o^ a 5::=^ i^ .^i:^ i:a. 1:2^ OF THE PRINCETON, N. J. i>03V_-*.Tic»:>r «>»• SAMUEL AGNE^V IL r P^^ LA DELPHIC, PA. eS. S; .S7*W/; Section..-?..-.^" ■ii— - e.c^-=i,c,^c^ =^Q. €e<^^Q& '''7B' t}T\ -120 J. S. C.F. FREY. (Jl- ^% A VINDICATION OF THE WORSHIP OF THE SON AND THE HOLY GHOST AGAINST THE EXCEPTIONS OF Mr. THI;0PHILUS LINDSEY FROM SCRIPTURE AND ANTIQUITY, BEING A SUPPLEMENT to a TREATISE Formerly publifhcd and entitled ' A VINDICATION of the DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY. By THOMAS '^RANDOLPH, D. D, Prefident of C. C. C. and Lady Margaret's ProfefTor of Divinity in the Univerfity of Oxford. • ^"' '■ ' '■'■ ' .. ■■ ■ , , I „ , - ., Ml Men Jhould honour the Son^ even as they honour the Father,. Joh. V. 23. OXFORD: Printed for J. and J. Fletcher, in the Turle: And fold by J. and F. Rivington, in St. Paul's Church- Yard, London ; T. and J. Merrill, at Cambridge, and J. Smith, in Canterbury, i775» Imprimatur, THO. FOTHERGILL, Vice-Can. Oxon^ 14 Feb. 1775. .^ ;A^ VINDICATION, I Carefully read over Mr. Lind/eys Apology^ foon after it made it*s Appear- ance. I was amazed to fee fuch confi- dent Aflertions advanced with fuch very (len- der Proof. I examined into fuch Authorities as he had produced, and drew up fome Ob- fervations upon them. I afterwards received two excellent Anfwers to this Work of Mr. Lindfey 5 one written by the . ingenious and learned Mr. Bingham -, the other by a Lay- 7nan^ but one mighty in the Scriptures, and able to give a good Reafon of the Hope that is in him. I then threw afide my Papers, as un- neceffary in Anfwer to Suggeftions already fufficiently confuted. But having fince revifed them, I have thought fit to offer them to the Public, and that chiefly for thefe two Reafons. Some time ago I publifhed A Vindication of A the { 2 ) the DoBrine of the Trinkyy m Anfwer to a Treatife written by the late Bijhop ofCloghery entitled, An Ejjay 'on Spirit. I therein infift- ed chiefly on the Proofs of our Saviour's Di^ vinity, I had but little Rcafon to fay any thing of the WorJJdip of Chrifi, as the Bijhop had infifted on this, as ftrongly as I could do. And this lias been the Cafe of rhoft, who have wrote in Defence of the Dodlrine of the trinity. None of their Adverfaries denied the Worfoip of Chriji -, and therefore they thought it fufRcierit to prove Chriji to be truly Gody and from thence to leave Men to infer the Duty of worjhipping him. They proceeded not to give the particular Proofs of this, or to anfwer fuch Objedions as might be made againft it. I therefore thought that a Work of this Kind might not be an impro- per, or ufelefs. Appendix to my Vindication. Another Reafon why I thought fit to un- dertake this, was the great Importance of the Subjed:. If any thing is of Importance in Religion, it miift be the ObjeB of Worfhip. If our Saviour is truly God^ we cannot with- out great Impiety with-hold from him the Honour, and Worfhip, due to him as fuch. If he is only a Creature, we cannot worfhip him without Idolatry. I thought therefore that (• 3 } that fuch a Point could not be too carefully confidered, nor the Arguments fet in too full a Light. And as I found fome things in my Papers, which I flattered myfelf were of fome Gonfequence, and which had efcaped the No- tice of thofe excellent Writers, who had ap- peared before me in this Controverfy ; I thought my Pains would not be ill bellow- ed in preparing them for the Prefs. As tKc Proofs of the Divinity of our Saviour, '^vyi of the Holy Ghoji, have been largely fet fortji in vay Vindication, to which this is. an Ap- pendix; and as Mr. Lindfeys Objedions to this Dodlrine have not only been moft of them therein anfwered, but alfo fufliciently con- futed, by the able Writers above-mentioned, I ifhall confine myfelf chiefly to what he has oflfered againfl: the Worfiip of Jefus Chri/i. To begin with the Old Tejlament, our Apo- logijl aflerts % that the Hebi-ews never dream- ed of a Plurality in the Deity : and * that the Law of God given to the Jews by Mofes tjivariably taught the Unity of God, and ap- propriated religious Worjhip to God only. And fo alfo do we, who worfiip one God in 'Trinity , ? P4ge Zy. ^ Page 119, }Z0» A z ^»^ ( 4 1 '}&hd Trinity in Unity, If the Jews vvtrt un- acquainted with the Diftinftion of Perfons in the Godhead, they could worjhip one only God : in the general. But we, who have been taught -this Diftinftion, and have been baptized in the Name of the Fat her ^ and of the Son^ and ' of the Holy Ghojiy are obliged to worfhip each T)ivine Perfon feparately. But have we no "Proofs, or Intimations, in the Old Tejiament^ ^€>i a Plurality of Perfons in the Godhead? \ humbly think that we have a great many. It was afferted by the late Bijhop of.Clogher^ in his Ejay on Spirit, and proved to be the Opinion of the ancient fewsy that there was ' a Second Perfon, called in the Old Tejlament . yehovah, who appeared to Mofes, and the ^Patriarchs ; as alfo a third Effence, or Being, to whom the fews paid divine Honours , though his Lordfhip was not willing to allow this as - any Proof of their Divinity. It was alfo the •conftant Dodlrine of the Primitive Fathers), that the Son of God was the Perfon who ap- ' peared to the Patriarchs, And this has been -fince afferted, by Bifliop Bull, Dr. Waterland, Mn AlUx, and many others, who have from /thence inferred that he was truly, and .pro-^ perly God, But our Apologifi is pleafed to tJ"?at this Notion with ^reat Contempt : -^ ( s ) • Some Chriftlans (he tells us) have pretended Jo gather it from the plural T^ermination of a Hebrew Wordy Elohimy and from the Qhaldee "Tar gums. But are thefe the only Argu- ments they make Ufe of? It is a commori Artifice of our Author, when he meets with what he thinks a weak Argument yin an or- thodox Writer, to lay hold of that, and pafs by all the reft. The fame Dr. Allixy whom our Author here refers to ^ and who quotes Gen. i. i . to prove a Plurality of Perfons in the Bivifie Efence, in the very next Page quotes Gen. i. 26. where we read that God /aid — Let us make Man in our Image y after our Likenefs < — and alfo Gen. iii. 22. where we are told that God faid — Behold the Man is become as one of us to know Good and Evih See alfo Gen. xi. 7. Thefe Texts our Apologtfi wifely pafTes by, which plainly denote a Plu- rality of Perfons \ I ihall give the Argument nearly in the Words of a moft ancient Fa- ' Page 87. ^ Ch. ix. p. 1 16. « JuJ^in, Martyr. Dial, cum Trypk p. 285, See alfo p. 359. — Calvin^ who difallovvs of the Proof of a Plurality of Ferfons from Gen. i. i. y^t enforces flrongly the Argument from this Text. And whereas fome had pretended that God ipoke here in the Plural Number, after the Manner ofKing^s ^nd Princes, Calvin adds, that this was a Language of much }^t?r Date. See alfo Fatrick, Jin/worth Comment. ther ( 6 ) ther of the Church— — Mofes fiews by thefe TFordSi — Let us make Man in our Image^ &e. that this Second Per/on is called God in the fame Senfe, —Nor can you fay that God fpake this to himfelfy or to the Elements^ or Earth. For in another Place God fays — Behold, the Ma?2 is- become as one of us, to know Good aiid Evil. Here at leaf two Perfons are fignifiedy each of ^'ihem intelligent. Nor can it be f aid (adds our Author) that God fpake this to the Angels, or that Man was created by the An- gels : but this Offspring, which really proceed^ edfrom the Father, co-exifted with the Father before all Creatures, ojtd with him the Father htre holds Difcourfe. — The fame Argument is urged by Irenceus % hy Tertullian % and by Novatian^, Nor does the Argument from the Word Elohim merit the Contempt here thrown upon it. If indeed our Argument depended wholly on the Plural Termination of the Word, and we had no other Proof of our Lord's Divinity from the Old T^efame7it, we ought not to lay great Strefs on it. But let us con (ider that the Hebrew Language is one of the moil an- cient Languages in the world. It is thought ' L, iv. Prasfat. C. 37. L. v. c. 15. 8 Adv. Prax, C. 12, ^ C. 21. by ( 1 ) by fome to be the Original Language of Man- kind, taught by God himfelf. How came it then to pafs that in this primitive Language a Plural Word fhould be the moft common Term u fed to fignify the Deity "^ How came Mofesy an infpired Writer, to choofe out this Word, when another lingular Noun might have been had, to defcribe the Creation of the World by the Supreme God. Nay, (what is ftill more remarkable) he ufes this Word in afierting the Unity of the Godhead nilT l^^e r^^r^\ "r^^n^X — ^Jehovah our Gods is One 'Jehovah This, if he did not hereby defign to denote a Plurality of Perfons in the Godhead,.{hoi\\d feem to be a ftrange Form of Expreffion. If therefore this Word is fome- times applied to Creatures, who bear fome Similitude, or Relation, to God -, or if it fome- times denotes one particular Perfofi in the Trinity ) we may, notwithflanding this, be allowed to conclude, with fome Degree of Probability, that it was intended, in it's ori- ginal Acceptation, to fet forth a Plurality of Perfons in the Godhead, To this it may be added, that as we read Gen, i. i. that God-^ Eilohim-' created the Heaven^ a?jd the Earth ^, * Deut. vi. 4. ^ Johni. 1,3, fo (( 8 } fo we are taught by St* Jo&n that fh J^ori was Gody and that all things were made by him. It is leafy to cavil at Parts of an Ar- gument, when taken to pieces. But I would defire the intelligent Reader to confider all thefe things together, and judge for himfelf* We want not this Proof. As to the Chaldee T'argumsy they are brought only as one Proof out of many, that the Jews had a Notion of a Second Per/on in the God^ head* In many Places where the Hebrew fpeaks of God^ thefe Targums render it by Memray or the Word : and to this Word they afcribe perfonal Actions- I am fenfible in* deed that fome ^ learned and judicious Wri-» ters difapprove of this Argument. They fay, that the Word Memray or the Word of Gody is often ufed for the reciprocal Pronoun, and fignifies no more than God himfelf. But to this it has been anfwered by ^ Dr. Allix^ and other learned Men, that if in fome Places the Word may have that Senfe, in many others it cannot bear fuch a Senfe, but plainly fignifies a Perfon diftind from God the Father, I refer * Prideaux Connect. Part ii. B. 8. p. 431. — Lud. Capellus Op. p. 76. "' Mix Judgment oijezvip Church, C. 12, and '24. Bull Def. Fid. Nic. Sed. i. C. i. n. 19. Kidder Demonft. Meff. P. in. c, z^.^-^ Grotius, Hammondy Whitby in for ( 9 ) for Inflances to the Authors cited in the Notes, I fhall take Notice only of one pro- duced by our Apologijl, In "Jonathans Tar- gum, cited by Petrus Galatinus ", who lived at the Beginning of the fixteenth Century, and before him by Raymond Martini % who lived in the thirteenth Century, The Lord f aid unto my Lordy Pfal. ex. i. is rendered --The Lord faid unto his Word — Sit thou on my Right Hand, &c. Here the Memra, or JVord, is plainly a Perfon diftincft from the Lord^ who ipake to him. And this Perfon, as our ^ Sa- viour himfelf and his Apojlles have taught us, was he, who was afterwards made FleJJjy and dwelt among Jl us^ Chrijl the Lord. Many other Proofs are brought by Dr. Allix from other JewiJJj Writers of a Diftinftion of Perjbns in the Godhead. And this is greatly confirmed by the Teftimony of Eufebius % who aflures us that the Jews had a Notion of a Second Perfon in the Godhead, whom they called the Image y the Powers the Wifdom^ and "^ Arcana, L. viii. c. 23. L. iii. c. 5. <^ Pugio Fidei, p. 705, This Targum is cited alfo by P. Fagius on Deut. v. This is, I believe, not now extant. The Targutns in WaU toris Polyglott give quite another Senfe to the Pfalm, and in- terpret it wholly of David, 9 Matt. xxii. 44. Ads ii. 34. Heb. i. 13. •i Prsepar. Evan. L. vii. C. 15. See my Vindication^ p. 17, Sec* B the ( 10 ) the Wordf of God ^y and for this he produ- ces the Authority of Fhilo the Jew. He ' cites a Paffage from him, wherein he fpeaks of a Second Gody who was the Word of the Fa^ ther of the Vniverfey and fays, that the eternal Word of the eternal God is the frongejiy and frmejl. Support of the Univerfe. ' And as the Targums tell us that the Memra, or Word of the Lordy created the Heaven, and the Earthy fo Thilo fays, that the invifible Logos , or Word, is the Image of God^ and that by him God created the World, And as they exprefs the Word Jehovah in the Appearances of God in the Old Tejlament by Memra^ fo Fhilo teaches us that it was the Logos, or Word, t who ap- feared to Adam in Paradife, " to Abraham^ &c. "^ and that it was his true Wordy hisfirjl- begotten Sony who led the Children of Ifrael through the Wildernefs. And St. John (as all the beft Commenta- tors agree) when he ftiled the Son of God--^ Apy©— • or Wordy fpake in the Language of the Jews of his Time. He teaches us that— In the Beginning was the Wordy and the Word 'lb. c. I J. * De Mund. Opif. p. 6. « De Somniis,p, 593. * lb. 578. "^ De Agricult. p. 195. was ( " ) was with God J and the Word was God "^^ But our Apologijl^ ieems willing to infer from his Interpretation of the Word Memra^ that the Logos, or Wordy in the Text, is wrojigly applied to Chriji^ and is nothing but a Defcrip- tiony in the Hebrew way, of God him/elf, I wifh he had given us his Interpretation at length. It fhould feem to be, according to him — In the Begin?2ing was God him/e/f, and God himfelf was with God, and God himjelf was God^ He ought not to wonder if many are unwilling to admit fuch an Interpret at ion. And I muft farther aik him, how he would interpret ver. 14. where we read that the Word was made FleJJj, Dr. Clarke ', though, both in his Faraphrafey and Scripture T>o5lrine of the Trinity^ he feems willing to call our Sa^ viour any thing but what St. John exprefsly calls him — God — yet * allows that he was that vifible Ferfon^ who under the Old I'ejla^ ment appeared in the Form of God, God the Angel of the Lord^ who appeared to facobp Gen. xxxi. 12, 13, Gen. xlviii. 15, 16. This is alfo the conftant Doftrine of b Eu- febiusy and all the Primitive Fathers before * Joh. I. i. y P. 89. == See my Vind.P. ii. p. 23, ^e. * Script. Dod, No. 535. tDemonlt. Evang. L. v. C. 7, 8. B 2 him ( 12 ) him, that it was the Son of God, who appear- ed to the Patriarchs^ and was worfhipped by them, and they from thence prove his Divi^ 7iity. Jiijiin Martyr tells us, that ^ it was Chriji who appeared to Mofes in the Bufiy who faid / am that I amy the God of Abraha?n, the God of IfaaCy the God of Jacob y the God of your Fathers : and that this was the Wordy the Firji- begot ten of Gody and him-' felfGod'y that he is the ObjeSi ofWorjhipy Gody and Chrift ^ and that ^ he was the King of Glory y who fat between the Cheruhimy whom Mofes y and Samuely and the Children of Ifrael worfiipped as Gody and he heard them j and whom alfo all the Angels of God worfiipped. To the fame Purpofe fpeaks Irenceus \ He teaches us that it was Chrijly who with the Father is the God of the Living, whofpake to Mofes y and was jnanifejied to the Fathers y and worfiipped by the Prophets 5 ^ that it was he whofe Glory Ifaiah faw, and who appeared to Ezekiel -, the ^ God, who was known in Ju- dahy whofe Dwelling-place was in Sion. ' In another Place he tells us, that the Scripture ^ AppK ii. p. 95, 96. « p. 95. d pial.Tryph. p. 287. Mb. p. 255, 256. P. 35-9. 'L. iv. C. II. See alfo C. 15. 16. > ^ L. iv. Ct 37. ^ L. iii. 9. PfaJ, Ixxvi. 2, i L. iii. C. 6. ( 13 ) no where calls any one Gody but what is truly God: and yet in the fame Chapter he tells us that the Son is the Perfon fpoken of by the Pfalmiji, PfaL 1. and called the God of Gods, yehovah the Gody who Jhined out of Zion. I might ^ produce fimilar Inftances from al- moft all the Fathers of the three firft Centu- ries : but this may be fufficient. Nor was this a vain opinion taken up by thefe Fathers, but what they learnt from the Scriptures themfelves. As we are told in the Old I'ejia" menty that ' Jehovah appeared to Abraham^ and that he offered up Prayers to hirii, "" fo Chrifl himfelf affirms that Abraham rejoiced to fee his Dayy and hefaw it and was glad: and he adds — " Before Abraham was I am. — - Does the ° Old Tejiament teach us that Jeho-- vah led the People of Ifrael through the Wil^ dernefs^ and call him the ^ Rock of Ifrael ?-— St. Paul ^ informs us, that this Rock was k Vide BuWDd. Fid. Nic. Seft. 1. c. i. ' Gen. xviii. ^ Joh, viii. ^6, &c. " The Context obliges us to interpret this o^ Chrifi*s Pre- exillcnce. This is an Anfwer to the JezvSf who alked him» — Jrt thou greater than our Father Abraham P — and wondered how he, who zvas notyetffty Tears old, could havey^^;? Abra- ham. o Deut. viii. 2, 15. p Deut. xxxii. 15. 2 Sam, xxiii. 3. ^ I Cor. x. 4, 9. ChriJ, ( 14 ) Cirj/l, and admoni&es us mt to tempt Chrijl, as/ome of them alfo tempted. Do we read in the Old I'ejlament that ' Jehovah dwelt be- tween the Cherubim^ and that ' Ifaiah faw his Glory there ? St. John ' aflures us, that the Glory y which h^faw^ was the Glory of Chrifl. And the fame "" Evangelift teaches us, that the Word was made Flefhy and dwelt among us la-iiYivaxriv ev rjf/iv — he pitched his Taber- nacle among us : and we beheld his Glory ^ the Glory, as of the Only-begotten of the Father. And in Reference to this his Appearance in tl>e Sandtiiary Chrifl is called in the New Tefiamenty "^ the Glory of IfraeU * the Lord of Gkryy y the Brightnefs of%is Fathers Glory, and the exprefs Image of his Perfon, * And he appeared to his Apoftles at his Transfigu- ration, * and afterwards in a Vifion to St. John, in a Glory fimilar to the Defcription of him who fat on the Throne in the Prophe- cies of Ezekiel and Daniel. We are afTured alfo that he will come to Judgment in a Glory exadly correfponding to that which ' 2 Sam. -vi. 2. Pfal. xcix. 1. « Ifaiah vi. i, &c. t Joh. xii. 41. « Joh. i. 14. ^ Luke ii. 32, * I Cor. ii. 8, y Heb. i. 3. r Matt. xvii. Mar. ix. * Compare Rev. i. 14, &c. with Ezek. i. 26. and Dan. vii. 9. Sec alfo my Sermon on John xii. 41. appeared ( IS ) appeared in the Sandluary. * He there manl- fefted his Prefence by a vifible Appearance of Glory encompafled with Clouds. 'He there fat on a Throne^ attended by his Ano-els^ And ** he himfelf hath told us, that in the End of the World he Jhall co7ne in the Clouds ef Heaven with Power and great Glory-y * that he Jhall come in his own, and in his Fathers Glory ^ and all the holy Angels with him^ and Jhall Jit on the Throne of his Glory, ^ And his Apoftle affures that the Lord Jefus Jhall be revealed Jrom Heaven with his mighty Angels^ or rather ^ with the Angels of his own Power. We find therefore that the Perfon, who ap- peared to the Patriarchs, and fat enthroned in Glory in the Tabernable, and Temple, was the Son of Gody the Wordy who was after- wards made Flejhy and dwelt among us. And this Perfon is called ** Jehovah^ ' the Lord of Hojlsy ^ the God of Gods, * the mojl high Gody " the Almighty. To him the Service of the Tabernacle and Temple was more immediate- ^ Exod. xl. 34. — I Kings viii. 10, ii. <=ir. vi. i, &c, * Matt., xxiv. 30. « XXV. 31,— Luke ix. 26. <" 2 ThelT. i. y, ^ Mer* uyyiXetv riir^wdf^ia^ aurS, ^ Gen. xviii. I.— -Pfal. xcix. i. i Pfal. xxiv. 10, — 2 Sam. vi. 2. k Pfal. 1. I. » PfaU lxxvliltll§.f(: » Gen. xvii. u xlviii. 3, ( i6 ) ly ofFered : " to him Prayer was made, ** In- cenfe ofFered, ^ Sacrifices performed, ^ and Vows and Thankfgivings made. The Divinity of the Son of God may be ftill farther confirmed from Citations in the New Te/iament out of the OA/, where what is fpo- ken of God in the one is applied to Chrifi in the other. Thus we find in the firft Chapter of ' St. Matthew's Gofpel, a Prophecy from Ifaiahy which foretells that a Virgin Jhall be with Childy and they fiail call his Name Em^ manuely which being interpreted is^ God with us. And, if we look into the Prophet, we fhall find that this Son is not only called £;;;- manuely but ^ WonderjuU Counfellory the mighty Godf the everlafting Father^ the Prince of Peace. In the fame Prophecy we read — t Sandlify 'Jehovah the Lord of Hojls himfelf and let him be your Fear^ and let him be your Dread. And he fiall be for a Sandiuary : but for a Stone of Jiiimblingy and for a Rock of Offence to both the Houfes of IfraeL — But n Gen. xviii. 23, &c. 2 Kings xlx. 15, &c' Pfal. Ixxx. I, &c. ° Exod. txxx. 6, 7. P Lev, xvi. 2, &c. *i Gen. xxviii. 20.-— xxxi. 13. Pfal. i. 14. — xcix. i, &c.— I Chron. xvi. 4. ^ Matt. i. 23. If, vii, 14. ^ ix. 6. ' viii. 13, 14. this ( 17 ) this Prophecy is applied to our Blejfed Saviour both by " St. Paul and ^ St. Peter. They teach us that he is the Stumbling Block and Rock of Offence here fpoken of; and therefore he is Jehovah the Lord oj Hojlsy our Fear, and our Dread. Again, "" St. Mark in the Beginning of his Gofpel quotes two Prophecies, one from the Prophet Malachi, the other from Ifaiah. In Malachi we read — ^ Behold I will fend my MeJJengery and he JJjall prepare the Way before me y and Jehovah, the Lord, whom ye feek, Jhall fuddenly come to his Temple. But John the Baptijl was this Mejfenger, who came to prepare the Way before our Lord. It appears therefore that our Lord is Jehovah, and that the Temple was his Temple. The other Pro- phecy we find in Jfaiah, ch. xl. v* 3. It there runs The Voice of him that crieth in the Wildernefs — Phpare ye the Way of the Lord Jehovah, makejlraight in the Defart a Highway for our God. This Prophecy is by * all the Evangelifts faid to be fulfilled in Chrift* He therefore is Jehovah ; he is our God, It u Rom. ix. 33. ^ I Pet. ii. 8. « Mark i. 2. 3. y Mai. iii. 1. * Matt. iii. 3. Mark i, 3. Luke iii, 4. John i. 2%. C follows ( i8 ) follows in the Prophet, ver. 5. T^he Glory of the Lordfiall be revealedy and all Flefi flail fee it together.— He who was the Brightnefs of his Father s X^lory, and refided in Glory in the Holy of Holies, appeared now, and was revealed to all Mankind. In the 9th verfe the Prophet, continuing to Ipeak of the fame great Event, thus expreffeth himfelf — — -Say unto the the Cities offudah. Behold your God -y behold the Lord fehovah will come with Jlrong Handy and his Arm fd all rule for him : behold his Reward is with him, and his Work before him. He flail feed his Flock like a Shepherd. "^Our Lord Jefus Chrifl^ therefore, ^ the great Shepherd of the Sheep, is the Lord fehovah, is the God ofjudah and ferufalem. ^ Another Prophecy we have in St. Matthew's Gofpel cited from the Old Tejiament, and applied to our Blejfed Saviour. We find this in the Pro- phet c Zechariah. The whole Prophecy is delivered in the Perfon oi the Lord God feho- vah. At ver. 12. we read — T^hey weighed for my Price thirty Pieces of Silver. And the Lord fehovah faid unto me, Caji it unto the Potter ; a goodly Price that I was prifed at of them. This Prophecy the Evangelifl tells * Heb. xiii. 20. *» Matt, xxvii. 9, lo. ^ Zech. xi. 12, 13. us ( '9 ) US was fulfilled in Chrift. It follows that he is Jehovab, ^ the Shepherd of Tfrael, the Gody who ^ had made a Covenant with the People of the Jews, I am fenfible that fome learned Writers, who have been zealous Affertors of our Lo?^d's true Divinityy have either negleded, or fpoke flightingly, of the Proofs to be drav^n from the Old Tejlament, Others have carried the Matter too far the other Way ; and by infill- ing on Arguments, which will not bear Exa- mination, have thrown no fmall Difcredit on the real Proofs of our Lord's Divinity y which may juftly be drawn from the Law^ and the ProphetSy efpecially when compared with the New Tejiament, I have offered fuch Proofs as feem to me fully to fhew that our Lord was the God of Ifrael, and the Objed: of their Worfhip : and I might have produced many more. I have alfo iliewn that this was the conftant Dodtrine of the Primitive Church. How far this Doftrine was known to the Patriarchs and Je^vs of old, is a Queftion which I cannot think we are concerned to re- folve. It might be fufficient to fay, that * See ver. 7. * ver, lo. C 2 many ( 20 ) many Gofpel Dodlrlnes (^ as particularly that of the calling of the Gentiles) were contained in the Scriptures of the Old 'Tejiamenfy and now appear plainly to be deducible from thence, which yet in former Ages were not made knoivn unto the Sons of Men, The Doc- trine of a Trinity therefore might be wrapt up in the Scriptures^ and yet remain a Secret, till it was unfolded by the Revelation of the Go/pel. And if this were the Cafe, we, who worjhip one God in Trinity, worfhip the fame God, as thofe did, who knew not the Diftinc- tion of Perfons in the Godhead, But we have no Reafon to think this was the Cafe, k Mn Lindfey indeed aflerts with great Confidence that the Hebrews never dreamed of a Plurality in the Deity, To ufe his own quaint Ex- preffions, I humbly think that ^ facob dreamt of it more than once. Jehovah, the God of Abraham, and Ifaac, appeared to him in Be-- thel. This ^^i{on,Jacob himfelf calls ^ the An* gel, which redeemed him from all Evil ; and fays the n Angel of Godfpake imto him in a Dream » He could not therefore be the fame Perfon with the God, whofe Angel he was. And ■' -V i Vide Eph. iii, i,&c. k Page 87. 1 Gen. yxviii. 12, &c. — xxxi. 11, &c. m Gen. xlviii, 16. n xxxi. II. yet (21) yet this fame Perfon C2l\^him{d( Jeiovai fh God of Abraham i and IfaaCy ^ God Almighty. And P Jacob vowed a Vow to hinzy and took him for his God y q erefted an Altar y ^ and offered a Drink-offering to hiniy s made Sup^ flicationy and offered up Prayers to him. It fhould feem therefore that Jacob more than dreajnt of a Second Perfon in the Godhead. And it has been fhewn that Philoy and other Jews in later Times, had fome Notion of a Diftincftion of Perfons in the Deity. ^ It ap- pears alfo from feveral Paffages in the New Tejiament, that the Title of the Son of God was not unknown to the Jews in our Saviours Time, t They accufed him oiBlafphemy^ be- caufe he called himfelf the Son of God: ^ and thought that to call God his Father was to make himfelf equal with God, But w we are told that all the Jews of later T'imes cry out againjl fuch an Imputation upon them, and their An-- cejiors. Yes : and fo do the Mahometans. But we fhall not be fo complaifant, as to give up the fundamental Articles of our Religion to o Gen. XXXV. ii. P xxviii. 20. q xxxv. 7. r lb. V. 1 1 . s xxxii. 9, &c, — Hof. xii. 4. f Matt. xiy. 33, xvi. 16. John i. 34, 49. vi. 69. xi. 27. t Matt. xxvi. 63,65; John x. 36. u John V, 18. w Page 88. gratify ( 22 ) gratify either "Jews, Turksy Infidels^ or Here- ticks. And whatever thefe Jews have advan- ced, or can advance, has been fully anfwered 1500 Years ago by Jujlin Martyr y and lince by Raymund Martini^ Petrus Galatinusy Dr. Allixy Bifiop Kidder^ Grotiusy and many others. Let us therefore now proceed to the New Tejiament. And here our Apologiji's chief Argument againft the Divimty, and WorJJnp of Chrtjiy and what he repeats in feveral Places, is taken from our Saviours Behaviour during his Miniftry. ^ He tells us that Chriji never referred the "Jews to any other than the Lord God of their Fathers ; that he in the mof dec five Therms declares the Lord God to be one Perfony Matt. iv. 10. andfmgly exclujive of all others to be the fole ObjeSl of' Worjhip. The Words — One Perfon— printed in Italicks, I find not in the Text cited, nor in any other. We worfliip One Gody as well as he. y But he tells us that our Saviour himfelf always prayed himfelf\ and alfo direBed Prayer to be made only to God the Father ; but he forbad Mens offering Prayers to himfelf ; z that he formally profejfes his Inferiority y and Depen- X Page 92, y p. 121. z P. 9. dence ; ( 23 ) dcnce ; that he received his Being, and all his Powers from Gody and leads Men by his Pre^ ceptSy and Example, to look up to God the Fa- ther, as the fole Author y and Source of all Blefjings to ally and the fole ObjeB of fupreme Adoration from alL Thefe Objedtions have been already fufficiently anfwered by ^ Mr. Bingham, and ftill more fully confidered in my ^ Vindication : and to thefe it might be fufficient to refer. But as this is the mod plaufible Argument our Apologijl has to offer, and the moft likely to impofe on common Readers, it will not be grievous to tne, for their Sakes, to write the fame Things again, ^ Let it then be confidered that, when our Saviour entered on his Miniftry, he found the fews almoft univerfally pofTeifed with falfe Notions of the Mejfiah. They were all at that Time in Expeftation of a temporal Mefjiahy who fhould deliver them from the Power of the Romans y and rejiore again the Kingdom to IfraeL And his own Difciples were ftrongly tinctured with thefe common Prejudices, Our Lord therefore found himfelf obliged to a(5t a Page 14, &. b Part. ii. p. 37, &c. c See our Saviour^s Condu6l with regard to this Point clearly explained, and juftified, in Mr, Locke's Reafonahlemfs cfChriJiianity. with ( 24 ) with great Caution, and Referve. Had he openly, and publickly, declared that he was the MeJJiahy this would have been, to the Apprehenfion of the Jews^ declaring himfelf a temporal Prince : and all, who were con- vinced by his Miracles, would have been ready to rife, and take up Arms in his Caufe ; while on the other Hand the Government would have been alarmed, and proceeded againft him as a Traitor, and a Rebel. For this Rea- fon, though he took all Occafions to give full Proof of his Miniftry, he chofe rather to in- timate, than openly declare that he was the Chrijl. In like Manner, and for the fame Reafons, we find his Divinity rather ftrongly intimated, than exprefsly taught. The Title, which he moft commonly chofe to diflinguifh himfelf by, was that of the Son of Man. He is generally thought hereby to refer to Dan. vii. 13. where the Mejjiah is defcribed as one like the Son of Man coming with the Clouds of Heaven^ &c. And he feems to have cho- fen this Appellation, as carrying with it (efpe- cially in his Manner of ufing, and applying it) fufficient Intimation that he was the Mejiah and yet the moft humble Title that he could choofe, and that which could give the leaft Offence. But though he calls himfelf /i*^ Son of ( 25 ) of Man, he afcribes to this Son of Man fuch Aftions, and Powers, as plainly denote him to be more than Man. '^This Son of Majt .came down from Heaven : * he had Power on Earth to forgive Sins. ' Ayigels JJoould be feen cfcending and defcending \on this Son of Man f « and he himfelf fhould be feen afcending up where he was before, ' No Man (faith our I^ord to Nicodemus) hath afcended up to Hea-- ijen, but he that came down from Heaven^ evett the Son of Man, which is in Heaven, • — ' This Son of Man Jhould come in his Glory, and all Jhe holy Angels with him, and Jhould reward every Man according to his Works, ^ This Son of Man was alfo the Son, the Only-begot^ ten Son of God. And we find that during his whole Miniftry * he fpake with Authority: and both delivered Dodlrines, and wrought Miracles, in his own Name. "^ Verily I fay unto you — was the Form, in which he ufher- ed in his Precepts. And he took on him by his own Authority to explain, and add to, the Laws of G(?