tradictions ; our belief therefore is not required to con- 
 tradictions. A God crucified in the flefh^ in which he 
 had humbly taken the form of a fervant, and fubmitted 
 to feel the infirmities of man, was, to the philofophical 
 religion of the Greeks, foolifhnefs indeed ; for, with it, 
 it was altogether inconfiftent; but it was neverthelefs 
 the wifdom of God, and the power of God unto falva- 
 tion to every one that believeth. To the Jews, who 
 had long known the one true God, and who had expe- 
 rienced profperity or adverfity as his mighty arm was 
 ftretched out to lead or to chaftife them, the bleeding 
 Body of our Lord fuftering death under their own hands, 
 was indeed aftumblrng-block; for it was altogether in- 
 confiftent with their idea of the almighty Jehovah. A 
 plurality of perfons in the God who had declared his 
 name to be " one," was to the Jews an unfurmountable 
 difficulty; it tranfcended their faculties, and, as they 
 conceived themfelves in poflefiion of a full acquaintance 
 with the incomprehenfible nature of their Maker, it 
 was altogether inconfiftent with their vafn prefump- 
 tions. To the Jew and to the Unitarian it is alike a 
 fturabling-block, For unqueftionably the Trinity is 
 
 one
 
 one of thofe doctrines that prejudice tfeem moft againft 
 chriftianity," Apology, p. 88. 
 
 If it be afked, as indeed it is, though not in direct 
 terms, why a fal of fuch great importance to us to be- 
 lieve is not laid down in fo many words, by the wit- 
 nefles of our Lord, in any of their epiftles ? it is not 
 difficult to give an anfwer to fuch as will confider, that 
 the epiftles were written to men already in pofleilion of 
 it ; not with a view of introducing them to a new ob- 
 ject of faith, but of eftablifhing them in a faith already 
 imparted ; for, not to infift upon the circumftance of 
 Paul's having vifited all thofe people to whom he after- 
 wards addrefled his epiftles, the Romans and the Co- 
 loffians excepted; nor to weary my lefs active reader, 
 by taking him in purfuit of this vigilant apoftle through 
 all the dangers that he encountered for the fake of 
 propagating " the gofpel of God our Saviour" in every 
 region; I can prove, from internal evidence, that he 
 only wrote to thofe who had already obtained grace to 
 be faithful, and who therefore needed not that he {hould 
 now inftruft them in the object of their faith., From 
 Corinth, where he had firft known and taught^Aquila 
 and Prifcilla, he wrote to the Romans ; and when he 
 wrote his epiftle to them, Aquila and Prifcilla were at 
 Rome, for he falutcs them there. To thcfe fellow 
 labourers of Paul, Apollos was indebted for his know- 
 ledge of the gofpel : it is therefore highly probable 
 that fo faithful and diligent preachers of the word had 
 not been inactive in bearing the teftimony of our Lord 
 to the Romans alfo ; for Paul directs his letter to them 
 in the following terms : " To all that be at Rome, be- 
 loved of God, called to be fa.ints, and whofe faith is 
 fpoken of throughout the whole world," Rom. i. 7, 8. 
 If fuch was their faith already, to what end fhould the 
 object of it be pointed out anew j but perfeverance and 
 A a 2 con-
 
 [ i88] 
 
 conibncy were ijidecd properly to be recommended, 
 and a ftedfaft adherence to that which they had known. 
 He had already planted ; his object now was to water 
 only; to cultivate and aflift the growth of the infant 
 gofpel ; to caufe it to extend its boughs ; to gather the 
 faithful under its peaceful fhade ; and to point out to 
 their obfervation the blefled fruit with which the 
 branches of this tree of life were laden, faying, in the 
 day that thou eateft hereof thou fhalt furely live. To 
 the Corinthians he wrote from Philippi, and addrefles 
 himfelf " to them that are fanctified in Chrift Jefus, 
 called to be faints with all that in every place call 
 upon the name of Jefus Chrift our Lord, both theirs 
 and ours," I Cor. i. 2. Is not this a direct acknow- 
 ledgment that they were already well informed, and 
 needed not now to be told that he, on whqfe name 
 they called, the object of their religious worfhip, even, 
 Jefus Chrift, their Lord and ours, was one with the 
 Father, God ? This he had taught them before when 
 he was prefent, and had baptized Crifpus and Gaius 
 among them ; and to what end fhould he now renew 
 the fuperfluous information ? The Galatians he chides 
 not indeed for having relinquifhed the gofpel which he 
 had before preached to them, but for having liftened to 
 fome who had endeavoured to introduce the ceremonies 
 of the law into the practice of chriftianity. To thefe 
 therefore he is more explicit, as they were perverted^ 
 and that it was neceflary to bring them back ; and 
 though he does not, in direct terms, declare the God- 
 head of our Saviour, he ufes word very nearly fynoni- 
 mous, words fully fufficient to recall former know- 
 kdge, and revive the memory of what he had befor* 
 communicated ; for he fays that " he was not taught the 
 gofpel of Chrift by man, but by the revelation of Jefus 
 Chrift; that he had himfelf once been as zealous of the 
 law, as they could now be, but that, notwithfbpding 
 
 he
 
 he had, through zeal for the traditions of the Jews, 
 perfecuted the church of God : being now called to be 
 a fervant of Jefus Chrift, he faw and preached that 
 justification came by faith in Chrift, and not by fuch 
 works as are enjoined by the flelhly ordinances of the 
 law," Gal. i. In his epiftle to the Ephefians, to whom 
 he wrote from Rome, after he had been tranfmitted 
 thither by Feftus, and forne years after his laft vifit to 
 them, he fays, " I ceafe not to give thanks for you, 
 after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jefus," Eph. i. 
 For the faith of the Philippians alfo he thanks God, 
 and directs his epiftle " to all the faints in Chrift Je- 
 fus, which are at Philippi," Philip, i. To them and 
 to the Coloflians he wrote while a prifoner at Rome, 
 and to thefe latter he addrefles himfelt " to the faints 
 and faithful brethren in Chrift, which are at Coloffe," 
 ^ we give thanks to God fince we heard of your faith 
 in Chrift Jefus," Col. i. At Theflfalonica Paul was 
 feverely treated by the unbelieving Jews, who, after 
 his departure, not only purfued him to Berea, but con- 
 tinued to perfecute the few of their own countrymen 
 who had believed, and " conforted with Paul and Silas : 
 to this little " church of the Theflalonians, which is in 
 God the Father, and in the Lord Jefus Chrift j" it is 
 {hat St. Paul writes, " remembering without ceafing 
 their work of faith, as they had 'become followers of 
 the Lord, having received the word with much afflic- 
 tion, wherefore they were enfamples to all that believe," 
 I Theff. i. I. Now the word of God which Paul had 
 preached at ThefTalonica, and for which he was driven 
 out, was charged againft him by his perfecutors, to 
 have been his, *' faying, contrary to the decree of 
 Caefar, that there is another King, one Jefus " fo that 
 we find, that, though to a faithful people, he did not 
 think it neceflary to tell what was the object of their 
 faith, which it is probable Paul was of opinion they 
 
 knew
 
 [ '9 ] 
 
 knew themfelves; he neverthelefs on his firft vifit let 
 them into an acquaintance with the one meaning of 
 the words God and Chrijl> and that Jefus Chrift is with 
 the Father, the one God, the Lord of hofts, the King of 
 glory. Timothy and Titus he calls " his own fons after 
 the faith;" and we well know that they had accompani- 
 ed, and affifted him in diffufmg the light of the gofpel ; 
 his epiftles to them contain a charge to " bear the tefti- 
 mony of our Lord," and a rule for their demeanor as 
 men appointed to fo great a truiL His letter to Phile- 
 mon, " his dearly beloved fellow labourer," feems little 
 more than of a private nature. The objedl of this " Jew 
 of Tarfus," in writing to his own countrymen the 
 Hebrews, is to remove their adherence to the law of 
 Mofes, which was the grand obftrudliotj to their be- 
 lief, and to mew that it was not, as they conceived, 
 altogether profitable, and therefore not immutably, 
 permanent, but that it might be done away; and this 
 cvii according to their own prophets, to which he 
 therefore refers them. It is not my purpofe here to 
 paraphrafe the epiftles of this great preacher of Jefus 
 Chrift; it anfwers my enij to fhew that there is a fuf- 
 ficient reafon for his not having fummed the doctrine, 
 which he conveys in them, into the one {hort propofi- 
 fition, that " Jefus Chrift is one with the Father, 
 God." It feems to be the intention of " James, a 
 fervant of God, and of the Lord Jefus Chrift," to 
 comment on the epiftles of St. Paul, and to ftand up 
 againft the mifreprefentations of the unlearned and un- 
 ftable, who wrefted fuch things as were hard to be un- 
 derftood in them to their own deftru&ion. He did 
 not undertake to point out an object of faith, but to 
 fhew " with what refpecl: we mould have the faith of 
 our Lord Jefus Chrift, the Lord of glory;" he prefup- 
 pofes the faith of his hearers, and is grafting the mo- 
 rality of a Chriftian upon it; he oppofes himfelf to 
 
 fomethine-
 
 Something very like modern methcdifm, built upon an 
 erroneous acceptation of St. Paul's do&rine of juftifi- 
 cation by faith alone ; {hews that the works which that 
 apoftle precludes are the ceremonies of the law, as in- 
 confiftent with the liberty of the gofpel, but that, by 
 works of " pure and undenled religion, fpotlefs and 
 benevolent before God, the faith in our bleffed Re- 
 deemer is made perfect," he prefcribes, not what faith 
 we fhould entertain, but how we Ihould entertain that 
 of which we were before poffeffed. Peter writes to the 
 *< elect:, who, not having feen Chrift, yet love him; 
 who believe, and therefore rejoice with unfpeakable 
 joy full of glory;" and this " fervant of Jefus Chrift" 
 addreftes his fecond epiftle " to them that have ob- 
 tained like precious faith with us, through the righte- 
 oufnefs of our God and Saviour Jefus Chrift," 2 Pet. i. 
 i. For fo it {lands (not in the French perhaps, but) 
 in the Greek, as the margin of our Bible alfo acknow- 
 ledges. St. John writes his firft epiftle, " not becaufe 
 ye know not the truth, but becaufe ye know it," 
 i John ii. 21 ; and then proceeds to eftablifh his hear- 
 ers againft thofe who feduce them, by doctrines which 
 hardly differ from the direct propofition; but of which 
 I have already taken notice. He rejoices greatly that 
 the " elect lady," to whom he directs his fecond 
 epiftle, and Gaius, to whom he addreffes his third, 
 walk in the truth." " St. Jude> the fervant of Je- 
 fus Chrift," writes " to them that are ianctined by 
 God the Father, and preferved in Jefus Chrift, and 
 called," and declares the fufficiency of once deli- 
 vering the faith. To what end now flaould any one 
 of the apoftles, in direct terms, impart the divinity 
 of our bleffed Lord, when every perfon^ to whom 
 they wrote, was already apprized of the fact ? But 
 it may be faid that they wrote for the information 
 of ppfterity, as well as of thofe to whom" they more 
 
 immediatelv
 
 [ '92 ] 
 
 immediately addrefTed themfelves, and that therefore 
 they fhould have done it. And have they not fufficiently 
 done it? have they not fiiffitiently revealed it to fuch 
 as will, in obedience to the precept of our Lord him- 
 felf, fearch the fcriptUres ? When I hear that there is 
 fcut one God ; when I heat our SavioUr, in the vail 
 of the flefti, fay, " Father, if it be poffible let this 
 cup pafs away from me;" and when knowing that 
 Jefus Chrift died for our redemption.; I hereby " per- 
 ceive the love of God, becaufe he laid down his life for 
 tis," i John iii. 16: what need have I of a farther ex- 
 planation to enable me to form the proportion rrtyfelf, 
 and fay that as the Father is God, and as the Son is 
 God, and yet as there is but one God, the Son, even 
 our Lord Jefus Chrift, is therefore one with the Fa- 
 ther, that one God. But it may ftill be objected, that 
 we fee the apoftles frequently, on their firft appearance 
 among the different people to whom they preached, and 
 that therefore we might expect to hear the fact related 
 exprefsly in their Acts ; and do we not ? has not Paul 
 tharged the Ephefian elders at Miletus " to feed the 
 church of God, which he hath purchafed with his own 
 blood?" Acts xx. 28. Was not every prefcript made 
 by the apoftles, made to all that would hear the word ? 
 and were not the doctrines delivered by them to any 
 one church, written fOr the profit of all ? and was not 
 that which was delivered to all of that generation, 
 written in one code, and tranfmitted through time for 
 our ufe and information? That code is the Bible; and 
 from the whole of the Bible, this one propofition is to 
 to be deduced ; the whole Bible therefore, and nothing 
 lefs than the whole, is to be pronounced the gofpel or 
 teftimony of our Saviour Jefus Chrift; and thence rt 
 is, that this propofition is as deducible as any conclu- 
 fion refultirig from any premifes, even in the mathema- 
 tical
 
 tical Elements of Euclid, namely, that Jefus Chrilt 
 is one with the Father, God. 
 
 I fhall, for the future, conftder my point as proved, 
 and therefore admitted, and henceforward addrefs my- 
 felf more directly to Mr. Lindfey's book, and weigh 
 the objections which he has made to our Saviour's Divi- 
 nity; and as I have but little doubt that I (hall be able 
 to ftiew thefe wanting in the balance, I fhall difmifs 
 them with what expedition I poflibly can. He tells us 
 that there were very early herefies in the church ; and 
 in the next patfage fays, that " all Chriflian people for 
 upwards of three hundred years after Chri/f, till the coun- 
 cil of Nice^ were generally Unitarians *." I do not 
 mean to enter the lifts with this gentleman on the 
 ground of ecclefiaftical hiftory in general ; but in this 
 point I wil} dare to meet him, and I will not ufe *< the 
 authorities of men, which are nothing. It is holy 
 fcripture alone which can decide this important point, 
 and to that we muft make our final appeal )-" To 
 that I do appeal ; and thence I learn, and think that 
 even I have thence rendered it evident, that not one 
 of the apoftles of our Lord was an Unitarian. The 
 firft of thefe three centuries then I muft ufe the liberty 
 of taking away from Mr. Lindfey's bold and unfup- 
 ported aflertion ; for to the clofe of it was the life of the 
 beloved difciple of Jefus Chrift extended ; and there- 
 fore all Chriftian men were not Unitarians ; but per- 
 haps the lefs extenfive word *' generally" came into the 
 latter end of the fentence as a faving term, and with 
 intention to fubtraft from *.* air in the commence- 
 ment of it, and fo to leave St. John the remainder; 
 a fmgle inftance of a retrograde character, who, not- 
 withftanding the weight of general example, very ob- 
 
 B b ftinately 
 
 * Apology, p. 24. f Apology, p. 23.
 
 [ '94 ] 
 
 ftinately perfifted in the belief of the fpirit of truth, 
 from whom he had learned a contra ry clo&rine. Holy 
 fcripture is filent with refpe& to the two fucceeding 
 centuries; I (hall therefore here decline the combat, 
 and fuppofc the fa6l to be as this gentleman has ftated 
 it, and, on that fuppofttion, refer to what he has him- 
 fclf faid, that, " at the firft planting of the gofpcl a 
 crop of evil weeds, and wild opinions grew up, toge- 
 gether with the plant of heavenly truth ^ Ape' 
 p. 2O *. 
 
 " Difbelief of the Trinity, no blameable herefy," is 
 the marginal title of a fhort fection of Mr. Lindfey's 
 Apology. I fhall not enlarge on the merit or deme- 
 rit of belief in the doctrines of Chriftianity, but muft 
 fay, that I look upon a difbelief in the Trinity to he 
 the fame with a difbelief in Jefus Chrift, as revealed 
 to us in the holy fcriptures. 
 
 - I fhould be forry that any reader of my book fhould 
 impute a fpiritof intolerance to me, becaufc I altogether 
 rejedt the teitimony of fire and faggot, undergone by fome 
 Unitarians in maintenance of their tenets. I have at leall 
 equal compaflion for their fufferings, with that which 
 Mr. Lindfey can feel ; but as I cannot infer the truth 
 of their profeflion from their miferies, fo neither can I 
 admit the cruelty which inftifted them to be any argu- 
 ment of the falfehood of the religion embraced, or ra- 
 ther profefied by their barbarous tormentors ; for, if 
 this be infilled on to be of weight againft the profeflion 
 of faith in the Trinity, " the tranfitory triumphs of the 
 Arians," notwithftandiiig the brevity of their prolpe- 
 
 rous 
 
 * I fliould here aflc Mr. Lindfey's pardon for the abridgment of his beau- 
 tiful metaphor, in which he has fowed H^tt upon a bufy mind, and, in- 
 ftead of reaping a fine crop of young luminaries, has, on account of the 
 ranknefs of the foil, only been able to gather in evil weeds and wild opini- 
 ons of baleful jhade.
 