^ himfelf And in the fame. au- thoritative Manner he wrought his Miracles* d John vi. 3, 8. « Matt. ix. 6. ' ^ John i. 51. s John vi. 62. h iii, 13, i Matt. xxv. 31. — xvi. 27, k John iii. 16. » Matt. vii. 29. *» Matt. v. ( 26 ) To the Manftck of the Palfy hefaid— " Artfe^ take up thy Bed 'y thy Sins be forgiven thee."^ And, when the Jews accufed him oi^Idf" phemyy becaufe he took upon him to forgive Sins 9 which was the Prerogative of G^^ (j;?^^ he anfwered that by the fame Power, by which he wrought his Miracles, he was em* powered to forgive Sins alfo. * To the Leper ^ who faid, Lordy if thou wilt thou canjl make me clean^ he faid"--! will : be thou clean. p To the Deadhefaid — I fay unto thee^ Arife. ^ He alfo rebuked the Windy andfaid unto the Sea Peace y be fill : and the Windy and the Seay obeyed him. — ' And he commanded nvith Authority even the unclean Spirits, faying. Come out of the Man, thou unclean Spirit. *-<- And this is a Power, which no Man, either before, or fince, either affumed, or exeircifed. * Though Mofes is faid to be made a God to Pharaoh^ yet he wrought no Miracles, and delivered noDodtrines, in his own Name. His Miracles are exprefsly afcribed to the Lord, and his Laws all delivered by God himfel£ The Prophets none of them fpake in their own Name, but in the Name of the Lord. " Matt. ix. 2, &c.— Mar. ii. 3, &c. ° Matt. viii. 2,&C. f Mark v. 41. Luke vii. 14. '^ Mark iv. 59. ' Mark i-. 27*— v. 8, » Exod, vii. i. ine ( 27 ) , The Form they ufed was Hhm faith the Lord. ^ And the Apoftles declare that they wrought their Miracles, not by their own Tower y or Holinefs^ but by the Name of Jefus Chrifi. Another Means he ufed of notifying his Divinity was by calling God in a particu- lar Manner his Father on all Occalions. " He calls himfelf the Son of God, ^ his one Son, his Well-belovedy * his Only-begotten Son; and his Apoftle calls him his own proper Son. ^ If fuch Titles as thefe import not an Equality of Nature, it will be hard to fay what Idea they were defigned to convey to us. Other Beings may be, and have been, called the Sons of God in a figurative, and improper Scnfe. But he, who is God's own proper Sony his onCy his Only-begotten Sony is tht Son of God in fuch a Senfe as no Creature is, or can be. Again, * our Saviour thus ad- dreffed himfelf to the Jews, who ace ufed him t Aas Hi. 12, &c. " Matt, xxvi. 63, 64. Luke xxii. 70. John v, I7,&c.'— ix. 35, &c.-^x. 25, Sec, w Mar, xii. 6. * John iii. 16, 18.' — iha v<», Rom, viii. 32. Sec alfo Matt. iii. 17.— xvii. 5. John i. 14, 18. f John iv, 9. y See my Vindication, p. 10, 11. Bull j^dic, Eccl. Ca- thol. C. V. Pear/ott on the Creed, p. 138, &c. z John V. 17, &c. See my Vindic. p. 38, &c. D 2 of ( 28 ) oi breaking the Sabbat hy hy healing an tmpO'* tent Man on that Day My Father work-- €th hitherto, and I work'—'T^he JewSy offend- ed at this Speech, fought to kill him, becaufe he not only had broken the Sabbath^ but faid alfo that God nvas his Father, his own proper Fa^ iher — YicLri^ci^'ihov — making himfelf equal with God. • That the Jews underftood him to affume an Equality, not of Power or Autho- rity only, but of Nature, is evident, becaufe their Charge is founded on his calling G^^— VJioi/ TictTifA — his own proper Father. But what does our Lord reply to this ? Does he tell the Jews that they mifundcrftood him ? Does he explain what he meant by calling God his Father ? Does he deny that this im- ported an Equality with the Father ? Some- thing of this Kind furely it would have been proper, and neceifary, for him to have done, iiad he been only a Creature. Inftead of this he continues to make Ufe of the fame ofFen- five Term ; ajid that in fuch a Manner, as to intimate ftill more ftrongly the clofeft Con- a Dr. Clarke allows, that it is very reafonable to conceive that "J ejus in this Place, by calling God his Father in Jo ab/olute, and f articular a Manner might intend to hint to his Difciples, what they could not then, but were afterwards to underjiand, that he fvas — Aoyo5 Gjaj — that Word, which was ia th^ Beginning with Cod, and was God, Script. Dp^r, N®58o, junftioii ( 29 ) jundlion between him and his Father ' Verily y verily I fay unto yoUy that the Son can do nothing of himfelfy but what he feeth the Father do : for what things foever he doeth^ thefe alfo doetb the Son likewife — ofjiOicog'—For the Father loveth the Son, and /heweth him all things that him/elf doeth, But does not our Saviour here frofefs his Inferiority ^ and Dependence^ that he received his Beings and ell his Powers from God? He does profefs an Inferiority and Dependence with regard to his Office of Mefjiah here on Earth. Our Lord adted as the Fathers Delegate, and Embaffa- dor, with regard to his mediatorial Office* He was fent by the Father ; and did nothing but by his Commiffion. And this was very proper to infift on in Anfwer to the Jews, who had accufed him of Blafphemy, that he had done and faid nothing but by Authority, and Commiffion, from the Father. — Verily y 'verily I fay unto yoUy the Son can do nothing cfhimfelf but what he feeth the Father do.-- And this furely would have been fufficient, had he been only a Prophet, or a created Angel fent on an Embaffy to Mankind. To what Purpofe then does he add — What^ foever things he doethy thefe alfo the Son doeth fjk^wife -— the Father fhcwetb him all things that ^ ( 30 ) that himfelf doth'-'the Son quickeneth whom he will-'that all Men Jhould honour the Son^ even as they honour the Father. Could a Creature with any Propriety, or Decency, aflume to himfelf fo much? Is it indeed poffible that any Creature fhould be enabled to do what-t ever the Supreme God doth ? and that too — - c/^o;<5cj^ — in the like Manner ^ or that the Supreme God fhould Jhew to a Creature all things Hhat he himfelf doth ? Can Omnipotence, or Omni^ fcience^ be communicated ? or if they can, why may not alfo the Divine Effence be commu- nicated ? Again, would it not have been the higheft Prefumption in any created Being to require^// Men to honour him, even as they honour the Supreme God? ^ But we are told that the Jews, when they accufed our Sa^^ viour oi making himfelf God, and equal with Gody meant nothing more than his afjuming a divine Pointer, and Authority^ without any Warrant for it. But this is a Senfe, which the Words will not bear. A falfe Prophet, who falfely pretends to fpeak and adl by God'^ Authority, cannot be faid thereby to make himfelf God, or equal with God. So far from this, that according to our Author himfelf, b Apol. pag. 7, h0 C 31 ) he Xhttthy formally prof efes his Inferiority and Dependence upon God. No; they charged hiih with making himfelf equal with Gody be- ^aufe he called God his own. proper Father. ^At another Time they accufed him oi Blaf fhemyy becaufe he being a Man made himfelf God. Their Meaning is fo plain, that one -would think it could not be well miftaked. A falfe Prophet might juftly be charged with Lying, but furely not with Blafphemy : nor could lie, by fairely Ipeaking in God's Name, be fuppofed to mean to make himfelf God. And ^fo alfo, when onr Lord \v2is brought before the Chief Priefs and Elders, they char- ged him with Blafphemyy not for teaching without Warranty but becaufe he profeffed himfelf to be the Son of God. * And when our Lordfaid unto the Sick of the Palfyy Son, thy Sins be forgiven thecy the Scribes reafned in their HeartSy — TFhy doth. this. Man thus fpeak Blafphemiest Who can forgive Sins but God only. — It iis. plain therefore that the Jews underftood omv Saviour y as afluming to him- felf a true and pvopQV Divinity. < John X. 33. ^A^fcLdfA. yiVio-Juj but '— I. AM — 'Eyof «^;— faith our Lord. He ufes alfo the Prefent Tenfe— I AM — ^^not I was — which the Jews could not but know was the very Expreffion which " God himfelf ufed to denote his ne- ceflary Exiftence* He could not well have declared to them, both his Pre-exifence and * Exod, iii. 14. his ( 40 ^) his Divinity in ftronger Terms. And they accordingly did fo underftand him : they took up Stones to cajl at him. Here again then we muft afk, if our Lord was only a Created Being, how came he fo frequently to ufe fuch Language, as he muft know the y^wx would interpret to h^ making himfelf equal with God? How came he to delight to. bor^ der fo near upon Blafphemy ? How came he to give fuch unneceffary Offence to thefe yewSy to exafperate them againft himfelf, and his Gofpel, without Caufe, and fo often ex- pofe his Perfon to Danger, without any con- ceivable Reafon? If he was *i;^ry God of very Gody we need not wonder that he fho:uld take all Occafions of intimating this great Truth. But, if he was only a Creature^i i could wifli that thofe who think him fo would give fome Account of this his Con- dudl. I fliould be glad to fee how diey can, on their Principles, vindicate him from the Charge of Folly, and Rafhnefs, not to lay Arrogance, andPrefumption. Nay we find him difcourfing in the fame Style to his own Difciples- — — "* He that hath • John xiv. 9. io, &C» feen ( 41 ) fienme hathfeen the Father / am in the Father^ and the Father In me. — ^ All things that the Father hath are mine. And, as they acknowledged him to be the Son of God, which the Jews thought imported an Equali- iy with Godf he accepted, and approved of, this their Profeffion. <{Nathanael finding that he kq^w perfeftly what was done in fe- cret, cried out Rabbit thou art the Son of Gody thou art the King of IfraeL ' Feter acknowledged that he was Chrif the Son of the living God: and our Lord approved of this his Confeffion. ^ Martha faid unto bimy I believe that thou art the Chrijl the Son of God. ' Thomasy when convinced of the Reality of his Refurredlion, anfweredy and faid unto him^ My Lordy and my God. — - Mr. Lindfey would willingly explain away this full Acknowledgment of our Lord's Di-- 'binity. " He quotes an anonymous Writer, as faying that this was only an Exclamation of AJloniJhmenty or Thankfgiving to Gody who raifed Chrijifrom the Dead. "^ But the Words P John xvL 15. ^ John i. 49. ' Matt. xvi. 16. ^ Johnxi. 27. * John xx. 28. u Pag. 27. ^ Dr. C/arke thus paraphrafes the Text — T^ou art indeed m^ Lord, the fame that ivas crM(ifiedi and I acknovjkdge thy F Almighty ( 42 ) will not bear this Senfe He anfwered^ and faid unto Himy to Jefus: and therefore Him he calls his Lord^ and his God. And this Confeffion of Faith our Saviour accepted) and approved of: by which Acceptance he declared himfelf both Lord^ and God, "" And, he himfelf, when interrogated by the High Prie/iy whether he were the Son ofGody ai^- fwered, Tejay that I am. What they meant by the Queftion is plain. They thought this Confeffion no lefs than Blafphemy. From what has been faid, we may find an eafy Anfwer to all that our Apologift has ob- jected on this Head. If our Lord does not fay in exprefs Terms that he is God^ yet he gave both his Difciplesy and the Jewsy to un- derfland as much, in Language not eafy to be miftaken, and which they well underftood. If he profejjes his Inferiority y and Dependence^ we have feen in what Refpedls, and for what Reafons he does fo. He appeared on Earth in the Form of a Servant y fent with a Com- Almighty Pozver in having triumphed over Death, and adore thee as ?ny God. And thus Dr. Hafnmond — / acknowledge that thou art my very Lord and Majler^ and that is an Evidence that thou art the Omnipotent God of Heaven. See alfo Whitbyh AhIiou Pear/on on the Creed, Art. ii. p. 131. ^ Luke xxii, 70. mifHoa ( 43 ) miffion from the Father to reveal his Will to Mankind. It was neceflary therefore that he fhoald fet forth by whofe Commiffion he aded in this Capacity. If he fays to his Difciples' — ^ the Father is greater than I — the Context will fhew in what Refped: he fpeaks of himfelf. Thefe Words were fpoken by him to comfort his Difciples, troubled at the Profpedt of his approaching Departure. He was now about to leave the World, and go unto his Father. He bids them rejoice at his Departure, becaufe it would be the Means of advancing him to an higher Condition than that, in which, as Man, he now was. He aded here only in an inferior Capacity, and could do no more than what he was commif- fioned by the Father here to do. His Return to his Father would contribute to his Ad- vancement with regard to his mediatorial Of- fice, and enable him to pour forth greater Gifts on his Difciples. As the Son of Man therefore, fent by God, he was inferior to him that fent him — mittens mijfo — as Gro- tins expreffes it. And in this Capacity it was alfo neceffary for him to pray to the Father. Be was made in the Likenefs of Many " fubjedt y John xiv. 28. See Hammond, Grotius, Whithy Annot. ^ Jieb. iv. 15. F 2 to ( 44 ) to all the Wants and Infirmities of human Nature, Sin only excepted. ' And therefore it became him, in the Days of his Flejh^ though he were a Son, to offer up Prayers and Supplications to the Father. Nor cpuld he, for the Reafons already alledged, teach or dire6l his Difciples to worfhip him, while h^ appeared here on Earth in the Form of % JVIan. He directed them to offer up their Prayers to their Father which was in Heaven: but we are not therefore to imagine that every thing, which our Lordy appearing in our Earth, and ading in his minifterial Capacity, attributes to the Father^ is fo to be appropri- ated to the Perfon of the Father^ as to ex^ clucje the other two Perfons in the Trinity^ Nor is the Lord's Prayer, though an excellent Form, and Pattern of Prayer, defigned to for- bid us the Ufe of any other Form. If it does not dired: us to pray to Chri/l^ fo does it not diredl us to offer up Prayers in his Name, which yet Mr. Lindjey himfelf feems to think neceffary. ^ But we are told that our Saviour Qhriji feems in Words, as exprefs as can be ufed, to forbid Mens offering up Prayer to him-^ felf: and for this Joh. xvi, 23. is quoted-^ ' H?b. V. 7, $, > Pa^e i^\. In ( 45 ) In that Dayyejhall ajk me nothing. But the Word in the Original is iparyic-iTe. The Verb ipcdTo^v, though fometimes it may fignify to petition^ yet in it's moft common Accepta- tion fignifies to interrogate^ or afk a Queftion. And that it fignifies fo here is plain from what went before. ' The Difciples had Doubts tbout the Meaning of what our Saviour had faid to them, and were dejirous to aJk him — 'i^coTcly^ Jefus^ who knew their Thoughts, —vifud divind^"ZS Grotius fays, tells them, that though they might weepy and lament at his Departure, yet their Sorrow would be turned into Joyy and their Joy no Manjldould take from them* Then he adds — In that Day — \y.i ov}c if^ryjceri i^iv — *^ In that Day ye Jhall have no Occa/ion to aJk me any ^ejiions. The Words that follow begin a new Sentence, as appears by the Introdudlion — Verily y verily I Jay unto you—whatfoeveryejloall aJk the Father in my Name, he will give it you : and here the Word is not gp^Djo-grg, but ouTi\(nTi. His De- fign was to comfort his Difciples, grieved at the News of his Departure. He tells them that though they could not then apply to him perfonally for Information, yet they would * y. 19, &c. * See Whitby, Hammond Annot. have ( 46 ) have free Aceefs to the Father through his Interceffion, and he would give them whatfo-- ever they JJjould ajk. * He had faid the fame thing before, and there the Expreffion was— If ye Jhall ajk any thing in my Name, I will do it, — And in this Senfe his Difciples under- flood him. ^ They faid — Now are we Jure that thou hiowejl all things^ and needejl not that any Man Jhould aJk thee — i^odr^ — by this we believe that thou camejl forth from God. — As he knew their Thoughts without afking, they were convinced of his Divine Power, and Omnifcience — Divinum eji introfpicere eogitata — again fays Gratius, And, if he gave no exprefs Command to his Difciples concerning his own Worfhip, yet I think it appears that they acknowledged his Divinity, and worfhipped him. I know the Word — ^fO(7)ivvico — often iignifies civil Homage : but what fhall we fay when vve find it joined with an Acknowledgment of our Lord's divine Power ? ^ When our Sa- viour caufed the boijlerous Wind to ceafe^ his ■Difciples.^ who were in the Shipy came and worjhipped him, faying^ Of a "Truth thou art « Ch. xiv. 13, 14. ^ xvi. 30. 2 Matt. xiv. 33. the ( 47 ) the Son of God.' ^ T'he blind Man, whom yg^i healed, when our Zor^/ told him that; he was tbeSonofGody worjhipped him. * When our Lord was taken up into Heaven, and was no longer prefent with them on Eart'h, his Difciples worfloipped him. St. T^ho- mas's Confeffion, if it fhould not be allowed to be a proper Invocation, yet, as we juft now obferved, was an Acknowledgment of our Lord's Divinity^ and accepted by him, as fuch. Again, ^ our Saviour aflures his Difciples, that, where two or three are gathered together in his Name, there is he in the midji of them. But our Apologifi will have this to mean no more than-—// woidd be the fame as if he were amongjl them— But this is not explaining, but adding to, Scripture. I am in the midJl of them, and // is the fame as if I was in the midfi ofthem-'^zxt two very different Propofitions. But we are told that our Lord could not intend to fpeak of himfelf as the God who heareth Prayer, is evident from his fpeaking of the Father in this very Place, as the Perfn, who was to grant their Petitions. Our Saviour, b John ix. 3g. » Lukexxiv, 52. k Matt, xviii. 20, as ( 4S ) as I apprehend, in this Place fpeaks of him- felf as Mediator, and of the Father ^ as grant- ing our Petitions through his Interceffion. We do not therefore infer immediately from this Place that he is the God who heareth Prayer. But we infer from hence his Omni" frefence. Wherever two or three are gather- ed together in his Namey he is prefent, and' may be applied to, as Mediator between them and the Father, Laftly, ^ Our BleJJed Lord, when now about to afcend into Heaven, alTured his Apoftles that all Power was given to him in Heaven, and in Earth : and gave them Commiffion to " make Difciples of all Nations^ by baptiz- ing them in the Name of the Father ^ and of the Son^ and of the Holy Ghojl. He here joins himfelf and the Holy Ghofi with the Father in the fame Form of Baptifm, the moft fo- lemn A(fl of Worfhip, whereby all Nations were to renounce their falfe Godsy and be ini- tiated into the Chrijiian Faith. What muft all Nations think was the Import, and In- tention, of fuch a Rite, but that inftead of all thofc Deitiesy which they had before 1 Matt, xxviii. i&, 19. m Mof^TsyVftTe tx^tl^cnTfg, bowed ( 49 ) bowed down to, they were now to ferve,* worfliip, and adore, the Father^ the Son^ and the Holy Ghofi, Bdptifm is, as I faid, un- doubtedly an Aa of Worihip. It is a folemrt Form of entering into Covenant with Gody and dedicating ourfelves to his Service. Since therefore we are equally, and indifcriminatelyj baptized in the Name of the Fat her y of the Son, and of the Holy Ghojiy we devote ouf-- fclvcs equally to the Service of each of thefe three Perfons. Here is no Diftincftion, or Limitation ; no Intimation given that lels Honour, or Homage, was hereby intended to be paid to the two laft, than to the firft of thefe three Perfons. I have before urged this Argument at large in my Vindication of the Dodlrine of the Trinity, P. ii. pag. 54, &c. It has alfp been frequently infilled on by other Writers, as particularly by " Biihop Stilling fleet 9 ** Dr. Waterland, ^ Dr.' Berriman, Gfr. See alfo ^ Mr. B/Wy^^/^'s Vindication. Afid to this our Author has nothing to ofFer^ but only Objections, which have been anfwercd over and over again. ' He fays that .;/i:jj^; i .. .^^ -": . . ■ . -. . "^ :* ■ Difcourfe on tlie Trinity, Ch. ix. " Sermon viii. ^t L^dyMoyers Left/ i* 3/- nity, that many of thofe, v^^ho denied this Doftrine, judged it neceffary to baptize in an- > See Bull Def. Fid. Nic. Sed. ii. c. 4. No n. Water-^ land Scrm. on Matt, xxviii. 19. ^ Sec Bingham Anticj, B, xi. ch. 3. Waterland as above. H other ( 58 ) • Other Form, as particularly Eunomius^ and probably before him Paul of Samofata. " Some of thefe baptized into the Death of Chrijl : • others in the Name of the Father uncreate^ the Son created by the Father^ and thefandti- fying Spirit created by the Son. A modern Author, taken Notice of by p Biihop Bull^ was pleafed to fuggeft a Sufpicion that thefe Words — In the Name of the Father^ and of the Sony and of the Holy Ghoji have been added to the Text. And he makes Ufe of the fame Argument, as our Author, viz, that the Apojlles baptized only in the Name vj:^ our Lord Jefus. Thefe were more daring, and impious, but yet more open, and conliftent, than thofe, who retain this Form, and y^t ^ paraphrafe it away into no more than receiv- ing Men to a Frofefjion of the Belief and an Obligation to the Pra5lice of that Religiony which God the Father has revealed and taught by the Son^ and confirmed and eflablijhed by the Holy Ghofi, And I wonder that Mr. Lindfey, who has altered fo many things in our Li- turgy, fhould retain this Formy fo, fatly con-' n Socrates Hift. L. v. C. 24. <> Epiphan, Heeres. 76, P Pofthumous Works Vol. iii. p. 850. ^ 'DxXkrkeW^xifK trary ( 59 ) trary to what appears to him to have been fome times the PraBice of the Apojlles theinfches^ ' But our Apologijl does not think \\\zX.fro7n the Son, and Holy Ghoji, being thus named to- gether with the Fat her y their Equality to each other may be inferred, becaufe in fome other PaJJages of Scripture God and his Creatures are joined together. To this old Objedtion I an- fwer in the Words of the excellent Biihop Stillingfeet : ' '' Can any Man of SenfeC ** imagine thefe Places contain a Parallel with *^ a Form of Words, wherein Men are en- " tered into the Profeffion of a new Religion, ** and by which they were to be diftinguifh- ** ed from all other Religions ? In the former ** Places the Circumftances were fo notorious ** as to God and the Civil Magiftrate, that it *' ihews no more than that the fame exter- '^ nal Adts may be ufed to both, but with ** fuch a different Intention as all Men un- <' derftood it. What if St. Paul name the '* ele5l Angels in a folemn Obteftation to ** Timothy^ together with Gody and the Lord " J^fa^ Ghrijl ? What can this prove but ' Pag. 107. • Difcourfe in Vindication of D06I. of Trinity, C. ix. p, 219. The like Anfwer is given by Mr. Bingbam, Hz "that - ( 6o ) '^ that we may call GoJy and his Creatures to ** be Witneffes together of the fame thing ? *' And fo Heaven and Earth are called to bear *« Witnefs againft obftinate Sinners : may ** Men therefore be baptized in the Name of ** God and his Creatures ? — So that thefe In- ** fiances are very remote from the Purpofe/* What our Author would Infer from i Cor. i. 13. I am at a Lofs to comprehend. St. Faul did not baptize the Corinthians in his own Name — therefore — what ? — If we had read that St. Paul did baptize in his own Name, this might have been to his Purpofe. > t But our Apologifi tells us, that his Interpreta* iion of the baptifmal Form is confirmed by thofe Summaries of Cbriflian Faith drawn up in the firfiAges after Chrift, particularly that called the Apofiles Creed^ — And after quoting fome ri- diculous Reflections cafl: on this Creed by fome foolifh Jefuits, " he is pleafed to fay that nothing could more exprefsly condemn the l^oBrine of the divine undivided Trinity than this Creed of the Apofles-, and hardly Jhall you meet with two greater Oppofites than this Cr^edi and that which goes under the Name of « Fsge iq8. • Page 112. Athanafius ( 6i ) Athanafius'^hxii, yet he owns that this Creed, was not compojed by the Apojlles ; and thinks himfelf at Liberty to leave out of his Liturgy fuch Articles of it as he pleafes. ^ In another Place he tells us, that the Creed called the udpoJileSy and the other Creeds of thofe early Timesy are a pregnant Proof that all Chrijtian People for upwards of three hundred Tears af^ ter Chrijly till the Council of Nice ^ were gene^ rally Unitarians^ what is now called either Arian or Socinian. — We have here very con- fident Affertions w^ithout the leaft Proof. I defy him, or the fubtleft Jefuit upon Earth, to point out any thing in the Apojlles Creed contrary, either to the NicenCy or the Atha-* fan Creed: or fhew any one Propofition ia thefe latter Creeds, which is condemned by the former. If the DocSrine of the 'Trinity is not exprefsly aflerted in the Apofiles Creed, fo neither is tht Unity of the Godhead.- — I believe in one God — fays the Nicene Creed JVe worfiip one God — fays the Athanajian : ■ the Apofiles Creed fays not fo much. Nor was this Creedy as our Author himfelf owns, compofed by the Apofiles, It is no other than the Creed of the Church of Rome : and it is "• Page 24. not^ ( 62 ) not (o old in it*s prefent Form as the Nicene Creed is. Our Apologijl refers us to a Collec^ Hon of Creeds to be found in KingV Enquiry into the Worjloip of the Primitive Church, I have not that Book by me : but I have the fame learned Man's Critical Hijlory of the jipojiles Creed, where our Apologift may find a full Confutation of all that he has advanced on this Head. "^ That learned Author has ihewn that, though the greateft Part of this Creed is of early Date, yet the exaSi Form of the prefent Creed canjiot pretend to be fo an- tient as the Days of the Apoflles by Jour hun- dred Tears. ^ He proves that this Creedy by calling Chrifl the only Son of Gody fets forth that he is the . true and natural Son of God, begotten before all Worlds^ infuch a Way^ or Manner, as never any other wasy is, or can be: and that this Article of the Creed is coeval with Chriflianity itfelf, and denotes Chrijfs di- vine Nature, ^ Chrijl cannot indeed be called the only Son of God in any other refpedt, but that of his Divinity. * He alfo fays that the Reafon why fo little is faid of the Holy Ghoji in this Creedy is becaufe there was not fo great a X Chap. i. p. 23, &c. y Chap. iii. p. 131, &c. ^^ See BuII]mA. Eccl, Cath. Cap. v. * Ch. vi. p. 3 1 ?, &c. Controverfy ( 63 ) Controverjy in the Primitive Church concern-* ing the Divinity^ and Perfony of the Holy Ghoji ) but thsit his Divinity was intended by the Creed's requiring us to believe in hiniy whereas we art only required Jimply to believe the other Articles., " The learned Mr. Biiigham in his Antiqui- ties has given us a Colle5lion of the Creeds of thefe early Tifnes, The firft I can find is in Irenaus. *" He tells us that Chrijltans at their Baptifm received a certain and unalterable Rule of Faith from the ApoJileSy which was to be- lieve in one Gody the Father Almightyy wha made Heaven and Earthy and the Sea, and all Things therein ; and in one Chriji JefuSy the Son of Gody who was made Flefi for our Salvation^ and in the Holy Ghojiy who fpake by the Pro- phets — and then follows foon after, in the fame Creed — that every Knee Jhould boWy of things in Heaven y and things on Earth, andthi?igs under the Earthy to Chriji Jefus, our Lordy and Gody and Saviour, We have feveral Forms of Faith in Tertullian-y one in his Book of Prefcriptions againji HeretickSy another in his Book De velandis Virginibus. Thefe, though not th^ fame, yet differ but little from the b B. X, C.4. *= L, i. Cap. i. i, &c. Apoflies ( 64 ) 'Apojlles Creed, But we have ftill another in his Book againft Praxeas^ which is more full and exprefs. ^ He there fets forth the Faith of Chrijiians, as believing in One God^ but urt^ der this Difpenfation, that the One God has a Sony his Word, who proceeded from him, by whom ell Things were made, and without him nothing ivas made ; that he was fent by the Father^ and horn of the Virgin^ both Man^ and Gody the Son tfMan^ and the Son oj God^ &c, that he fent from his Father the Holy Spirit ^ the ParacletCy the Sandlifier of the Faith of all thofe who be^ lieve in the Father y the Son, and the Holy Ghoji, — This Rule of Faith (he lays) was delivered down from the Beginning of the Gofpel, And afterwards he adds, that we mujl keep the Myjlery of the Oecoiiomy^ or Difpefifation, which difpofes the Unity info a Trinity , the Father, and the Sony and the Holy Ghoji — three of one Sub^ fiance y State, and Power. — There is another Form of Apoftolical Doftrine colled:ed by Origen in his Book of Chriftian Princifles. There, among other things, Chfijlians are faid to believe that there is one God, who created all things ; that Jefus Chrijl was born of the Father before all Creatures — that being God, he was * Cap. ii. made t ^5 ) made Flefi, and being Many he \continued the fame God that he was before. — Laftiy, he fays that the Apofles delivered that the Holy Ghofi fwas affociated to the Father and Son- in Ho^ nour, and Dignity, We have ah'b among the Works of Gregory^ commonly called Thau^ maturgusy * a Creeds which he compofed for the Ufe of his own Church, in which the Dodlrine of the Trinity is moft exprefsly af- itvici,— There is One Gody the Father of the living Word^And One Lord, One of One, God of God— And One Holy Ghofi ^ having his Sub- Rfiencefrom God — A p erf e 61 Trinity ^ undivid^ ed, unfeparated in Glory ^ Eternity y and Domi- nion and a great deal more to the fame Purpofe. We have alfo another Confeffion of Faith of Lucian the Martyr, recorded by Athanafiusy Socrates y ^wdi Hilary y which ^ (tho' the Arians falfely pretended there were fome Expreffions in it favourable to them,) plainly afferts the Divinity of Chrifi, It calls him the Only-begotten Son of God, the Gody by whom all Things were made, begotten of his Father before all Agesy God of Gody whole of whole. One of One, FerfeB of PerfeBy &c. I e See the Genuinenefs of this Creed vindicated by Bp, J?////Def, Fid. Nic. Seft. ii. C. 12. n. 2, 3. ' Ibid. Sea, ii. C. 13, I fhall ( 66 ) fhall mention only one more, and that is the Creed, of the Church of Jeriifalem^ as we have it in CyriWs Catechetical LeBures. ^ This Cyrill was Bifhop of Jerufalem about the Middle of the fourth Century, This Creed muft be older than the Leftures, which com- ment upon it; It differs from the Nicene Creed. It has not thofe Articles, by which the Nicene Fathers guarded againft the Er- rors of Ariusy as — confubjlantial — very God of very God -, — and therefore muft be more antient than this Council. It is probably the moft antient perfed: Form of a Creed publick- ly ufed in the Church now extant, and had been for fome time the Creed of the Church of Jerufalem. And yet this Creed calls the Lord Jefus the Only-begotten Son of Gody begotten of his Father before all Worlds , the true Gody by whom all things were fjiade, Thefe are the Creeds of thofe early Timesy which our Apologijl refers to as preg-- nant Proofs^ that all Chrijlian People before the Council of Nice were Ariansy or Socinians, ^ But he thinks it abfolutely necejjary thqt the lefs learned fiould be told fo. For thefe in- deed his Performance is calculated. It is e See 3u// ]vid, Eccl. Cath. C. vi. the • ( 67 ) the unlearned and unjlahle ohly that he can hope to beguile. But let me defire this /«- JlruBor of the fooliJJo and unlearned to teach himfelf. Let him, if it is not too much Trouble, look into forae of the Authors cited in the Margin *. The fame Writers will inform him, that Creeds were originally Confeffions of Faith made at Baptifm ; that in all Probability they at firft contained no more than the Form of Baptifm itfelf — I believe in the Father^ the Sony and the Holy Ghoji. And this was more expreffive of the Divinity of each Per- fon than the more enlarged Creeds^ whofe ad- ditional Articles disjoined the Names of the three Perfons, but ftill retaining the Expref- (ion of believing in each Perfon. Soon after, other Articles were added, guarding againft fuch Errors, as from time to time fprang up. Some of thefe Articles were probably infert- ed in the Days of the Apoftles themfelves. i VoJJtus de tribus Symbolis DiiTert. i. UJher de Rom. Ecclef. Symbol. Apoft. Vet. Bull Jud. Ecclef. Cath. Cap. iv. iv, V, vi. Bingham Antiq. B. x. Ch. 3 & 4. Khig Crit. Hill, of the Apoftles Creed. Wall Hift. of Infant Baptifm* P. li. Ch. 9. f. 10, &c. Stillingpet Vindic. Doft. Trin. Ch. ix. Waterland Sermon Matt, xxviii. 19. Import. Dodl. Trin. Ch.vi. I 2 ' Thefe ( 68 ) Thefe Creeds were diiFerent in different Churches. In the Reman Creed the Article oi'-^Maker of Heaven and Earth — was pro- bably defigned to guard againft thofe who held that the World was made by Angels, or by fome evil Being. The feveral Articles re- lative to our Lord'^ Birth, and Crucifixion, might be defigned to exclude thofe Hereticks, who denied our Lord to be really Man. In this Cr^d-^ they thought it fiafficient to fet forth our Lord's Divinity y by calling him the only Son of God 'y a Title, which can belong to no Creature. In the Oriental Creeds^ as in thofe Parts Hereticks arofe, who denied the Divinity of our Saviour-, this Dodlrine appears to have been more explicitly exprefTed. The fame Dod:rine is contained in all the antient Creeds : and the latter are only explanatory of the former. We acknowledge then the ^pof-* ties Creed to be an excellent Summary of the Chriftian Faithy but we cannot argue from it negatively- We cannot conclude that nothing is necefTary to be believed, but what is fully, and explicitly, therein contained : nor any Error dangerous, but what is therein ex- prefsly condemned. Our Apologiji might as well tell us that this Creed condemns the Trotefiant Rehgion, becaufe the Errors of Popery ( 69 ) Popery are not therein fo particularly guarded againft, as in our Articles, and other Protejiant Confeffions of Faith. I have now followed our Apologift through the Go/pels: I come now to the ABsy and Epijiles. The Divinity of our Bleffed Saviour is fet forth in many Texts there, and the Proofs thereof fet forth by many excellent Writers; and our Author's Exceptions fuffi- ciently obviated by Ivlr. Bingham^ and the learned Layman. I fhall therefore confine myfelf to fuch as relate to the Worfiip of Chriji. We have already feen that the Dif- ciples worjlnpped him on his AJcenJion into Heaven : and foon after we find them oflfer- ing up a Prayer to him — " T^hey prayed, and faidy Thou Lord, which knoweji the Hearts of all Men, fiew whether of thefe two thou hajl chofen. ^ This Prayer is, I think, addreffed to Chrify not only becaufe the Word, Lord» was the ufual Appellation, by which they were wont to addrefs him, but becaufe "" the Apojiles were his MefTengers, and it was he, ^ A6ls i. 24. * See Whitby's Annotat. who brings Proof of this from Wohzogeniusy a Socinian Writer. =» Matt. X. I, &c. — John xx. 2U and { 70 ) and he alone, who appointed them. And therefore he was the proper Perfon to apply to, to fill up the Vacancy. " And afterwards St. Paul was ordained Apojile by the fpecial Appointment of Chi^ijl himfelf, who appear- ed to him. ° Accordingly in the Beginning of almoft all his Epiftles, he ftyles himfelf an Apojile of Jefus Chrifi, ^ and declares that from him he received Grace and Apojllejhip. And '^ St. Peter ^ and ' St. Jude, call themfelves the Apojile 5 of our Lord and Saviour Jefus Cbriji s But to this our Apologiji has two Objed:ions ^ frjl^ becaufe in afmilar Pafage that follows foon after^ the fame Apojile s ad-- drefs their Prayer i^i the fame Terms to God the Father^ A^s iv. 24, 29. But there is not in this Prayer one Term, nor one Word, the fame, but only the Appellation of Lord, And furely it will never follow, that becaufe the Apoftles fometimes addreffed their Prayers to God the Father particularly, and called him Z/^r^> therefore they never called Chrijl Lirrdy and never addreffed their Prayers to him. But, fecond-ly, Grotius is quoted, a$ concluding that this Prayer is addreffed to n A6ls ix. 1, &c. • I Cor. i, &c, fire. P Rom, i. 5. 9 2 Pet. iii. 2, *" Jude 17. » Page 128. God i 7^ ) God the Father^ and not to Chrijl, becaufc the Perfon here addrejfTed is faid to know the Hearts of all Men. But Grotins draws no-fuch Concluiion. He fay^:. indeed on- this Paflage — It is^he' Prerogathh of God only tq judge certainly of the Hearts of all Men, And that is all he fays : he does not fpecify to whom he thinks this Prayer addreffed. Gfo- tins moft certainly acknowledged both the Divinityy and the Oinnifcience, of our Bleffed Saviour : and in his Comment on John ii. 25. where Jefus is faid to k?20w what was in Man> he fays, that is, in the inmoji ReceJ/es of the Hearty which is the peculiar Prerogative of God. — Nay, our Author himfelf acknowledges t\i2it Chnji faith of^himfelf Rev. ii. 23. lam hcy which fearcheth the Reins, and Hearts — but then he adds, that this is a derived Power, And what then r If Chriji had this Power, whether derived ov underived^ there is an End of his Objedion. He might be tlie Perfon, to whom this Prayer is direded. Nay, if this Power was entrujled with him for the Government of his Churchy he muft be able to hear the Prayers of his Church. But I muft carry this Argument ftill farther. ^ Chriji had t See Matt. ix. 4j— xii. 25, Luk i. a, II, 17. See Pr. Waterhndh Sermon on Job, xvi. 15. ?. 217, &c, * iii. i. ^ xxii^ I. 1 fh'iL 11, 9, &c. hivii ( 77 ) hifTiy and given him a Na?ne, 'which is above every Name : that at the Name of yefiis eve7y Knee Jloould l?ow^ of things in Heaven, and things in 'Earthy and things under the Earth ; and that every Tongue frjould cojifefs that Jefus Chrifi is God, to the Glory of God the Father, This Text fo expreflive of the Homage, and Worfliip, paid to our Lord by all Creatures both in Heaven y and Earthy Mr. Linfey only barely refers to. I fhall therefore content myfelf with referring him to Dr. Waterland's excellent Sermon on this Text. And that our Lord was to be worj by Angels y as well as Men, appears from ano- the remarkable Paffage of Scripture, which our Apologiji has wholly omitted. The Dig- nity of the Sony and his Superiority to the Angelsy is aflerted in very full and ftrong Terms in the firft and fecond Chapter of the Epiflle to the Hebrews ^ He is faid to be the 'Rri^hfn^r^ af h^c 77^//,.^'- c>J^- ^., ^-^^ y^cr exprefs ^Image of his Perfon. He is exprefsly called God, faid to have laid the Foundation of the Earthy and created the Heavens ^y and to uphold all Things by the Word of his Power. "" Heb, i. 3, &c. %ttWaterland\ Sermons at Lady Uo^er\ Leaures. P. 62, &c.— 154, &c. ' And ( 78 ) And all the Angels of God are called on to worjhip him. Afterwards we read thou madeji him a little lower than the Angels — or, as the Words may better be rendered — ""for a little Time lowe?^ than the Angels. — The Son of God therefore was before his Incarnation fupe- rior to all Angels, and confequently no Angel: but was Gody and worjhipped by all the Angels, And if the Angels were bound to worjhip him, much more we, who bear a nearer Relation to him, he being our Redeemer, as well as our Creator. The Apoftles in their Epiftles have not given us any particular Forms of Prayer, nor have we perhaps any direct Invocations of Chrijl in them : and nothing lefs it feems will fatisfy Mr. Linfey. But we have full Proof that the Chrijiians in thofe Days did woriLip Chrijl. Chrijiians are defcribed by the Title of thofe who call o?t the Name of our Lord tf^zA'" Chrif^ T Cor. i. 2. ** But our Apologijl has found out another way of tranflating this Term. He renders it, all them that are called by the Name oj our J ejus Chrijl — and he has luckily the Authority of an able Commenta* " Bf9t^u tk See Grotiust Hammond. • P. 133. tor. ( 79 ) tor, Dr. Hammond, to fupport him. But he might have known that this Interpretation of the Text is fully confuted by Dr. Whitby in his Annotations. One need indeed only turn to the Texts eited by Dr. Hammond. The Word iTriKAhifjLivcg by itfclf indeed figniiies called, or named. And out of five Texts w^hich the Dodor has produced, four prove no more, as Matt. x. 3. — Luk. xxii. 3. — ABs i. 23. — iv. 36. — And the fifth — ABs vii. 59. —proves diredlly againft him. The Word — 67rf;cctA^ftsi/oi/ is there plainly ufed not in the Pa£ivey but the Middle Voice^ and fignifies ac- tively, calli?ig upon, or invoking : and is by Dr. Hammond himfelf rendered — He continued in Prayer to God. And our Apohgiji, though he would expunge the Word G. 698, 707, 735, 167. * Page 132, 1$ ( 89 ) is more modeft. He fays that the Word is ambiguous^ fignifyijig either Chriji^ or God the Father. But he allows that // feems from the following Verfes rather to he underjlood in this Place of Chrijh I humbly think it more than feems fo. For in the next Verfe we read thus — that_ the Lord /aid unto me^ My Grace is fufficiejit for thee : for my Stre?igth — -/) cwa^f^i^ fA,H — is vn2idLQ perfe6l in Weaknefs, And then it follows — MgJI gladly therefore will I rather glory in my Infirmities^ that the Strength — >j dvvccfii^ — of Chri/l may reji upon ?ne. It was then the Power of Chrifi, that was made per- fe3l in his Weaknefs. And therefore it was Chrifi, to whom he prayed, and who anfwered his Prayer ^ ^ But our Apologift would form an Argu- ment againft our Lord's Divinity from his being a Mediator between God and Man, I ihould draw juft the contrary Inference. * He is now pafjed into the Heavens : and if we can- not apply to him there, how can he be our Mediator ? How can we have an Accefs to the Father by him, if we can have no Accefs to him himfelf ? "^ He ever liveth to make In-' ^ See GrotiuSf Whitby Annot. PooU^ Synopfis. ^ P. 26. * Heb. iv. 14. ^ vii. 25, &c. M tercejjion ( 90 ) tercejion for us : but how (hall he intercede Jor usy if he can neither hear our Prayers, nor be fenfible of our Wants ? The Jewijh High Priejis could not continue by Reafon of Death : but the Son is confe crated for evermore, " He is entered into Heaven^ and appears in the Pre- fence of God for usy and offers up our Prayers to him there. As our Mediator^ and High- Prieji^ he is a diftindl Perfon from God the Father. But he is the Son of Gody God of God. And as fuch "" he is a Difcerner of the 'Thoughts and Intents of the Heart : and all Things are naked, and opened to his Eyes. As Man he was fubjedl to the Infirmities of human Nature : and as Gody he knows all our Wants, and Infirmities. ^ And therefore we are encou- raged to come boldly unto the Throne of Grace y that we may obtain Mercy y and find Grace to help in Time of Need. But there is another Species of Worfhip befides that of Invocation. "^ We find in the Book of Revelations all Creatures worfhipping him that liveth for ever a?zd ever, by giving Glory, Honour y and Thanks to him. For Wor-^ Jhip is paid to God, and his divine Perfedlions « Heb. ix, 24. o iv. 12, 13. *" v. 16. *i Rev. iv. 9, 10. acknowledged. ( 91 ) acknowledged, as much by giving Praife, and Glory, to him, as by offering him Prayers, and Supplications. And accordingly Doxolo- gies have had a Place in all Liturgies : and been generally put at the Concluiion of Hymns, and Prayers. The Apoftles probably eftablifhed Forms of Worihip in every Church : but we have none delivered down to us in Scripture. We have Doxobgies : but they run in different Forms : and fo I fuppofe they did in the antient Liturgies, We have already had Occafion to take Notice of a very full one Rev, v. 13, where we find the whole Creation joining in. giving Blejjing^ and Hoiioury and Glory, and Power ^ unto him that fitteth upon the Throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever. And fo again Chap. vii. 9. we are told that a great Multitude of all Nations cried with a loud Voice, faying, Salvation to our God which fitteth upon the 'Throne, and unto the Lamb. — St. Paul in his Epiftles ufes diffe- rent Forms of giving Glory to God. ' Some- times he gives Glory to God in general, ' fome- times to the Father in particular, * fometimes to the Father through the Son, " In other Places it is uncertain whether the Father is ' Rom. xi. 36. — 2 Tim. iv. 1 8, ^ i Phil. iv. 20. ^ Rom. xvi. -j,^^ E^h, i. 21. " Gal. i. 3. M 2 fpoken ( 92 ) fpoken of, or the Son. But in fome Places Glory is given to the So?7 only. Thus iiZd-^. xiii. 20, 2 1 . — The God of Peace make you perfect in evejy good Work to do his Will^ working in you that which is well-pleajing in his Sight through Jefus Chriji^ to whom be Glory for ever and ever ^ Amen. Thefe laft words muft in all reafonable Conftrudlion be referred to the immediate Antecedent — fefus Chrijl. — St. Peter is ftill more plain — ^ Grow in Grace y a7id in the Knowledge of our Lord and Saviour fefus Chrijl. To him be Glory both now, and for every Amen. — And fo alfo Kev. i. 5, 6. we have this Doxology — Unto him that loved us^ and wajhed us from our Sins in his own Bloody and hath made us Kings and Priefls unto God 9 and his Fat her ^ to him be Glory , and Dominion^ 710W and for ever. Amen. — But here we are told that there are fo 7nany different Readings of this Paffage, that no certain Gonclufons can be drawn from it. — I have looked into Dr. Mill's New Tejlament, and can find no various Readings that much alter the Senfe, except- ing one, and that is only in one MS. which reads — rS ci,yx>7rr,TctvTog oL xia-dVTos — And even according to this Reading the Doxology more "" z Pet. III. 18. It ought not however to be concealed that fome MSS. add here — koj ess ntfjTfoj. properly ( 93 ) properly belongs to Chrift the Perfon fpoken of before, and alfo in the Words immediately following — Behold he comet h with Clouds y &c. — The Doxology alfo 2 T^im. iv. 18. according to Dr. Clarke y feems rather to be meant of Chriji, And fo, I think, is that which we have "Jud, 25. But thefe I pafs by as ambi- guous. "^ If we enquire into the Doxologies ufed in the ancient Church, we fhall find them dif- ferent in Form : but all, or mofl of them, addrefled to the Son^ and to the Holy Ghoji, as well as the Father. The moil ancient Form ran — l^o the Father, and to the Son^ and to the Holy Ghojl. -^ ^ Clemens Bifhop of Romey ^ St. PauFs Fellow- labourer y thus expreffes himfelf — IVe who fly to his (God's) Mercies through yefus Chrifi our Lord, to whom be Glory, and Majejiy throughout all Ages, — The antient Account we have of the Martyr- dom of Ignatius concludes thus — 'Jefus Chriji our Lordy by whom^ and with whom^ be Glory and Dominion to the Father ^ with the Holy Ghoji for ever. Amen, In like manner con- ^ See Bingham. Antiq. L. xiv. Ch, 2. S. i. y Epill. i. ad Corinth. S. 20. =^ ?hil iv. 3. eludes ( 94 ) eludes * the Epiftle of the Church of Smyrna .concerning the Martyrdom of St. Polycarp — ye/us ChriJIy to whom be Glory^ with the Father^ and the Holy Ghojl, throughout all Ages, — And in the fame Epiftle we have a Prayer, which Polycarp offered up to God at his Martyrdom, which concludes thus I praifei and glorify thee^ with the eternal and heavenly yejus Chriji^ thy beloved Son, with whom to thee^ and the Holy Ghojly be Glory both nowy and J or evermore. Amen, — In the Apojlolical Conjiitutions, which (though we do not, with Mr. Whijlon^ fuppofe them to be written by the Apofiles, nor by St. Clement of Rome J ^ are by the beft Criticks fuppofed to contain the antient Offices of the Church, we find feveral Doxologies, In the 8th Book Ch. 12, the Oblation Prayer concludes thus — To thee be all Glory, Worfiip, Thankfgivingy Ho- nour^ and Adoration, to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Ghojly both nowy and for ever, mid to infinite y and endlefs AgeSy and let all the .People fay Amen, — In the 1 3 Chapter of the fame Book the Prayer for the faithful is thus concluded— ^jT thy Chrifiy with whom be Glory y * This Epillle is quoted, and no fmall jPart of it recited by Eufebias Hift. Ecclef. L. iv. Ch. 15. •» Cave, Du Pin, Beverldge, Bingham Antiq. B. xiii, Ch. 5. Se6l. 7. Honoiiry ( 95 ) Honour^ Praife, Doxology^ and Hhanlif giving to thee, and the Holy Ghoji, for ever. Amen. — In the 15th Cliapter the Invocation after the Communion ends thus -^ To thee be Glory ^ Praife, Majefly, Worjhip, and Adoration, and tof thj Son Jefus Chriji, our Lord, and God, and Kingy and to the Holy Ghofi now and for e*oer. Amen. And moft of the Prayer^ there are concluded v/?th the like Doxologies-. Again, Clemens o?' Alexandria thus concludes his laft Book of his Pedagogue — Let us give Thanks to the only -Father and Son, to the Son our Pedagogue and Teacher, with the Holy Spirit, one in all RefpeBs^ in whom are all Things, by whom all Things are one, by whom is Eternity, wJoofe Members we nil are, whofi is the Glory, who is in all Things good, fair ,^ *mfi, andjufl, to whom be Glory now, andfot en)er. Amen* — There follows an Hymn to Chriji. ' But, when the' Arian Controverijr aiofe, thofe of that Perfuafion would life nd otheriForm of Doxology but — Glory be to' the Father, by^the Son, and by the Holy Ghofi -^ ^ St. Baft in his Treatife on the H^ly Ghofi proves at large that though this Form was fometimes ufed, and was very proper, when *= Bingham, Antiq, B.xiv. Ck; 2. Se6l. i. Birrlrmn-^ on Primitive Doxol. ** Cap. vii, xxv & xxix, rightly ( 96 ) rightly underftood, yet the other was more common, and ufed by all the antient Churches. * What Reafon then has our Apologijl to quar- rel with the Form of Doxology ufed in our Church ? and what Occalion has he to fall upon Arch-Bp Seeker, who has given him no Provocation. The Arch-Bp in the Place cited fays not a Word in behalf of our Form of Doxology : he pleads only for the repeating our Praifes to God often ; and to that End very properly introduces Eph.v. 20, where the Apoftle exhorts us to give Thanks always for all Things to God and the Father in the Name of our Lord Jefus Chriji. But what Authority our Author has to add the Word — only — to the Text, or how he would infer from hence that no Thanks are to be given to the Son^ or the Holy Ghojl, I know not. Thefe tacit Condemnations and negative Arguments, I cannot comprehend the Force of. 'As to the latter Claufe of our Doxology — As it was in the Beginnifig &c. it was not fo loon in- troduced, nor is it certainly known when, or where, or on what Occafion it was firft ufed : it appears however to have been at leaft 1200 Years old. But ^ Our Apologijl makes it ftill * P. 1 1 7. f See Bingham as above. * P. 1 1 S. older. X 97 ) older, and falls foul upon St. ^erm for com-^ chtijfiafiy and Hhcharitabley Origin. But he (hould have kiibwh that thefe Eplftles be- tween Pope Dama/iis and Jerom ate rejefted as fpurious by all learned Men. And, if it be Mnchriftiany and uncharitable^ to exclude ^r^?//y Hereticks from our Communion, who hold the Son of God to be a Creature, I am afraid the Charge will lie not only againft thofe who added this Claufe, but againft the Council of Nice, 2X1 the Ante-Nicene Fathers, and St. yohn himfelf. Nor can I find what Right, or Reafon> he has to find fault with this Claufe. it is compofed in the very Words oi Scripture. • — * In the Beginning was the Word, (faith St jfohn) and the Word was God And therefore moft certainly ijt the Beginning Glory was given to him. ^ Nay he himfelf hath told us that he had Glory with the Father before, the World was. ^ And the fame St. John has reprefented the whole Creation as giving Blejfing^ and Honour y and Glory, unto the Lamb^ for ever and ever. Nay, he himfelf owns it to be rea- fonable ^ to declare our ReverencCx and high EJleem of him y and on all proper Occafions to join * See Bingham as above. ^Joh/ui. k Jok. awrii. £. * Rev, v. 13. " P. 131. N with ( 98 ) mth his Apojlle in faying — T^o him be Glory both now and for ever. — Why does he then rcfufe to declare this r — Why does he ftrike out of the Liturgy almoft every Claufe that gives Glory to his Saviour ? Why does he expunge this Doxology^ which he might ex- plain to his own Senfe much more eafily, than he can the firft Verfe of St. Johri% Gofpel, and many other Parts of Scripture ? ° But we are told that it matters not much to in- quire when this Doxology was frji ufedy or how long it had been ufed^ if it is not in the New Tejlament. 1 know of no Form of Prayer enjoined in the New Tejiamenty but only the Lord's Prayer : and therefore ac- cording to this Rule we ought to ufe no other. But it has been (hewn that in the New Tejia^ ment Glory ^ and Praife^ are offered up to our Blejfed Saviour, And, if in fome of thefe Places there be fome Ambiguity, what better Method can we take of clearing up thefe Ambiguities than by enquiring into the Prac- tice of the antient Church ? This at leaft ap- pears from the Examples produced that the firft Chrijlians woriliipped Chrijlf and offered up their Doxologiesy and gave Glory to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghojl, a P. 1 1 8. And ( 99 ) • And yet our Apologifi has the AfTurance to tell us that all Chriflian People for upwards of 300 Years after Chrift, till the Council of NicCy were generally Unitarians , what is now called ei- ther Arian-, orSocinian. — ^And in another Place he is pleafed to tell us that // was the univerfal PraBice of the Chriflian Church, with little or no Variation^ for the three firft Centuries ^ to addrefs all religious Worfnp only to God the Father. But herein he contradicts, not only all Hiftory, but himfelf too. ^ For he fays that Irenccusy and Jujiin Martyr^ two Writers of the fecond Century, contributed to bring into Chrijlianity the Platonick DoSrine of a fecond God: ' and that the Word trinity was firfi ufed by Theophilus, who wrote in the fame Century. But what Proof does he bring of thefe confident AfTertions ? none from any of the Works of the moft antient Writers. But he appeals to the antient Creeds^ and to Dr. Whit by y who, if, you will believe him, has confuted the ObjeBions of Bully andWaterland^ with accumulated Evidence. It has been al- ready, I truft, fully fhewn that all the Re- mains we have of ancient Creeds prove the • P. 24. P P. 147, 8. ^ P. 158. ' P. 12, N a dired ( lOO ) dircO: contrary of what our Author here al- ledges them for. As to Dr. Whitby he was in the Vigour of his Age a zealous Afiertor of the Doftriae of the trinity : and in his An- notations has vindicated feveral Texts oi Scrip-' ture from the Mifconftrudions of Sacinus. Some of his Comments I have had Occafion to refer to. He lived to a great Age : and in his latter Days, when Dr. Clarke wrote his Scripture Do^rine of the Trinity ^ he fided with him, and wrote a Treatife entitled -» . Difquifitiones modejlce in Bulli defenjionem Fidel JSTicence^ — — wherein he paffes Cenfure on a Book, ' which he had before in a Treatife on ChriJPs Divinity cried up as a moft excellent Performance. Dr. Whitby was a Man of Learning, and had done good Service to the Church, and to the learned World. But we mufl: appeal from Dr. Whitby in his Dotage to Dr. Whitby in his fober Senfes. As to this Treatife of his, I have it not, nor have I beea able to obtain a Sight of it. I believe it is out of Print, and long ago buried in Oblivion. But this I find, that it has been fully anfwered by ^ Dr. Waterland in his Firft Defence of hia * Opus agre perennius ad doftorum invidiam, et novatoruiu cordolium fummo judicio et induftria peregit. P. 59» ^ Q^xxvi, P, 399, &c. Qoeries ( loi ) Queries. The Dr. has therein fully expofcd his notorious Fallacies, Mifconflrudtions, and falfe Quotations, as any one may fee, who will take the Pains to look into that Treatife. The Dr. thus concludes his Remarks — Tou may perceive by this Time that Bp Bull's Book is like to Jiand, till fomething much more conji-' derahle appears againjl it* Several Attempts of this Kind have been made before : but to as little Purpofe, And if there be ever fo many more^ by ever fo good Handsy Til venture to fay ^ they will fucceed no better. The Book will Jland as hng as clear Senfe, found Reafoningy and true Learning have any Friends left. The main Sub-- flanct of it is not to be confute dy any more than you can exti'nguijh Truth y or put out the Light of the Sun. I think that Dri Whitby made fome Reply to this : but whatever he had to fay has been fully anfwered by Dr. Waterland. When our Apologift then will produce this accumulated Evidence^ it will be then Time enough to confider it. But by what I have feen of it in the Treatife above-cited, it feems to defcrve very little Notice. — " But our Apo-- gift refers us to Dr. Clarke s Obfervations on Dr, Waterland s fecond Defence of his ^eries,. « Page 66. which. ( ^02 ) which, It feems, fully confuted Dr. Water-^ land^ and clofed the Controverfy. But he is much miftaken. Thefe Obfervations were not, I think. Dr. Clarke s, but Mr. Jackfojfs, and were fully anfwered by Dr. Waterland in a Pamphlet entitled, A farther Vindication of Chriji's Divinity — to which I do not find that the Author made any Reply. But we need not rely on the Authority of Dr. Whitby, Dr. Waterland, or Bp Bull We have the Works of the Primitive Fathers be- fore us. ^It has been already ihewn that they held that it was the Son of God, who appeared to the Patriarchs^ and was worfhipped by them, and they from thence infer his Dm- nity. We have feen alfo that they looked on the Form of Baptifm as a Profeffion of their Belief in the Trinity ; that their antient Creeds teach the fame Doftrine, and that their Doxo- fogies were addreffed in the moft folemn Man- ner to the Son, and the Ho/y Ghojl, as well as to the Father. But for the farther Informa- tion of the lefs learned, the Rev. Mr. Lindfey himfelf amongft the reft, I fhall add a i^w more Proofs from fome of the moft early ^ Page II, &c. Writers, ( 103 ) Writers. * Clemens Bp of Rome thus begins his fecond Epiftle to the Corinthians — Bre-^ threny We ought to think of J ejus Chrijiy as of Gody as of the Judge of quicks and dead^ nor ought we to , think meanly of our Salvation, — • Ignatius addrefles the Church of Ephefus as eleSed by the Will of the Father^ and Jefus Chriji our God : ^ and in other Parts of the fame Epiftle he calls Chrift our God, In the Preface of his Epiftle to the Romans^ Chriji is twice called our God. And in the fame Epiftle S. 4. he defires the Brethren to pray unto Chriji for him. He thus begins his Epiftle -to the Church of Smyrna — -—I glorifie Jefus Chriji pur God, who hath given us fuch Wifdom* — And thus he clofes his Epiftle to Polycarp 1 wijh you all J^appinefs in our God Jefus ChriJly in whom continue in the Unity, and TroteSiion of God, ^ And the antient Relation of this Saint's Martyrdom informs us that jufi: before his Death he prayed to the Son of God for the Churches, — Polycarp in his Epiftle to the Philippians prays th^t the God and Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift, and he himfelfthe eternal High Priejly the Son of God, even Jefus Chrifly 35 The Genuinenefs of this Epiftle has been fufficiently ^indicated by Bp Bult, Dr. CavCt and others. The Genuine- nefs alfo of Ignatiu^% Epiftles has been vindicated by Bifliop Pjarfon, and others. y S, 4, 15. S. 6. « S. 12. World ( 104 ) would build them in Fakhy and in Truth, &c.' This is not only a pious Wijhy but a Prayer to the Son jointly with the Father, and reprjs- fents him, as well as the Father, as the Giver of all good Gifts. And the Epiftle of the Church of Smyrna, which gives us an Ac- count of the Martyrdom of this good Man, tells us that his Perfecutors, at the Infligation lof the Jews, took care that no Remainder of his Body Jhould be left, left the Chriffliansforfaking him that was crucified, Jloould begin to worjhip this Polycarp', not knowing (fay they) that we can never forfake Cbrift nor worjhip any other. — For him indeed, as being the Son of Gody we worjhip. But the Martyrs we wor^ thily love, as the Difciples and Imitators of the Lord* — ** This, as the learned Mr. Bingham t)bferv£S, is an unanfwerable Teftimony, to prove both the divine Worjhip of Chrift, as the true Son of Gody and that no Martyr or other Saint was worjhipped in thofe Days. Not long after lived Juftin Martyr. * We have already feen that he held Chrift to be the Perfon, who appeared to Abraham^ and the Patriarchs, whom Mofes, and xho, Children of Ifrael worfhipped, and whom all the Angels * S. 17. * Antiq. B. xiii. Cap. 2. S. 2. <= P. 11- adored. ( io5 ) adored. •*! have in my Vindication brought ma- liy Proofs of his Belief of our Lord's Divinity. 