 [ '95 ] 
 
 . v o'.is days, can furniih me with means to make the op- 
 pofite fcale greatly preponderate. Were recrimination 
 my object, or were I to admit but for a moment, that 
 fufferings are of any value in evidence, good God ! how 
 many witnefles might I call to prove the truth of the 
 doctrines which I maintain ! But why mould I call ? 
 from whom ihall I receive my anfwerr They are for 
 ever filerit who mould have rendered it; the poor dumb 
 nlouths, which once eloquently poured forth the doc- 
 trines of our Redeemer, now tonguelefs can only 
 pour forth that blood which they have fried to teftify 
 their belief in him. Yet even here ! feek not a tefti- 
 mony of the truth of my own tenets, nor of the falfe- 
 hood of theirs, who, to fhun the confutation, put 
 thofe to filence who could have uttered it. But as I 
 have treated of this mode of argument before, I fhall 
 now finally difmifs it, with an affurance to Mr. Lind- 
 fey, that I do, as warmly as he can, cbmpaflionate all 
 men who have differed for their fincerity, and as ut- 
 terly abhor the execrable zeal of their infatuated perfe- 
 cutors, as he can poflibly do. 
 
 The immutable nature of truth can never be affel> 
 ed, fhe remains equally fpotlefs, whether fhe be aflail- 
 ed by an ingenious opponent, or an ablurd advocate. 
 The ingenuity of fophifm is in like manner unable to 
 alter the nature of falfehood, neither can fhe borrow 
 ftrength from the weaknefs of her adverfary. To this 
 fhort pofition I refer that great body of human autho- 
 rity cited by Mr. Lindfey, and to which, however able 
 the men who compofe it may be, I cannot pay any 
 refpect while they Hand oppofed to the word of God. 
 To this head I alfo refer fuch abfurdities as that utter- 
 ed by Anfelm, Archbilhop of Canterbury; the truth 
 remained unchanged, even tho' he abetted it with vio- 
 lence. I do not defire to have it confidered that every 
 
 B b 2
 
 [ 196 ] 
 
 mzn who believes with me is therefore wife, and can 
 give a reafon for the faith that is in him. If I be found 
 a defective advocate myfelf, let that not be transferred 
 to my caufe. 
 
 Mr. Lindfey fays, "Authorities of men are nothing: 
 it is holy fcripture alone which can decide this impor- 
 tant point, and to that we muft make our final appeal," 
 Apology, p. 23. After this aflertion one might expert 
 a candid enquiry into what the apoftlcs have faid upon 
 this important point. But here we are feverely difap- 
 pointed, and fcarce find a text quoted throughout his 
 book but at fecond hand ; nay, fcarce a page of origi- 
 nal writing through the whole work. Holy fcripture is 
 not once appealed to ; and this fame Nothing, the au- 
 thorities of men, is the foundation of his fyftem ; and 
 fuch as the foundation is, fuch indeed is the fuperftruc- 
 ture. But all this is very foon accounted for, and a 
 perfectly new mode of argument is moft ingenioufly 
 devifed and introduced ; and in the very next fentence 
 to that in which he makes the fcripture the final appeal, 
 he propofes that " the matter is to be put to the vote, 
 as it were." Now, though he never appeals to his final: 
 appeal, he does not in the fame manner defert his own 
 darling invention ; but has inftant recourfe to as very 
 an electioneering trick as ever was played at Brent- 
 ford or Shoreham; for he flatly aflures " the lefe learn- 
 ed" reader, that, upon enquiry, he {hall find that to be 
 undeniably true, which I have already fliewed to be un- 
 deniably falfe ; namely, that " all chriftian people for 
 upwards of three hundred years after Chrift, till the 
 council of Nice, were generally Unitarians." This is 
 a method of procuring votes with a witnefs ; the whole 
 intereft of " the lefs learned" is obtained at one bold 
 ftrok* ; and in another paflagc of his book he has foli- 
 cited the fuffrages of the absolutely " unlearned;" and 
 
 having
 
 t 
 
 having thus obtained the ear of the populace, he trum- 
 pets forth a multitude of names of men, and facrifices 
 every confideration of the authority of fcripture to the 
 eftablifhment of their authority with the unlearned 
 reader. To fome of thefe I will allow that he may 
 have done but juftice, and I will not difturb the afhes 
 of thofe on whom he has poured unmerited incenfe. I 
 fear not his hoft of Unitarians, fo long as I am abetted 
 by the word of God, againft which he has arrayed them. 
 But in his diligent canvafs I am furprizcd that he 
 (hould think of the names of the.Voltaires, the Mor- 
 gans, and the St. Johns : does he mean to poll thefc 
 men too ? Are thefe the apoftles of the gofpel to which 
 Mr. Lindfey appeals ? But errour cannot, forfooth, 
 efcape their quick-fighted eyes ; I fincerely believe it, 
 they are a&ive in purfuing and embracing errour, and 
 I lhall therefore allow them well qualified to vote with 
 him on this occafion. But when did their quick-fight- 
 ed eyes difcover or piirfue truth ? In a few pages after 
 we are aftonifhed at feeing David Hume advance to 
 give his fuffrage in the conteftj his vote, however, I 
 muft admit to be unexceptionable ; he is excellently 
 qualified to abet Mr. Lindfey's tenets, having under- 
 taken to fubveft the religion and liberties of this coun- 
 try. Whenever the bonds of religion are loofed, and 
 the reftriclions of confcience taken away, a fubftitute 
 muft be found to controul mankind, and an earthly 
 tyrant be eftabliflied on the throne of a depofed God, 
 to bind in fetters thofe hands which have rejected the 
 eafy yoke of their Creator, and emancipated themfelves 
 from obedience to the mild fway of their merciful Re- 
 deemer. Thus far the cunning, for I cannot call it 
 the manly underftanding, of Mr. Hume, has been able 
 to penetrate; and accordingly, when with talents ex- 
 actly adequate to mifchief, propenfities to put them in- 
 to exerciie, and a difpofition to enjoy the perpetrated 
 
 crime.
 
 [ '92 ] 
 
 trime, he has, by fhallow fophiftry, feduced mankind 
 into the paths of vice- ; he rufhcs on the villain he has 
 made, and, like Jonathan Wild, configns to chains the 
 wretch who has dcfervcd them from hrs own perfuafion. 
 When, as an effayifl, with juft cnotfgh of art to with- 
 hold a fraud from the eyes of an indolent or willing 
 reader, he has obliterated every virtue by which we can 
 deferve or enjoy freedom, and has rendered the heart of 
 an Englifhman no ftrenuous foe to defpotifm, he be- 
 comes the voluminous pamphleteer of the Stuarts, and, 
 with juft enough of plaufibility to conceal a falfehood 
 from one who has no longer an intt-reit in detecting it, 
 to the confenting flave points out the acceptable tyrant, 
 and to the tyrant the hands which he has fitted to his 
 chains *. 
 
 Mr. 
 
 * I may feem here to have ftepped out of my way unneceffarily ; I can- 
 not, however, admit that I have. The peace and tranquillity of mankind arc 
 my objed, and to the maintenance of them it is neceflary that I fhould 
 ftrike at their enemies as they crofs me, and put my fellow creatures on 
 their guard againft the invader of their happinefs ; fuch I confider Mr. Hume 
 to be, and accordingly point him out as a Being that has waged eternal war 
 with the welfare of mankind, both here and hereafter; who has untied, or, 
 rather like a rat, nibbled at, the bonds of religious duty, that a ncccflity 
 might thence arife of impofing the manacles of civil flavcry ; who frees uj 
 from our God that he may enthral us to man ; inflidts the heaviert ills upon 
 us in this Hie, and with a mcrcilcfs hand tears away that hope of a future 
 recempenfe, which was the only confolation that remained to the wretch he 
 had enflaved. Let it not be faid that, in what he has done to thefe ends, 
 he is. himfelf alfo deceived. No man can ignorantly fulfify in the relation of 
 important hiftorical fadls ; he therefore who has fo falfified muft have done 
 it knowingly, and he who is capable of impofing known falfehood upon the 
 public ear, is capable of broaching known fophifms ; but this man has by 
 falfehood ftruck at our liberties, and by premeditated fophiftry at our religion. 
 The ncccflity of their aid to the promotion of his defign, is no mean proof 
 >f our right to enjoy the invaluable bit-flings of freedom and hope, and ar- 
 gues them to ftand upon the firm bafis of truth ; and furcly that he has had 
 recourfe to them for fuch a purpofe as that of fubverting all human felicity, 
 .is a fufficient reafon for us to defpifc the wretch whofe treachery and malice 
 prepenfe has aimed a blow againft our religious and civil rights. When I 
 have juft repeated that I look upon our liberty to be fo intimately conncdlci 
 with out virtue, and our virtue with the religion of the gofpel, that, on the 
 
 overthrow
 
 [ '99 ] 
 
 Mr. Whiflon may give his voice for Mr. Lindfey, 
 he preferred the apaftolical conftitutions to the cano- 
 nical hooks of the New Teftament, declared them 
 more facrcd and quite divine, becaufe they favoured 
 his Arian fentiments *. This book was written in the 
 fourth century ; and, as it teaches a doctrine not found 
 in the fcripturcs, has, from this apojlclic old man, 
 obtained a preference. But i. (hall ceafe to purfue this 
 idea farther; for, however deferving of redicirle Mr. 
 Lindfey ? s argument -may be, the fubject calls on me 
 to be feriou^. 
 
 Mr. Lindfey dwells upon the prejudices of mankind 
 t:;ken in with their nurfes milk, upon doctrines darken- 
 ed and perplexed by early prepoflefiions. It is true, 
 and I thank God and my pious parents for it, that, 
 with my nurfe's milk, I did imbibe the doctrine which 
 I now maintain; and at the fame time I embibed a be- 
 lief, that grafs was green, that fire was hot, that fnow 
 was cold, and that two and two make four. With 
 iuch various crrours was my infancy turned nfide from 
 truth, and fo radically have they been eftabliflied in 
 nw mind by education, that I have never fince that 
 fatal time, when my inflrudtors cruelly took advantage 
 of my fufceptible and tender years, been able to com- 
 prehend that clear evidence which is of force to fet 
 afide fuch abfurdities. This childifh and common- 
 place objection to the truth, becaufe it was early 
 known, does not deferve a ferious confutation. If the 
 fcriptures afford a fufficient testimony now, is it an 
 argument to the contrary of that which they teftify, 
 that our teachers have read and aflTented to them, and 
 that they have thought the word of God fit to be 
 
 communicated 
 
 overthrow of the latter, one undiftinguifhed ruin mutt overwhelm them ali 
 together, my indignation will probably meet not the pardon only, b\;t the 
 approbation of fame of my countrymen. 
 
 * Apology, p. 68.
 
 [ 200 ] 
 
 communicated to their children? But I will now put 
 a queftion to Mr. Lindfey, to which, if he does not 
 find the anfwer on the furface of his heart, let him 
 fearch the inmoft reccfles of it, and thence inform me, 
 whether even his difmterefted conduit, whether the 
 dodtrine of Unitarianifm, of \vhic|i he is the ftrenu- 
 ous advocate, are purfued by him without one preju- 
 dice ? I do not fpealc of thofe which are inftilled by 
 education, but others which, perhaps, he has not 
 found fo conquerable. This, however, is a delicate 
 point, and muft not be purfued farther. I mean not 
 to wound nor diminifh the public regard of this wor- 
 thy gentleman, but chufmg to put my rule by an in- 
 ftance, rather than in a general way, have fixed up- 
 on his name, as affording me an argument a fortiori 
 in its behalf. 
 
 Such objections as turn meerly upon words I fhall 
 leave unanfwered, they merit contempt and not confi- 
 deration; but I muft fhow that, upon " fuch a fuppo- 
 fition as the exigence of the Trinity, that chain of 
 abfurdities and contradictions, which Mr. Lindfey 
 thinks would follow, are by no means the natural 
 confequence of the doctrine ; there may be much that 
 Mr. Lindfey cannot look into, I grant it; but did 
 God take council of Mr. Lindfey ? or has he revealed 
 himfelf to him as he did to the apoftles and prophets ? 
 Bifhop Pearfon's words keep the firft and fecond per- 
 fons in the Trinity diftincl ; the Father and the Son 
 are not faid in the fcriptures to be jointly one Father 
 or one Son, but they are declared to be one God. 
 And as to the aflertion, that we who join in the four 
 invocations, at the beginning of the litany, can be 
 but ill defended againft the charge of holding four 
 Gods, to wit, the Father, the Son, the Holy Ghoft, 
 and the Trinity, (declared by him to be a fourth intel- 
 ligent agent) ; it is about as wifely put as if we fhould 
 
 fay,
 
 t 
 
 fay, tKat the government of Rome was adminiftered, 
 not by three, but by four men, to wit, Odtavius, Lepi- 
 dus, Anthony, and the Triumvirate, " which is the 
 u'tmoft confufion imaginable." Apology, p. 124. 
 
 To the confequences of offering up divine honour to 
 Jefus Chrift our Lord, which are brought together in 
 the 1 36th page of the Apology, I oppofe all that I have 
 already brought in proof of the one Godhead of the Fa- 
 ther and the Son ; for this one pofition being admitted, 
 bur Saviour has directed prayer to be made to him- 
 felh There is authority for fo doing in the writings of 
 the apoftles. The obje& of our worftiip is not inferi- 
 or to the Father, with whom he is one God; and 
 therefore there never can be a diftin&ion in the mind of 
 the fober worfhipper, who, holding in farie memory the 
 unity of the Godhead of the Father, and of our Lord 
 Jefiis Chrift, will never entertain " a doubt, when he 
 is to pray to God, and when to Chrift, when it is 
 right, and when amifs to do it;" he will always find 
 one God the object of his adoration, who, remember- 
 ing his mercies vouchfafed to man in the flefli, will 
 hear the prayer preferred to him, with gratitude and 
 reliance upon him, who has already fo gracioufly re- 
 deemed him by laying down his own life for him, 
 I John iii. 16. 
 
 Mr. Lindfey, having allowed that it is Jefus Chrift 
 who is to judge the world, by difallowing his Godhead, 
 and confequently the direction of prayer to him, has 
 actually conferred upon God the Father, the office of 
 Mediator with Jefus Chrift, who is to judge us ; for if 
 the Godhead be not in Chrift, our merits, of which no 
 creature can have cognizance, are to be handed over 
 for his information ; and God the Father, to whom 
 alone they can be known, is to ftand forth before the 
 
 C c feat
 
 [ 202 ] 
 
 feat of judgement, as our accufer or excufer : fo that 
 here we find a change of office between the Father and 
 the Son; an abfurdity at leaft as great as any that ap- 
 pears to Mr. Lindfey's rcafon, on the eftablifhment of 
 my tenets; an abfurdity, in which no man can acqui- 
 efce, becaufe it contradicts the principles whence our 
 argument proceeds, and directly oppofes itfelf to reve- 
 lation : whereas the difficulties arifing from an acqui- 
 efcence in the doctrine of our Saviour's divinity, are 
 only in matters not fubmitted to reafon, and upon 
 which we never fhould pronounce that the facets are not 
 fo, becaufe we do not fee how they are fo with facul- 
 ties not equal to the intuition. 
 
 The argurrienturri ad abfurdirm to which Mr. Lind- 
 fey's authors have frequent recourfc, is to be judged 
 of according to the nature of the abfurdity which it 
 would point out, as a confequence of admitting the 
 fact it is oppofed to; and if that be only fuch, or faid 
 to be fuch, becaufe our reafon cannot fblve it from its 
 incomprehenfibility, it affords no confutation of the po- 
 fition it tries to confute ; whereas, if the abfurdity re- 
 fult from inconfifteitcy with revelation, which muft 
 fall upon its eftablifhment, it is a good argument; no- 
 thing being to be admitted which can militate a^aind 
 the truth of God. This general rule, (a rule fo obvi- 
 ous, that nothing but having feen a book written with- 
 out any regard to it, could have induced me to fet it 
 down) the reader of Mr. Lindfey's Apology will do well 
 to hold conftantly in mind, for by referring what he 
 reads there to it, there is very little contained in the 
 book to which it does not afford a complcat anfwer. 
 
 Having believed the fcriptures to be the revelation of 
 God, I have ever avoided the glofTes of commentators, 
 influenced by r inter eft or prejudice, and have made the 
 
 unperverted
 
 [ 20 3 ] 
 
 iinperverted original my ftudy, in order thence to de- 
 rive a religion for myfelf, and I muft acknowledge that 
 I have often conceived, both from St. John's firft 
 epiftle, and feveral pufFagcs in the epiftles of St. Paul, 
 that they particularly oppofed themfelves to an opinion, 
 prevalent in their day, that Jefus Chrift had not come 
 in the flefh ; that he had not like infirmities and temp- 
 tations as we have, but that the fenfes of mankind were 
 impofed on by the appearance of a body only. But as I 
 have faid that the truth moft difficult to be conceived by 
 mankind is, not that God had defcended tp dwell on 
 earth, or that a man Jefus had lived on earth ; but that an 
 union of the two natures of God and of man had fubfift- 
 ed in Jefus Chrift, a man living among them, I inferred 
 fhe following conclufion, " that the apoftles had preach- 
 ed him as God only, leaving it to their own know- 
 ledge of him, to prove that he was man ; that having 
 feen the power with which the teftimony of the apoftles 
 was attended, the hearers yielded credit to that which 
 they witneffed, and forthwith acknowledged Jefus 
 Chrift to be God ; but that not being able to under- 
 ftand the compatibility of divine perfection and hu- 
 man imperfection, and therefore concluding that: fuch 
 an union could not have fubfifted, tfyey confidered their 
 fenfes impofed upon by an apparent bcjdy only, and re- 
 jected their, belief in the manhood of Chriil, not be- 
 lieving him to be man, whom they had acknowledged 
 to be God ; and that the apoftles, on feeing fuch a doc- 
 trine arife, found themfelves now under a nec-ffity of 
 preaching him as man, whom they had already taught 
 to be God, and obliged to make ufe of the t ftimony 
 of the Holy Ghoft, to re-eftablim a fact which :hey 
 had at firft left to the teftimony of the feniei ; a tefti- 
 m<".ny which they had confidered as fufficient then, but 
 now faw fuperfeded by that of their preaching." Mr. 
 JJnclfey has proved that I was not miftaken in this j 
 
 C c 2 and
 
 [ 204 ] 
 
 and his account of thefe erroneous tenets is very cor- 
 refpondent to the idea which I had formed of them 
 from fcripture: for, of thofe who entertained them, 
 he fays, " They could not allow that a pure emana- 
 tion of deity, fuch as they prefumed Chrift to be, 
 could have any connection with fo impure a fubftance 
 as a human material body; and fo they invented this 
 folution of the difficulty, that he was a man in appear- 
 ance only, and not in reality." Apology, p. 154. I 
 cannot, for my part, exceedingly wonder at the errour 
 into which thefe hearers fell; for I frankly acknow- 
 ledge, that had I been a witnefs of the birth, life, 
 death, burial, refurreftion, and reafcenfion of Jefus 
 Chrift into heaven ; and had I afterwards heard him, 
 by the aflifted preaching of the apoftles, declared to be 
 God; the reality of that body, in which I had feen 
 him, and in which I had feen him act fuch a part, 
 would have come into fufpicion with me; I fhould 
 have doubted of the reality of a body fo differently en- 
 dowed from the bodies of all other men ; " metuiflem 
 credere in carne natum, ne credere coactus fuiflem ex 
 carne inquinatum," St. Auftin, quoted by Mr. Lind- 
 fey, Apology, p. 158. and I fhould have believed that 
 he was all God without manhood. But I fmccrely 
 return thanks to the divine fpirit that has teftified 
 of the flefh of our blefTed atonement, and redeem- 
 ed me from an errour whereby my fpirit would have 
 been proved not to have been of God. I care not 
 to what Genus this Linnaeus of divinity, who has fo 
 fkilfully clafTed the opinions of mankind, will refer 
 me ; let him only remember that I do not now em- 
 brace fuch errours; for that philofophy, by which I 
 fhould have faid that he who is God, is therefore not 
 man, is fuperfeded ; and I yield my faith obedient to 
 his word, whofe word alone is true ; and, by confe- 
 quence, I believe that Jefus Chrift is come " a man 
 
 as
 
 as concerning the flefh," and that he is alfo " over 
 all, Qod bleffed for ever." 
 
 The truth as fet forth in the fcrrptures, I have all 
 along acknowledged my reafon incapable to compre- 
 hend ; but Mr. Lindfey thinks it ought to be corrpre- 
 henfible, and will not allow trut God had a right 
 to retain a power greater than he has given us abili- 
 ties to fearch into ; or wifdom, the excrcife of which 
 he has not endowed us with a capacity to underfhnd; 
 and therefore he thinks we had better reject all that 
 furpafTes pur faculties; for, by fo doing, he is of opi- 
 nion that we ihould have a perfect union in the 
 church. Let us for a moment grant that we (hould 
 obtain this union; what is it? An union in errour 
 and is fuch an union to be dtfired ? is this the ob- 
 ject of his wifhes ? does he look upon a concurrence 
 in falfehopd as a compenfiition for rejected truth ? 
 But the ruin of truth, he fays, and quotes Dr. Clay- 
 ton for it, is not likely to refult; for the gates of hell 
 fhall n : ever prevail againfr. the Chriftian religion. That 
 they never will is my fmcere belief; and therefore 
 it it is my fmcere belief, that Mr. Lindfey's propofed 
 union in errour will never take place; for, is the rejec- 
 tion of a point, on which nothing lefs than the effence 
 of Chriftianity depends, is the denial of his divinitv,, 
 whom we worfhip, no fubverfion of his religion ? I 
 think that the object of my worfliip, and of my reli- 
 gion is one; and if my worfliip be deprived of its ob- 
 ject, I know not where to find that of my religion; 
 and fhould, on feeing " the King of kings" degraded 
 from th.e throne of his glory, the " God who purcha- 
 fed us with his own blood," torn from the fupplica- 
 tion of his adorers, then fay that the gates of hell had 
 prevailed againft his church; an event which I trull 
 that, of his infinite mercy, and according to his im- 
 mutable
 
 [ "6 ] 
 
 mutable promifr, he will avert. But I fhall HOW re- 
 fume the conccflion I made, tor a while, and oppofe 
 Mr. Lindfey's aflertion, that union would be the con- 
 fequence of a legal eitabliihment, or admiflion of his 
 tenets; for we of the church, as now eftablifhed, 
 might, in that cafe, think fit to be diiTenters from his 
 doctrines, as he difients now from ours. I know that, 
 for my part, I fhould oppofe them to the utmoft of n,y 
 power. But the true meaning pf his words is eafily 
 comprized in this (hort but profound propofition, That 
 if all mankind will agree with Mr. Lindfey, Mr. Lind- 
 fey will not difagree with all mankind : yet even this I 
 muft take the liberty to doubt, 
 
 It is a very weak afieition, that faith in the divinity 
 of Jefus Chrift leads to the admiflion of many objedh. 
 of worfhip, and that the church of Rome has thenci. 
 taken occafion to adore the Virgin Mary, the nppftkx 
 and martyrs, and fuch other per fons as her own favour 
 has been pleafed to rank among her faints : for as the 
 ground of faith in Jefus Chrift, as God, is by no 
 means pretended to be the ground for the adoration of 
 any befides him, it is not true that the faints are wor- 
 fhipped, becaufe he is revealed to be God. Jefus Chrift 
 is revealed to be God ; the faints are not revealed to be 
 God : does it therefore follow that the faints are tp be 
 worfhipped ? Certainly not. But very particular care 
 has been taken to guard againft the adoration of the 
 Virgin Mary, and the apoftles, and to prevent their 
 H-ino; confidered as proper objects of worfhip, thoqgh 
 fhe was declared bleflcd among women, and they \ 
 highly favoured above men, having been entrufted with 
 the teftimony of Jefus Chrift, who alfo wrought many 
 miracles by their hands in fupport of their witnefs. It 
 feems to have been with a view of preventing mankind 
 from looking upon fuch circumftanccs as a ground <..f 
 
 worfhip,
 
 [ 207 ] 
 
 worfhip, that our Saviour has, in more paftages 
 one, fpoken with feeming difrefpeft (if I may dare to 
 ufe the expreffion of him who was without fin) to his 
 mother : " woman, what have I to do with thee ? 
 John ii. 4. " Who is my mother?" Mark iii. 33. 
 Peter, when Cornelius met him and fell down at his 
 feet, and worfhipped him, " took him up, fayine, 
 ftand up, I myfelf alfo am a man," Acls x. 25, 26. 
 And Paul and Barnabas, when they heard that the 
 prieft of Jupiter, with the people at Lyftra, would have 
 done facrifice'unto them, ** rent their cloaths, -and ran 
 in among the people, crying out> and faying, Sirs, 
 why do ye thefe things? We alfo arc men of like ptif- 
 fions with you ; and yet with thefe farinas fctirce re- 
 ftrained they the people, that they had not done fr.cri- 
 fice unto them,-" A6ls xiv. 14, 15, 18. And even 
 the angel, than whom man is made a little lower, de- 
 clined the worfhip of St. John, faying, " I am thy 
 fellow fervant, and of thy brethren that have the tefti- 
 mony of Jefus, worfhip God," Rev. xix 10. From 
 the exercife of miraculous power, from fupernatural en- 
 dowment?, we find mankind eafily perfuaded to con- 
 clude divinity, or at leaft an adorable fuperiority in 
 thofe who are fo endowed. To guard againft this fa- 
 cility of fuperftition, and to (hew that from an abfolute 
 revelation only we are to believe the divinity of any, 
 the feveral texts which I have cited, feerri to have been 
 written. It is true a revelation that Jefus Chrift i^: 
 God, one with the Father, conveys an idea different 
 from that of Mr. Lindfey, that the Father only is God, 
 and fo may afford an analogy, by whieh, faith, in a 
 multitude of perfons in the Godhead, might be faci- 
 litated, if revealed, but by no means a proof that there 
 are more perfons than are revealed : let us frill remem- 
 ber the limits of reafon, and not perpetually fly beyond 
 her confines : Ihe Avill conduct us very fafely, if we do 
 
 not
 
 [ 268 ] 
 
 not obtrude premifes upon her which are hot within 
 her diftridt : with refpel to fcripture truths, the pe- 
 remptory word of the God of truth, is the ultimate 
 boundary of her province. Our terms of falvation are 
 prefcribed, and God does not require our ingenuity 
 in finding rriore points of faith than he has offered 
 for our aflent in order to fecure it ; and if he has 
 not revealed, he does not need our belief, how- 
 ever like we may conclude c'ur own fuggeftions to 
 bte to that which he has made known. Analogy 
 may indeed facilitate conception, and make us more 
 readily enter into a pofition laid down ; yet it is but 
 a bad ground to argue upon, for no certain con- 
 clufion can ever follow from it. I fhall myfelf ufe it 
 now to illu'ilrate; and as I have denied that it can, 
 from the divinity of Jefus Chrift, fhew the divinity of 
 any other not revealed to be divine, I only afk its af- 
 fiftance in procuring a more eafy aflent to the divinity 
 of that which is revealed to be divine; and this will, 1 
 prefume, not be withheld by thofe who have carried its 
 ufe fo much higher than I dare to do. If then the 
 Holy Ghoft be revealed to be one with the Father, 
 and the Son, God, it may be fume eafe to the mind 
 in giving its aflent to the exiftence of a third perfon in 
 the Godhead, to refledt that it has already acquiefced 
 in the admiflion of a fecond. It is not my intention to 
 examine into the evidence of the divinity of the Holy 
 Spirit fo extenfively as I have already done into that 
 which is afforded to the Godhead of our blcfled Re- 
 deemer \ it is net fo ftrenuoufly oppofed; bcfides my at- 
 tentive reader has, in all probability, inferred it for 
 himfelf, from feveral contexts which I have laid down 
 already, though I have not dire&ly pointed it out as a 
 conclufion. I fhall therefore now content myfelf with 
 a very few paffages proving the Holy Ghoft to be God 
 alfo, reminding my reader of what I have already of- 
 
 ferred
 
 [ 2 9 ] 
 
 fc-rrd concerning the fufficiency of any one afiertion, 
 tor the truth of which God himfelf is refponfible. 
 
 " He fhall be great, and fhall be called the Son of 
 the Higheft." " The Holy Ghoft fhall come upon 
 thee, .and the power of the Higheft (hall overfhadow 
 thee : therefore alfo that Holy Thing which fhall 
 be born of thee, fhall be called' the Son of God," 
 Luke i. 31, 35. " That which is conceived in her, is 
 of the Holy Ghoft," Matth. i. 20. That which is 
 conceived of the Holy Ghoft, is therefore called the 
 Son of God ; the Holy Ghoft therefore, of whom the 
 Son of God is conceived, is one with the Father and 
 the Son, " the Higheft." 
 
 " I will pray the Father, and he fhall give you ano- 
 ther Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever, 
 even the Spirit of Truth. " I will not leave you com- 
 fortlefs : I will come to you." " If a man love me, 
 he will keep my words : and my Father will love him, 
 and we will come unto him, and make our abode 
 with him," John xiv. 16, 17, 18, 23. Here the Fa- 
 ther, Son, and Holy Ghoft, one God, are, or is, the 
 Comforter, the witnefs to the truth, which fhall come 
 and abide, or make abode with him who loveth the. 
 Son, and keepeth his words. The identity of the 
 Godhead of the Holy Spirit with that of the Father, 
 and of the Son, is here exprefsly declared. 
 
 " Why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the 
 Holy Ghoft?" " thou haft not lied unto men but unto 
 God," Ads v. 3, 4. Here alfo the Holy Ghoft is 
 directly pronounced to be one, with the Father and 
 the Son, God. 
 
 " The things of God knoweth no man but the 
 
 Spirit of God 5" " which things alfo we fpeak, not in 
 
 D d the
 
 the words which man's wifdom teacheth, but which 
 the Holy Ghoft teacheth," i Cor. ii. n, 13. Here 
 the Holy Ghoft is one and the fame with the Spirit of 
 God ; and in the i6th verfe he is called " the mind of 
 Chrift ;" he is therefore one in Godhead with the Father 
 and the Son, from both of whom, one God, he equally 
 proceeds. 
 
 " What, know ye not that ye are the temple of the 
 Holy Ghoft which is in you, which ye have of God, 
 and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a 
 price," i Cor. vi. 19. What now is the price paid for 
 this purchafe wherewith we are bought ? are we not 
 " the church of God which he hath purchafed with his 
 own blood ?" Acts xx. 28. Being then redeemed by 
 the blood of Jefus Chrift fhed for our ranfom, we have 
 therefore become the temple of the Holy Ghoft. But 
 " know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that 
 the Spirit of God dwelleth in you ? If any man defile 
 the temple of God, him ihall God deftroy ; for the 
 temple of God is holy, which temple ye are," j Cor. iii. 
 1 6, 17. The Father is God, and the Son is " God, 
 who purchafed us with his own blood ;" and the Holy 
 Ghoft, whofe temple we are, is here declared to be 
 God. But there is but one God ; the Father, Son, 
 and Holy Ghoft are therefore that one God, that Tri- 
 nity in Unity which is to be worshipped. This may 
 feem to the natural man, Mr. Lindfey, to be hay and 
 Jlubble ; but let him lay afide the vanity of thinking 
 himfelf in the leaft degree a judge of fpiritual things, 
 and believe that which God has witnefled ; " Let him 
 become a fool, that he may be wife, for the wifdom 
 of this world is fooliftinefs with God," I Cor. iii. 18, 
 19 ; " Let him account of the apoftles as ftewards 
 of the myfteries of God," i Cor. iv. i. " and not be 
 taken as wife in his own craftinefs," " We are 
 
 the
 
 [21! ] 
 
 the houfe of Chrift, if we hold faft the confidence 
 and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end," 
 Heb. iii. 6. ** Ye are the temple of the Holy Ghoft 
 which is in you." c< Ye are the temple of the li- 
 ving God ; as God hath faid, I will dwell in them, 
 and walk in them ; and I will be their God, and they 
 fhall be my people," 2 Cor. vi. 16. Is this to be re- 
 fifted ? 
 
 That it was God who fpoke by the prophets, is not 
 denied. But by the mouth of the prophet David God 
 has faid, " To-day if ye will hear his voice, harden 
 not your hearts as in the provocation, and as in the day 
 of temptation in the wildernefs ; when your fathers 
 tempted me, proved me, and faw my work. Forty 
 years long was I grieved with this generation, and faid, 
 it is a people that do err in their heart, and they have 
 not known my ways. Unto whom I fware in my 
 wrath, that they fhould not enter into my reft," Pf. xcv. 
 7, 8, 9, 10, ii. Of him who has thus fworn, and 
 who was thus provoked for forty years in the wil- 
 dernefs, even that God who led the children of Ifrael 
 out of the land of Egypt and out of the houfe of bond- 
 age, and faid, " I am the Lord thy God," it is thus 
 declared by St. Paul, " the Holy Ghoft faith, to-day 
 if you will hear his voice, harder, not your hearts, &c." 
 Heb. iii. 7, 8, 9, 10, ;i. 
 