1 fhall here content myfelf with citing a few, Ivhich bear Teftimony to xh^ Worfitp of thriji^ • In his Dialogue with Hrypho, after having brought feveral Proofs of the Divinity of our Saviour from the Old T!efiament^ he adds— T/5^ Words plainly Jhew that he is the OhjeSl of Worjhipy both God, and Chrijl *" Again in the fame Dialogue he thus befpeaks -T^rypho-^Do you think that there is any other /aid in Scripture to he the ObjeSi of Worfloip^ Lordy and Gody but he who made the Univerfef aud Chrijl y who is proved by fo many Te^ts of Scripture to have, been made Man ? — s Once more he fays — When David taught that he *w as begotten before the Sun and Moon, accord- ing to the Will of his Father, he Jhewed that Chrijl was the mighty God, and the ObjeB of Wor/hip. — ^ But we are told that thefe early Fathers contributed to bring into Chrijlianity the Platonick DoBrine of a Second Gody which they had learnt before their Converfion to Faiths ' I know this has been faid by Le Clercy and *» Pt. iii. p. 28, &c. « P. 287. <■ P. 293. ,% ,i*. 302, h p. 158, * See this Point accurately handled in a Dilfertation by a learned Friend of mine in my Vindix:. Doa. Trin. Pt. iii. P, 50, &c. ^ O Others. •( io6 ) Others. But I never yet could fee any fuffi- cient Proof that Plato> or any of his Follow- ers before Chrijl, held the Doftrine of a tri- nity in Unity. Nor does it appear that theje Fathers were all or moft of them, Plafonijis. Jujlin himfelf had, in Queft of Truth, ap- plied to all the chief Seds of Philofophy, ''as he himfelf tells us. Nor did they bring their - philofophical Notions into Chrijlianity. On the contrary they on all Occafions very fe* verely cenfure^thefe Philofophers. And Jujliny though he fpeaks honourably of Plato y ^ yet very freely cenfures his abfurd Notions of the Deity. But if 'Jujlin^ Authority may be quef- tioned in Matters of Faith, yet furely he mufi: be allowed to be a competent Witnefs of plain, and notorious. Matter of Fadl. And he bears full Teftimony that the Chrijlians in his Days worfliipped both the 5ony and the Holy Ghofl. *" In his Second Apology, to vvipe off the Charge of Atheifm brought againft the Chrijlians by their Enemies, he anfwers that they could not be called Atheijls^ 'who wor^ pipped^ and adored^ God the Fat her ^ the Son, ^ Dial. Tryph, fub init. ^ Ad Grxcos Cohort. P. 6, &:c. 21. •" P.56. See this FaiTage quoted at large, ., and vindicated againft all Exceptions, by Bp Bu/l Dcf. ^id, Nic. Sedl. ii. Cap. 4. N. 8. nx;h0 ( 107 ) who- came from him, and the prophetick Spirits -r- " And in the fame Apology in Anfwer to the fame Charge he replies as before, that as they worfiipped God the Creator of all Things^ fo they paid Honour to Jefus Chrijl in the fecofid Place y knowing him to be the Son ofGody and to the prophetick Spirit in the third Place. Athenagorasy a Writer nearly of the fame Age, to the fame Charge makes the fame An- f\ver — " Who would not wonder (fays he) to hear thofe called Atheijlsy who call the Father Gody the Sony and the Holy Ghojl God^ Jloewing their Power in Unity y and their Dijlin^iion in Order. — And again, p We are not therefore Atheijisy honouring as God the Maker of this Vniverfcy [and the Wordy who proceeded from him. Nay, Heathen Authors alfo bear Witnefs to the Practice of the Chriflians in thofe Times. Pliny y who lived in the Beginning of the fe- cond Century, ^ in an Epiftle to the Emperof Trajan tells him that, having taken a Con- feffion of fome Chrijliansy they declared to him that they ufed to meet on a certain Day before " p. 60. " P. u. ' P. 34- 9 Lib. X. Ep. 97. O2 it ( io8 ) // was light y andjing an Hymn to Chrifty as fa God, And Luciano who lived in the fam^ Century, in his P Mlopa tn's ridiculcB the Chrif-- tia72Sy as fwearing by the three Perfons in the Trinity. And again in his Proteus he charges the Chrijiians with worjinpping a crucified Im- pojiory as he blalphemoufly terms our bieffed Lord. ""And we find that Celfus afterwards brought the fame Charge againft Chrijiians^ Irenceusy who flourifhed about the middlo of the fecond Century, ' tells us that Chriji with the Father is the God of the Living, who Jpake to Mofes^ who appeared to the Patriarchs^ and was worfhipped by the Prophets, ' The fame Father fpeaking of the Miracles then wrought by ChrifiianSy and particulaj-ly in cajling out Devils, fays that they did it not by Invocations of Angels, or Inchantments, or other evil and curious Arts^ but clearly and openly direEiing their Prayers unto the Lord who made all Things, and calling on the Name of our Lord Jefus Chriji. And that they called upon him by Prayer appears from a Prayer for Perfons pqffeffed preferved in the " Apojiolical Conjtitutions ' Origen, contra Cclf. L. iii. P. 131. ' Contra Haeref. Jiib. iv. Cap. u, ' j;,ib. ii. Cap. 57. ^ J^ib. viii. C. 7. addreffed ( J09 ) addrefled to Chriji. It calls him among other honourable Appellations him whom the An^ gels worjhipi and concludes thus — ^ O only-hegotten God, Son of the great Fa^ ther, rebuke the evil Spirits^ and deliver the Works of thy Hands jrom the Power of the flrange Spirit. For to thee is Glory y Honour^ 0nd Majejiy^ and by thee to the Father, in the Holy Ghojly for ever. Amen, Towards the Clofe of this Century lived Clemens of Alexandria^ who bears full Tefti- mony to the Worjhip of Chrifl. In his Admo- nition to the Gentiles he thus exprefles " himfeif Believey O Man, in him who is both Man and God', believe, O Man, in him who fuffered, und is worjhipped, the living God, — "" Again in his Stromata — - We are commanded to wor- Jhipy and honour, him, whom we believe to be the Word, our Saviour > and by him the Father. ^— I have already taken Notice of his Doxolo-- gies at the End of his Pedagogue. There is indeed there a dired: Prayer addrefled to the Son jointly with the Father in thefe Words — Be merciful to thy Children, O Majier, O Fa^ ther, the Guide oflfrael. Son, and Father ^ both One -— and the whole is concluded with an Hymn to Chrif, » P. 66, y* Lib. vii. C. 7. P. 719- About ( "O ) About the fame Time flourifhed Tertullian, * We find that it was then a common Objec* jedlion again ft Chrijiiam^ that they worjhipped a Man condemned to Death by the yews, — — Tertullian does not anfwer this Charge by de« nying that they worjhipped Chriji, but by juf- tifying this WorJJoip, They knew him to he be- gotten of God, and therefore called the Son of Gody and Gody by Unity of Subflance. For God was a Spirit- — and the Son was Spirit of Spirit ^ and God of Gody as "Light is of Light -^fo what proceeds from God is God, and the Son of God^ and both One — ^ In his Treatife againft the ^ews he boafts that the Kingdom, and Namcy cf Chrijl is fp read every where ^ is believed every nohere, he is worJJjipped by all the Nations above^ mcjitioned, reigns ^ and is adored every where — is God and Lord to all, "" Again in his Treatife ad Uxorem he diffuades Chrifiian Women from marrying Unbelievers^ and ufes this Argument among others, that in fuch a Family there could be no Mention of Gody no Invocation of Chrifl. * Laftly in his Book againft Praxeas, who denied the Diftindion of Perfojis in the Trinity, he argues thus — Therefore they pre^ 3t Apol. Cap. xxi. y Cap. vii. ' Lib. ii. Cap. 6. » Cap. 3. tend ( IJI ) tend that we' preach two,, nay three i Gods, hut they are the Worfiippers of one only God (and fo alfo pretends Mv. L.J as if the Unity ab- furdly colleSled might not make an Herejy, and the Trinity rationally underjiood might not con^ fiitute the Truth. ^ And he there explains how thefe Three z.m07ie — —viz. of one Sub- fiance y Condition^ and Power, — Nor have vfc here only Tertullians own private Opinion, but his full Teftimony that the Worjlnp of the Trinity was the Pradice of the Chrijiian Church in his Days, and that their Enemies reproach- ed them with it. In the next Century lived Novatian^ and, though he lltands charged with fome Errors and Mifdemeanors, yet his Teftimony is of Force with regard to the Pradice of the Church in his Time. We have extant of his a Treatife on the Trinity, ' Among many other Arguments for the Divinity of Chri/i he ufes this -^If Chriji is only a Man, how can he be prefetit in all Places to thofe who call upon hiniy fince it is not the Nature of a Man^ but of God, to be prefent in all Places? And he argues farther, in diredl Oppofition to Mr. X. ^ Cap. 2. «= Cap. xiv. '( ttz ) •^ tf Chrift be only a Man^ why do wi edit upon him as a Mediator ^ as the Invocation of a mere Man mufi be thought of m Efficacy to Salvation? Co temporary With Novatidn Was Cyprian. Many Paflages might be produced from him in Proof of our Lords Divinity: I fhall feledt only two or three relating to his Worfiip, III his eleventh Epiftle he exhorts Men to be in^ Jiant in Prayery and jirjl to pray to our Lord^ and then by him to God the Father, Again, in his 6ift Epiftle he thus befpeaks Lucius ^-r^ In our Sacrifices y and our Prayers, we ceafe not to give Thanks to God the Fat her y and to his Son Chrifi our Lord, and to make Prayer^ and Supplication^ that he who is perfeBy and makes us perfe^y would keep and perfeSl in you the glorious Crown of your ConfeJJion. Laftly, in his Treatife on the Benefit of Patience he tells us that God the Father has commanded his Son to be worflnppedy and the Apofile Paul, mindful of the divine Precept y fays — God hath exalted him, and given him a NamCy which is above every Name, that at the Name of Jefus every Knee fioould bow, of Things in Heaven, and Things in Earth, and Things under the Earth. Arnobius, ( ?i3 ) ArnobiuSy another Ante-Nicene Writer^ ^ ia Anfwer to the Heathens ^ who pbjedled to the Chrijlians xh'^X. they worJJnpped a Many who was put to Death on the Crofsy and contended that he was a God, and believed that he was Jiill alivcy and worjhipped him with daily Supr plications, firft ' retorts their own Objedlion upon them, ^ and then anfwers more clofely, that he not only might be called God on account of his Services to Mankind^ but ■ that iS^- wax. truly and undoubtedly God, and therefore they could not deny that he was a proper ObjeSl of Worjhip. And though an angry Heathen might rave 2X his being called God, yet they mujl an- fwer that he was Gody and God too of the in- terior Powers of the SouL We have feen the fame Objed:ion anfwered in like manner by Tertullian, and fo it is by Minucius Felix y Orir geny and LaBantius : but their Evidence fhall be coniidered hereafter. We have farther Proof from Eufebius. ^He has given us a Fragment from Caius, a Ro- man Prelbyter, who lived in the. Beginning of the third Century. He informs us that there * Lib. i. P. 30. e P. 36. f Hift. Ecclef. Lib. v. Cap. 28. P were ( "4 ) were in his Time antient Pfalms, and Hymnst m the Church written by the Faithful^ ^ praif- ing Chrijt' the Word of God, and attributing Divinity to him. The fame Eufebius has given us an Epiftle from the Council of Antioch^ which cenfured Paul of Samofata for denying the Divinity of Chrijiy in which among other Things they charge him with forbidding the life of the Pfalmsy which ufed to befung in Honour of our Lord Jefus Chriji. We learn alfo from the fame Writer, as we do alfo from others, that it was ufual for the Martyrs at their Death to invoke Chriji after the Example of St. Stephen, ^ He informs us diat Blandi?ia,2X her Martyrdom, had familiar Gonverfe with ChriJI -, ' that fever al Chrijiians in Phrygia i^ficved Martyrdom J calling on Chrifl the God over all-, and laftly, that ''i^r- phyrius the Martyr expired in the Flames, tailing on Chriji- the Son of God to help him. To this I may add Eufebius's TeMmony con- cerning his own Times. ^ He tells us that the g wy Aeyh t» 0£» vfAv^n B-ioXty^vra, h Lib. v. Cap. I . i L. viii. Gap, 1 1.- J He refers, I prefume to Rom. ix. 5. k De Martyr. Palaeft. Cap. 11. 1 Eccl. Hiftor. la&» x« Cap. 4. highej ( »i5 ) higheji Towers on Earth confejjed Chrijt, not as a common King made of Men, but worjhipped him as the true Son of the Supreme God, and God himfelf Thus have I deduced the Proofs of the Worjhip of the Son^ and Holy Spirit , through all Ages from the Days of the Apoftles down to the Time of the Council of Nice, And I think it fully appears how little Reafon our Apologijl has fo confidently to aflert that reli- gious Worjhip was in thofe Days addrejfed to the Father only. The Heathens conftantly ob- jedled to them the Worjlnp of a Man put to Death on the Crofs : from whence it is plain that it was their Practice to worfiip Chriji^ And this is the Reafon that they principally infift on his JVorJhip. And, whereas our Author pretends that the Holy Ghoji was never worfhipped till after the Council of Nice , the contrary is evident from the Quotations from Jujiin Martyr, Lu- clan's Philopatris, 'Tertullian, and other Places cited before with regard to the Bapfifmal Form, and antient Doxologies. And all this our Apo- logiji might have learnt from ""' Mr. Bingham's « Antiq. B. xiii. Ch. 2. P 2 Antiquities ( "6 ) Antiquities, and other Authors. I might have added Proofs from the ancient Liturgies, in all of which arc Prayers to the Son, and to the Holy Ghojl. " But as it does not appear when thefe Liturgies were committed to wri- ting, and as it is probable that they have un- dergone Reviews, and received feveral Addi-r tions, fince they were firfl compofed ; and as I have confined myfelf chiefly to fuch Wri- ters, as lived before the Council of NicCy I do not think proper to infift on them, though it is probable that moft of the Prayers therein contained are the Prayers of the antient Church. ♦ But what has he to fay in Oppofition to this full Evidence ? ^ We have ( what is indeed very ftrange) the Teftimony of Bp Bully that able Defender of the Nicene Faith. Two Paf- fages of his are quoted from Dr. Clarke^ to prove an AfTertion diredlly contrary to what he has maintained moft ftrongly, and proved moft inconteftably, in feveral learned Treatifes. In Oppofition to the Bp oi Meaux, who plead- ed for the Invocation of Angels, he fays that intkefrfl and beji Ages the Churches of Chrijl direEled all their Prayers to God only through n Ibid. Ch. V. S. 3. P. 148, 9. the ( "7 ) the Mediation of Jefus Chrijl, And, again in his Sermon on the Exijlence of Angels he fays that in the Clementine Liturgy p there is not one T raver made either to Angel, or Saint : hut all the Prayers are direBed to_ God, in the Name of his Son Jefus Chriji, as they are in our Liturgy. His Meaning is plain. His De- fign could not be to exclude the Worjhip of Chrifly but only that of all Creatures, Saint Sy and Angels. The Bp well knew, and q has fhewn, that in the Clementine Liturgy many of the Doxologies are offered up jointly to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghojiy as they are in our Liturgy, and one long Prayer at leaft pef- fonally addreffed to Chrif. ' And he himfelf has explained his Meaning in his Defence of the Nicene Faith. Origen had been accufed of Arianifm for ufing the like Expreffions. Bp Bull vindicates him by faying that Chrijl may be confidered either as God oj God, or as Mediator between God and Man. In the latter Capacity all Prayers are to be offered to God the Father , through him : in the former he is himfelf the Objedt of Worfhip. Dr. Clarke has given us P This Claufe is omitted both by Dr. Clarke, and our Apologiji. ^ V>tl Fid. Nic. Sea. ii. C 3. N". 6. ' Se«. ii. Cap. 9. N^ 15. a Quotation ( xi8 ) a Quotation from this very Place, immedi- ately before the two other Quotations : but gives us fuch Part only as might feem to make for him, and leaves out what goes before, and what follows after, where the Bp explains himfelf, and fully anfwers the Objediion. However our Apologift has produced two Teftimonies on his Side from Origen, and Xja5tantius, neither of whom wrote before the third Century, and therefore can fcarce be al- lowed competent Witnefles of the Pradice of the Church for the firfl: three Centuries. ' As lo Origen, it is well known that he has been accufed of holding heretical Dodrines, and particularly thofe of Arianifniy both by An- tients, and Moderns, and powerfully vindi- cated by others. It muft be allowed, that as he is a voluminous, fo is he an hafty, and in- acccurate Writer; and has expreffed himfelf very incautioufly, not only with regard to the Dodrine of the Trinity ^ but with regard to other important Points. It is alfo gene- rally fuppofed that many of his Writings » See Caveh Life o^ Origen — Idem Hift. Lit. — DuPin Bib- iioth. Auth. EccL Bull Def. Fid. Nic. Bed. ii. Cap. 9. Waterlandh 2d Defence, P, 247, &c. — •/'/yMV. Biblioth. Graec, have ( "9 ) have been interpolated, and corrupted by evi! Hands. * The Paffage cited in the Apology mull he allowed to be very exceptionable. I da not well underftand the good Father's Meaning. He hadjn the Words immediately before this Paffage faid that it: is our Duty ta give Thanks to Chrijl, who hath by the Will of his Father befiowed upon us fuch great Blefs-^ ingSi and alfo to make Intercejfion to him^ as &P. Stephen didy faying^ Lord lay not this Sin to their Charge^ and,, after the Example of the Father of the Lunatick, fayingy I pray. Lord, hav£ Mercy on my Son, or myfelf or any one elfe, He here plainly teaches us to give Thanks, and pray to Chriji, and yet in the Words immediately following feems to fay that Prayer is to be offered not to the Son^ but to the Father. " It (hould feem that Origen had a Notion that there was fome peculiar Kind of Prayer, perhaps Petition for the For-» givenefs of Sins, which was to be addreffed, not to the Son, but to the Father himfelf through the Son, If Origen here meant to deny that any Worjhip was to be paid to the Sony he muft contradift himfelf in the fame Breath. He muft alfo contradidl his own plain * P. 14Z. " Annot. in loc. Oxon. Ed. DocSrine ( 120 ) Doflrine in other Parts of his Works. ''In his Book againft Celfus, which is allowed to be the moft valuable Part of his Works, he tells us that the wife Men, or Magi, conceiving our Lord to be greater than all their Gods^ refolved to worfiip him ; and that coming into Judcea they offered Symbols to him, who (if we may fo f peak J was compounded of God and mortal Man, Gold as to a King, Myrrh as to one who was to die, and Frankincenfe as to God, — ^ — Jlnd, as he was God fuperior to the afjiftant Angels, being the Saviour of Mankind, the Angel rewarded their Piety in worjljipping yefus, by warning them not to return to Herod. "" Again, he fays that though Angels are fometimes in Scripture called Gods, yet we are not commanded to worfiip, or adore, them — • but to offer up all Prayer, Supplication, Inter- ceffon, and Thankfgiving, to the God over all by the High-Priejl, who is above all Angels, being the living Word, and God* And we mufl alfo pray to the Word himfelf, and make Inter- cejjion to him, and give Thanks, and make Sup- plication to him, yifwe can but underjiand how w Lib. i. P. 46. » Lib. V. P. 233, y S<:e this laft Claufc explained, and its Senfe vindicated by Bp Bull Def. Fid. Nic. Sec. ii. C. ix. N. 15. Uu Waterlanfs zd. Defence, Q^xvii. P. 399. Prayer ( i2I ) Vrayer is taken in "Propriety of Speech^ or in an improper Senfe. * Farther, as Celfus had objedled to Chrijlians the Worfhip of a mortal Many he makes the fame Anfwer as other Chrijltan Apologifts do, not by denying the Fadt, but vindicating it, faying that they be-' lievedy and were fully perfwadedy that this Jefus was from the Beginning God, and the Son of God, ^ the very Word, the Wifdom, and the Truth, — " And, again in Anfwer to the fame Objeftion he fays — If Celfus had underflood this — I and my Father are One — and what is f aid by the Son of God in his Prayer — as t and thou art One — he would not have thought that we worjhipped any other than the Supreme God, For he faith The Father is in me, and I in the Father — We therefore, as If aid, worjhip one God, the Father, and the Son, and our Reafoning flands in full Force againji others, and we do not worjhip an upftart Being, who never exijied before : for we believe him, who faid — Before Abraham was I am, And after more to the like Purpofe he fays — ^ — * Lib. iii, P. 135. * S Cihrihopi 1^ ^ othTVcoiplix, s^ 5 uuTcxXK^c-tot* b Lib. viii. P. 385,6. See this PaiTage cited at Length, and explained by Bingham Antiq. B. xiii, C. 2. P. 566. See alfo Origen\ Doftrine fully fet forth by Bp Bull D^U Fie. Nic. Scft. ii. C. 9, Q_ We ( 122 ) We worfhip one Gody and his only Son, and Wordy and Image^ with Supplications , and PrayerSy to the utmojl of our Power-, offering up our Prayers to the God over ally by his Only- begotten Sony to whom Jirjl we offer theniy be- feechifig him as our High-Priejly to offer them to the God over all. Here we fee a full Declaration of Origens Opinion concern- ing the Divinity of our Bleffed Savioury and the Worjhip due to him. Nor have we here only his private Opinion, but the full Tefti- mony both of CelfuSy and Origen himfelf, to plain Matter of Fad:, that Chri/i was then worfliipped by ail Chri/iians. Celfusy and other Heathen Writers, perpetually charged Chrif- tians with worfhipping a dead Man. Origen-^ and all the other Apologijlsy do not deny this Charge. They do not fay that no Worjhip was paid to Chrijly as they certainly would have done, if none had been paid : but fay that they worjhipped Chfijl, becaufe he was Gody one God with the Father. "" Origen alfo himfelf, in the Remains we have of his Ho- ?niliesy offers up Prayers, and Ejaculations to Chrijl. And whereas our Apologifi roundly ^ifferts that no Worship was paid to the Holy * See feveral Inllanccs in Bingham as above. Chojl ( 123 ) Ghojl till the latter End of the Fourth Century^ to the Proofs, and Inftances already produced, we may add that of Origen, In the firfl: Book of his Commentary on the Epiftle to the Ro^ mans he fays — It is the Property of thofe only to difldonour their Bodies , whoferve Idols, ' As for uSy who worjhip and adore no Creature ^ hut the Father J the Son, and the Holy Spirit^ as we do not err in our Worjlnp^ fo neither let us offend in our AStionsy and Converfation. As to LadiantiuSy the like Exceptions lie againft him, as againft Origen, and ftill more ftrongly. ^ Our Apologijl indeed fets him forth as a fine Writer, a Teacher, and Fxample of Religion. We allow him to be an eloquent, and able. Defender of the Chrifiian Faith. "" But he was, in the Eftimation of the beft Judges, more an Orator, than a Divine. He was but little Ikilled either in the facred Wri- tings, or in the Dodtrines of the Church. Hence he has run into the grofleft Miftakes, and advanced the wildeft Notions. ^He feems, to have held two Principles, a good, and an ^ Pref. P. iv. • See Bull Def. Fid. Nic. Seft. iii. Cap. X. N. 20, &c. Du Pin Biblioth. Cave Hifl. Lit. Wa^ Urlcind 2d Defence. ^ Inllitat, L. ii. C. 9, Q^ evil ( 124 ) evil one. s And yet Mr. L, think he needs no Apology for producing a long Quotation from this Writer. Mr. Bingham has already fully anfwered him, and has fhewn that this Paf- fage, though very inaccurately, and impro- perly exprefled, is capable of a good Senfe. It is indeed plain that LaBantius did not here defign to deny our Lord's 'Divinity as the Title of the Chapter immediately preceding is Be Jefu Deo et Homine — and in that Chapter, and the preceding, he frequently calls him God'y and proves from the Prophecies of the Old Tejiamenty that he was to be both God and Man^ particularly from Ifaiah vii. 14 — ix. 6 — xlv. 14 &c, — FJal. xlv. 6 — ex. I. But the fuUeft Anfwer to the Infer- ences drawn by Mr. L. from this Faflage of LaBantius he himfelf has furniflied us with in another Paflage, ^ which he has cited from this fine Writer, But he there gives us the Objeftion made to Chrifiians by xho. Heathen, and leaves out LaBantius' s Anfwer, which is full, and ftrong, againft him; He firft pro- pofes this Objection in the i6th Chapter. — They reproach the Chrifiians (fays he) as wor- fioipping a Man^ who was grievoufiy punifioed, 5 P. 122. t P, 147. Laaant. Inllit. L. iv. C. 29. and ( 125 ) and tortured by Men. He, like Origen, and other Chrijlian Writers before him, does not anfwer this by denying the Fadt, but by juf- tifying it. He fpends feveral Chapte|-s on the Incarnation, Sufferings, and Death of our Ble/fed Saviour^ in which he frequently calls him God, and fhews that it was no way ab- furd that God fhould take upon him human Nature, and fuffer Death on the Crofs. — — * The yews^ he fays, condemned their God, — ^ God was crucified by the JVorJhippers of God ^ No Man could be a perjeci Teacher ^ unlefs he were alfo God, — ""He was therefore both God, and Man^ being made a Mediator between God and Man — He therefore came as a Mediator y that isy God in the Flefi. At laft in the 29th Chapter he repeats the Objedion pro- pofed before, " which our Apologift hath been pleafed to quote : but there flops without giving us LaBantiius> Anfwer, which follows immediately after — When we call the Father » Cap. xviii. ^ lb. ^ Cap. xxiv. "^ Cap. xxv. n And even this he millranflatcs. La£iantius fays that the Chrijiians were charged with holding two Gods, God the Father, and God the Son, ourTranflator fays they only feemed to believe this. Laaantius fays that the Chrijiians were accufed oi call- ing the fame God eternal and mortal. Ihe Tranflation fays that the^ held a fecond God, and him alfo a mortal one, God, ( 126 ) God J and the Son God^ we do not call them dif" ferent Godsy nor do we feparate the one from the other : becaufe the Father could not be ivith- out the Son^ nor can the Son be Jeparated from the Father — Since therefore the Father makes the Sony and the Son the Fat her y there is one Mindy one Spirit^ one Subjlance to both, He afterwards declares that the Father and Son are One God, and concludes thus — The one Supreme God cannot be worjhipped but by the Son, He who thinks to worjhip the Father alone^ as he worJJjips not the Son^fo neither does he wor- fhip the Father. But he, who receives the Son, and bears his Name, he with the Son worjhips alfo the Father — There could not be a fuller Proof not only that LaBantius himfelf, what- ever crude Expreffions may fometimes have dropt from him, believed that Chrijl was truly Gody and that Worjhip was due to him as fuch, but that this was the Do6trine, and the Pradice of the Church, in his Time. And this ftrong Proof muft have flared our Agologifl in the Face, if he would have been at the Pains of reading the whole Chapter he quotes. But he takes this extraordinary Quotation at fe- cond Hand from one Ben Mordecai, fo that whether he is the Deceiver, or the deceived, I cannot fay. Nor do I know who this Ben Mordecai ( '27 ) Mordecai is : but take him to be one of his own Fraternity who has perfonated a JeWy the better to attack the Docftrine of the Trinity. Let. me advife him to confult the Authors he quotes himfelf, and not to depend on others, not even on Dr. Clarke himfelf. But perhaps he would infer from hence at leafl that the Wor-^ JJdip of the Holy Ghoji was then unknown, be- caufe the Heathen objedled againft the Wor* Jhip only of two Gods. The Reafon is plain. They did not obje6t againft a Plurality of Gods : for this they held themfelves. They objeded to the Chrijlians that they worfhip- ped, and called God, a Man put to an ignomi- nious Death. And therefore the Chrifiian Apo- logijis mention, and defend, only the Wor/hip of the Son: the Objedlion did not lead them to fay any Thing of the Holy GhoJi. What we would conclude then from fuch Defences is that the Worjhip of Chrijl was then the Pradlice of the Church : and this is a Con- clufion which cannot be contefted. But that they did alfo worfhip the Holy GhoJi full Tef- tlmony has been produced. But our Apologijl is pleafed to repeat P. i6i. what he told us before that the whole Chrijlian Church in the Apojlolick Age^ made up ( 128 ) up of yews and Gentiles, was entirely tJaza* reney or Unit ar tan , and that the Truth of the Gofpeh CIS they held it, was preferred to the Time of ViBor Bijhop of Rome : nay that thefe yewifi Believers\Jubfijied till the ^th Century, But for this be brings no Proof : he only re- fers to two Authors, Mojheim, and Eufebius, who both, by his own Confeffion, deny, and difprove, thefe bold Aflertions.