 Our Saviour himfelf fays, " The fpirit of truth, 
 which proceedeth from the Father, he fhall teftify of 
 me," John xv. 26 ; and accordingly St. Paul having 
 declared to the Hebrews, that they who had heard the 
 Lord confirmed his great falvation unto us, " God 
 alfo bearing th. m witnefs," Heb. ii. 3. proceeds to 
 preach. the fuffickncy of the one facrifice of Chrift's 
 body once offered for fins, and the kingdom of heaven 
 D d 2 i , opened
 
 opened to all believers by his having overcome the 
 fharpncfs of death, and " an entrance into the ho- 
 lieft by the blood of Jefus, by a nc\v and living way 
 which he hath confecrated for us," " whereof the Holy 
 Ghoft is a witnefs to us," Heb. x. 15. " It is the Spi- 
 rit that beareth witnefs, becaufe the Spirit is truth." 
 " If we receive the witnefs of men, the witnefs of Cod 
 is greater : for this is the witnefs of God, which lie 
 hath teftified of his Son. He that belicveth on the Son 
 of God, hath the witnefs in himfelf : he that believeth 
 not God, hath made him a liar, becaufe ^he believeth 
 not the record that God gave of his Son," i John v. 
 9, 10. Thefe words amply explain the meaning of 
 St. Paul's direction to the Theflalonians, " Quench not 
 the Spirit," i ThefT. v. 19; and, upon the whole, we 
 fo frequently find the teftimony of Jefus Chrift borne 
 by God and by the Holy Ghoft, that we muft con- 
 clude the Holy Ghoft, who " is a witnefs unto us," 
 to be one with the Father and with the Son, God, who 
 hath given the record of his Son, " that witnefs ,who 
 is in him that believeth on the Son of God." This 
 may perhaps afford more provender for Mr. Lindfey. 
 I fhould hope however that he may, by this time at 
 leaft, have begun to doubt the tenets which he has pro- 
 fcfled, and reflect on the vrry cleftru&ive confequences 
 of his crrour, if he can be pcrfuadcd to confider his 
 t!otrine to be fuch. To this purpofc, ar.d as the laft 
 argument which I fliall produce to the divinity of the 
 Holy Ghoft, and his unity with the Father and Son, 
 I mail add the declaration of our Saviour himfelf, 
 who declared to the Scribts, who faid, " He hath 
 Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils cafteth he 
 out devils ;" " all fins fhall be forgiven to the fons of 
 men, and blafphemies, wherewith foever they mail 
 blafpheme : but he that fhall blafpheme againft the 
 Holy Ghoft, hath never forgivenefi', but is in danger 
 
 of
 
 of eternal damnation: becaufe they faid, he hath an 
 unclean fpirit," Mark iii. 22 to 30. Here the context 
 requires the following interpretation, Ye have faid that 
 I have a devil ; it fhall -neverthelefs be forgiven you : 
 but if ye fhall hereafter ufe like blafphemy, ye fhall 
 never have forgivenefs : I came not to bear record of 
 myfelf, and therefore difpenfe with your unbelief; 
 whereas, when the Holy Ghoft fhall in due time bear 
 witnefs, that ultimate teftimony upon which the faith 
 of mankind is to be required ; when the whole of that 
 evidence fhall be afforded to the world, upon which 
 God has thought rio-ht to demand the faith of men, 
 
 O O * 
 
 nnd to which he will not add ; then, if ye blaipheme, 
 or lay fuch a charge againft the Son of man, de- 
 clared by the Holy Ghoft to be God, ye refift the 
 united Trinity, and fin againft God, who fhall bear 
 me witnefs; and whofe witnefs is greater than that 
 of man, which as yet ye are pardonable for con- 
 ceiving me only to be. The manner in which St. 
 Luke has related the fame event, greatly corroborates 
 this manner of underftanding the declaration of our 
 Lord, " He that denieth me before men, fhall be de- 
 nied before the angels o'f God. And whofoever fhall 
 fpeak a word againft the Son of man, it fhall be for- 
 given him : but unto him that blafphemeth againft the 
 Holy Ghoft, it fhall not be forgiven;" for our Savi- 
 our is in context with the declaration, appointing the 
 apoftles to be witnefles unto him ; and for the purpofe 
 of rendering them competent and irrefiftible without 
 fin, he goes on to fay, " Take ye no thought how or 
 what thing ye fhall anfvver, or what ye fhall fay : for 
 the Holy Ghoft fhall teach you in the fame hour what 
 ye ought to fay,". Luke xii. 9, 10, n, 12. On this 
 place it is to be remarked, that our Lord has declared 
 of him who fhall fpeak again:! the Son of man, that 
 he fiull be forgiven; and alfo, that he who denieth 
 
 him,
 
 him > {hall be denied alfo. Here are two contradi&ory 
 aflertions made, and confequenrly two diftinft cir- 
 cumftances are to be underftood for the fake of recon- 
 ciling them to truth, and to fenfe, which eafily re- 
 fults, upon admitting that two diftinft times are in- 
 tended ; and that " he who now denies me is pardon- 
 able ; but that he who fhall hereafter deny me, fliall 
 himfelf alfo be denied. Ye have not now the manifeft 
 teftimony of God ; but hereafter the Holy Ghoft fhall 
 bear me witncfs i and in the h,our when the Holy 
 Ghoft fhall teach my appointed witnefles what they 
 ought to fay : ye fhall not be forgiven if ye withhold 
 belief." I defire my reader will refer this argument to 
 the doclrine of my fecond chapter. 
 
 I have now proved to my own, and I hope alfo 
 to my reader's, entire fatisfation, that the Son is 
 God, and that the Holy Ghoft is God ; that the 
 Father is God, and that there is but one God, are 
 conceded points; and, having been admitted, I have 
 been exempted from the neceffity of proving them. 
 But as there is but one God, and that each of the 
 three perfons is God, does not a Trinity in unity ne- 
 ceflarily follow ? But Mr. Lindfey does not find this 
 conclufion drawn in fo many words, and fo will not 
 believe that it refults. Had Mr. Lindfey told me how 
 many miles it meafured from Richmond to Catterick, 
 J apprehend he would charge me with great ftupidity 
 if I could not conclude for myfelf how many miles 
 from Catterick to Richmond ; and yet even this obvi- 
 ous inference does not offer itfelf more perfpicuoufly to 
 the underftanding than that with which he quarrels. 
 The premifes are all fairly ftated; and which am I to 
 charge it to, the account of obftinacy, want of difcern- 
 ment, or a compofition of both, that he will not look 
 upon the neceflary conclufion, which i?, that the object 
 
 of
 
 [ ai S ] 
 
 of our religious worfhip is a holy, bleflcd, and glorious 
 Trinity, three perfons and one God ? 
 
 That each of the three perfons is God, feems to me 
 a fully fufficient reafon why I fLould prefer to each my 
 prayer, my praife, and my thankfgiving ; that the three 
 perfons are one God, is in like manner a reafon why I 
 fhould addrefs my adoration to this trinal unity. That 
 this is a ftumbling-block to the Unitarians and to the 
 Jews, I grant ; that to the Greeks it is foolifhnefs, I 
 grant alfo ; that it altogether furpafies my own facul- 
 ties, I as freely acknowledge ; but that it is revealed by 
 the God of truth I know, and therefore I yield my 
 faith to what he has declared concerning his own in- 
 fcrutable nature, and where I cannot unriddle, have 
 learned to truft. 1 can clearly fee that the infolence'olf 
 reafon, or rather of pride under her abufed name, 
 meets in this point the object of its contempt j but 
 " behold, ye defpifers, and wonder and perifh ; for I 
 work a work in your days, a work which ye lhall in 
 nowife believe, though a man declare it unto you," 
 Acts xii. 41. I do not apply thefe words uncharitably, 
 I ufe them to fhew that God had beforehand ordained 
 a difficulty to the conceptions of mankind, that they 
 who withftand his teftimony becaufe they have not been 
 admitted of his council, are impeached of contempt, 
 and threatened with eternal deftruclion. " Knowing 
 therefore the terrour of the Lord," I would perfuadc 
 men to humility, to obedience, to faith unto falvation, 
 that they may efcape the " vengeance taken upon them 
 that obey not the gofpel of Jefus ChrifL" 
 
 It is not my office to ftand forth the panegyrift of 
 the Liturgy of the eftablifhed Church, and therefore 
 I refrain from entering into a fcriptural vindication of 
 it ; if it indeed remain neceflary now, I have taken a 
 
 great
 
 great deal of pains to very little purpofc ; for I fhoulcl 
 conceive an intelligent reader of the arguments I have 
 already cited in proof of the divinity of Jefus Chrift and 
 of the Holy Ghoft, muft, without any more particular 
 difcuflion of the point, be very well able to vindicate it 
 himfelf, and to fet forth the propriety of offering up his 
 adoration to them with the Father, one God. Were I 
 difpofed fo to do, I could draw together alfo the opini- 
 ons of fome of the wifeft men that have ever adorned 
 our iflands ; who have conceived our book of common 
 prayer one of the fineft compofitiohs that has flowed 
 from the peri of man ; but even this human compofi- 
 tion I fhall not maintain by human authority, though 
 I could bring ftronger hands to fupport the fabric of 
 our church, than thofe of either Dr. Clarke or Mr. 
 Lindfey, which have been defperately employed in di- 
 lapidation ; or, to ufe Mr. Lindfcy's Icfs-confufcd me- 
 taphor, in ftnotbering the fabric. 
 
 This gentleman, after he had deprecated all human 
 authority as a ground of faith, we have already fecn 
 making ufe of it, and nothing elfe, in fupport of hi.s 
 doctrines. But he has attacked human authority in 
 another fenfe of the words alfo; and, to the great 
 confirmation .of every Briton, who fhall meet it in his 
 way, has emphatically and conclufively pronounced 
 it A MONSTER. But the terrified reader of his book 
 may calm his bread when he comes to know that this 
 fame monfter is nothing worfe than " a legal eftablifh- 
 ment of the church of England." An eftablifhment, 
 the ncceflity of which I am forry to fay, grows every 
 day more and more obvious; and to whofe good pur- 
 pofes, Mr. Lindfey's own conduct bears an incontro- 
 vertible teftimony. A farther vindication of this alfo 
 exceeds the limits of my defign; but methinks a gen- 
 tleman, who has experienced fuch lenity from our efta- 
 
 blifhmont,
 
 [ "7] 
 
 bliihment, fhould at lead acknowledge, from the tole- 
 rated altar of his new fynagogue, that the church of 
 England is not a very fierce monfter. 
 
 As the limits are however of my own appointment, 
 I will take the liberty of tranfgrefling them a little 
 here. The articles of religion, when firft prefcribcd, 
 were chiefly intended as a barrier to divide our new re- 
 formation from popery, which it had juft efcaped, ma- 
 ny of the particular tenets of which are formally abju- 
 red in them. Though accefs to the fcriptures were 
 now permitted to all men, it was thought necefiary to 
 aflift tb~ weak, in forming their conclufions upon the 
 whole, and to fum up in brief thofe doctrines which 
 lie diffufed in the facred writings. Moderation appears 
 alfo to have been a principal objeft in forming them j 
 for as abhorrence muft naturally fucceed the detection 
 of the felf-interefted frauds of the church of Rome, it 
 feems a reafonable apprehenfion, that every tenet which 
 it had held, would fall into contempt, if not confpi- 
 cuoufly held forth, as retained by the leaders of re- 
 formation ; hence the Trinity is formally avowed, in 
 which we* continued our agreement. I am far from 
 maintaining that the body of the people fhould be obli- 
 ged to fubfcribe to any articles of faith ; but it appears 
 to me abfolutely neceflary that certain articles of faith 
 fhould be fubfcribed by the paftors in our church, 
 otherwife we muft ceafe to be a church ; and, inftead 
 of a general amity amongft men, the gofpel will be 
 converted into a fource of univerfal difcord, and bring 
 indeed not peace, but a fword; we {hall, inftcad of a 
 church of England, have as many churches as parifh 
 minifters ; every parifh, zealous to maintain the doc- 
 trines of its polemic paftor, will war on its neighbour, 
 and think they do God fervice by reducing thofe who 
 difTent from them to opinions which they have been in- 
 E e flrucled
 
 [218] 
 
 ftru&ed to efleem neceflary to be entertained. Sub- 
 fcription to thefe doctrines, as a fecurity for the main- 
 tenance of the irhpofed faith, will be required, and 
 that which is now eftablifhed in peace, will be, if relin- 
 quimed, again exacted by the very confcquences of ha- 
 ving relinquifhed it ; for, however exceptionable thofe 
 articles which arc now fubfcribed may be thought, I 
 greatly doubt whether they who complain would agree 
 together in forming a fet that would be lefs liable to 
 objection ; and that fubfcription i "would again be re- 
 quired and fubmittcd to, as the purchace df tranquillity, 
 I do not entertain the fmalleft doubt. Articles, fum- 
 ming up in few words the eflential doctrines diffufed in 
 the fcriptures, ought to be prcfcribed to thofe who are 
 authorized to teach ; and thefe alone fhould they be 
 permitted to promulgate, whatever they might privately 
 think. It is true the confcientious man who does not 
 acquiefce in their truth, and therefore cannot fubfcribe 
 them, is excluded from the office of a teacher, and 
 withheld: but from what? From an opportunity of 
 propagating opinions contrary to thofe which the wifeft 
 men have conceived deducible from fcripture, for by 
 fuch I conceive thefe articles to be formed. It is to be 
 hoped that many a weak man has a tender confcience ; 
 by this then he is reftraincd from uttering his trifling 
 fu^geftions ; while he who has lefs fcrupuloufly ac- 
 quiefced in what he doubted, has, by his fubfcriptiori, 
 given fecurity to mankind that he will not propagate 
 pernicious or filly tenets. I do not wifli to confine the 
 private fentiments of the heart, but I do to reftrain the 
 liberty of teaching and imparting fuch notions as a 
 weak man may inftill into a credulous or unthinking 
 congregation. Anabaptifm itfelf pretended to the 
 fan&ion of fcripture, and may again, to the utter fub- 
 verfion of all religion and virtue. The church of Cat- 
 terick may fet up againft that of NorthaJlerton, and 
 
 who
 
 [ 219 ] 
 
 who fhall decide which is right, if there be no pre- 
 fcript ? The more extenfive diocefan churches may dif- 
 agree, and when the church of Carlifle fnall make in- 
 roads into the neighbouring churches of Durham and 
 Chefter, who fhall reftrain the arm that declares itfelf 
 raifed for the propagation of truth ? Inteftine wars and 
 univerfal confufion may at length leave the decifion in 
 the hands of victory, and vanquifhed truth fhall then 
 fubfcribe to articles dictated by its erroneous conque- 
 rour. Such would be the procefs: and let not thofc 
 who now complain of the neceflity of fubfcribing the 
 articles of the church of England, flatter themfelves 
 that matters would be rendered more agreeable even to 
 themfelves, if they fhould be indulged in their defires. 
 Perhaps, when every fpecies of difturbance and purita- 
 nical abfurdity had raged through the nation, and rob- 
 bed them of their tranquillity, they would then begin 
 to acknowledge the happinefs they enjoyed when pro- 
 tected by that barrier which they had themfelves broken 
 down, and become the firft to replace it; the want 
 would teach the value of that which they now over- 
 Ipok, becaufe they poflefs it. But the fubfcription of 
 articles of faith is no fuch mighty grievance as fome 
 would intimate ; it may be a feverity to a few who arc 
 not admitted into the pulpit, becaufe they cannot ac- 
 cede to them : but furely it is a great happinefs to the 
 body of the people that they are under the guard ian- 
 fhip of an eftablifhment that protects them from the 
 neceflity of liftening to the whimfical interpretation of 
 weak teachers. It is therefore neceflary, fo long as there 
 is no compulfion on the laity to learn and give their 
 faith to the doctrines of the clergy, that the conclufions 
 which are to bp drawn from holy writ fhould be prc- 
 fcribed to thofe who are appointed to teach : if they 
 cannot fubfcribe, let them let it alone, a church with 
 which they cannot concur, is even better without 
 E e 2 them.
 
 [ 220 ] 
 
 them. Is it for the admiffion of a few individuals that 
 a door is to be opened, by which every fpecies of abufe 
 may enter ? 
 
 I honour and concur with Mr. Lindfey's patriot wifh, 
 that England fhould ever fet the example of improve- 
 ment ; but it is very weakly urged, that reli-fon fhould 
 keep pace with fcience in improvement, and that a fub- 
 fcription to articles muft always impede its progi'efs; for 
 nothing can be more abfurd than the idea of a progreffive 
 religion, which, being founded upon the declared, not 
 the imagined will of God, muft, if it attempt to pro- 
 ceed, relinquim that revelation which is its bafts, and 
 f'o ceafe to be a religion founded upon God's word. 
 God has revealed himfelf, and all that he has fpoken, 
 and coniequentlv all that is demanded of us to accede 
 to, is declared in one book, from which nothing is to 
 be retrenched, and to which nothing can be added. 
 All that it contains was as perfpicuous to thofe who 
 firft p^rufed it, after the rejection of the Papal yoke, 
 as it can be to us now, or as it can be to our pofte- 
 rity in the fiftieth generation. If we. look for any 
 thing new, it is not in the fcriptures that it is to be 
 found ; and if we add, it is not religion that has im- 
 proved, for truth will never defert her own founda- 
 tions, nor follow our fantaftick imaginations. The 
 progrefs of every fcience has been to the difcovery of 
 fornething new, derived from new combinations of 
 principles within our comprehenfton, and confequent- 
 ly capable of being compared for the fake of addi- 
 tional knowledge. Is fuch a progrefs to be defired 
 in religion? What novelty do we feek for, or what 
 advantage do we propofe from the introduction of 
 novelty into religion ? Such an idea feems to intimate 
 As if religion were intended 
 For nothing elfc but to be mended. 
 
 HUDIBRAS. 
 CHAP.
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 HEP!' 
 
 I Am in truth, as I have ftated myfelf in my title 
 page, a Layman, and I conceive that my book has 
 rendered it unneceflhry for me to fay that I am alto- 
 gether unread in theological difputations ; of thefe two 
 circumftances, however, I am now about to make my 
 advantage, for I ftill defire to have the end kept in 
 view, and to convert even myfelf into fome fort of ar- 
 gument in behalf of it. 
 
 On the publication of Mr. Lindfey's Apology, as I 
 have already faid, I was drawn by curiofity to look into 
 jt ; but finding it to contain a doctrine which I hsd not 
 in the leaft fufpected, (as I really had never known any 
 thing of the gentleman before) I pl?ced the Bible by 
 my fide, happy in finding the beft, the only evidence 
 in this cafe offered to the examination of every man. 
 With perfect freedom from prejudice, nay, I am almoft 
 afhamed to confefs it, with the firft ferious confidera- 
 tion of fo important a point that I had ever entered into *, 
 I fat down to read Mr. Lindfey's book, and, for the truth 
 of every pofition contained in it, appealed to the word 
 of God himfelf, that I might, thence learn how truly it 
 was advanced ; when, to my utter aftonifhment, I foon 
 found that this was the only book upon the fubje&, 
 which the diligent Apologift had not critically read, 
 and that in every particular it directly oppofed itfelf to 
 him, and to his frequent quotations. It grew into a 
 matter of wonder with me, what could influence a man 
 
 to 
 
 * I would not have it underftood that I had never read the Bible before, 
 .iyt Ut I never read it to this point, or in. a like inquifitive manner as now.
 
 [ 222 ] 
 
 to furrende r his worldly competence in defence of a 
 contradiction to the only witnefs that bears any tefti- 
 mony concerning the facT: which he contradicts. As I 
 had received an education among men not unlettered, 
 I was not altogether unacquainted with the laws of ar- 
 gument, and foon perceived his errour to proceed from 
 his having drawn from a wrong fource, from his having 
 laid afide the Bible, and faid, " my Reafon does not 
 acquiefce in a Trinity of Perfons in the one God, and 
 my reafon is competent; this is a matter fubmitted to 
 my faculties, and I am fkilled to affirm or deny con- 
 cerning a comprehenfible God." As I found difficulties 
 in lifting up my own faculties to God, I conceived Mr. 
 Lindfey's no better able to foar to fuch unfurmountabk 
 heights ; and having found that my Maker bad fpoken, 
 looked upon his word as the fountain from which all 
 argument concerning him fhould flow, and accord- 
 ingly I have ftated my own idea of the manner of pur- 
 fuing this enquiry in my firft chapter. Under this 
 perfuafion I noted my Bible, and to what purpofc my 
 reader is empowered to judge from my third and fourth 
 chapters : but, as I went along, the degrees or different 
 fpecies of testimony afforded to the divinity of our Lord 
 and Saviour Jtfus Chrift, offered themfelves to my ob- 
 fervation ; and this alfo I have in my lecond chapter 
 fubmitted to public cenfure. Such was the procefs of 
 an enquiry entered into by a man who fet about it 
 for his own information only; but the fubftance of 
 which, as it has afforded perfect conviction to him- 
 fclf, he has at length decided to be due to mankind ; 
 at length decided, I fay, bccaufe that many fcruples 
 delayed my determination. Firft it occurred to me 
 that, being a Layman, it was, properly fpeaking, no 
 bufwefs of mine ; that an eftabliftied Clergy was ap- 
 pointed for the defence of religion ; that at the head of 
 
 ihi?
 
 this Clergy there was a refpe&able and venerable body c't 
 learned Bifhops, who were daily acquiring more weight 
 by the acceflion of a numerous Nubility to their bench i 
 by which acceflion, if the body Ihould lofe (as probably 
 they will) on the fide of learning, they were fure of 
 obtaining confequehce on the fide of fafhion, and there- 
 fore that it was not to be fuppofed that the conduct of 
 one country clergyman could long continue of any na- 
 tional importance. But when, on the other hand, I 
 confidered how ready the world Was to impute partiality 
 to any body of men who fhould write on a fubject in 
 which their private intereft was fo deeply concerned, and 
 that their filence {hewed that they were themfelves aware 
 of this, I thought that a Layman writing upon the fufr- 
 jedt, a man totally unconnected with their profefiion, 
 would probably be more attended to. Another objec- 
 tion which occurred to me, was my entire ignorance 
 of controverfial theology, and particularly my having 
 never looked into any controversy upon the Trinity, 
 except what I have feen in Mr. Lindfey's book; but 
 being by Mr. Lindfey's book convinced that the Bible 
 Was the only guide to be depended upon, I then thought 
 that the reading that with attention would be a fuffi- 
 cient preparative for writing ; that my very ignorance in 
 controverfy would turn to account, and that it might be 
 confidered as a corroborating proof of the truth of what I 
 fliould write, that the Bible alone had been found fuffici- 
 ent to convince on young man , and accordingly, thro' 
 the whole courfe of my enquiry, the Bible alone have I 
 c"onfulted, ahd this (notwithftanding that I have ac- 
 knowledged myfelf educated in thefe doctrines) with- 
 out a firigle prejudice, either my own, or borrowed 
 from any other. Perhaps I have been too nicely fcru- 
 pulous in this refpect ; for, through the fear of imbibing 
 one prejudice on fo important a queftion, I have worked 
 
 onlr
 
 1 224 ] 
 
 only oil my own ideas derived from fcripture, fhunttet! 
 the fuperior fuggeftions of wifcr men, and diligently 
 withheld myfelf from an acquaintance with any thing 
 that had ever been faid upon the fubject before. I knew 
 not thro' what foul or crooked channels the courfe of the 
 flream had been turned, but was very certain that the 
 well-head was pure, and thence only I therefore determi- 
 ned to draw. From this circumftance I alfo entertained 
 fome hope, that, being totally unbialfcd, I might pof- 
 fibly ftrike out fome new lights; or, where I mould ac- 
 cidentally agree with" any former writers, put an old 
 argument in fo different a manner, that it fhould convey 
 a new impreflion, and convince fuch of my readers as 
 affect novelty ; for of novelty, if that be a recommenda- 
 tion, they have undoubtedly a chance, as all contained 
 in my work is my ownj whether any of it may have 
 been ftated before or not. 
 
 May I have leave to fay, that having been born a gen- 
 tleman, a farther difficulty oppofcd my resolution to pub- 
 lifli ; the inconfiftency of fuch doctrines as I was 
 about to maintain, with the modifh practices and eafy 
 principles of the polite world fuggefted itfelf to me ; 
 why then, it often occurred to me, why muft I be fo 
 fingularly nice and fcrupulous as not to comply with 
 what men of fafhion accommodate themfelves to ? why 
 difturb others, and not give way to a more chearful way 
 of thinking ? why promulgate that veneration for a 
 Deity which a free communication with the world may 
 difperfe or remove ? and why render myfelf obnoxious 
 to men who muft deteft the doctrines which reftrain 
 their will, and not rather wait patiently for a change 
 in the morals of the age ? Thefe confiderations altogether 
 were of weight to divert me for a while from the thought 
 of publication ; not that I now juftify myfelf therein : 
 yea rather I condemn myfelf, and have at length de- 
 cided
 
 tided to offer to mankind thofe arguments which have 
 already afforded conviction to myfelf *. 
 
 I am very confcious that my ftyle would admit of 
 great improvement ; but if it be confidered that I did 
 not fee Mr. Lindfey's book till late in the month of 
 January, I fhall readily be forgiven by the ingenuous 
 and candid reader, who will fee that I have employed 
 that time in the purfuit of matter, which, had I lets 
 regard to an argument of fo high importance to him 
 and myfelf, I might have beftowed in polifhing a lefs 
 convincing work. But why then ftiould I not have 
 withheld it longer from the world, and rendered it better 
 able to fuftain their criticifm ? For this fhort reafon : a 
 deadly poifon has been adminiftered to the publick^ I 
 have hafted to prepare the antidote, and have not paufed 
 to fugar over the brim of the veffel in which I offer it 
 to their lips. He muft love the poifon who rejects the 
 antidote that is not feafoned to his palate. I am as 
 fenfible of the charms of language as my faftidious rea- 
 der may be, and could perhaps, even without his aflift- 
 ance, have rendered my own ftyle more agreeable to his 
 ear, and greatly fhortened what I have been forced, thro' 
 hafte, to exprefs in unfelected words. If, however, he 
 be fuch a man as cannot pardon me, I do not afk his 
 pardon. 
 
 I fhall here take occafion to explain what I have 
 Written with refpecT: to Mr. Lindfey himfelf. I have 
 heretofore confidered him in the character of a Sectary 
 and Writer only, and confequently have been under a 
 neceflity of fpeaking in terms concerning him, which I 
 have always uttered with regret. I am not, however, 
 going to retract a fmgle fyllable which can only affect 
 him in his public character; but, on the contrary, 
 F f more 
 
 f Sec Apology, p. nc.
 
 [ 226 ] 
 
 more fummarily to avow the fubftance of what I have 
 already laid down. As a Sectary then, I think he 
 would be a dangerous man, had he not himfelf dimi- 
 ttimed his importance by becoming the advocate of 
 his own tenets ; for as a Writer, I confider him to 
 be perfectly harmlefs ; yet ftill from that character, in 
 Which I (hall henceforward addrefs him, I dread the 
 Schifmatick, and have therefore oppofed rnyfelf to a 
 book which, had it not come from the felf-denying 
 hand of this gentleman, might, for me, have gradually 
 fubfided in its congenial oblivion. His conduct, how- 
 ever, might fupport it for a time ; my effort therefore 
 is more expeditioufly to difmifs it from exiftence, 
 
 It may look a little qttarrelfome, that I cannot let 
 even fo much of his book as correfponds with the titl* 
 page pafs without a cenfurc. But this gentleman has- 
 thought it neceflary to make an apology for the moft un- 
 exceptionable conduct that he could poffibly have pur- 
 fued; for a fmcere obedience to the dictates of his 
 confcience ; for having made a facrifice to what he? 
 efteemed the truth* however miftakert; for having 
 looked upon pardon as inconfifterit with the retained 1 
 offence ; and for having convinced mankind that " he 
 had efcaped the pollutions of the world by his former 
 knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jefus Chfift," 
 2 Pet. ii. 20. Had he indeed purfued a contrary courfe, 
 and continued to profefs when he had ceafcd to be- 
 lieve, then would an apology have been truly necef- 
 fary, and we Ihould not perhaps have admitted it to be 
 fatisfactory, though he had even yielded to the impor- 
 tunity of ftronger motives than thofe which he has re- 
 fiftcd. Had his power of doing good been far more cx- 
 tenfive, and had the fubfcription of a doctrine, which 
 he did not believe, afforded his benevolent propenfities 
 an opportunity of propagating the oppofite tenet which 
 
 he
 
 [ 227 ] 
 
 he did believe^ and think neceffary to be received by 
 all men, not even fo good an end fhould exempt the 
 means from the charge of falfehood, nor the perpetrator 
 from the imputation of holding " the damnable doc- 
 trine of doing evil that good may come of it." Had a 
 dignified character extended his influence ftill wider , 
 had the paftoral office been committed to his hand ; and 
 had the emblem of the defcending fpirit fat upon him, 
 be could but ill defend himfelf from the juftice of uni- 
 verfal condemnation, though thus, meditating, he 
 fliould addrefs his mitre, the fymbol of a cloven tongue, 
 << thou art the fymbol of a double tongue, and thou 
 (halt fan&ify duplicity; thou {halt be my warrant for 
 bypfcrify and prevarication ; for thee will / keep up all 
 thefe forms of fubfcribing what I do not believe, till 
 relic-lied by proper authority ', and vefted with dignities 
 without the neceflity of falfifying, in order to obtain 
 them ; for thee / will minifterially comply with what I 
 am not able to remove^ and patiently remain in my poft, 
 however invidioujly mifreprefented\ for thee, and under 
 thy fanction, I will utter two languages ; I will tell 3 
 lye for the fake of telling truth ; enter into terms for 
 the purpofe of infringing them ; and comply with fuch 
 propofed conditions as {hall afford me an occafion of 
 Shewing that they ought not to be complied with. 
 At the door of the vineyard I will fay that the -will 
 branches are but the fine luxuriance of nature, and that 
 their growth ought to be encouraged, fo {hall I obtain, 
 the power of pruning them away; I {hall create to myfelf 
 an opportunity of rooting out foms of what I take to be 
 the rankeft weeds, by tilling the owner of the vineyard 
 that I think them the moft beautiful plants, and enga- 
 ging that I will diligently cultivate them : thus {hall I 
 trick him into his own advantage, and prove, by having 
 difpenfed with truth in order to get admiflion, that his 
 fervice, and not my profit, was the only motive to the 
 F f 2 fraud.
 
 [228 ] 
 
 fraud, the pious fraud by which I induced him to admit 
 me f. Had Mr. Lindfey, I fay, thus pondering, lulled 
 himfelf into a hope that none -would fnfp eft him of hypo- 
 cr'ify and prevarication , he ihould have found it vain ; 
 every vvhifper would be interpreted into ccnfurc, and 
 every breeze of opinion, prove a ftorm fufficient to di- 
 llurb the tranquillity of his foul. Is there any man 
 who can have thus dealt by himfelf? To him I call to 
 dcfcend from his throne, to feek for happincfs in fclf- 
 :ipprobation, and for public applaufe, by confpicuous 
 and exemplary virtue; let him place the mitre upon 
 other brows, and put upon his own " the helmet of 
 falvation." There are men in England who can pro- 
 fcfs with fmccrity, and maintain what they have pro- 
 fefied ; who do not need the picklock of equivocation, 
 nor the burglary of more open falfehood, to obtain an 
 entrance into the miniftry, from which I thus boldly 
 call, in the name of each man's confcience, upon every 
 perfon, whether he be Archbifhop, Bifhop, Prieft, or 
 Deacon, who has fubfcribcd with infmccrity,. or who 
 cannot now overcome his fcruples, to retire, and follow 
 the worthy example which is afforded them by Mr, 
 Lindfey. 
 
 As a good man, I honour Mr. Lindfey ; as a man 
 ftrenuous in the maintenance of his faith, though I be- 
 lieve it erroneous, I refpeft him ; and if his under- 
 ftanding were but nearly commenfurate with his ho- 
 nefty, I believe that the church which he has defcrtcd, 
 would have found in him, who is now her weak oppo- 
 nent, an advocate truly able to maintain her caufe; for 
 I do not remember in my life to have met a man, in 
 whom the excellencies of head and heart had united, 
 who did not fubmit his own underfhindins; to the word 
 
 of 
 
 f See confidcrations on the propriety of requiring a fubfcription to arti- 
 cles of faith.
 
 [ 229 ]. 
 
 of his Maker, and believe, becaufe that his immutable 
 truth is a fully fufficient ground of faith. 
 
 As I am now about to conclude, I muft call back 
 the mind of my reader, and having brought my argu- 
 ment to an end, refer to him the iflue upon which he 
 is to determine. 
 