*" That there were Hereticks in the firft Ages of the Church, who denied the Divinity of Chriji, fuch as Ebion, Cerinthus, &c. Hiftory informs us. But the fame Hiftories teach us that thefe were al- ways condemned, and cenfured, as Hereticksy and their Doftrines rejected by the Church. ''And the fame Primitive Fathers, who condemn thofe who denied our Saviour to be a real Man, cenfure as freely thofe who deny his Divinity. It is indeed ftrange that our Apolo^ o See this fully proved by Bp Bully Jud. Eccl. Cath. Cap. 51. — Waterland Import. Doft. Trin, Ch. vi. P. 245, &c.— P Iren. Lib. i. Cap. 25, 26. Lib. iii. C. 2, 21. Lib. iv. C. 59. — Ignat, ad Ephef, Cap. vii. — Jupn. Martyr Dial. ^ryph. P. 253. — We have a Book of lertullian entitled, De Prafcriptionibus adverfus Hareticos, wherein he thus exprefles himfelf — Johannes in Epijiola eos maxiim Antichrijias vocat, qui Chrijium negarent in carne venijfcy et qui non putarent Jefum ej/e filum Deiy illud MarcioTiy hoc Hebion -JtndUavit, Cap. xxxiii. fee alfo C. xlviii. sift ( 129 ) g-^ fhould, without any Proof, and in Cbn- tradidion to all Hiftory, revive this idle Story of the Nazdrenes^ advanced not many Years ago by fome Sociiiian Writers, and by the Infidel Writer "Tolaiid. Thofe were fully con- futed by '^ B^ Bull, and by MoJJ^eimy the Au- thor Mr. Z/. refers us to. He wrote an An- fwer to Toland — entitled — Vindicice anttquce contra Poland — And in his Ecclejiajlical Hifiory he tells us that tbeTerm Nazarene was originally given to all Chrijiians, and that it was afterwards appropriated to thofe Chrijlians of ferufakmy who confdered the Obfervance of the Mofaical Rites as neceffary to Salvation* Thefe were df- tinB from the Rbionites^ and were not placed by the ancient Chrijlia?is in the heretical Regijler^ while the latter were confdered as a SeB^ whofe Tenets were de/lru&ive of the fundamental Principles of the Chrifian Religion. But, after the fecond De/lru^ion of ferufalem by Adrian^ they deferted the ordinary Ajjemblies of Chrif-^ tians, and were then reckoned a dijlin5l SeSfy but yet were treated by other Chrijiians with great Gentlenefs, as agreeing in the main Doc^ ^ Jud. Eccl. Cath. Cap. ii. Seft. lo, &c.— Prim, et Apoft. Trad. Cap. i. Sed. 6, &c. ' B. i. P, 2. C. 5. P. 70. Cent. 1 1. Pt. B. II. C,5, P. 106. R trines ( I30 ) tj'tnes of Chrijlianity , — This is Mr. MoJhelrn% Account of thefe Nazarenes: how totally dif- ferent from that in our Apology f But, it feems, he wrongly underjlood the Matter. Mr. i. underftands it better. He has met with an anonymous Writer, ' in Eufebiusy about the Tear 200, who bears thefe Jewi/b Chrijiians this I'ejiimony ? But what Chrijiians ? and what Tejlimony ? Not a Word does this Author fay of any Jewijh Chrijiians; he fpeaks, as our Author himfelf tells us, of the Followers of Artemon^ who is faid to be a Native of Pergamus, And what Tejiimony does he bear ? full Tejiimony againft our Apo- logiji. He does indeed fay that thefe Hereticks pretended that all the AntientSi and the Apojiles themfelves held and taught the fame DoBrines which they did, and that the Truth of the Gofpel nsjas preferved till the Days ofViBorBp ofRome, but was corrupted by his Succejfor Zephyrinus. -^Thus far Mr. L. gives us : but, though he tells us that this Writer would invalidate thefe their Pretenfions, yet he, rather prudently, than honeftly, has fuppreffed his Anfwer. I muft beg leave to fupply this Omiffion. This » Hift, Ecclef. L. v. Cult. antient ( 131 ) aTitient Writer, fuppofed to be Caius Prefbyter at Rome, tells us that this their vain Affertion was contradiSied, not only by Scripture^ but by the Writings of Authors more ancient than ViBory as Juftin^ MiltiadeSy Tatian^ and Cle- ment^ and many others, who, as every one knows, teach that Chrifl was both God and Man, ^ He refers alfo to Pfalms, and Hymns of the Church, wrote long ago from the Beginning by the Faithfuly celebrating Chriji the Word of God, and calling him God, And he wonders at their Impudence in pretending that ViBor held their hlajphemous Doftrines, who excommunicated Theodotus the Author of this God-denyhtg He-- rejy, who held that Chriji was a mere Man, I will not exprefs my Wonder at Mr. L's Im- pudence, but return him my Thanks for re- ferring us to this fine Remnant of Antiquity, which affords us the flrongefl Evidence againil him, which wc could defire. We have here the Teflimony of an Author, who lived about the Year 200, that the Divinity of our Bleffed Saviour was taught by the mofl refpedtable Writers of that Age, and thofe preceding; that in the moil: antient Pfalms and Hymns of the Church Chriji was celebrated as God, and t This Paflage I have quoted above P. 113. Jl 2 that ( '32 ) that thofe who ^denied his Divinity were ac- counted Hereticks, and caft out of the Church. What becomes then of his confident Boaftings that the whole Chrijlian Church were then Arians^ or Socinians f He Hands convicted by his own WitneiTes, "" The fame Eufebius affures us that there was, before the Deflrudlion of Jerufalem by Adrian^ a SucceJ/ion oj fifteen Bijhops there^ who were Jews by Defcentj and held the true Faith ofChrifi. — What he efteemed the true Faith of Chrift may be feen from the above Quotation, as alfo from what he fays of the Ebionites, "" Thefe^ he fays, believed Chrift to be only a common Man, born of Jofeph and Mary. But there were others alfo called by the fame Name, who, though they obferved the Ceremo-^ nies of the Mofaical Law, yet, avoiding their abfurd Notions , believed the Pre-exiftence of Chrift, and that he was God, the Word, and Wifdom of the Father -■ — — Thefe are plainly the Nazareney or Jewijfj Chriftians, here men^ tioned by our Apologift, and we have here the full Teflimony of Eufebius, that they believed u Ecclef. Hill. Lib. iy. C. _j, w l„ iii. C. 27. See $iuU as above, oiir ( 133 ) our Lord's Divinity. The fame is attefted alfo by Sulpitius Scverus^ a creditable Hiftorian of the fourth Century. "" He tells us that the Emperor Adrian placed a Guard to keep the 'Jews out of Jerufalem, which was of Service to the Chrijlian Faith : for they almojl ally to^ gether with the Ohfervance of the LaWy be^ lieved Chrifl to be God. To this we may add the Teftimony of St. Auflin. ' He dif- tingui flies the Nazarenes from the CerinthianSy and E'bio?iites. Thefe, he fays, held that Chriji was 07ily a Man: but the Nazarenes, though they obferved the Precepts of the Law, yet con- fejfed that Chrifi was the Son of God. I muft therefore take the Liberty, with Bp Bully to call this our Apologifts Story of the Nazarene Chrifiians — piiditijirnam at que impudentfjimam fabulam. I muft again thank our Apologift for ano- ther Citation from fufiin Martyr y which bears full Teftimony to our Lord's Divinity. To what purpofe he cites this Paflage I cannot tell, nor where he had his Tranflation : it differs totally, from the Original. Whatever he has to fay has been fully anfwered by Mr. » Sac. Hifl. Lib. ii. C. 45. y Lib. de Haeref. C. 8, 9, JO, . Bmgbam. ( 134 ) gingham. ^ The Paffage has been confidered at large, and what Obfcurities may be therein fully cleared up by Bp Bull^ and Dr. Water- hnd. I need add but little more. But as our Au- thor has miferably curtailed, and miftranflated this Paflage], I Ihall give Dr. Waterland^s Tranflation, which he has vindicated from ^11 Exceptions. — Trypbo the Jew (fays the Do P. 119, i47« P Script. Doft. Trin. Pt. ii. Seft. 50. Worjljjp ( i6i ) JVorJhip is to be paid to the Son, by offering him Fraife and ^hank/giving, itivocating him in Prayer, &c. And the late Bp of Clogker in his Ejfay on Spirit calls our Lord x^tjecond "Jehovah, and pleads ftrongly for WorJJnp due to him as fuch. Socinus alfo, though he held Chriji to be not God, but only Man, yet held JVorJhip to be due to him, "^ as our Author himfelf tells' us. And when Francifcus Da^ 'videsy and fome others in Tranjylvania, more dangerouSi but more confiftent, Hereticks, de- nied the W orjldip of Chriji , "" Socinus wdiS greatly provoked, wrote againft him with great Bit- ternefs, and called him a Blafpbemer, more than an Heretick, and unworthy the Name of a Chrijiian, And the Socinia?is depofed thelb Men, and caft them out of their Ct)mmunion. And Davides was at their Inftigation cafl into Prifon, where he died a miferable Death. Accordingly in the Racovian Catechijm we find the Worjhip of ChriJl defended on the fame Principles, as xh^Romanifs defend the Woifoip of Saints, and Angels, ' And to the Queftion •^ P. 138. "■ Soclri. contra Vujek Ch. z. — Mofieim Hift. Ecdef. Cent. xvL Seft. iii. Pt. 2. Ch, 4. ^ ^id verofentis de Us hominibusy qui Chriji ufn non itivocant, r.ec adorai'.diim cenfent ? — Prorfus non cjje Chrijiianos fefitio, cu?n re ipfd Chrijlum non hahsant, et licet verbis id negare non audeant, re ipfd titgent tamen, U What ( i62 ) What think you of thofe who hold that Chrijl is not to he worfiipped — The Anfwer is I think they are by no means Chrijlians. In vain then does Mr. L. look out for his com-' plete Unitarians either in ancient, or modern Times. He has, I beheve, the Honoi>r of being the Author of the firft Seft (unlefs per- haps thefe Tranfyhanians) who called them- felves Chrijiians, and yet denied that any TVor- JJoip was due to Chriji^ and his Liturgy is the firft Liturgy^ wherein the WorJJnp of Chriji was omitted. It does not fall within the Compafs of my Defign to follow him any farther. I could point out grofs Mifreprefentations in his Eng- lijh Hiftory. But I think I have followed him far enough, and I believe the Reader will think fo too. I (hall not therefore attempt to dero- gate from the Character of his Martyrs, and ConfeiJbrs, but leave him to enjoy his good Opinion of them. Nor do I approve of any fanguinary haws, or Perfecution for Confcience fake. I fliall not juftify, or apologize for,. Cal- vin^ Treatment of Serretus^ or any other like Severities. Only one Thing I would obfcrvc to him, that thofe, who were condemned for Herefy here in England in the firft Ages of the i 163 ) the 'Reformation, did not fuffer merely for denying the Divinity of Chriji. They were Anabaptijls from Germany, as Bp Burnet y and our Author from him, tells us. Let him then look into Sleidan, Seckendorfy and other Hifto- ,rians of thofe Times, and he will find that 'they not only held the moft dangerous Tenets fubverfive of all Government, but were guilty of the groffeft Enormities, had raifed the moft dangerous Seditions, and fubverted whole States. It is no Wonder then, that the Go- vernment fhould be very jealous of fuch En- thufiafts, and think it neceflary to proceed againft them with great Severity, for Reafons of civil Policy. But why all this Outcry againft T* erfeciition ? Surely there was never lefs Reafon to com- plain, or be afraid, of it. Never were Diffen- ters of all Kinds treated with greater Lenity- ' The Church of England fets not up herfelf as Lord over the Faith, and Confciences of others -y nor does ftie diBate, or prefcribe^ to others what they are to believe. She claims only a Right to declare her own Terms of Communion, a 'Right, which every petty Society lays Claim to, and to judge of the Qualifications to be t P. 163. U 2 required ( i64 ) required of her own Minlfters, a Power ef- fential to the very Being of a Church. Thofe who cannot comply with thefe Terms have free Liberty to worfliip God in what Manner they pleafe. Mr. L. himfelf, who exclaims again ft this Maiijler of human Authority, has ( " as an ingenious Writer has obferved before me) Reafon to acknowlege that our Church is no very fierce Monfler, If thefe Unitarians fhould ever gain an Eftablifhment (which I truft they never will ) I very much doubt whether we ihould meet with the like Indul- gence. In the laft Century, when the SeBa- Ties got the upper Hand, they treated the Members of the Church of England with greater Severity, than they themfelves had felt in the Days of A-Bp Laud, We have feen that of old Conjlantiusy and Valens^ and after them the Goths and Fandalsy grieyoufly per- fecuted the Church of God, We have ktn too that in later Times the Socinians proceeded with great Rigour againft Davides, and his Adherents. And I fear, if thefe complete Uni- tarians fhquld prevail, they would not want Pretence from Scripture to prohibit what they muft call Idolatry, and perhaps extirpate all thofe ivho ferved other Gods, w Layman^s Script. Confut. P. 2,17. Far ( i65 ) Far be it from me to defire to perfecute them, or injure them in the leaft, in their Perfons, or Pofleffions: but furely we may exclude them from our Communion^ and much more from our Minijiry, without any Breach of Charity, How can there be any Commu- nion between Perfons of Sentiments fo diame- trically oppolite ? how can they join in Wor- ship, who have not the fame Objedt of Wor- (hip ? If Perfons of thefe Principles petition for Relief, and call upon us to repeal our Articles^ and new model our Liturgy^ I hum- bly think they merit very little Regard. T H E E N D. As I was unwilling to fwell this Pamphlet with Quota- dons at length from tKe Original, I have here added \ the Editions of the antient AUTHORS herein "cited. Clemens Romanus ^ 'Ignatius 7 ^ . . Polycarp > per Cotelenum..i724. Conftitut. Apoftol. J 'Jliftin Martyr 1 ' .Athenagoras > Par. 1615.' Theophiius . j •Jrenasus per Grabe, Oxon. 1702. Clemens Alex, per-Sylburg. Par. 162.9. Tertullian j . p^^eLRotomag. 1662. ONovatian ',5 ^Hippolytus per Fabricium, Hamburgh, 1716. Cyprian per Fell, Oxon. j682. Origen Opera, per Huet. 1668. ■ — contra Celf. Cantab. 165S. — — -De OratioBC, Oxon. i686» Arnobius, Haniiov. 1603. Laftantius, Lugdun. 1548. Eiifebius, Sec. Ecclef. Hift. per Valef. Par. 1678. Philo Judaeus, Par. 1640, Bafilius, Par. 1638. Chryfortom per Savil. Eton. 1612. Auguftinus Hipp. Bal". per Froben. 1569, Epiphanius, Par. 1622. Sulpitins Severus, "Lugd. Bat. 1654. Vi»^or Vitcnfis, Par. 1610. Procopius de Bell. Vandal. Par. 1662. Facundiis, Par. 1079. Thuanus Hilt. Aurel. 1620. Sleidan Hiil. tranf. by Bohun, 1689. Pearfon on the Creed, Fol. Lond. 1715. Prideaux Conneft. Fol. Lond. 1718. Bingham Antiquities, Fol. Lond. 1726. Mofheim Eccl. Hill, trani". by Matklane, Lond. 1765. Lately printed by J. and J. Fletcher, in the Turk, Oxford; THE Reafonablenefs of requiring Subfcription to Articles c£ Religion from Perfons to be admitted in Holy Or- ders, or a Cure of Souls, vindicated in a Charge delivered to the Clergy of the Diocefe of Oxford, in the Year 1771. The Certainty of a Future State aflerted and vindicated againil the Exceptions of the late Lord Boiingbroke. — — — A Sermon preached before the Univerfiry of Oxford. An Anfwer to a Pamphlet, entitled, Refle6lions on the Im- propriety of Lay-Subfcription to the 39 Articles, in the Uni- verfity of Oxford. Addrcffed to the Author. An Anfwer to a Pamphlet, entitled, Confiderations on the Propriety of requiring a Subfcription to Articles of Faith. The Excellency of the Jewjjh Law confidered. In Two Sermons preached before the Univcrfity of Oxford. To which is added an Appendix : And alfo a fhort Comment on Pfalm CIX, and LV. wherein they are fhewn not to be Imprecatory but Prophetical. Chrill the Lord of Glory. A Sermon before the Uni- vcrfity of Oxford, with J^dditions, confirming and enforcing the Dodlrine. The Ufe of P^eafon in Matters of Religion Hated and ex- plained. A Sermon before the Univcrfity of Oxford. Jephtha's Vow confidered. A Sermon before the Uni- verlity of Oxford. With an Appendix, «S:c. The Witnefs of the Spirit A Sermon before the Uni- vcrfity of Oxford. The Dodrine of Juflification by Faith, explained in a Ser- mon before the Univcrfity of Oxford.' A Vindication of the Doftrine of the Trinity, from the Exceptions of a late Pamphlet, entitled, an Eflay on Spirit, in three Parts, with ^n Appendix. \*^ The above arc all by the Rev. Thomas Randolph, D. D. Prefident of C. C. C. Lady Margaret's Profeflbr of pivinity, and Archdeacon of Oxford. A SCRIPTURAL CONFUTATION O F T H E ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE ONE GODHEAD O F T H E FATHER, SON, and HOLY GHOST, PRODUCED BY The Reverend Mr. LINDSE Y In his late APOLOGY. By W I L L I A M BURGH, Efq. THE SECOND EDITION. Omnes ad sacras literas sunt ducendi, ut INDE TALIA HAURIANT, QUiE, NISI DeO SE- MET PATEFACIENTE, COGNOSCI NEQUEUNT. G R O T I U S. YORK: Printed by A. Ward, for the Author, and foH by W. NicoLL, in St. Paul's Church-Yard, London^ and by all Bookfellers in Town and Country. M DCC LXXV. [PRICE THREE SHILLINGS.] . ii DEDICATION. to draw their own inferences, without being dif- traded by the intervention of fuch as are alto- gether foreign to the fiibjed. I have gone yet farther, and, reafoning on the principles I had fet down, have fupplied them with fuch argu- ments as were amply fufficient to my own con- viction-, ^nd which, had I not believed them to be fufficient to theirs, I never fhould have given to the world. But, as I was new, both to that world, and myfelf as an author, it was natural in me to wifh to obtain its fentiments as fpeedily as pofTible. To this purpofe (which was all that an ano- nyjfious writer could do) I dired:ed my printer to prefent copies of my book to a feledl num- ber of perfons, who might reafonably be fup- pofed to lead the fentiments of the public: Perfons on whom, either an exalted flation, or fomething better than an exalted flation had conferred confequence. I flattered myfelf that I fhould the more readily learn their opinion of my v/ork, (if a favourable One) by taking this method of foliciting their perufal of it. I was not difappointed-, for though I have not much to boaft of any approbation perfonally addrefled to myfelf, from thofe v/ho have drawn their honours fi'om the royal fountain, yet I was not unnoticed by others, who derive theirs from the clear and unpolluted fpring of merit. Amongft the firfl: of thefe, Sir, I was favour- ed DEDICATION. HI cd with your fentiments, delivered to me thro' the inedium of my bookfeller's conveyance, in the fpeedieft and moil polite manner. Let then a Layman, writing on a mod important religious fubjedl, make his boaft, that he can, at leaft, produce credentials in his favour from a layman, and that layman Ivlr. Edmtind Burke. To have found an ally in a perfon who had himfelf maintained . the eftablifhment ■ of the church-, who, as a friend to truth, and as an inveiligating Chriftian, had already fo ably, fo eloquently, fo zealouQy combated in her caufe, mult, in any fituation, have been a pleafmg circumftance. In mine it was much more; for when I perceived, myfelf abetted by your fa- vourable judgement. It gave me the fulieil rea- fon to hope, that my well-meant endeavours, to fatisfy the fcruples of men, who objedb upon one particular ground, would be attended with fuccefs-, efpecially as I might nov/ take the liberty of infcribing that work to you, from v/hofe approbation alone it could derive the confidence to claim your patronage. When I have thus made it known to the world that you ha\^e borne me a favourable teflimony, I may add, that I republilh with a certainty of being ufeful. I may indeed confi- der myfelf as having anfwered Mr. Lindfey'$ book in a manner originally foreign from my intention. XV D E D I C A T I O N, intenitkw, and thrown ^ weight into the oppo- fite fcale, fofficient to preponderate againft his huge mafs of human authority. I ,h^ve tlic honour to be. Sir, With the greateft refpecl: and efteeni. Your much obliged. And moft obedient, humble fervant, WILLIAM BURGH. Advertifement. IN the following fheets, 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 unnecefTary. — 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 introducftion, and ihewed the fallacy or inconcluiivenefs of what he builds moft upon, I have in my firft chapter itated the proper premifes up-^ on which our reafon is at liberty to ad: with refpedt to fcripture truths. In my fecond, I have endeavoured to {hew 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 (hewed what the evidence itfelf is. — I have but one requeft to make of my reader, which 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 ( iv ) Bible beiide him ; for, by my agreement:! with that only do I defire to Hand ; nay, if 1 fhall be found to difagree, I wifh to fall. In fome few inftances, for the fake of con- tinuing a fentence, I have changed the peN Ibn ufed in a fcripture precept, and, inftead of abfolutely adhering to fuch words as do y€y have fometimes faid we are dejired to doy &c. and in a few inftances have omit- ted a multitude of nominativies, where one anfwered the purpofe full as well, as in Rev, vi. 15, 16, where it is faid that the kings of the earthy nnd 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 mountains', in fuch cafes I have ufed only the firft. Of this I think it neceffary to apprize my reader, left he fhould charge me with inaccuracy in my quotations -, whereas I will promife him that, throughout the whole work, he will iiot find the fmalleft alteration made in the fenfe. The paffages 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. — i. Sometimes inftead of quoting I have para- phrafed j ( V ) phrafed ; but that will always appear In th6 inftance. — In the 66th page I have made a comment upon John viii. 58, and con- futed an objection brought againfl it by an author who ftyles himfelf " 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. SCRIPTURAL CONFUTATION, &c. INTRODUCTION. THE conduft of Mr. Lindfey, in refigning the vicarage of Catterick on certain fcru- ples, excited my curiofity to know what his particular obje(iions 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 v/as gre edilybought up, I alfo furnifhed myfelf. What I expected to have found in it, is of no confcquence 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 conduct of a pri- vate perfon," but to afTail every fundamental doftrine of the church, from the miniftry of which he had reti- red; to degrade the God of our falvation; 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 fuperflructure of his own doctrine, or rather with what engines he has endeavoured to fubvert the fixed fabrick of our religion, and force it from the bafis of revelation, I Ihall proceed to fhew^ and v/ithout infi- A nuating r 2 ] nuating pretenfions to divine affiftance, from the grant of which it might be inferred, that my caufe had the particular favour of heaven, I hope to evince the divi- nity of our blelled Lord and Saviour Jefus Chrift, and, in oppofition to all the human authority convened by Mr. Lindfey, to fliew that God himfelf has borne tef- timony to itj and if, from his revelation, it be clearly fet forth that Jefus Chrift is both God and man, I hope and believe the pofition will be acceded to, however unable reafon may be to comprehend it, or how nume- rous foever the voices m^ay be which have lifted them- felves up againft it. Before I enter upon the fubjee faculties of man, are heard with partial ears. Againft this prejudice alfo, in favour of Mr. Lindfey, I am obliged to guard ; for he has declared, that " our Sa- viour Chrift' teacheth no m.yflerious doctrines' \ As I have already faid, that the fcriptures fliall be my only appeal ; to this denial of a myftery, nay to that ridicule with which the word Myftery is treated throughout Mr. Lindfey's book, I fhail oppofe the ferious declara- tion of St. Paul, who, fpeaking of the gofpel of Je- fus Chrift and him crucified, and that n.ot with enti- cing words of Man's wifdom, but in demonftration of the Spirit, that our faith might ftand not in the wifdom of man, but the power of God, declares, " we fpcak 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" 3 and he farther declares, that [ 7 ] that *' the fplrit compares fpiritual things with fpiritual; but that thefe things are foolifhnefs to the natural man who receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God." See I Cor, ii. Will Mr. Lindfey now perfevere to fay, that the doc- trine of Chrift is not myfterious? The moral do6lrines delivered by himfelf I grant, indeed, are not fo; but on the confary moft perfpicuouily clear ; but a manifefta- tion of him who delivered thofe do61:rines, and a reve- lation teftifying of him, and fetting forth v/ho he was, and is, and fhall eternally be, and that " in him dwell- eth all the fulnefs of the Godhead bodily," Colofl'. ii .9. Is not this a myftery ? " Now, without controverfy, great is the myftery of godlinefs ; God was made manifeft in the fieih, juftificd 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 wifdcm, 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 of God, and of the Father, and of Chrift," Coloft. ii. 2. This warning to beware of the deceits of philofophy is given at fuch a time, and in context with fuch a dodrine, as makes it utterly aftonifiiing to me how any man in his fenfes fhould at- tempt to warp it to the purpofes of overturning our Sa- viour's divinity: We are defired to beware of it, becaufe it might be oppofite to the declaration v»'hich immedi- ately follows, that " in Chrift dwelleth ail the ful- nefs of the Godhead bodily j" that " Chrift is all in all ;" that " Chrift forgave us all j" that " of the Lord we fhall receive the reward of the inheritance, for we ferve the Lord Chrift;" that " whatfoever we do, we fhould do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto man.-'* [ 8 ] man/' In fliort, St. Paul has given us this warning In the midfl of his epiftle to the Coloffians, to which I refer as a moft explicit declaration of our Saviour's di- vinity throughout. Let us juft confider now, whether this warning can have any other objeft in view. Mr. Lindfey's principal objedion to the Godhead of Chrift, is, that it is not reconcilable to reafon ; St. Paul fays, that the Greek requires v/ifdom. Mr. Lindfey faySj that it is a do^lrine fraught not only with impiety but abfurdity ; St. Paul fays, that it is to the Greek fool- ilhnefs. Of what doclrines, of what philofophy nov/ was St. Paul afraid? Will Mr. Lindfey fay, that he feared that the Greeks would, from their demand for a reafonable do6trine, adopt a do6lrine contrary to what he thinks reafonable himfelf ? Or will he fay that the apoftle apprehended, from their averfion to that which was fooliih, their adoption of a do6lrine which he him- felf declares to be foolifh ? If this be his mode of rea- foning, 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 PlatOj is full of im- piety, 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 difbelieves cur Saviour's divinity, I fhouid 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 allure Mr. Lindfey that the idea of the Unity of God is derived from the philofophy of So- crates, who, notwithftanding his having been educated in a country where fuch a do(Strine was efteemed impious, yet dared to preach this imagination of his own brain. How does this found ? Juft. as well as the other, and is advanced with fully equal truth. For my own part, I mud 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 fubjedl, (except his own, which I was led to look into by my curiofity to fee the motives of his uncommonly confcientious conduct) is the Bible. That I have thence deduced the doctrine of the Trinity ; that both the Old and the New Teflaments evince it ; the Old by typical and verbal prophecies ; and the New, by the events which juftify the prophecies j that our Saviour's life and lef- fons teach it ; and that the m.ore explicit teftimony of the Holy Ghoft declare and enforce it ; that, in the e|>iftles of St. Paul, evaded or trifled with, it Is deli- vered in nearly fo many words. But I muft farther declare, 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 to that, which another fhall fo defcribe as to put it into my 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 Ghoft, is a dodlrine which I de- duce from the facred writings, and to thefe three per- fons I am furcly at liberty to give a name that fliall at once comprehend them all, and ferve the purpofe of more expeditioudy conveying my mind on the fubj-ed:, whenfoever I fhall fall upon it, without levity. From the fame fource alfo 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 I 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 the Qua- kers to the ufe of the word you^ becaufe the term is not to be found in the Bible. It is objecSled alfo to the doc- trine of the Trinity, that the word was not formed till B late [ 10 ] late in the fecond century. As to the date of a word I cannot 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 An- tioch, and that the profefibrs of Chrift's religion had, as yet, continued without a name, would pofterity de- ny the exiftence of Chriftianity, or difpute the proprie- ty of the term, becaufe it was of the eighteenth cen- tury ? The word Chrijiians was equally applicable to us before we were called by it at Antioch, as after j and the word Trinity was equally applicable to the three perfons of the Godhead before mankind agreed ta 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 do^rine is what Mr. Lindfey would confute, that he is weak enough to conceive that a difapprobation of the narrn will in the leaft contribute to his purpofe ; for either he muft conceive that it does, and fo trifle ; or not con- ceiving fo, acknowledge that he is talking about words only ; and furely nothing can be more uncandid than fuch a procefs. He muft affuredly know that his deli- cate conduft will procure him more readers than he could with modefty have hoped for, had his book been put forth without fuch a concomitant circumftance ; 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 iovciQ will be of fo contracted dimenfions, as to reckon the diflike of the word among the argurnents againft the fubftance named. To what purpofe elfe than that of deception is it advanced, that to Luther *' the word Trinity [ II 3 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, bleffed, and glorious Trinity, it fa- vours of barbarifm." Are Luther and Calvin among the opponents of the dodrine of the Trinity ? No fuch thing; and Mr. Lindfey himfelf fhall tell you that they v\rere well known and warm contenders for what is called the dodrine of the Trinity, though they expreffed 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 doarine, 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 aaually brought Servetus to the ftake for oppofmg it. If this delicacy of Calvin, concerning the barbarifm of a term, be admitted in argument, I fee no reafon wherefore we fhould rejeft a clalTic mythology; or why, when we fpeak of our Saviour's incarnation, we fiiould not ufe the words with which Erafmus ridiculed the faftidious wits of Leo's polifhed court, and fay, « E ccelo 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 refpea to what is faid concerning Luther, however it may be aflerted that he prefers the calling upon God, by the name of God, to the calling upon him by the name Trinity, it is dedu- cible from this aflTertion, that he looked upon the two words as fynonimous, and confequently that the word Trinity, though it might found oddly, was expreffive of the idea, whicl) he choofes rather to exprefs by the B 2 term [ 12 ] term God ; a term perhaps more pleafmg to his ^ar. 