 Either Jefus Chrift is one with the Father, God, or 
 he is not ; either the Holy Ghoft is one with the Father 
 and the Son, God, or he is not. On fuppofmg that 
 the negative fide of this dilemma can be affumed, (and 
 for argument's fake it muft be fuppofed, however irk- 
 fome) a confcqucnce enfues, horrible to thought. The 
 God of peace becomes a firebrand of contention ; tenfold 
 confufion proceeds from God, " who is not the author 
 of confufion;" the Spirit of truth is a lyar; the fimple 
 and guilelefs zeal of the apoftles, is crafty and defigning 
 duplicity; the wifdom of God, folly, beneath the foolifh- 
 ncfs of men ; and the revelation of the God of truth, from 
 end to end, fcarce the word of defigning falfehood, it 
 muft have proceeded from a dupe to his own artifices. 
 I mudder while I write : but it is acknowledged that the 
 fcriptures are the word of God, and the application of 
 this defcription to them I will leave to men who can per- 
 fift in the denial of this great myftery : whereas, on the 
 other hand, three perfons and one God being acknow- 
 ledo-cd, a fact, is eftablifhed concerning the things of God, 
 incomprehenfible to us, who have not fpiritual things to 
 compare with fpiritual, and which therefore, though it 
 may tranfcend, can never contradict our reafon. Our 
 belief, which is all that is required, may be yielded to 
 the evidence of the fa6l without any violence offered 
 to our underftanding; and therefore, however incom- 
 orehcnfible the object of the teftimony may be, there 
 
 cart
 
 J 
 
 can be no difficulty in making the affirmative, which 
 does not equally attend upon pronouncing the negative 
 of the propofition, and one of the two we are under an 
 abfolute necefiity of adopting, 
 
 In whatfoever God a&s, he muft condefcend. The 
 whole extent of created nature bears to him but a like 
 proportion as an atom; he is equally the God of a 
 fraction as of the univerfe ; and a fraction is as com- 
 mtnfurate to his infinity as the univerfe. But his love 
 is infinite, and we have been the objedl of it, an ob- 
 ject as obfervable by him as all worlds ; for, little as 
 ive arc, we bear the fame proportion to him. Let us 
 then lay afide that pride, which, in the pretence of 
 humility, withdraws mankind from the eye of his Ma- 
 ker; from that microfcopick eye, by which even the 
 hairs of our head are numbered; that equal and all-per- 
 vading eye, which as accurately fees and marks the fall 
 of a fparrow, as the crufh of worlds. When we thus 
 confider him, doubts will vanifh; we fhall fee that we 
 mav pofllbly be within his contemplation, the objects of 
 his favour; we fhall acquiefce in a revelation of the be- 
 nefits he has conferred upon us, and acknowledge that 
 we have been the objects of his favour; our ignorance 
 fhall be diffipated, our pride depofed ; and reafon (rightly 
 fo called) affiuning her proper dignity, conduct us with 
 certainty fo far as her own prefcribed boundaries extend ; 
 inftrudt us where to paufe; teach us the limits of our 
 own faculties, and the illimitable extent of our Maker's ; 
 put an end to idle fpeculation ; point out God as our 
 revealed Benefactor, not the fubjcft of our inquifitive 
 curiofity; diftate confidence and hope in him; and make 
 us, becaufe he has revealed it, " to acknowledge the 
 myftcry of God, and of the Father, and of Chrift." 
 
 FINIS.
 
 INDEX 
 
 T O T H E 
 
 TEXTS of SCRIPTURE quoted in the third Chapter, accord- 
 ing to the Order -in which they Jiand compared. 
 
 ISAIAH 
 
 I. 
 
 Ch. V. Page Matthew 
 vii. 14. 50 
 
 CH. V. Page 
 xxv. 31.^ 
 
 33- 
 . . 34- 
 
 Tin. 38. 1 
 xiii. 41. ! 
 - xvi. 27! > 54 
 ix. 26. 
 v. e. 
 
 ISAIAH 
 
 II. 
 
 - ix. 6. 50 Mark 
 
 ISAIAH 
 
 Revelation 
 
 Matthew 
 
 m> .. ' , , Matthcv,- 
 xhr. o. 7 
 ;; f 5 ~ 
 
 1K * i Euhefians 
 
 ISAIAH 
 
 Ifaiah 
 liaiah 
 Luke 
 
 IV. 2 Timothy 
 jjf 1 Luke 
 
 IV. I. 
 
 i. ii, 
 xvii. 20 to 30.J 
 
 lii. 10. 
 liii. i. > r MATTHEW 
 iii. 6. 1 ' Luke , . - 
 
 X. 
 
 xi. 27. 7 
 
 .X. 22. 56 
 
 1 Cor. 
 
 41. | 
 i ....... x. g.J MATTHEW 
 
 XL 
 xxviii. 20. -j 
 
 IsAIAil 
 
 V. Hebrews 
 xl. io.-) 
 ii. 
 
 xvi. 20. / 
 -3^7 
 4 3 
 
 Revelatioi^ xxli. 12. ! 
 
 Hebrews . xiii. 20. | 
 
 ai.J 
 
 XII. 
 
 24- 57 
 
 ' Lu] 
 
 XIII. 
 
 ISAIAH 
 
 VI. 
 
 P^**l 
 xhn. 25.3 
 
 57 
 
 Komaos x. 15. 5 J 
 
 LUKE 
 I Peter 
 
 XIV. 
 
 vi, 22. "I 
 
 .. 2 3-| 
 vn. 52. ' 
 
 59- f v 
 iv. 13. 1 
 
 14-J 
 
 VII. 
 
 PSALM . 
 
 Alatthew '. .11. 
 
 viii* 2.1 
 xxi. i6.j 
 
 VIII. 
 
 PSALM 
 R omans 
 
 xliv. 22.7 53 
 viii. 35.5 
 
 LUKE 
 
 Mark 
 John 
 
 XV. 
 
 IX. 
 
 MATTHEW - 
 
 Matthcv,- 
 
 VI. JO.") 
 
 xxiv. 30. r 54 
 
 39- 1 
 v. 19. > 59 
 
 20. | 
 
 3'J 
 
 OS
 
 232 
 
 LUKt 
 
 Luke 
 
 i N : 
 
 Ch. V. Page 
 XVI. 
 xxiii. 42.7 
 43. Uo 
 
 xxiv. 26.3 
 
 D E 
 
 JOHN 
 
 X. 
 
 Cb. V. Pa s ; 
 XXIII. 
 - xiv. g. -\ 
 
 9" ( 6S 
 
 10. f 
 
 ii. J 
 
 JOHN 
 Atfs 
 
 XVII. 
 ii. 19-7 
 
 21. > 6 
 
 ii. 32.3 
 
 JOHN 
 
 John 
 Exodus 
 i Timothy 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 14. 
 
 xvi. 23. . , 
 iii. 15. .' ^ 
 iii. T6. 
 
 JOHN 
 
 Jeremiah 
 Revelation 
 
 John 
 Ifuiah 
 I faiah 
 
 XVJI1. 
 
 .1. iv. 10. "| 
 14. 
 
 xxii. i. 
 
 J 7- I 
 iv. 14. 
 Iv. i. }> 6 
 . xliv. 3. 
 
 John 
 
 
 JOHN ^~ 
 ohn 
 ohn 
 
 XXV. 
 
 xvi. 7.-) 
 xiv. 26. | 
 xv. 26. 1 
 
 John 
 
 33. 1 
 
 > XX. 23. 1 
 
 iy. 42. 
 
 I Peter 
 John 
 
 i. xi. )> 72 
 - i. ii. 
 
 xvi. 14. 
 '5-J 
 
 
 xii. 3-J 
 
 JOHN - 
 Hebrews 
 John 
 
 XXVJ. 
 xvii. i. -\ 
 ix. 24- f , 
 
 xvii. 5- f ' J 
 
 24. 3 
 
 JOHN 
 John - 
 
 XIX. 
 
 v. 17." 
 18. 
 v. 26. 
 
 Heorcxvs 
 Hebrews 
 John 
 
 John 
 John 
 
 17- 
 - ii. 18. 
 iv. 15. ^ 6: 
 
 V. 21. 
 
 2 S- 
 28. 
 vi. 69. 
 ix. 38. _ 
 
 JOHN 
 i Timothy 
 John 
 
 XXVII. 
 xviii. 37 .T 
 vi. i 3 .V ?4 
 i. 49.3 
 
 JOHN 
 John 
 
 XXV1I1. 
 xx. 28.7 
 
 2 f-r ? 5 
 
 XK. l6.3 
 
 JOHN 
 John 
 Joliq 
 John 
 John 
 John - 
 
 XX. 
 
 v. 24.") 
 iii. 18. 
 iii. 13. 1 
 
 "' 3- > 65 
 vi. 62. 1 
 xvi. 28. | 
 29. J 
 
 ACTS 
 John 
 Mark 
 Romans 
 John . 
 Arts -^ 
 
 Afts 
 
 i Corinthians 
 ^ukc f 
 Matthew 
 Aft: 
 
 XXJX. 
 
 i. 24.-) 
 xv. 27. 
 xvi. 15. 
 i. 5. 
 - n. 25. 
 i. ai. 
 
 22. 
 
 JOHN 
 Revelation - 
 Exodus 
 John 
 
 XXI. 
 viii 58. -\ 
 
 ..! * f 66 
 
 jii. 14. f 
 
 iv. 26. 3 
 
 . 5. 
 
 6. ). 76 
 
 14. 
 
 JOHN - 
 John 
 John 
 
 XXII. 
 x. 30.7 
 
 - x. 33. S. 67 
 
 xi. 49, 
 xxiir. 34. 
 ' ' ix. 20.
 
 
 I N D E 
 
 X. 233 
 
 
 Ch. V. Page 
 
 
 Ch. V. Page 
 
 Afts - 
 
 ix. a.~) 
 
 Matthew 
 
 . xxviii. ZQ.~] 
 
 
 1 S* 1 
 
 Mark. 
 
 - xvi. 20. 
 
 Afts 
 
 xxii. 14. I f 
 
 Hebrews 
 
 ii. 4. > 89 
 
 John 
 
 xxi. 17. j * 
 
 A<3s 
 
 xix. 10. 
 
 John 
 
 xiii 37. 
 
 
 Ji.J , 
 
 
 38- J 
 
 
 XXXV. 
 
 
 XXX. 
 
 ACTS 
 
 xvi. 14.") 
 
 ACTS 
 A<3s 
 
 Aas 
 
 iii. J2. ^ 
 - iv. 10. / 
 
 21. J. 8l 
 
 ix. 34. I 
 35 J 
 
 Luke 
 
 Mark 
 Romans 
 
 'S- 
 16. 
 
 xxiv. 45. ) gz 
 
 .j- 34- 
 i. I. 
 
 
 XXXI. 
 
 Fhilippians 
 
 i. I. 
 
 ACTI 
 
 vii. 54.") 
 
 Titus 
 
 - i. I. 
 
 
 55- 
 
 
 XXXVi. 
 
 1 
 
 56. 
 
 57- 
 58. 
 
 59- 
 
 ACT* 
 
 xvi 30. -j 
 
 3 / 
 
 3*- > 93 
 33 I 
 
 34- J 
 
 John 
 
 
 
 xxxvn 
 
 Pfalm 
 Revelation 
 Jeremiah - 
 Afts 
 
 xxxi. 5. 
 . xxii. 9. ^ 82 
 xxiii. 23. 
 vii. 56. 
 
 ACTS 
 
 Aas 
 
 . xvii. 23. j 
 24. j 
 aS. > 94 
 
 Matthew 
 
 57- 
 . xxvi. 64. 
 
 Coloflians 
 
 
 
 65. 
 
 67. 
 
 Ifaiah 
 
 xiii. 8. 
 
 Matthew 
 
 \// . 
 
 . xiv. 61. 
 
 
 xxxvrti 
 
 
 to 
 6 S .J 
 
 ACTS 
 Afls 
 
 xviii. 8. ^ 
 
 9 / 
 
 10. V 95 
 
 ... JI I 
 
 ACTS 
 
 XXXII. 
 ix. 40. 1 gg 
 
 
 
 42 s 
 
 
 XXXiX 
 
 ACTS 
 
 XXX11I. 
 xi. iS.'J 
 20 j 
 
 ACTS 
 
 
 to > 96 
 
 2 o . j 
 
 
 2I ' V So 
 
 
 ' XL 
 
 As - 
 
 22. f 
 _ XV. J?.' 
 
 ACTS - 
 Afts 
 
 - xix. 10 ~\ 
 xix. 17. I 
 * > 97 
 
 '? 
 
 
 xxxfv 
 
 
 - xiii. 45.") 
 
 
 20. 
 
 
 
 
 XLl. 
 
 
 47- 
 
 ACTS 
 
 - xxi. n. -j 
 
 Ifaiah 
 
 xljx, 6. 
 
 
 to / 
 
 Matthew 
 
 xv. 24. > 89 
 
 
 14. r 57 
 
 Adls - 
 
 . xiii. 48. 
 
 Matthew 
 
 vi. 10. 3 
 
 Afts 
 
 ', 49- 
 
 
 XLII. 
 
 
 3-J 
 
 ACTS - 
 
 - xxii. 16. 98 
 
 i 
 
 G g a 
 
 ACTS
 
 234 
 
 I N D E 
 
 Ch. V. Page 
 XLIII. 
 ACTS xxii. 17. ) 
 
 . l8 ' C 9 3 
 
 Ch. V 
 LV. 
 ROMANS xv. 16. 7 
 19. J 10S 
 
 AU xxn. 19. T - 
 
 LVL 
 ROMANS xvi. j6."| 
 
 XL1V. 
 ACTS xxiv. 5.1 
 14- ? 99 
 
 John v. ",9.3 
 
 I Corinthians . i. i. 1 
 
 2. S.I05 
 
 iJ 
 
 XLV. 
 
 ' '*' l'\ 99 
 
 LVi(. 
 i CORINTHIANS i. 7-1 
 8 / 
 i Corinthians > iv. 5. 1 fi 
 
 LV1. 
 
 > hn u ~ v ' ( 100 
 Matthew xvi. 27. f 
 
 R( m.ms ii. 6. f 
 
 to V 
 
 18 } 
 
 LVI1I. 
 i CORINTHIANS i. n.~) 
 
 
 
 i Corinthians i. 10. ^icy 
 I Corinthians iii. 5. j 
 6. 1 
 
 XLVII. 
 ROMANS ii. 4. > 
 Afls xi. 18 1 
 i Timothy i. 16 >, oo 
 2 Peter iii. 15. 1 
 9-J 
 
 XLVill. 
 ROMANS iii. ~\ 
 Romans - iv. t 1OI 
 Hebrews xi. f 
 xii. 3 
 The whole of each chapter referred to 
 
 
 LiX. 
 i CORINTHIANS i. 14-? 
 
 LX. 
 i CORINTHIANS i. 26.") 
 7. 
 . 
 
 29. ! 
 
 XL1X 
 
 
 L. 
 
 ROMANS i" 5. 102 
 
 3- 
 x Corinthians ^ x. 17. 1 
 
 LI. 
 ROMANS x. 12. 7 
 
 i3-s iw 
 
 
 
 LXl. 
 i CORINTHIANS ii. 8."^ 
 Aifts . iii. iv/ 
 
 J 7 Liia 
 
 LI1. 
 ROMANS xiv. 6. "J 
 to / 
 
 9- >o 
 
 7 Corinthians x. 31.1 
 28 1 
 
 JPfalm xxiv. 10. \ 
 Gunelis ' ii. 7. ) 
 
 LX.I1. 
 i CORINTHIANS ii. 7 7 
 to the end C 1J 
 
 LIU. 
 ROMANS xiv. ioO 
 ii. 
 
 12. 
 
 LXill 
 i CORINTHIANS vii. 2<;. no 
 
 21. ^ I0 
 
 12. 
 
 >. Corinthians v. jo. 
 Hebrews x. 3I.J 
 L1V. 
 ROMANS . xiv. 14. 104 
 
 LXIV. 
 i CORINTHIANS viii. 4.") 
 i Corinthians viii. 6. j 
 Acls . xiv. 7. I 
 I S . >III 
 i Corinthians xii. 2 1 
 
 3- 1 
 I Corinthians xiv. 33-J 
 
 j COR.
 
 I 
 
 LXV. 
 
 j CORINTHIANS 
 
 2 Corinthians 
 
 N D 
 
 Ch. V. Page 
 
 x. 20. "I 
 
 " lire 
 
 vi. 15 ( ll > 
 
 16 J 
 
 E X. 
 
 LXXIII. 
 
 EPHESIASS 
 
 Coloffians ^-_ 
 
 Ch 
 vi. 
 
 iii. 
 
 235 
 
 . V. Page 
 
 Jt 
 
 sif 1 " 3 
 
 22.J 
 
 LXV1 
 2 CORINTHIANS 
 "2 Timothy 
 
 iv 
 
 r. "7 
 
 LXXIV. 
 
 ii. 
 l. 
 
 a 
 
 J 
 
 
 LXVu. 
 2 CORINTHIANS xii. 
 