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 fu.ch worth in the eyes of mankind ; but with a purpofe of preventing the merits of the ho- peft confcientious man being carried over to his caufe, and concluded to be the merits of his argument. I am myfelf defirous that the favour which is due to his virtue fhould attend his perfon, but not be converted into partiality for his caufe. I feek not to obtain the favour of the public to myfelf, but their unprejudiced ear, and that men fhould yield their convictions to truth only, and not take prepolTeflions for convidlion. Preliminaries being, I hope, fettled, I ftiali now no longer withhold my reader from that line of argument, by which alone it feems to me pofiible to inquire into the fubjedl: before us, and by the purfuit of which, I truft, I fhall be able to evince the Divinity of our Lord and Saviour Jefus Chrift. CHAP CHAP. I. On the Province of Reafon^ with Rsfpe^t to its Enquiry into Scripture Truths. MR. Lindfey commences with an alTertion, that " the unlearned reader fees at once, that the God who made him, and whom he is to adore, is one, without multipHcity 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, per- haps 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 na- ture has fuggefted, and philofophy refined upon the fug- geftion of a God, I do not doubt that natural religion might acquiefce in this aflertion ; but are we to come to the fcriptures, which all men allow to be the founda- tion of our religion, with a religion already formed, and to judge of the revelation made by the God of truth, ac- cording to Its correfpondence with our previous perfua- fions ? Are we to exalt our own reafon, and fay, that it is a ftandard whereby to meafure the infinite extents of power and wifdom ? or are we to fet bounds to infinity, and annihilate all that flretches beyond the grafp of our limited comprehenfion ? The Ihort-fighted man may, with equal truth, and equal wifdom, deny thf? ^xiflence of all objecSls beyond the reach of his vi- fion. And yet one of thefe confequences mufl be in- ferred from the affertionp either that our reafon is infi- nite [ 14 ] nitc to meafure infinite wifdom ; or that the wiTdom of God is finite, and narrowly limitedp in order to be con-r formable to our reafon j for the faculty muft be com- menfurate to the obje£t, before it can take it into ob- fervation and determine upon it. I ftiould be ferry to have it underftood, that I wifh to fet up one boundary which original nature has fuffered reafon 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, by an acquaintance with our limits, we fliall alfo pof- fefs a definite idea of that which is within our compre- henfion ; 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 faculties againft objeds which muft yield to our vigo- rous exertions, atchieve that which, retained, may b& ferviceable to ourfelves, or, communicated, prove be- neficial to our fellow creatures. My purpofe is only to inquire into thofe limits by which reafon is circumfcribed with regard to fcripture truths, and into the proper conduft of reafon withir^. thofe limits. By the word Reafon, I mean that faculty of the mind by which it perceives the relative qualities of the objedls of our perception ; by which it compares the objedts of our perception ; and, upon comparifon, fees the conclufions, of whatfoever nature they be, which refult. The [ ^5 ] The word Comparifon I ufe in an extenfive fenfe, for every manner of laying together the relative quali- ties in order to infer ; and I choofe to fay, that reafon fees rather than forms the conclufions, becaufe I fup- -pofe them to have been formed, and exifting at all times, whether obferved or not, and no more to be annihilated by my withdrawing my obfervation, than Mr. Hume is by my blowing out the candle, by the light of which I had (according to his own philofo- phy) ktn him into exiftence. That great truth of Scripture which I wifn to hold forth for the afient of mankind, and which I wifh alfo to prefcribe and purfue a proper manner of inquiring into, is, that Jefus Chrift is one with the Father and the Holy Ghoft, God. It has often been afferted,' that reafon abfolutely contradicted the polTibility of fuch a union of divine perfedlion and human imperfection, and thence the im- poflibility of fuch a union is inferred, and the Godhead of Jefus Chrift denied upon this unweighed allertion - whereas, were it confidered, that the relative qualities of God and of Man are the objedls of comparifon, and that the incompatibility of thefe two natures, upon a perception of the qualities of each, muft be feen from the comparifon, perhaps men who deny our Saviour's divinity would hefitate a moment before they would even pronounce that their reafcn had, upon natural premifes, given any teftimony whatfoever concerning him ; for, in the procefs, it muft be enquired into, whether the obje<2:s of the comparifon be really the objects of their perception, hov/ far even the nature of man is within their comprehenfion, and how far the nature of God is beyond it; and if, upon enquiry^ it be found, that the relative qualities of the two natures are altogether unknown, reafon muft be declared in- competent [ i6 ] com|)etept to make a comparifon, and confequently id fee any conclufion whatfoever. Reafon, therefore, can never have denied, that Jefus Chrift is both God and Man, however ignorance and prefumption may, under her refpecSlable name; I do not defire, on the other hand, to conclude a be-^ lief in fcripture truths from the unaflifted light of rea- fon ; I only defire to put thiat religion, which we may imagine nature has found by that light, out of the quef- tion ; and then firft to call for the obfervation of reafon, when maxims, whence argument may proceed, are efta- tlifhed ; v.'hen we firfi: find obje61:s which we may com^ pare, and from the comparifon of v/hieh we may con- clude : But till fuch are found, and agreed upon, we muft walk, upon uncertain ground ; and if we fhould happen to come right in the end, it muft be by ways of which we could not have been certain while on our pro- grefs. To fabricate maxims is not the office of reafon, but to obferve upon fuch as are ready made and fubmlt- ted to her cognizance, I therefore ajfk no aid to my caufe from any fuggeftions that fhe may be fuppofed to have made, nor will I allow that {he can have afforded any to infidelity. I wifli only to difTuade from looking upon a negative as proved, becaufe the affirmative does not follow from premifes not cognizable : From fuch premifes we never can argue to any conclullon what- foever ; for no relation being vifible^ no refult can ifTue* A declaration from natural religion that God is omni- potent and all-wife, can by no means fet afide a decla- ration that he has done that which to us may appear weak and foollfh ; we muft be competent to judge of in- finite power and infinite wifdom before we can compare the aft with the agency ; and we muft be very fure that the aft: which is inconfiftent with our degree of v/ifdom, muft be iriconfiftent with a greater height than our own, before r ^7 ] before we can pronounce that it is impofllble for Infinite wifdom to fee a reafon for fo ailing. Even in the courfe of worldly tranfa6lions, how often has a man of fenfe ac- counted for imputed abfurdity of condu(9:, and, by (hew- ing us the grounds of his adion, extorted our applaufe where we had before been too liberal of our cenfure ? The reafons which influence man are intelligible to man, and therefore, when afligned, may indemnify his a6l -, but the reafons of the conduct of our infinite Maker muft be incommunicable, becaufe unintelligible to our facul- ties, unlefs our minds were enlightened above our fphere j that is, unlefs mankind were placed higher in the chain of intellectual beings, which fomewhere requires the exiftence of fuch a creature, and fo ihould not be man. We cannot then argue, from any idea we are able to form of any attribute of God, to the aftion properly proceeding from it ; and therefore can never deny an a6l, 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 afflicl the meek and benevolent heart .? Can the aflumption of flefh, and fubje6lion 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 inftances of impotence and folly be afcribed to infinite extents of power and wifdom, as the two former, the profperity of the v^ricked, and the broken heart of the benevolent, to the infinite extents of mercy and juftice. If then the conduit of the affairs of this world be not reconcilable to our ideas of infinite faculties, we muft, if we interpret from the a(5t to the agent, difprove the exiftence of thofe attributes with which we cannot reconcile fuch conduit, and confequently the exiftence of the being in which we had before conceived them inherent ; fo thrt returning to God by the fame road by which we defcended from C him. [ i8 1 hifn, we 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 unconducSled reafon : With the fame arguments flie conceives and annihilates her God : At every turn fhe finds and lofes him, yet ftill regrets the lofs, and though fhe cannot maintain the pofTeffion, re- h'nquiflies it with reluftance. If from cur longing af- ter 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 a6t confident with our previous perfuafions, in which even reafon ac- quiefces, that a God, endowed with benignity, fhould flretch 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 infifl: upon, I make ufe of it rather to illuf- trate than infer. I can do without any concefiions from reafon ; for, at all events, I am certain, that, if fhe does not affirm, fhe cannot, upon the principles which I have already laid down, deny the confiftency of fuch ah a6i: with the agent of whom it is fuppofed ; but if the ftrongeft external teftimony bear witnefs, that God 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 fhould we not acquiefce in it when related, and look upon it as a fa^, th'at God has aiSlually revealed him^ felf? The nature arid validity of the teftimony, uport which the afiertion is made, is extreamly well worth enquiry. L ^9 J ejiquiry, and certainly fhould be inveftigated by all who entertain any doubt of the fa61: aflTerted. For my own part, lam fatisfied; and Mr. Lindfey has exempted me from the neceflity of going into the enquiry here; hav- ing acknowledged that God has revealed himfelf, that the fcriptures are his revelation, that they afford " an evidence which no fair mind can refift," and that they are " the only rule of faith and confcience to Chriftian men:" In all of which I perfectly and entirely agree with him. The credibility of God, whom all allow^ and who has pronounced himfelf to be the God of truth, is a ground whereon to build our faith in what- foever he fliall relate of his own incompxehenfible ma- jefty; and, as I have faid before, that the conduft of God can never be meafured by his attributes, fo I now fay, that there lies no appeal from his credibility, from his truth to the infcrutable nature ; we muft acquiefce in that which he has faid; it muft be; 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 God him.felf, nor to judge of the confiftency of any a6l therein declared to be his, with the infinite Agent ftill left incomprehenfible ; for to render him otherwife to us, the enlargement 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 diftindlion is not here fo clearly marked as I could defire, and that what I h^ve laft written may feem to be only a repetition of what im- mediately precedes it; it is not fo; what I wifii to inculcate is briefly this, that, as in natural religion, no comparifon can be had between the attributes of God, C 2 . and [ 20 ] and the moral evils of the world fubmltted to our ob-^ fervation, and yet that we do not quite confent to anni- hilate an original to nature, becaufe his government feems to argue againft him ; fo we fhould not, when revelation declares a courfe of condu6l, 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 {hould deny the exifte^ice 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 nnderftood to be wife, fhould not be admitted an argu- ment againft the exiftence of a revealed God ; but we cannot deny the exiftence of moral evil, and yet nature fays there is a good God ; wherefore then fhould we con- ceive, that an acknowledgment of a conduft confefled^ ly 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 confiftent with moral evil, not argue againft the confiftency of an incomprehenfible God, and an unintelligible cpndu6i: : There may fubfift an unfeen relation in this latter cafe ; whereas an eventual evil, refulting from a fupreamly good caufe, feems ac- tually to contradict our reafon. The purpofe for which I 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 impoflible. 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 can poflibly be afcribed to God ; and, in the condu6l of incomprehenfible wifdom, it is not probable that mu?h can occur e;!ca6lly conformabje to our faculties. If then, even [ 21 ] even a revelation be unable to make him comprehended, we are ftill to confider him beyond the reack of reafon ; and when he relates his own a£lions, ftill conceive that the agent is not cognizable, 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 J and to this very purpofe we find a revelation 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 fufHcieut to ihew 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 fufHcient motive to faith, hope, and charity ; that he bears the relative fuperiorlty of a creator over his creature, is a fufFicient motive to us to pronounce him our God, and afcribe to him all horrour and glory, without feeking for a farther revela- tion of the exertion of his infinite power, which we ar-e not concerned to know. But in the government of the univerje, it may be faid, he has felected this little orb, roll- ing through infinite fpace, as a fcene of a moft wonderful tranfacStion in which we are certainly concerned ; for it is afTerted that our falvation is the confequence, and was the end propofed ; and are we not yet to comprehend him ? By no means ; the infinite wifdom which dictated and knows wherefore fuch a tranfatStion is the fitteft means' of our falvation, has not yet fubmitted itfelf to our inveftigation, nor dire6k]y told us why this was the moft adequate means to fo beneficent an end ; he ftill remains incomprehenfible, and that tranfa6lion by which we are become partakers of eternal life, being revealed,, amounts [ 22 ] amounts only to a foundation and motive for us to rdf upon God, and a6t according to his will thereby decla- red to us, and not to a difplay of all that mufl neceffarily 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 relation to us, is all then that was neceflary for thofe ends; thefe are beft declared by a revelation of the con- duct of God towards man. Such a revelation is made, and there is much in it that we cannot underftand ; and fuch muft ever be the cafe, for in whatfoever ac- tion we look upon, proceeding from a higher intellect than our own, we fhall fee fomewhat not intelligible till the grounds of it are comm.unicated. In whatfo- ever a»as revealed himfelf; and [ 23 ] and having farther Ihewed, upon the fuppofition that he has revealed hinifelf, that it was neither neceffarjr nor poffible for him to render himfelf comprehenfible to our faculties ; and therefore that his conduct, as revealed, 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- je' it cncreafed in fplendor, 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 fhadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace/' To drop the metaphor. We find the prophecies of our 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 only 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 himfclf, 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 exclaimj " bleffed be the Lord God of Shem." To ihew [ 32 ] fhew that this bleiling is a prophecy, it is enough to fay, that Noah fpoke it in a train of prophecy concern- ing the future ftate of his own fons and their pofterity. From Shem defcended Abrahain, to Abraham was the promife made, and from Abraham, as concerning the ilefh, Chrlft came. From the manner in which the bleffing upon Shem is pronounced, I incline greatly to believe that this defcent was the objeft of Noah's pro- phetic 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 blefled : and let it be remembered, that Noah was no unconcerned prophet in whatfoever fhould 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 whofe line he forefaw that ail his pofterity fhould be blefied. To Abraham, becaufe he had obeyed the voice of the Lord, it is foretold, (and this is by the NewTeftament declared to be fpoken of Jefus Chrift) that in his feed all the nations of the earth fnould be blefled ; and this promife is from time to time renewed in that lihe of which our Saviour w^as to be born ; to Ifaac, in prefe- rence to Ifhmael ; to Jacob, in preference to Efau ; and to Judah, in preference to his eleven brothers. To* Judah, indeed, there is fomev/hat of more particular revelation made, for the length of time during which he fhall bear the fceptre (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 Affyrian Captivity^ and then only ceafed when Chrift came ; whence, however dilHcult it may be to explain this paflage with certainty, it is to be prefumed that the prophecy of Jacob, concerning the fceptre of Judah and its time of [ »3 3 bf departure, bears reference to the coming of the MelTiah. Mofes, who is the relator of what was fpoken before his day, in his own perfon alfo often fpeaks of a future prophet : And in the compelled prophecies of Balaam, jvhen he poured forth bleflings from a heart replete iiyith curfes, ahd in fpight of that indignation with ^hich he afcended the rock to denounce evil, forcr Jhewed the future brightnefs of the ftar that {hall come forth out of Jacob, there is fomething which, how- iever obfcure it may be, is certainly referable to our Lord* David hoped for one of his feed to fit upon his throne; and though he looked for a defcendent from himfelfj he has neverthelefs " in fpirit called him Lord." That our Saviour was the obje of her fon to be called Jefus, " He fhall be great',^ ^nd fhall be called the Son of the Highefl; and the Lord God fhall gi/e him the throne of his father Da- vid;" 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 Elizabeth for joy upon the falutation of Mary, and Elizabeth afks this remarkable queflion, fimilar in expreflion to the prophecy of David already cited, " whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord fhould come to me ?" Luke i. 43. The fhepherds are told by ah angel^ *' unto you is born this day, in the city of David, ^ Saviour, which is Chrifl the Lord," Luke ii. ii. At the prefentation of the infant Redeemer in the temple, Simeon, to whom it was revealed by the Holy Ghofl, that he fhould not fee death before he had feen the Lord's Chrifl, taking the babe in his arms " blefTed God, and exprefled his contentment to depart then,, his eyes having feen the promifed fburce of falvation," Lykq t 37 f Luke t. 2?", 2^.' And fubfequent to tliefe niyflerious predi6Hoi>s concerning the fuppofed child of a carpen- ter, came forth a pi-ophet, cotemporary in birth with' Jefus Chrift, appointed to be his immediate forerun- ner, to prepare the way of the Lord, and to make his paths ftraight, and he declared of him that '' he that cometh from above, h above all ;" and that " he that telieveth on the Son, hath everlafting life," John iii. Thus, from thfe fi'rft obfcure hint of falvation to our Srfl parents, do the prophecies gradually approximatb to an explanation of the great glory which fhould in the en4 he revealed ; but by no means have they be- c<5me fo explicit yet, as to render a revelation unne- ceflary; nay, there is yet to proceed a new fpecies of previous intimation to makind of " the falvation of God which all fleih fliall fee," Luke iii. 6; and ab-. cordingly now came forth the great fubjec^ of all thaV had been teftified, but not yet to be declared, nor yet indeed the full fubjeft of the prophecy, nor of the fubfequent teftimony of the fpirit, having before him that mighty work to do, toward which the hopes of the prophets looked as the fource of deliverance, lii vain fearching into wliat the manner of it vvas to be;' a work by which we have received the atonement, and obtained reconciliation, the word and miniflry of which was afterwards to be committed by God to thofe who were to be the appointed witnefTes of our Lord : ^nd this miniftry of reconciliation is that which alone can be, according to the fcriptures, pronounced the manifeftation of Jefus Chrift ; and therefore I confider himfelf, even the Lord of glory, w^ho was crucified, who arofe from the grave, and afcended into heaven, as only bearing, by his miracles, a pra61:!cal teftirnbny iduring his ftay on earth, to that which fhould be re- vealed [ 38 ] Veakd of him when his work fhould be nniflied. This, indeed, I admit to be a much defer evidence of the Godhead than any given before ; and that, per- haps, by which the minds of men fhould be led to look upon the expected King of the Jews in a much more exalted light than the former prophecies had inftructed them to do. It is fuch an evidence as, when referred to, might well provide credit, when it (hpuld come to pafs, for that which before it came, to pafs it had fore(hewn. Our Saviour himfelf, for the moft part, declines bear- ing witnefs to himfelf, but refers both to tbe fcriptures which had now begun to be fulfilled, and which he de- fires 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 manifeft- ing him; and whenever he does bear record, it is ra- ther fuch' as he would have fecond to that which (houldj 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 blefTed Lord and Saviour borne any ultimate teftimony to the Jews that he was God, they would have known this hidden myftery; and, " had they known it," fays St. Paul, " they would not have cru^ cified the Lord of glory," i Cor. ii. 8; and fo the very end of his coming in the flefh would have been defeat- ed; mankind muft ftill have remained due to the juf- tice of God, without the atonement which we have re- ceived by the death of Chrift. The blood of our gra- cious Redeemer was to be the price of our falvation, and would it have been confiftent with wifdom to take meafures to prevent the (bedding of it ? It was enough that his miracles fhould teftify of him to thofe who were afterwards to preach him, and offer them to man-. kind as marks of a life confiftept with what they fhoulc^ relate [ 39 i relate concerning his death, refurredion, and afcenfioii, Which were the great perfuafives to believe in his God- head, 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 prophets had in view, the redemption of makind, he very frequently foretells his own fufTerings, that *' the Son of man fhall be lifted up as Mofes lifted up the ferpent in the wildernefs ;" that " he will raife the temple in three days, arid this he fpake of his bodyj'* and " that he will go before us into heaven.'* l^hat this great event, attended by fuch mighty confequences to us, confolatory in every woe of Ifrael, and making ^11 men heirs of falvation, fhould be the objeil of pro- phecy, and of the fubfequent teflimcny of the Holy Ohoft, 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 ranfom 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 preacher, even the Holy Spirit, has initru6ted us in the falvation which is of God, and " faid unto Zion, thy God reigneth." This then is the line of teftimony ; this -the object of revelation, namely, that " Chrift, by being made perfe6l, has become the ai^thor of eternal falvation un- to all them that obey him ;" that he hath been the Re- deemer of mankind by the full accomplifhment of all that he came to do for usj and not, according to Mr. Lindfey, that he has merely come into the world as a teacher, t 46 j testier j the truth of whofe doclriries wer^ to be ?^t- hefled by bis death. An^ let npt this be confidered a3 an unfupported fuggeliion of my awn, It is authorifed by St. Luke in the hrft chapter of the AcSbs^ where, i^Dcaking of that hiftory which he had before fet forth of the life of our Saviourj he is fo far frorh confidering it as the manifefratlon of Chrift, that he fays, " The former treatife have I made, i) Theophilus, of aJl 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 fle(h Was but a commencement of that which was afterwards to be revealed. In the moment of his afcent too^ the fame apoftle prefents Chrift teli- jng his difciples that " ye fhali receive power after that the Holy Ghoft is come Upon you : and ye (hall be witnefFes unto me, both In Jerufalcn, and in all Ju- dea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermoft part ot the earth," Afts i. 8. Of what were they to be wit- lieffes Unto him? of that which he had j^lready died to teftify? Was his death then fo defective a tei^imony to thofe who had feen it in JerufalejT;, and who had alfa feen his refurredlion ? If thefe were intended but as a mere teftimony that he had lived, wrought miracles, and taught among them, we muft declare that they have come very fhort of anfwering the purpofe, if there ilill rem.ained a neceflity of appointing farther witnejFes to concur in proving their objeft. Was it ever before heard of, that the breathlefs corpfe of a man is a better evidence of his having been born into the w^orld than his living and a£live body, that our Saviour's death {hould be confidered only as a proof of his life ? Did a conti- nued feries of miracles, performed before the eyes of the multitude, ftand in need of one more, to prove, to thofe who had feen them, that they had been per- formed ? or are thofe moral doctrines, which our bleiT- ed Redeemer delivered to mankind, of fuch a dubious nature^ C 41 ] "hafure, that any man lliould entertain a doubt of their . juftice, requiring (o ftrong an engine as the death and rcfurre6lion of the preacher, in order to remove it ? No, but on the contrary, fo obvious is their re6litude, fo far from requiring any teftimony v.?hatfoever to their indifputable truth, that many who never became Chri- ftians allou^ed their value ; and even Trajan, who per- fecuted thofe '* who called upon Chrift as God," adopt- ed from his fermons that charitable doctrine of return- ing good for evil. But of what were they to be wit- nefies unto him ? of his death and refurre(9:ion ? What ? to Jerufalem, and all Judea, and to Samaria ? did Chrift hang invifible on a crofs at Jerufalem, that a witnefs fhall be wanting to teftify it ? or was his death and refurre6lion a. tranfa6lion 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 intercefTion for the tranfgrelTors," Ifaiah liii. all Judea were eye-withefles of the fa<5l ; for it was at the time of the paffover, when all Judea had come up to jerufalem, the fcene of the tranfa6lion, to celebrate that feaft : nay, farther, where all Judea, as if to fill up the meafure of her rebellions, and juftify her approach- ing defolation, had, with one voice, cried out, "crucify him, crucify him.'