 '1 
 
 TO. J 
 
 Colofllans 
 
 LXXV. 
 PHILIPPIANS 
 
 i Timothy 
 
 iii. 
 i. 
 ii. 
 iv. 
 i. 
 net 
 
 =o.-| 
 
 ,':! 
 
 10. 
 
 ri 
 
 ^24 
 
 LXV11J 
 GALATIANS 
 
 i. 
 
 '? 
 
 ii. >iiS 
 
 12. i 
 
 
 Titus 
 
 LXIX. 
 
 GALATIANS 
 
 Calatians 
 
 i. 
 \l. 
 
 10.1 
 
 I2.V.H9 
 
 17. J 
 
 -Li 
 
 LXXVI. 
 COLOSS'IANS 
 
 i. 
 
 |i 
 
 
 LXX. 
 
 GALATIANS 
 Galatians 
 Roman3 
 
 i Corinthians 
 
 iv. 
 iii. 
 
 ,i;i. 
 
 xii 
 
 6.-) 
 8. 
 
 14. 
 
 LXXVII. 
 
 COL OSSIANS 
 
 ii. 
 
 9- 
 
 12?. 
 
 LXXVIII 
 
 COLCSSIANS 
 
 iii. 
 
 ":? 
 
 IJS 
 
 LXX1. 
 
 iii. 
 
 ii. 
 be. 
 
 iii. 
 
 iv. 
 
 iii. 
 
 IV. 
 
 xi. 
 
 8. 
 
 14. 
 
 iy. 
 
 4- 
 23. 
 
 iS. )>I2I 
 
 19. 
 
 17. 
 13- 
 
 7- 
 7- 
 
 33- 
 
 
 Romans * 
 
 LXXIX. 
 
 CoLOSSlANS 
 
 Romans - 
 Ephefians 
 James 
 
 iii. 
 ii. 
 vi. 
 ii. 
 
 lil 
 
 II. i 
 6.1 
 
 ?:J 
 
 .12? 
 
 :ans : 
 Ephefians 
 
 LXXX. 
 i Theijalonians ii. 
 
 i ThefialonianJ iii. 
 John xvi. 
 i Theflalonians ii. 
 
 tl 
 
 9' v 
 
 H 
 
 d 
 
 i^5 
 
 Eh f - 
 
 Romans 
 
 LXXli. 
 EPHESIAKS 
 
 Ephcfiajis 
 
 iv. 
 iv. 
 
 8.^ 
 q. 
 
 10. 12Z 
 
 j 4 *! 
 
 LXXXI. 
 i THZSSALOXIAN s 
 
 iv. 
 
 6 
 
 S 
 
 2 THF.S.
 
 236 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 LXXXII. 
 
 Ch. V. Page 
 
 xcr. 
 
 Ch. V. 
 
 2 THESSALOMANS i. 
 
 6.1 
 
 HEBREWS Ii. 
 
 160 
 
 
 7- 
 
 Coloflians i. 
 
 i$. 1 
 
 
 1. 
 
 HebrcMrs x. 
 
 L, 
 
 
 9. V*3 
 
 Hebrews vii. 
 
 / J 37 
 
 
 10. 
 
 Hebrews viii. 
 
 
 Matthew 1 vi. 
 
 9- 
 
 Hebrews ii. 
 
 J 
 
 j Peter iv. 
 
 i7) 
 
 XCII. 
 
 
 LXXXIII. 
 ; THESSALONIANS ii. 
 
 Th'flalonians iii- 
 
 l6 ? 
 
 17.^.130 
 
 30 
 
 jAMtS V. 
 
 ti 
 
 JO. 
 
 ii. i 
 
 14. Vi4^ 
 
 LXXXIV. 
 
 
 
 ><! 
 
 T. THESSALONIANS iii. 
 7. Corinthians - 
 
 J:C 
 
 T7-S 
 
 Arts ix. 
 Luke viii. 
 Luke v. 
 
 34. 
 
 43. 
 
 LXXXV. 
 
 
 XCIII. 
 JAMES i. 
 
 '1 
 
 i TIMOTHY : " 
 
 5. ^ 
 
 Jamcj ii. 
 
 ' 
 
 
 ^' r J 3 2 
 
 
 5- >J43 
 
 
 *! 3 
 
 
 9- 
 
 13-J 
 
 LXXXVI. 
 
 
 XCIV. 
 i PETER v. 
 
 
 T TIMOTHY ' 
 
 10. 7 
 
 
 
 i Timothy ' 
 
 io->i33 
 
 
 3-" 
 4- 
 
 LXXXVII. 
 
 
 John xxi. 
 
 14. 
 
 3 TIMOTHY iv 
 j Timothy j- 
 2 Timothy ' 
 
 ":? 
 i r 
 
 10. 3 
 
 John x. 
 
 1 6. 
 
 Lxxxvur. 
 
 
 
 
 
 !!.> ' 
 
 
 25. 
 
 
 J 1 
 
 14. I 
 
 
 
 
 ' >i34 
 
 James i. 
 
 i=. 
 
 i Corinthians v - 
 
 16. r >* 
 , 6 . 
 
 James - ii. 
 I Corinthians ix. 
 
 5- 
 
 = 5- 
 
 Revelation * lx - 
 
 i6.J 
 
 2 Timothy iv. 
 
 ,, J 
 
 LXXXIX. 
 
 
 
 
 -TIMOTHY iv. 
 Titus ' >' 
 
 tvtfj 
 
 13-3 
 
 XCV. 
 2 PETER i. 
 i Timothy i. 
 
 i*7 
 
 
 
 XCV1. 
 
 
 TITUS " 
 Revelation '- 
 
 n 
 
 2 PETER 5. 
 
 ii. 146 
 
 XCVII. 
 a PETER iii. 
 
 io.1 
 
 Titus in. 
 
 4 * >i36 
 
 
 *li 
 
 
 H 
 
 2 Peter - iii. 
 
 15. r I4/ 
 
 TifJ* - '" ' 
 
 > 
 
 I Timothy < 
 
 ,6. 
 
 
 4 J 
 
 2 Peter - - iii. 
 
 iS.J 
 
 
 
 i JOHN
 
 I N D E X. 
 
 Ch. V. Page 
 XCVIII. 
 I JOHN - ii. 22. 148 
 
 Ch. V. Page 
 
 ex. 
 
 REVELATION ii. 23.*^ 
 
 XCIX. 
 1 JOHN iv. 3. 148 
 
 Jeremiah xvii. 10. 1 
 Jeremiah xi. 20. NijS 
 
 C. 
 i JOHN v. 7. 148 
 
 Ifaiah xliv. 6. J 
 
 CI. 
 l JOHN -- v. 13."} 
 14. 1 
 15. > 148 
 1 John iii. 21. J 
 
 CXI. 
 REVELATION i. 8. ~\ 
 Matthew xxiv. 30. / ^ 
 Revelation i. 7 . r T 5 s 
 Revelation iv. 8. 3 
 
 22.J . 
 
 CX1I. 
 
 CII. 
 1 JOHN v. 20. -\ 
 i f ohn v. 1 1 . f 
 
 j 1 4-Q 
 
 13. 3 
 
 Revebtion iv. i). j 
 
 1C. 
 
 ii. y rrr 
 
 Matthew vi. 9. f*59 
 
 !0. - 
 
 cm. 
 
 2 JOHN 9- ~\ 
 
 i Corinthians viii. 6. ' 
 ColoiTians i. i-'.J 
 
 ! John ii. 23. / . 
 I John iv. 15. ( I 5 I 
 
 12. 3 
 
 CXI1I. 
 REVELATION iii. io.7 
 Matthew . vi. 13. 5 5 ' 
 
 CIV. 
 JUDE i. ~\ 
 Philippians i. I. 1<;i 
 Titus i. I- f 
 1 Corinthians i. I* 3 
 
 CX1V. 
 REVELATION iii. 19. - 
 Job i v. 17. / 
 Hebrews xii. 6. f l6 
 7- 3 
 
 CV. 
 
 JUDE 151 
 
 cxv. 
 
 REVELATION . v. 13."^ 
 Revelation r j. *, 1 
 
 CVI. 
 
 i JOHN iii. 16. 1^3 
 
 <;. J>i6c 
 6.1 
 
 CV1I. 
 
 Jeremiah . xxiii. 23. J 
 
 Ifaiah -- xl. it* f 
 Ads xx. 29. f J S4 
 
 30. 3 
 
 CXVI. 
 REVELATION vi. 15. | 
 16. 1 
 
 CV1II. 
 HEBREWS i. 8.1 
 
 10. I 
 
 Revelation . vi. i-. f 
 14. J 
 
 to 12. I 
 Hebrews i. 9. f r *4 
 Romans ix. 5. 1 
 Hebrews xiii. 8. J 
 
 CXVII. 
 REVELATION xiv. 6.1 
 
 M 
 
 Philemon . p. j 
 
 CIX. 
 REVELATION ii. 8.") 
 Ifaiah xliv. 6. I 
 John xiii. 3 v, IJ7 
 
 Revelation i. 8. | 
 Revelation jcsii . i T, J 
 
 Romans i. 1 6. j 
 2 Timothy J. 8. j 
 Philippians i. JT. >i6j 
 f8. 
 2 Timothy iv. i. 
 i Corinthians - \iii. 6. 
 CobfTu-ii i. 1 6.
 
 23$ 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Ch. V. Page 
 CXVIII. 
 
 CXXII. 
 
 Ch. V. Page 
 
 REVELATION xvii. 14.^ 
 Revelation. xix. n. 1 
 16. ^.164 
 
 '? I 
 
 8. J 
 
 REVELATION xxii. 13. % 
 Revelation vii. 17. f 
 Revelation xxi. 6. T 1 ' 
 7- 3 
 
 CXXI1J 
 
 
 CX1X. 
 REVELATION xix. 
 
 i. 
 
 
 REVELATION 
 Revelation' - 
 
 xxi. 22.") 
 
 -j' \ 
 xxii. 5. 1 - 
 
 
 14. 
 
 
 
 3. >I 7 I 
 
 
 2. 
 
 
 
 4- 
 
 
 Id. 
 
 
 Revelatlo'.i - - 
 
 iii. 12. 
 
 
 n. 
 
 
 Revelation - 
 
 xiv. i. ) 
 
 Cenefis i. 
 
 i. 
 
 _ 
 
 CXXIV 
 
 
 John > i. 
 
 3- 
 
 REVELATION - - 
 
 xxH. 6.7 
 
 
 4- 
 
 Revelation - - - 
 
 i. i.>i~i 
 
 John viii. 
 
 124 
 
 r l6 S Revelation - - - 
 
 xxii. i6.j 
 
 
 
 
 j. 
 
 cxxv 
 
 . 
 
 
 2* 
 
 
 REVELATION - - 
 
 iv. 8.") 
 
 i Timothy iii. 
 1 Peter i. 
 
 16. 
 
 *3- 
 
 
 Revelation - 
 
 H. 
 
 V. 12. 
 
 .Hebrews xi. 
 Hebrews i. 
 
 3- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Revelation Hi. 
 3 Peter i. 
 John i- 
 
 14. 
 25. 
 
 '5- 
 
 
 Coloflians - 
 Ifaiah - - - 
 
 i. 16. 
 
 Revelation ^ - 
 
 
 cxx. 
 
 
 
 "' 14! >J ^ 
 
 REVELATION xx. 
 
 6. 7 g 
 
 
 
 James v. 
 
 i 7 
 
 Revelation - 
 
 xvii. 14. 
 
 CXXI. 
 
 
 I Timothy - - - 
 
 vi. 15. 
 
 REVELATION xx. 
 
 12-1 
 
 
 16. 
 
 
 1 3* 1 
 
 2 Peter - - - - 
 
 iii. 18. 
 
 
 14. 
 
 
 I Peter - - - - 
 
 iv. II. 
 
 
 lf 
 
 
 TT ,k_p w c 
 
 
 Matthcv/ - xxv. 
 
 '5' 
 
 3 1 - 
 
 
 Philippians - - - 
 
 ii. 10 J 
 
 
 52. >i6 9 
 
 
 
 Matthew - - xvi. 
 
 27. 
 
 
 
 
 Matthew - - xiii. 
 
 41. j 
 
 
 
 
 42. 
 
 
 
 Revelation - - - xxi 
 
 2 7 .( 
 
 
 
 John - - - - v. 
 
 Jl.J 

 
 INDEX 
 
 TO THE 
 
 TEXTS of SCRIPTURE quoted In the third Chapter accord- 
 ing to the Order in which they ftand in the Bible. 
 
 Page 
 
 Page 
 
 Gen. i. i. ; 165 
 
 Vlatt. xvi. 27. 55, 100, 169 
 
 Exodus iii. 14. 66 
 
 xxiii. 34 78 
 
 iii. 15. 71 
 
 - xxiv. 30. i 58 
 
 Job v. 17. 160 
 
 31. 54 
 
 Plalms viii. I. 53 
 
 xxv. 31. ) 
 
 . viii. 2. 53 
 
 11'. > 54> i 6 9 
 53* \ 
 
 
 xxxi. 5. 85 
 
 34- 3 
 
 xliv. 22. 53 
 
 xxvi. 64. "1 
 
 Ifaiah vii. 14. 50 
 
 65.?- 87 
 
 - ix. 6. 50 
 
 670 
 
 xii. 3. 62 
 
 xxviii. 20. 57, 91 
 
 xl. 10.? 
 
 A f . V L- - - " - 
 
 
 11.5 
 
 v. 19. . 59 
 
 xlii. 8. 95 
 
 viii. 38. 55 
 
 xliii. 25 58 
 
 ix. 24 57 
 
 - xliv. 3. 62 
 
 xvi. i 5i 77 
 
 . xliv. 6. 50, 157, 158 
 
 
 
 l.r - ~ ""* 
 
 i ::r c * < 
 
 
 jUivC 111* U* j * 
 
 22. > IC4 
 
 v. 13. 143 
 
 xlix. 6. 90 
 
 v. 20. "1 
 
 to J. 58 
 
 25.^ 
 
 15-3 
 
 i. -2.^ sS 
 
 m. 7-1 S1 
 
 10.5 
 
 VUi '39*.f 59 
 
 liii. i. 51 
 
 viii. 48. 143 
 
 Iv. i. . 62 
 
 ix. 26. 5<J 
 
 Jer. ix.' 24. 6 1 
 
 X. 22. 56 
 
 - xi. zo. i cS 
 
 xi._ 49 . 78 
 
 xvii. 10. ItS 
 xvii. 13. 61 
 - xx. 12. 158 
 
 xvii. 20. ~) 
 
 to ^ 55 
 
 30.3 
 
 xxiii. 23. 86, 161 
 
 xxiii. 42. 7 60 
 
 Matt. vi. 9. 130, 159 
 
 43-5 - 
 
 - vi 10 4 oS i "Q 
 
 
 
 zo. ^^ 
 
 vi. 13. 54, 159 
 
 xxiv; 45. 91 
 
 xi. 27. 56 
 
 John i. r 71 
 
 xii!. 41. 55, 170 
 xiii. 42. 170 
 xiv. 6 1 1 
 
 toy 82 
 65$ 
 
 i. il 
 
 to > 165 
 
 14 j 
 i. 15 166 
 
 j. 49 74 
 
 . - xv. 24. 91 

 
 240 A 
 
 IM U & Ji 
 
 
 
 
 Page 
 
 Page 
 
 John ii. 19? 
 
 21$ 
 
 61 
 
 77 
 
 John xvi. 29 
 . xvii. f ? 
 245 
 
 66 
 
 73 
 
 iii. 137 
 
 
 xviii. 37 
 
 74 
 
 18 > 
 
 65 
 
 xx. 167 
 
 
 3*3 
 
 
 28 > 
 
 75 
 
 iv. 10 7 
 '4$ ' 
 
 61 
 
 - xxi. 14 -j 
 
 
 
 62 
 
 15 / 
 
 
 iv. 26 
 
 67 
 
 16 f 
 
 ~ 4i 
 
 - . v. 17 "\ 
 
 
 17 3 
 
 
 26 ( - 
 
 63 
 
 Ab i. 21 1 
 22$ 
 
 77 
 
 v. 217 
 
 / 
 
 2 4 7 
 
 -si 
 
 -_ 76 
 
 25 > 
 
 64 
 
 ii. 32 
 
 61 
 
 28j 
 
 
 1 iii. 12 
 
 81 
 
 v. 24 
 
 ice, 170 
 65 
 
 '57, 
 
 *! 
 
 no 
 
 v. 39 
 
 99 
 65 
 
 iv. 10 7 
 .. 2I J 
 
 81 
 
 - vi. 69 
 
 64 
 
 vu. 51 
 
 59 
 
 Tii. 37 7 
 
 385 
 
 63 
 
 53 
 
 5 59 
 ~ 53 
 
 . viii. 12 
 
 165 
 
 54 
 
 59, 8a 
 
 . viii. 58 
 ix. 38 
 
 66 
 
 55 
 
 59, 82 
 59, 8a 
 
 X. 11 
 
 S^ 
 
 57 
 
 59> 82 
 
 *' Hi ~ 
 
 
 58 
 59 
 
 59> 8 * 
 59, 8a 
 
 
 67 
 
 60 
 
 82 
 
 i. x. 33 . 
 
 68 
 
 ix. 2 
 
 79 
 
 x. 38 . 
 
 68 
 
 5 
 
 77> "5 
 
 xi. 35 
 
 60 
 
 6 
 
 77 
 
 
 5* 
 
 13 
 
 - 7* 
 
 xii. 41 
 
 S z 
 
 14 
 
 - 78 
 
 127 
 
 
 
 - 7S 
 
 *3 r 
 
 69 
 
 "^ 20 
 
 - 78 
 
 J 4 j 
 
 
 ~~~~ 21 
 
 77. 78 
 
 . xiii. 31 
 
 156 
 
 22 
 
 77 
 
 32 
 
 
 ~~~' 26 
 
 - 78 
 
 xiv. 87 
 
 
 34 
 
 82, 143 
 
 to > 
 
 CS 
 
 3? 
 
 82 
 
 nj 
 
 
 40 
 
 88 
 
 xiv. 117 
 
 
 42 
 
 88 
 
 to > 
 
 68 
 
 -xi. 18 
 
 89, 100 
 
 '4J 
 
 
 20 
 
 - 89 
 
 xiv. 26 
 
 72 
 
 21 
 
 - 89 
 
 xv. 26 
 
 7* 
 
 22 
 
 - 89 
 
 xv- 27 
 
 77 
 
 ... *3 
 
 - 89 
 
 xvi. 7 
 
 7* 
 
 xiii. 45 
 
 90 
 
 - 13 
 
 84, 129 
 
 46 
 
 90 
 
 14? __ 
 1 S 5 
 
 73 
 
 47 
 
 4 s 
 
 90 
 
 91 
 
 23 . 
 
 70 
 
 49 
 
 91 
 
 , 28 
 
 66 
 
 xiv. i 
 
 91 
 
 A&s
 
 INDEX. 
 
 241 
 
 ARs 
 
 91 
 
 Romans iv. 
 
 _ 
 
 101 
 
 112 
 
 viii. 9 
 
 
 
 101 
 
 112 
 
 ii 
 
 
 
 ICI, 120 
 
 89 
 
 14 
 
 
 
 120 
 
 93 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 120 
 
 93 
 
 35 
 
 
 
 53 
 
 93 
 
 ix. 5 
 
 
 
 IP*, 157 
 
 93 
 tn 
 
 ^3 
 
 
 
 121 
 
 93 
 93 
 
 *3 
 
 
 
 I O2 
 102 
 
 93 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 53 
 
 93 
 
 33 
 
 
 
 122 
 
 93 
 
 34 
 
 
 
 122 
 
 94 
 
 xiv. 6 
 
 
 
 I0 3 
 
 94 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 I0 3 
 
 95 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 I0 3 
 
 95 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 103 
 
 95 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 IOJ 
 
 95 
 
 ii 
 
 
 
 I0 3 
 
 95 
 
 12 
 
 - 
 
 103 
 
 95 
 
 14 
 
 
 
 104 
 
 97 
 
 xv. 16 
 
 
 
 105 
 
 97 
 
 19 
 
 
 
 I0 5 
 
 97 
 
 XVI. l6 
 
 - 
 
 105 
 
 97 
 
 i Corinthians i. 
 
 i 
 
 
 97 
 
 
 2 
 
 IO/ 
 
 92> 97 
 
 
 3 
 
 106 
 
 92 
 
 
 4 
 
 106 
 
 97 
 
 
 7 
 
 106 
 
 97 
 
 
 8 
 
 106, 107 
 
 97 
 
 
 10 
 
 107 
 
 97 
 
 
 ii 
 
 107 
 
 62, 145, 154 
 
 
 12 i 
 
 107 
 
 i 54 
 
 
 3 
 
 107 
 
 97 
 
 
 15 
 
 108 
 
 97 
 
 
 J 7 
 
 78 
 
 97 
 
 
 21 
 
 109 
 
 97 
 
 
 26 
 
 too 
 
 80 
 
 
 27 
 
 109' 1 
 
 98 
 
 
 28 
 
 109 
 
 98 
 
 
 29 
 
 109 
 
 98 
 
 
 3 1 
 
 109 
 
 9 
 
 98 
 
 Si. 7 
 
 to the 7 
 end 
 
 no 
 
 99 
 
 
 8 
 
 no 
 
 99 
 
 iii. 
 
 5 
 
 107 
 
 93> 99 
 
 
 6 
 
 107 
 
 77 
 
 iv. 
 
 5 
 
 IOO 
 
 IOO 
 
 vii. 
 
 25 
 
 no 
 
 163 
 
 viii. 
 
 4 
 
 in 
 
 100 
 
 
 6 
 
 Ji2, 159, 16" 
 
 IOO, 121 
 
 ix. 
 
 25 
 
 146 
 
 IOO 
 
 
 9 
 
 20 
 
 5 Z 
 "5 
 
 128 
 
 
 21 
 
 "5 
 
 IQI 
 
 
 2S 
 
 103 
 
 H h 3 
 
 
 J Corinthiaas
 
 2< -> 
 -i- 
 
 I N D E X, 
 
 
 
 Page 
 
 pn 
 
 j Corinthians x. 31 
 
 103 
 
 Philippians ii. 7 124 
 
 
 
 xu z 
 
 - TI S 
 
 8 124 . 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 115, I2O 
 
 '' iti. 20 124 
 
 . . . 
 
 * iv - 33 
 
 I! 5 
 
 Colofiians i. i^ 124, 125 
 
 2 Corinthians 
 
 ii- 14 
 
 132, 
 
 16 95 125, 138, 163 
 
 
 17 
 
 132 
 
 17 95, 125, 159, 163 
 
 
 
 1V - 5 
 
 116 
 
 18 127 
 
 . . 
 
 V. 10 
 
 104 
 
 . ii. 9 128 
 
 
 16 
 
 134, 
 
 iii. ii 128 
 
 
 
 vi. i j 
 
 IM 
 
 12 i:S 
 
 
 16 
 
 115 
 
 13 128 
 
 " 
 
 x. 14 
 
 107 
 
 22 123 
 
 
 l| 
 
 107 
 
 24 128 
 
 
 16 
 
 107 
 
 l\ .128 
 
 
 17 
 
 107, 109 
 
 :i ThefTulonians ii. 2 j2& 
 
 
 18 
 
 107 
 
 3 "9 
 
 
 xii. 5 
 
 "7 
 
 S i 9 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 i'7 
 
 ! ... 9 "9 
 
 
 8 
 
 "7 
 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 .10 
 
 117 
 117 
 
 1 - IV, 2 129 
 
 3 129 
 
 Galatians i. 
 
 i 
 
 118. 
 
 \z ThefTalonians i. 6 130 
 
 
 10 
 
 119 
 
 7 ; 
 
 
 1 1 
 
 HI 
 
 8 130 
 
 
 12 - 
 
 119 
 
 9 130 
 
 j 1 ' 
 
 . 8 
 
 120 
 
 10 130 
 
 vi. 
 
 12 
 
 119 
 II 9 
 
 17 130 
 
 Ephefians i. 
 
 17 
 
 7 
 
 JI9 
 121 
 121 
 
 ' >u. .3 131 
 
 . -5 ^32 
 I Timothy i. -i 125, 146 
 
 
 8 - 
 
 IKI 
 
 jo 133 
 
 
 14 
 
 121 
 
 11 !33 
 
 
 15 
 16 
 
 121 
 121 
 I 22 
 
 *5 133 
 1 6 100, 147 
 
 
 17 - 
 18 
 
 121 
 
 i. 3 izj 
 5 i3 2 
 
 
 19 
 
 121 
 
 6 132 
 
 iv. 
 
 7 
 
 122 
 
 7 J3* 
 
 
 _ 
 
 122 
 
 1 17 
 
 ; 132 
 
 
 9 
 
 JO 
 
 J ti 
 
 122 
 
 
 iv. 10 125, 133 
 
 
 *3 
 
 1 22 
 
 ! \i. 13 74, 134 
 
 
 14 
 
 123 
 
 J4 134 
 
 
 J 5 
 
 123 
 
 'S J34 
 
 i V. 
 
 5 
 
 5S 
 
 16 134 
 
 i vi. 
 
 5 - 
 
 123 
 
 t Timothy i. ; n6, 163 
 
 
 6 
 
 123, iaS 
 
 ii- 8 134 
 
 
 7 
 
 123 
 
 10 134 
 
 
 8 
 
 123 
 
 i Y- i 55, 13^ 163 
 
 Philippians i. 
 
 9 ~ 
 i 
 
 128 
 
 93, 151 
 
 8 136, 146 
 Titus i. i 93, 151 
 
 
 17 
 
 163 
 
 3 i2<; 137 
 
 
 jS . 
 
 163 
 
 4 137 
 
 > >i. 
 
 6 . 
 
 114 
 
 T 1!. 10 J1|6 
 
 
 
 Titu
 
 
 I N D E X. 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 Page 
 
 
 
 Page 
 
 
 Titos 
 
 " 13 !a 6 
 
 I Peter i. 1 1 
 
 
 
 73 
 
 
 . 
 
 iii. 4 136 
 
 23 
 
 _. 
 
 166 
 
 
 
 5 J36 
 
 
 _ 
 
 166 
 
 
 
 
 i'. 25 
 
 
 
 I 4'> 
 
 
 Philemon 9 r- 163 
 
 iv. 1 1 
 
 _ 
 
 146 
 
 
 Hebrews i. z 166 
 
 J ? 
 
 
 
 59 
 
 
 
 1 155 
 
 14 
 
 s- 
 
 59 
 
 
 
 9 J 55 
 
 17 
 
 
 
 131 
 
 
 
 10 155 
 
 v. i. 
 
 r 
 
 144. 
 
 
 
 11 '55 - 
 
 
 _ r- 
 
 i44 
 
 
 
 12 155, 162 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 144 
 
 
 i 
 
 H. 139 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 144 
 
 
 
 The whole referred to. 
 
 :2 Peter i. I 
 
 =- 
 
 146 
 
 
 
 3 57 
 
 II 
 
 
 
 55 ] 
 
 4 
 
 
 4 57' 9 2 
 
 -i 
 
 r- 
 
 7- 
 
 
 
 j6 337 
 
 : 111. 9 
 
 r 
 
 101 
 
 
 
 17 H 
 
 1C 
 
 r 
 
 147 
 
 
 
 18 63, 140 
 
 I | 
 
 __ 
 
 147 
 
 
 
 
 iv. 15 63 
 
 IZ 
 
 ._ 
 
 147 
 
 
 
 
 vii. - - 140 
 
 I ^ 
 
 
 
 100, 
 
 J 47 
 
 
 The whole referred to. 
 
 1 8 
 
 
 
 J47 
 
 
 . 
 
 viii. 140 
 
 i John i. i 
 
 7 I, 16J 
 
 
 The whole referred to. 
 
 2 
 
 . 
 
 165 
 
 
 __ 
 
 ix. 24 73 
 
 5 
 
 . 
 
 165 
 
 
 ,. 
 
 x . 139 
 
 li. 22 
 
 . , 
 
 148 
 
 
 
 The whole referred to., 
 
 2 3 
 
 
 
 J 5 ( 
 
 
 
 I 140 
 
 iii. i 6 
 
 
 
 153 
 
 
 
 5 I 4 
 
 21 
 
 
 
 149 
 
 
 
 6 140 
 
 22 
 
 
 
 149 
 
 
 
 20 139 
 
 - iv. 3 
 
 
 
 14? 
 
 
 
 31 104 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 T 5 T 
 
 
 _ 
 
 xi. ioi 
 
 I e 
 
 _____ 
 
 I 5 I 
 
 
 
 Trie whole referred to. 
 
 v. 7 
 
 
 
 148 
 
 
 
 3 166 
 
 ii 
 
 
 
 149 
 
 
 . 
 
 xii. IOI 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 149 
 
 
 
 The whole referred to. 
 
 J 3 
 
 .. 
 
 149 
 
 
 
 6 1 60 
 
 14 
 
 
 
 149 
 
 
 
 7 160 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 149 
 
 
 , 
 
 xiii. 8 157 
 
 20 
 
 _ 
 
 149 
 
 
 
 20 52, 145 
 
 ?- John 9 
 
 . " 
 
 15 1 
 
 
 
 21 C.Z 
 
 jude, the whole. 
 
 15* 
 
 
 James i. i 143 
 
 12 14? 
 
 Revelation i. 
 
 I - 
 
 4 - 
 
 *T- 
 66, 
 
 160 
 
 
 ii. i 110, 128, 144 
 
 
 5 - 
 
 136, 
 
 1 60 
 
 
 5 144, 146 
 
 
 6 - 
 
 i57> 
 
 1 60 
 
 
 Q 144 
 
 
 7 - 
 
 158 
 
 
 
 13 ' J 44 
 
 
 8 - 
 
 
 158 
 
 , 
 
 v. 168 
 
 
 18 - 
 
 159 
 
 
 
 T*U 11 nfa ft A + f\ 
 
 
 
 8 - 
 
 r i_. 
 
 I 4i7 
 
 
 i nc wnoic rcicr*xu to 
 8 142 
 
 
 23 - 
 
 158 
 
 1 CQ 
 
 
 
 jo 142 
 
 
 12 - 
 
 * J7 
 
 172 
 
 
 
 1 1 142 
 
 
 14 - 
 
 166 
 
 
 
 14 143 
 
 
 '9 - 
 
 160 
 
 
 
 15 43 
 
 iv. 
 
 8 - 
 
 159 
 
 r 
 
 Revc-
 
 244 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Revelation iv. 9 - 
 
 Page 
 *59 
 
 Re volition xr. iz - 
 
 PH= 
 169 
 
 10 - 
 
 '59 
 
 13 - 
 
 169 
 
 it - 
 
 S9 
 
 14 - 
 
 169 
 
 mHvi.!j : 
 
 161 
 ,63 
 
 xxi 'J ; 
 
 169 
 171 
 
 14 - 
 
 163 
 
 7 - 
 
 171 
 
 j s - 
 
 162 
 
 32 
 
 171 
 
 16 - 
 
 16* 
 
 23 - 
 
 
 vii. 17 - 
 
 170 
 
 
 169 
 
 ^ xiv. i 
 
 172 
 
 ' i '- xxii. i - 
 
 62 
 
 6 - 
 
 165 
 
 3 ' 
 
 17* 
 
 7 - 
 
 163 
 
 4 - 
 
 
 xvii. 14 - 
 
 164 
 
 5 - 
 
 171 
 
 * xix. 13 - 
 
 165 
 
 6 - 
 
 172 
 
 16 - 
 
 134, 164 
 
 9 - 
 
 85 
 
 7 - 
 
 164 
 
 12 - 
 
 5 Z 
 
 18 - 
 
 164 
 
 J3 - 
 
 157, 
 
 21 - 
 
 164 
 
 16 - 
 
 
 " ' ' ** 6 
 
 i6 7 
 
 J 7 - 
 
 6 *
 
 PAGE 40 Pliny's Epiftle to Trajan, giving him an 
 account of the ProfefTours of Chriftianity, is alluded to; 
 in which he fays of them, " Carmenque Chrifto quafi 
 Deo dicere fecum invicem." 
 
 PAGE 195 The horrid perfecution carried on in 
 Africa, againft the Believers in the Godhead of our 
 Saviour, by the Arian tyrant HUNERIC, in the fifth 
 century, is alluded to. See Moflieim's Ecclefiaftical 
 Hiftory, Vol. I. p. 401, Octavo, 1768. 
 
 PAGE 198 In fupport of what I have faid concern- 
 ins: Mr. Hume, fee his works pa/Jim. Or rather fave 
 
 O * * f 
 
 vourfelf the difagreeable labour, and attentively read 
 Dr. Beattie's manly and convincing EJJay on the Nature 
 and Immutability of Truth, in oppofition to Sophiftry and 
 Scepticifm ; in which you will find Mr. Hume already 
 detected, See alfo Harris's well -authenticated Hiflo- 
 rical and Critical Account of Charles I. p. 264, Octavo, 
 1758, where the Infidelity of the Hiftorian is pointed 
 out.
 
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