* Of this then they were not to be witneffes unto him ; but of that which the prophets had not made manifeft, of that which the life and lefions of our Saviour himfelf had not made manifeft, without farther explanation. They were to be witnefTes unto him that he was the expeded Chrift, and that the Chrift was the " mighty God, the everlafting Father, the Prince of peace j" rhat 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 fetvant," and an ignominious fufFerer, was the royalty F which [ 42 ] which they had looked for in the expected king of ff- rael ; 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 vicStory over death and the grave j' a kino-, vvhofe throne endureth for ever, and the fcep- = ~ tre of whofe kingdom is a right fceptre." To thefe witnefles of Jefus Chrift the Holy Ghoft vvas given^ even the fpirit of truth, to Ihew forth the means of our redemption, by which his infinite mefcy had reconciled ^ mankind to his infinite juftice: whatfoever the pro- phets had faid was given to them to underftand, to open, and to reconcile: and whatfoever our Lord had done and faid in the Hefh, was given to their remem- brance to corroborate that which they fhould themfelves declare; and thefe they have accordingly called upon,- and (hewed to be a teftimony bearing toward the truth, which it was their appointment to render fully mani- feft, even this great truth, that the blood which ftream- ed from a fuppofed malefa£lor, dying for imputed blaf- phemy upon a crofs, was the blood of God himfelfy A<9:s XX. 28. "poured out for our tranfgreifions," and '' by which we have received the atonement.'* This is the full manifeliation of Chrift to mankind ; till the work was finilhed it could not be related, and, when done, fo portentous was the deed in itfelf, fo above the reach of all human intelle6^, that it requi- red and obtained a miraculous teftimony ; a teftimony precifely adequate to that which is required of thofe who receive it, our belief, which alone is called for as the terms upon which this great falvation is offered to us, " that eternal falvation of which, by being made perfect, he became the author unto all them that obey him," Heb. v. 9. " The prophecies waited for their explanation till all which they had predii^ed fliould have come to pafs, • and [ 43 1 aftd therefore wefe not evidence to thofe whc lived be- fore the event. The four gofpels relate, thiat a man had come into the world endowed with a power of working miracles, which he was perpetually exerting in a6ls of benevolence ; inftruding mankind in virtue, by leflbns fuperijor to thofe of any other man; fpeakirig of the kingdom of God, and faying, that he was the door by which it was to be entered ; inculcating faith in God, and the hope in his mercies, arifmg from the cultivation of piety toward him, and goodwill toward man; teftifying that he was the obje6l 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 Chrift in the flefh, but have by no means revealed him, nor de^ clared finally who or what he is, wherefore he died, arofe, and afcendcd. They tell us that he did the work for which he came, but the full import of this work, and vvhy undertaken by this man v»'ho finifhed it, was not the objeft of the hiftorian to reveal ; and till it was finifhed it could not be revealed to what end it had been done. From our Saviour we are not to expe6l this revelation, for his afcenfion into heaven be- ing a part, the final part of his work, he continued not among men to declare its end. Another teftimo- ny then muft be found, and that fuch as muft be very powerful; we accordingly now find the apoftolic body come forth in the flrength of the Lord, endowed with miraculous powers to be exerted before all hearers, and blelTed with elocution in every language, that, all hearers might underftand and believe; and thus the end of all that has been done is declared ; that our falvatlon was the objedi is revealed ; that for our fikis Chrift died, and that for our juftification he rofe again; ^- 2i that [ 44 3 that he has taken our nature into heaven, " having, appeared to put away fin, by the facrifice of himfelf," Heb. 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 feel- ing of our infirmities, having been in all points tempt- ed like as we are, he is now our high-prieft and rnter- cefFor; and that, for the fame gracious reafon, he is to be our judge, when, in the laft day, he fhall come forth in his glory, and all nations fhall be gathered; before him, even before their God. I hope and believe now that I have pointed out the degrees of proof which have been afforded to the world, that the Lord of life, Jefus Chrifl, who redeemed it, is the God of our falvation ; and having fhewn by what light he has been manifefled, 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 evangelifls 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 ? what other circumftances than the death, burial, refurreCtion, and afcenfion of a man revealed to be the "King of kings, and Lord of lords," Rev. xix. 16; "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 fliould be a King, fitting on the throne of David for ever J that he fhould be a great deliverer, fubduing all [ 45 ] all nations under them ; and alfo, that he fhould be a man defpifed and reje6led of men, wounded for our tranfgreflions, and bruifed for our iniquities, upon whom was the chaftifement of our peace, and by whofe ftripes we are healed ?" Ifa. liii. 5. for fuch were the indefinite hopes of the Jews, and therefore their ignorance is never to be confidered as of any weight in argument againft the Godhead of Chrifl, nor a defeft of teftimony in t^.:e Old Tef{:ament taken by itfelf, and not explained by the fubfequent revelation, as any ground for denying that which it was never written with a view of ultimately proving. The fame thing may be aflerted of the four evangelical hiftories of our Lord and Saviour Jefus Chriil, they were not in- tended to have been ultimate ; and, confequently, if par- tial quotations do not evince his divinity to partial en- quirers, it is not in the leaft degree an argument that he was not one with the Father and the Holy Ghoft, God. Thofe hiftories, I have faid already, were writ- ten with a view of fetting before all men the works which our blefled Redeemer did, in evidence of a power concerning which he withheld his own teftimo- ny, but for the promulgation of which he refers to the fcriptures already written, and to the teftimony of the Holy Ghoft hereafter to be afforded, the truth of which, he forefaw, would be lefs liable to doubt than that of his own record, which he 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 would have derogated from the evidence of his divinity. " He came not to bear witnefs of himfelf," " but to be teftified in due time ;" and he even faw 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 power j that the faith of t 46 ] of even his perpetual hearers was defei^Ive, and- that they had Mien from him, becaufe 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 afte? a partial, but a full execution of that great work which -he took our nature upon him to do ; and faw that Godhead would be more readily aequiefced in, as la union with a m.an who Ihould be teftified to have lifen from the dead, and afcended into heaven, than with one, the courfe of whofe innocent life was feem- ingly unable to refift perfections and forrows, nay the inflicStion of an ignominious death. An acquaintance with grief, a cheek turned to the fcorner, the graye and the fliadow of death, which he had often (and even with agonies which certified his feeling of our in- firmities) preditSled to be all before him, were fo far from conveying an idea of divinity, that they afforded but a very humiliating pidure of humanity. The be- lief of mankind was not required from fuch circum- fiances, and they who infli6led thofe miferies upon Wixxk were forgiven, for they knew not what they did. It is at th« fame time true, that Jefus Chrift has not left .us without a record of himfelf, as I fhall hereafter have ' occafion to fhew, but it was carried only fa far as to become a teftimony, when explained after- wards, otherwife they who crucified him mufl have known what they did. On the day on which our Lord was betrayed, knowing that his hour was come, he fays to his difciplcs " 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 whatfoever he fhall hear, that fhall he fpeak : and he will fhew you things to come. He fhall glorify me : for he fhall receive of mincj and fhall fliew it unto you. [ 47 1 ,^ou. Ali things that the Father hath, are mine : there-^ fore faid I, that he ihall take of mine, and fhall (hew it unto you," John xvi. 12, 13, 14-, 15. What is this but faying, that as they are as yet unable to bear the full revelation of his nature, he will in a future time {hew it to them by the fpirit who fhall fpcak as he fhall receive of Chrift. And that it is the full declaration of the Godhead, which, he fays, they are as yet unable to bear, and v/hich he Will reveal by the fpirit who fhall teftify of the truth, is evident from the teflimony which he proceeds to fay this fpirit fhall bear to him ; for '' he fhall glorify him," having received that which he is to fhew from Chrift, whofe it is, and from the Father^ whofe it is, equal pofTefTors of the glory w'hich fhall be revealed. A triumph over death, and an afcent into heaven, were iirft to intervene ; and thefe, added to every miracle performed in the prefence of multitudes, were facls, which, when referred to, were fully fuffi- cient to fhew forth a power that none could doubt to be the power of God ; and if the Holy Ghoft, by mi- racles fubfequent to fuch an a<9: as that of rifmg from the darknefs of the grave to the manfions of light, fhould teftify of him who had fo a6ted, that he was God, I fee not how a more proper line of evidence could have been adopted, or a more certain means of fpreading .information among men, not hardened againfl the receipt of it, devifed ; nor do I fee it to be lefs than an impious prefumption to deny the attefled fadl, becaufe we have not ourfelves had the condu6l 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- sidered as imparted, to us by four different forts of reve- lation y firft, by the prophecies and the law, or in ,ge- neral terms that which was called the fcriptures, be- fore [:48 ] fore the writing of the New Teflrament, to which we are referred^ and told that " they arc they which tefti- fy of me ;" fecondly^ by the teftimony of our blefied Saviour himfelf, whether by words or works, through- out the writings of the evangel ifts ; 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 given to the writers, or by their explanation of the nature and thfe purpofes of his having come and fufFer- ed in the flefh, in their fermons throughout the A61:s, and in their epiftles ; and fourthly^ by the teftimony of Chrift himfelf, after his afcenfion and reaffumption of that glory wherewith he had been glorified before the world was, delivered by his having fent the comforter according to his frequent promifes that he^ and that the father (promifcuoufly named) would fend him, by his compliance with the prayers of the apoftles, his ap- pearance in divers circumftanc.es, and by the vifion fhewed to St. John in the revelation, in which he- fpeaks of himfelf in the fame terms, as God, before his incarnation, had fpoken to the prophets. This Is the order in which the evidence is placed be- fore us, and in which I fhall therefore produce it in the following chapter. Were it to be ftated according to the degree of its ftrength, it ought to be reverfedi There is yet another fpecies of teftimony borne to the divinity of our gracious Redeemer, refulting from the reconcileablenefs of the whole of facred writ, upon the adopting this propofition as a datum, namely, that Chrift is God. Were a fubjedl to be treated fo enig- matically by a man of fenfe, as that it ftiould efcape the underftanding of all his readers, and yet leave them con- t 49 ] convinced upon the credit of the author, that the book itfelf was worth ftudy and labour; were there fcarce an intelligible fentehce contained in the book, and yet a certainty that it contained much matter; and were there at length to arife a man whofe ready faculties fhould alight upon one propoHtion by which that whole book fhould be explained, to which every obfcure af- fertion fhould be referred, and by the reference to which they fhould become clear and perfpicuous ; and there- fore it fhould appear, that this proportion was the ob- ject of every fentence, the darknefs of which it difpell- edj could any man pretend that this was not the object of the writer; or conceive that anyone point, thus borne down upon by every argument, was not the point intended to be illuflrated and proved? certainly not. And if, on the other hand, the contradi61:ory of that proportion was a point to which the procefs of the ar- gument fo little referred, as that it fhould flill continue obfcure when referred to it ; would any man fay that t\\is was the writer's objeft ? certainly not. Exactly fuch is the flate of the Bible ; every pofition falls into fenfe, the tenour of it becomes a courfe of argument the inftant that the divinity of our Saviour in union with manhood is acknowledged to be its object; whereas, upon a denial of this proportion, there is not on earth a book fo fraught with contradidions and irreconcilable abfurdities, as that which is acknowledged to be the word of the God of truth. Partial quotations there- fore, and paffages taken from the whole confiftent 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 facred writings is to be ex- plained but as it {lands in context with the whole. No- thing lefs therefore than the whole of the Bible is to be confidered as the gofpel of Chrifl ; and from the whole, taken tof^ether, his almighty Godhead is to be deduced. G CHAP. CHAP. III. The Evidence of our Saviour's Divinity afforded hy the Scriptures, AS I have already fald that the Old Teftament af- fords but a very fmall part of the tefthnony of the Godhead of Jefus Chrift, I fhall 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 fhew that the prophets have foretold our Lord and Saviour that I am engaged, for that were an eafy ofRce; but to fhew that they have foretold his divinity ; and that the expelled Mefliah was, though ignorantly, by them declared to be God himfelf. From the prophecies of the Old Teftament I take the following proofs of the Godhead of Jefus Chrift. I. *^ Therefore the Lord himfelf fhall give you a fign, behold a virgin fhall conceive, and bear a Son, and Ihall call his name Im.manuel," Ifaiah vii. 14. This prophecy is. referred to by St. Matthew, declared to be of our Saviour, and the name interpreted to be " God with us." IL <' For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son \t given, and the government fhall be upon his fhoulder: and his name fhall be called. Wonderful, Counfellor, tlie mighty God, the Everlafting Father, the Prince of Peace," Ifai. ix. 6. in. « Thus faith the Lord the King of Ifrael, and his Redeemer the Lord of Hofts, I am the firft, and I am the the laft, and befides me there is 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 iubfequent verfes, declares his prerogatives to the pro- phet ; the fame are applicable to the fame firfl and laft, *' is there a God befides me ? yea there is no God, I know not any.'* This God then is Jefus Chrift. IV. " Av^ake, av^'ake, 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 anfv/er to this call has the follow- ing words in it, " But I am the Lord thy God, that divided the fea, whofe waves roared: the Lord of Hofts in his name," Ifai. li. 15. To this entire chap- ter, and the two following, I refer for the explanation of thefe texts which I have brought to evince the divi- nity of Jefus Chrift, and which I take to be even of ihemfelves fufficient 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 of 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 nations, and all the ends of the earth fhall fee the falvation of our God," Ifai. lii. 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 exprefsly 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 he quotes the verfe at large concerning the unbelief in Q 2 Chrift, [ 5? ] Chrift, and fays, " thefe things faid Efaias, when he faw his glory, and fpake of him," Johnxii.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 Ifraelites through the wil- dernefs, faying, " neither let us tempt Chrift, as fome of them alfo tempted," i Cor. x. 9 ; to which I refer. V. The arm of the Lord is thus foretold again, " be- hold, the Lord God will come with ftrong hand, and his arm fhall rule for him : behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. He fhall feed his flock like a fhepherd," Ifa. xl. 10, 11. In the Revelation, our Saviour fays to St. John, " behold, I come quick- ly; and my reward is with me," Rev. xxii. 12: And in the gofpel he fays, " I am the good fhepherd," John X. II. St. Paul fays of him, " now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jefus, that great fhepherd of the Iheep, through the blood of the everlafting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleafmg 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 himfelf, both in earth and in heaven, and alfo teftified of him by St. Paul, whofe doxology aflifts us to pronounce of Jefus Chrift, in the words of If\iah imm.ediately preceding the text before us, " behold your God." VL *' How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publifheth peace, that bringeth good tidings of good, that publifheth falvation, t Si ] falvatlon, that faith unto Zion, thy God reigneth!'* Ifai. lii. 7. St. Paul, fpeakiiig of the neceffity of a preacher to inftru(5l men in the belief on Chrift, that they may call upon him and be faved, dire6lly applies thefe words of Ifaiah, as being prophetick of a preach- er who fhould publifh falvation, and fay unto Zion, " thy God reigneth," Rom. x. 15. If then the pro- mulgation of the gofpel of our blefl'ed Lord and Savi- our be correfpondent to this prophecy, the preacher of Chrift is furely he who fays " thy God reigneth." VII. " Out of the mouth of babes and fucklings hafl thou ordained ftrength^'* or " perfe6led praife," (which is the interpretation of the New Teftament) Pia. viii. 2. Thefe words David dirc6ls 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 Prieils and Scribes were difpleafed at them for it, our Saviour himfelf juftiiied the children by affu- ming the direction of thefe Vv'crds to himfelf, and de- claring them a prophecy of his praife, to be perfe<£i:ed by the mouths of babes and fucklings; Co that we find a prophecy, that the praife of the Lord, " who had fet his glory above the heavens," Pfa. viii. i. is declared to be fulfilled by the diredlion of praife and hofannas to the Son of David, who muft therefore be one with the Father, God, Mat. xxi. 16. Vill. " For thy fake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as fheep for the flaughter," Pfa. xliv.-22. Thefe words dire61:ly addrefled to God, by David, are by St. Paul declared to be a prophecy of the perfeve- rance of the apoftles in the love of Chrifl, of which he fays, " Who fhall feparate us from the love of Chrift? ihall tribulation, or diftrefs, or perfecution, or famine, or nakednefs, or peril, or fword?" As it is written, " fo^ [ 54 J " for tfiy fake, &c." Rom. viii. 35. For whofe fake? certainly Chrift's, one with the Father, God. The prophecies afforded by the New Teftament, I have already ftated in the preceding chapter, and fhall not trouble my reader with a repetition of them. The following proofs are taken from the teftimony borne to our blefied Lord's divinity in the writings pf the four evangel ifts. IX. *^ Thy kingdom come," Matth. vi. 10. '* Thine h the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen." Matth. vi. 13. That our Saviour*s <;ommand to the difciples, is to addrefs thefe words, and the prayer in which they occur, dire£lly 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 mourn, and they fhall fee the Son of man commg in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And he fhall fend his angels, &;c." Matth, 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 ga^ thered all nations ;^ and he fhall feparate them one from another, as a fhepherd divideth his fheep from the goats; and he fhall fet the fheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then fhall the King fay unta them on his right hand, come, ye blefled of my Fa- ther, &c." Mat. 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. Where- fore then fhould we fay that Jefus Chrift, in prefcrib- ing this form of prayer, forbad worfhip and application to be made to him, whom we find to be the very being defcribe4 [ 55 ] defcilbed and pointed out as the proper obje£l of cur adoration ? It is manifeftly his command that we fhould worfhip him ; and hence it follows, that he is one with the Father, God Almighty. He fays in another place, *' whofoever fhall be afhamed of me, and of my words, in this adulterous and fmful generation, of him alfo fhall the Son of man be afhamed, when he cometh in the glory of 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 God- head ; for we fee our blefled Lord coming in his own glory, and in the parallel pafTage, in the glory of his Father. The follov/ing texts evince this, and alfo afcribe the kingdom and the glory to Jefus Chrif!:. *' The Son of man fhall fend forth his angels, and they fhall gather out of his kingdom all things that of- fend, and them which do iniquity," Mat. xiii. 41* ** The Son of man fhall come in the glory of his Fa- ther, with his angels; and then he fliall reward every man according to his works,*' Mat. xn. 27. " Who- foever fhall be afhamed of me and of my words, of him fhall the Son of man be afhamed, when he fhall come in his own glory, and in his Father's^ and all the holy angels," Luke ix. 26. " No whoremonger, &c. hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Chrift, and of God," Ephef. V. 5. " Jefus Chrift, who fliall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing, and his king- dom," 2 Tim. iv. I. *' The evelafling kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jefus Chrifl," 2 Pet i. 11. Our Sa- viour, in anfwer to the demand of the Pharifees, (Luke . xvii. 20 to 30) *' when the kingdom of God fhould come," tells them, " the kingdom of God cometh not with obfervation;" or as it is tranflated in the mar- gin of the Bible, *^' with outward fhow;" and then, addreffing himfelf to his difciples, continues to declare, that no prognolticks Ihall forelliew his day; but that, as [ 56 ] as the flood was not preceded by any figns that it was 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 ftill the coming without obfervation, to the coming of the kingdom of God, and to his own day^ which is often fpoken of as fyno- nimous with the day in which the Son of man fiiall come in power and glory, fitting on the throne of his glory to judge the worlds we may, without in the leaft ftraining for an inference, fay, that the day of which he fpeaks to the difciples as coming unobferved, and the kingdom of God, of which he aflerts the famei 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 Go^ is here declared to be the kingdom of Chrift ; therefore one v/ith the Father, on that day, on the coming of that kingdom to be fully revealed to be God. X. The incomprehenfibility of the Father and the Sony except to each other, is a mark of equality of God- head, which alone can be the fubje£t 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 Gcd, he Was known then to the Father only, with whom he was one God. The' parallel paffage fays, " No man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father, &c.'* Luke x. 22. Mr. Lindfey fays he does, but I cannot think it. How fhall 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 comprchenfible to the Father only, even his Godhead ? V/heA t 57 ] xr. When our blefled Lord, juft before he afcended Into heaven, was fending forth his difciplcs to baptize all hations in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghoft, and to teach them to obferve iall things which he had commanded them, he gives them a promife of his own afliftance in the performance of their miifion, faying, " And, lo ! I am with you alway even unto the end of the world,'* Matth. xxviii. 20. We atcordingly find that, upon his afcent, '' they Went forth, and preached every where, the Lord work- ing with them, and confirming 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 wit- nefs, both v/ith figns and wonders, and with divers mj- racles, and gifts of the Holy Ghofi:, according to his own will?" Heb; ii. 3, 4. Here we find that the tefti- mony of figns and miracles wrought to confirm what is preached by the apoftles, is borne by God, and by the Lord Chrifl-, therefore one, with the Father, God. XIL It is evident what was the faith of the father of the fick child j who *' cried out, and faid with tears, Lord, { believe; help thou mine unbelief," Mark ix. 24. So ftrong was his faith already, that he looked upon our Lord as pofiefTed of power to afiifl: his fpirit, and fup- ply whatfoever was dcfeflive in his belief. This appli- cation was approved and confirmed to be right by our blefied Saviour himfelf, who granted the diftrcfi^ed fa- ther's prayer, and healed his fick child. XIIL Upon hearing Jefus Chrift fay to the fick of the pal- ly, *' Man, thy fins are forgiven thee," I cannot won- der at the remark of the Scribes, who/hid, "Who can h[ forgive [ 58 ] forgive fins but God alone ? For their law had fhewed them that God had made an exclufive claim to the for- givenefs of fins, faying, " I, even I am he that blot- teth out thy tranfgreinons for mine own fake, and will not remember thy fins," Ifai. xliii. 25, But our Savi- our perceived their thoughts, and healed the fick man, in order to fhew " that the Son of man hath power up- on earth to forgive fins," Luke v. 20, 25. But God, whom Nehemiah, ix. 17, beautifully, calls " a God of pardons," has an exclufive right in the forgivenefs of fins ; the Son of man who exercifes that right, even Je- fus Chrift, is therefore one with the Father, God. XIV. '' Blefled are ye when men fhall hate you, and when they fhall feparate you from their company, and ftiall 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 prophets,'* Luke vi. 22, 23. If the happinefs of the difciples, to whom our Saviour addrefies the words above, be not to proceed from the reproach, but from the caufe wherefore they are to undergo it, there is no fimilitude between their cafe and that of the prophets, unlefs the prophets alfo fufFered for the fake of the Son of man, and for the teftimony which they bore to him; and that this was really the intention of our Lord's words, the following text, fpoken by St. Stephen, will evince, *' Which of the prophets have not your fathers perfe- cuted ? And they have llain them which fhewed before of the coming of the juft one; of whom ye have now been the betrayers and murderers," Afts vii. 52. Ste- phen was, at the time when he uttered thefe words, un- der the perfecution which our Saviour had foretold to his difciples that they fhould fuftain for his fake; he therefore refle<51ed on the circumflance pointed out by him. [ 59 ] him, as a means of happinefs and blefllng, in their af- flicSlions, and confidered that, with the prophets, he was *' a partaker of Chrift's fufferings; that when his glory fhall be revealed, he might be glad alfo with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Chrift, happy are ye; for the Spirit of glory, and of God refteth upon you : on their part he is evil fpoken of, but on your part he is glorified," i 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 incurred for his fake, the glory of God, and of Jefus fitting at his right hand, was not revealed to him ; and whether the Spirit, which proceeds from the one glory, the 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,*' A6ls vii. 51 to 59. XV. *' 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 publifhed through- out the whole cit}^, how great things Jefus had done unto him," Luke viii. 38, 39. According to a com- mand, to (hew what God had done, the man who had been healed teftified 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 certainly fome teftimony borne to our Saviour's divinity, by the man- ner in which the faft is related by an apoftle filled with the Holy Ghoft, for the purpofe of preaching Chrift with precifion, and who has, neverthelefs, repeated the fame words concerning the name of God and of Je- fus Chrift. It is fomev/hat remarkable alfo, that in the relation of the fame faft made by St. Mark, the command to the man is faid to have been, ^« go home H 2 to [ 6o ] to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee," Mark v. 19; and the man's pub- lication is exactly 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 blefTed Redeemer to have been intended by it : if Jefus Chrift then be the Lord intended here, and that the title of Lord be of the fame import as the name of " God," for which it is ufed by St. Mark, then we muft acknowledge, that Chrift is the Lord, and the Lord he is God. There is a farther circumftance fa- vouring the pofition that Jefus Chrift is 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 compaftion on him," which cer- tainly muft bear reference to that tendernefs with which he felt our infirmities, that fympathy with which *^ Jefus wept," John xi. 35, for the afflidlions of thofe who called upon him even at the moment that he was in a6t to wipe away the tears from their eyes. XVL 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 hiiTi, who im- mediately granted that which was afked, and by ad- miffion into paradife, in confequence of a petition pre- ferred to him in an hour, when, of all others, he feem- ed leaft able to affift in the time of trouble, exalted the laft words of this poor penitent into an incontro- vertible teftimony that his is the kingdom, that " by fufFering he was about to enter into his glory," and that [ 6i ] chat he is therefore the Lord, one with the Fathej, God, Luke xxiii. 42, 43, and xxiv. 26. XVIL " Jefus anfwered and faid unto them, deftroy this temple, and in three days I will raife it up," in fay- ing which " he fpake of the temple of his body,'* John ii. 19, 21. Here Jefus Chrifl: declares that he will himfelf raife his body from the grave ; but in the grave that body lay truly dead and incapable of any agency : but here he fays, that -he will a6^, he mud therefore fpeak of fome very extraordinary power re- maining 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, Ads ii. 32 ; wherein it is obfervable, that the union of the two ^latures being fufpended during the death of the body^ God is fpoken of as difiind from Jefus, whofe body only is intended by that name : this diftindion Peter feems to have had in view throughout the Ads. That o which Chrift engaged to do, moft afiuredly he did. Pe engaged to raife his own body, therefore he did raife his own body. But " this Jefus hath God raifed up." Jefus Chrift is therefore one with the Father, God. XVIIL ^« 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 living water," John iv. 10. " Whofoever drinketb of the water which I fliall give him, fhall never thirft," John iv. 14. Here Jefus Chrift gives the gift of God, more pro- perly the gift of Jefus Chrift, who gives it, and only reconcilable to fenfe, by acknowledging him to be one with the Father, God. " They have forfaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters," Jer. xvii. 13. « And [ 62 ] '* And he fhewed me a pure river \)f water of life, clear as chryftal, proceeding out of the throne of God, and of the Lamb," Rev. xxii. i. " Let him that is athiril, come : and whofoever will, let him take of the water of life freely,*' Rev. xxii. 17. This invi- tation fo mercifully made to all mankind, and in the power of all to accept, is made by Jefus Chrift ; he therefore who gives fuch «* water fpringing up into everlafting life," John iv. 14, is affuredly the '^ Lord, the fountain of living waters ;" which Jeremiah de- clares God to be. " Ho ! every one that thirfteth, 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 kea^ and my bleffing upon thine offspring," Ifai. xliv. 3. *' Jefus flood and cried, faying. If any man thirft, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the fcripture hath faid, out of his belly fhall: flow rivers of living water. (But this he fpake of the fpirit, which they that believe on him fhould re- ceive,") John vii. 37, 38. This lafl 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 thirfly ;" and according to this prophecy, Jefus Chrift is to give this water fpringing lip 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 then with gratitude come upon the invitation to believe; let us confefs that the blood which was fhed for us is the blood of God himfelf, A6ts xx. 28, fhed for our redemption ; acknowledge " Chrift the Saviour of the world," John iv. 42, and " with joy draw water out of the wells of falvation," Ifai. xii, 3. " My [ 63 ] XIX. ** My Father worketh hitherto^ and I work. There- fore the Jews fought the more to kill him, becaufe he not only had broken the fabbath, but faid alfo that God was his Father, making himlelf equal with God, John V. 17, 1 8. As the Hebrew idiom of the fcrip- ture language is urged as a reafon for doubting of our common acceptation of the aflertions made in the New Teflament, we muft certainly admit the Jews to be the beil verbal interpreters of fuch phrafes as were pe- culiar to themfelves, and here they have taught us to understand that whenfoever our Saviour, or any wit- nefs of his gofpel, declares him to be the Son of God^ they intended thereby to convey an afl'urance 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 o( 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. i8, *' That he can be touched with a feeling of our infirmities ; having been in all points tempted like as we are," Heb. iv, 15 j and in the next verfe we arc t 64 1 ai-fe called upon to approaeh the throne of gracd boldly, becaufe that Chrift is the Son of man, having taken on him the feed of Abraham^ and has called u^ brethren, and can have companion upon fuch infirmi- ties as he was him.felf fubjeft to in the ilefli : fo that whenfoever we hear oiir gracious Lord and Saviour call himfelf the Son of man, We may look upon it as an inftance of tendernefs, ahd that he ufes that name, in order to infpire a confidence 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 before the Son of man that all nations are to be gathered ; and in the pafTage before iis, declares th^ reafon wherefore all judgm.ent is committed to the Son to be, becaufe he is the Son of man. Our Saviour, after having faid that " the Father quickeneth 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 Ihall live," John v. 25. And far- ther, that " the hour is coming, in the which all that are in their graves fhall hear his (the Son of man's) voice," John v. 28 : fo that here, they that are ia their graves, livCj being called upon by the Son of man, becaufe they have heard the voice of the Son of God, the Father being he who quickeneth the dead. Can this be reconciled to any fenfe, if it be not grant- ed that Jefus Chrift, the San 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 agaihft 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 exprefTive of an equality be- tween [ 65 ] tween the Son and the Father: nay farther, of an - identity and unity of Godhead. As pofTeffed of this Godhead " I believe on him, and I worfhip him,'' John ix. 38. XX. " He that belieVeth on him that fent me, hath ever- lafting life, and fhall not come into condemnation," John V. 24. " He that believeth on him, (the Son) is not condemned j but he that believeth not, is condemn- ed alreadv, becaufe he hath not believed 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 necefTary to believe in the Son in or- der to indemnify ? It can only be fo, becaufe that the Son is one with the Father, God ^ and the two pafFa- ges then convey the fame inftru^tion. In context with the laft aflertion, our Saviour, fpeaking of himfelf, uies 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 aftevas not true j but he fays to his difciples, " And in that day ye fhall afk me nothing : verily verily I fay unto you, whatfoever ye fhall alk the Father in my name, he v^ill give it you j" John xvi, 23. As our bleffed Redeemer cannot mean here to fay that he had before fpolcen an untruth, thef^ words muft have exa6lly the fame meaning as thofe before us j 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 and 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 Saviour ; whence I have inferred, that he it is of whom the demand is to he made : But I forefee a po^ible obje6lion to be made to this inference, which I fhall endeavour to obviate. It is, that in this cafe Jefus Chrift has commanded prayer to be preferred to himfelf in his own name; to which I anfwer, that fo to have done is exactly corre- fpondent to the condu6t of God, fo long as he had a fe- leCted n?,tion 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 fhews God governing his ad- ditional adorers, as he had governed their predecefTors, Befp:^e i p ] Before Gt»d was to be adored through fchrift, he wa?> 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 bd held in remembrance, and in the hame 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 bleliing to proceed frdm them to all nations of the earth. 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 prefcribed to them, and prefaced the deca- logue with a claim to their obedience, and to their worftiipping him only, grounded upon that debt of gratitude, which they owed for the protection and deli- verance that 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 fhall 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 wh'ch our eyes have feen, and our hands have handled the word of t life^ even that word which is J God ? Wherefore^ in remembrance of fo great benefits, fhould we not fay, * i Tim. in. 16, -J- i John i. i* t John i. x. [ 72 ] hj, " by thine agony and bloody fweat, by th^ crofs and paffion, by thy precious death and burial, by thy glorious refurreiStion and afcenfion, good Lord deliver us ?" The fenfe, in which I underftand the words call- ing upon God in the name of Chrift, is calling upon God to affift us, whom he had already thought worthy of fo great benefits, in memory of thofe benefits which he fufFered in the flefh, in order to confer. And fure- ly in this fenfe, it is perfe6tly conformable to the courfe of God*s government, that our Saviour ihould defire us to call upon his Godhead in memory of what he has done for us as man, having already declared that he had, in remembrance of his former mercies, holpen us. XXV. '•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 v/iW fend in my name, he fhall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatfoever I have faid unto you," John xiv. 26. Here Jefus Chrift fends the Holy Ghoft, and the Fa- ther at the fame time fends the Holy Ghoft ; there- fore the Father and the Son are one God, from whom the fpirit is to proceed. He fays in another paflage,- *' but when the Comforter is come, whom I wiW fend unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth, which procecdeth from the Father, he fhall teftify of me," John xv. 26. The Holy Ghoft here proceedeth from the Father only j we find that the fame witnefs of Chrift preceded his corning, and tefti- lied of him beforehand, as well as after his afcent; *' For the prophecy came n'ot in old time by the will of man : but holy men of God fpake as they were moved by the Holy Ghoft," 2 Peter i. 21. But we find the prophets themfelves, who fpake as they wer^ [ 73 ] were moved by the Holy Ghoft, " fearching what, or what manner of time the fpirit of Chrift v/hlch was in them did fignify, when it teftified beforehand the fuffer- ings of Chrift, and the glory that fhould follow," i Pet. i. 1 1 ; fo that the apoftles, filled with the Holy Ghoft, have here exprefsly declared what glory that is which {hould be teftified after the fulFerings of Chrift, even that the fpirit which proceedeth from the Father is the fpirit 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 hirh, declares that " he fhall glorify me : for he ftiall receive of mine, and fhall fhew it unto you. All things that the Father hath, are mine: thereforS faid I, that he fhall take of mine, and fhew it unto you,'* John xvi. 14, 15. XXVI. Our blefted 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 ail 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 ihould follow; and as a man about to endure great afflidions, and, furmounting them, to take our nature " into heaven itfelf, now to appear in the prefence of God for us," Heb. ix. 24. addreffes himfelf to that Be- ing 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 KL. of [ 74 } of our Saviour is exprefsly 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 refpefts 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. XXVIL '' Pilate therefore faid unto him, art thou a king then? Jefus anfwered, thou faycft that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this caufe came I into the world, that I fhould 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 faid by St. Paul to be " a good confeffion witnelTed before Pilate," I Tim. vi. 13. That Nathanael, an Ifraelite indeed, iji whom was no guile, underftood the prophecies of our Saviour's kingdom in this fenfe is evident, for, upon feeing him an unattended man, he pronounced him " the King 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. 49. and this interpretation he put upon the prophecies, upon feeing our Saviour polTefled of an extraordinary know- ledge. Greater things have been referved for us to fee than Nathanael faw ; why then (hall 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 (hewed, when fpoken by a Jew, to mean, thou haft equality of Godhead with the Father. "And [ 1^ ] XXVIII. " And Thomas anfwered and faid unto him, my Lord, and my God. Jefus faith unto him, Thomas, becaufe thou haft feen mr, thou haft believed," John xx. 28, 29. To call this faying of Thomas an exclamation, is a poor and difmgenuous evafion of the Bifhop, quoted by Mr. Lindfey ; for it is declared to be an anjwer and an addrefs to our Saviour, 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 do61:rines which Thomas had heard before, but through a defective faith did not un- derftand ; and to induce that confeilion which he now makes, faying unto him, " my Lord and my God." When Mary, ver. 16, faw and knew our Lord after his refurrecSlion, fhe made no exclamation, but dire6^1y addrefled herfelf to him, faying, " Mafter," acknow- ledging him to whom fhe fpoke. Mary had not been a witncfs of all the declarations of his ovm nature which he had made to his apoftles, who were to be wit- neffes unto him ; fhe acknowledges him as fhe had kno'vn him before ; but Thomas, who confidered a re- furre(3:ion from the dead to be a conclufive proof of the truth of what he had often heard, inftantly draws the natural inference, and acknowledges him to be his Lord and his God. If the works of this bifhop oi Mopfuejna^ which have not reached us, be of the fame ftamp as the fragment quoted by Mr. Lindfey, we have no great reafon to regret the lofs, or condemn our anceftors for having configned the reft of them to oblivion. The poor bifliop himfclf muft alfo be obliged to thofe who have redeemed him from our cenfure. Next in order follov/s the teftimony borne to the di- vinity of Jefus Chrift by the apoftles, men appointed to be his witnefles, on whom " he breathed and faid," K 2 " receive [ 76 ] <' receive ye the Holy Ghoft," " the fpirit of truth, he will guide you into all truth ;" " he fnall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatfoever I have faid unto yo;i ;" " he will fhew 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 tq fpeak of him who had given himfelf a ranfom for all, " 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 ;" 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 fhall do well that we take heed ; to their teftimony it is eflential to our own eter- nal 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 igno- rance and inftability to wreft to our own deftrucStion ;'* they have pointed out the way to a bleffed immortali- ty ; it is our duty Co fearch into what they have faid, and where we cannot underftand to confide. From the apoftles we are to expe6t 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 promul- gate fo much as concerns us to know. XXIX. " And they prayed, and faid, thou Lord, which knoweft the hearts of all men, ihew whether of thefe two thou haft chofen, that he may take part of this miniftry and apoftlelhip," A6ls i. 24. This prayer [ n ] is preferred to the Lord who had fent forth his dif- ciples, faying, " ye fhail 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; and by whom, St. Paul fays, " we have received the apo- ftlefhip," Rom. i. 5 ; to that Lord, who knew to whom he Ihould commit himfelf, " becaufe he knew all men, and needed not that any fhould teftify of man; for he knew what was in man," John ii. 25* And the petition is that out of two men, namely, Juftus and Matthias, fele^ted from thofe " who had been with our Saviour from the beginning," " which have companied with us, all the time that the Lord Jefus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptifm of John, unto that fame day that he was taken up from us," A6ls i. 21, 22; he fliould or- dain one to be a witnefs of his refurre<5lion in the place of Judas, who had fallen by tranfgreiTion. That it is addreffed to Jefus Chrifl, not only the context, but the following circumftance may thoroughly demon- ftrate : The very fame call being to be made of another apoftle, as the Lord is now defired to make, a light {hone 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 fhall be told thee what thou muft do," A6ls ix. 5, 6. But when Saul, according to this commandment, came into Da- mafcus, " he is met and received by a certain difciple nam.ed Ananias, to whom faid the Lord in a vifion, Ananias. And he faid, behold I am here. Lord. I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy faints at Jerufalem : and here he hath authority from the Chief Priefts, to bind all that call upon thy narne^ But the Lord faid unto him, go thy way : [ 78 ] way: for he is a chofen vefTel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles and Kings, and the children of Ifrael," A6ts 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 choafe^ it is therefore to be concluded the petition was preferred that he would (liew 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, " I will fend them prophets and apoftles:" fo that here is an inftance of adoration incontrovertibly oftered up to Jefus Chrift ; therefore one with the Fa- ther, God, the proper object of prayer and religious worfhip. But, throughout the relation, there is a farther tefti- mony to be found of the adoration of Jefus Chrift; for Ananias, himfelf a difciple, declares, that Saul was a perfecutor of thofe who called upon the narne of Chrift:, and " the difciples of our Saviour were therefore afraid of him when he aflayed to join himfelf unto them," A(Sls 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 yiaine in Je- rufalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound to the Chief Priefts?" Ads ix. 20, 21. We have here dire6t proof that the difciples of Chrift called upon his name, both from thofe who did, and thofe who did not call upon it. I ftiall in this place take notice of Mr. Lindfey's afiertion, (fupported by quotations from various authors) that to call upon the name of Jefus is the fame as t^ be [ 79 ] be called by the name of Jefus, or to have the name pf Jefus called upon the fubjecSl fpoken of. This decla- ration he has made in his very extraordinary com^ment upon I Cor. i* 2. Apology, p. 132. And he farther declares, that Stephen's calling upon the name of Jefus, is the only palTage in which thefe words mean directly the fame as invoking him. Notwithftanding 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 {^mc fignifi- cation in another, where the context is exailly fimilar to that in which it is allowed to have that meaninc-, and indeed in which it requires to be fo interpreted, in order to its bearing any meaning at all. But, with refpecSl to the paflage before us, it is a little remarkable that the name of Chrift had not yet been called upon his difciples, and that for v/ant of a name to com- prehend them all, the commillion to Saul is couched in the following aukward terms : " that if he found any of this way, he might bring them bound unto Je- rufalem," A(Sts 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 difmgenuoufly then do men deal, not only with the world, but with themxfelves alio, in wrelting 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 mto all truth," has invoked Jefus Chrift, is not fuch an a6i:, once fo performed, fufficient to evince the propriety ©f the invocation, and to eftablifh the right of Je- fus [ 8o 3 fus Chrlft to be Invoked ? And if adoration then be the due of Chrift, why Ihould we deny a literal interpre- tation to words by which it is afferted, that the difciples of our Lord rendered him that ptaife and adoration to which he is entitled ? Is it meant that the difciples con- tradi6l 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 affertlon, either Stephen, or the difciples, or Dr. Clarke, or Mn 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£ls ix. 15. " The God of our Fathers hath chofen thee," fays Ananias to Saul, AtSts 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 adurell'ed tO Jefus Chrift. Peter, (v/ho had, upon his ovv'n appoint- ment to the miniftry, taken our Lord to witnefs that he loved him, and v/ould with fidelity difcharge the truft of feeding his fheep committed to his keepings faying, " Lord, thou knoweft all things ; thou know- eft tiiat I love thee," John xxi. 17.) was certainly the chief fpeaker, 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 acknov/ledgment when call- ing upon him to choofe another to aftbciate with them, who Ihouid alfo love him, and faithfully acquit himfelf ©f a part in the fame apoftlefliip. When Peter fpoke thofe [ 8i ] thofe words to Jefus Chrift in his own cafe, he certain- - ly 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 knov/ledge of his own heart than he was himfelf polTcfTed of, when upon his confidence of his own faith^ fdy'ing, " I will lay down my life for thy fake, Jefus anfwered him, wilt thou lay down thy life for my fake ? verily verily I fay unto thee, the cock fhall 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, whofe own particular experience had taught him that Jefus Chrift was acquainted with man, and needed not that any fliould teftify of man, it is exceedingly natu- ral that he fhould on fuch an occafion fay to him " who knew all things," *' Lord v/hich knoweft the hearts of all men, &c." XXX. 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 together great- ly 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 v/e had made this man walk?" A6lsiii. 12. " Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Ifrael, that, by the name of Jcius Chrift of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raifed from the dead, even by him doth this m.an ftand here before you whole," A6ls iv. lO- Upon which, the Rulers, having threatened Peter and John, were obliged to let them go, " for all men glorified G.d for that\vhich was done," Ads iv. 21. Peter, when he reftored Eneas to health at Lydda, called him from his L ' bed [ 82 ] bed in the following remarkable terms : '^ fineas, Je- fus Chrift maketh thee whole: arife, and make thy bed," A6ls ix. 34. He arofe immediately, and the confequence was, that '' all that dwelt at Lydda, and Saron, faw him, and turned to the Lord^"* ver. 35. XXXI. '< When they heard thefe things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnafhed on him (Stephen) with their teeth. But he being full of the Holy Ghoft look- ed up ftedfaftly into heaven, and faw the glory of God, and Jefus ftanding on the right hand of God, and faid, behold, I fee the heavens opened, and the Son of man ftanding 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 floned him: And the witnefles laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whofe name was Saul. And they ftoned Stephen, calling upon Gody and faying, Lord Jefus receive my fpirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice. Lord, lay not this fm to their charge," A6ls vii. 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60. Mr. Lindfey's remark upon this paflage is fo very particular, that I will give it at large, and then pro- ceed to fhew its futility to the very few of my readers, who fhall not have found it out of themfelves, *' There is no doubt but Stephen made this re- queft, addrefied this prayer to the Lord Jefus. But this can be no precedent for dire61:ing prayer to him unjeen^ or addrefling him as God, whom the bleifed Martyr declares he Jaw with his eyes^ and calls him *' the Son of man landing on the right hand of God." Calls him the Son of many in this his higheft ftate of exaltation. Son of inan^ and God mojl high : ivhat a fpace [ 83 ] [pace heiivecnP" Apology, p. 129. Does this gentle- man conceive that the a6lions of an almighty God are circumfcribed by the limits appointed to his ccmpre- heniion, that the Ipace beyond which his imagination cannot pafs, is equally an obftrudlion to the will of him to whom '' all things are pofnble," and that the Omnipotent is to paufe in his progrefs, till Mr. Lind- fey fhall have leifure to come up with him and mark his footfteps ? I hope I have already evinced the ab- furdity of this appeal from the written word to natu- ral religion, and fhewed that the fcriptures only are the fountain from whence the courfe of our argument is to flow; they are granted to be true, and to be ulti- mate, and if from them I find that God has put his own nature into union with that of man, I will be- lieve that he has done fo; that he has formed us a creature, with whom it was poffible for him who had " put all things into his own power" to come into union^ notwithftanding that neither Mr. Lindfey nor I know any thing of the manner. The fpace between God and man may be utterly unfurmountable to our conceptions, but fhall it therefore impede the Almighty ? It is not reafon which Hands in die way of our belief, but the impious pride of ignorance, " fpeaking evil of that which it underflands not," *' beguiling unflable fouls," '' v/ithdrawino- from the knov/led£;e of the Lord and Saviour Jefus Chrift, by which we had be- fore efcaped the pollutions of the world," 2 Peter, ii. Mr. Lindfey having allowed that " the principal argu- ment for Chrift's divinity is to be fetched from reli- gious worfhip and prayer being addreiied to him," Apology, p. 135, is moft exceedingly diftrelTed at the paiTage before us, and accordingly ufes his utmofi dili- gence to extricate himfelf from the melancholy necef- fity of yielding up his fpirit into the hands of his Re- deemer, his Mediator, and his Judge ; and left it fhould L 2 follow [ 84 ] follow that he who " bought us with the price of his own blood," " and fo loved us that he gave hlmfelf a ranfom for all," has any right in his purchafe, or fhould " in due time be teftified," by the invocation of St. Stephen, to be one with the Father, God, recourfe is had to an expedient, the moft fingular perhaps that ever was made ufe of to any purpofe whatfoever, and it is afTerted that this firit Martyr of our Saviour having fccn the Lord Jefus with his eyes when he prayed, af- fords no precedent for di'efting prayer to him unfeen. The very fa6t, as ftated 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 itedfaftly into heaven faw Jefus Chrift, it by no means follows that the vifion continued, or that he could con- veniently keep his eyes fixed ftedfaftiy upon it at the time wiien they ran upon him, caft him out of the ci- ty, and iloned him ; that is, at the time when he called upon the Lord Jefus. But 1 will, for argument's fake, admit that Stephen uill continued to have his eyes up- on him, and that, '' being filled with the Holy Ghofir, liQ jlill faw the glory of God, and Jefus Chrift {landing at the rig-ht hand of God." Is not God himfelf here equally before the eyes of the blefTed Martyr as the Son of man ? why then fhould his view of the one in- duce prayer more than his viev/ of the other ? Nay, wherefore fhould he pafs down from God moil high through that immenfe fpace which lay between him and the Son of man, unlefs that, condu6i:ed by the Holy G}}oft, 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 God mofl hiorh ? unlefs indeed he faw the Lord Jefus, into whcfe hands he romm.ended his fpirit, to be the al- inighty God to whom David had faid " into thine hand [ 85 ] hand I commit my fpirlt : thou haft redeemed me, O Lord God of truth r" 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 Jefus Chrift, even in this his higheft ftate of exaltation, be but his fellow creature. But becaufe Jefus was in fight he was to be v/orfhipped ; and there is nothing wrong in worfliipping a vifible creature. If the command be, and if the duty of a chriftian therefore be to worfnip God only, I own myfelf too blind to difcern how the vifibi- lity of any Creature fiiould fuperfede the commandment, 3nd alter the unalterable law of God. The Angel was vifible to St. John, Rev. xxii. 9. yet reftrained him from worfiiip, which Chrift did not uo by his adorer ; but he, who was equally vifible to Stephen as the Son of man, winked at the difrefpec-t with which he pafled by his own glory, and addreffed himfelf to the Lord Jefus; and by a difplay of that glory teilified in the higheft his approbation of that addrefs which was preferred to the Son of man by this holy Martyr, " v/ith the Spirit of Truth," as being confident with the command, as a direS: obedience to his will declared in thefe words, " Thou fhalt worfhip the Lord thy God, and him onlv fliait thou worfnip." " Wor/jiip God," faid the Angel to St. John ; our Saviour faid no fuch thing to Stephen, nor referred him to that God whofe glory was before his eyes. I therefore think it evident, that God, and God only, Stephen did worf[:iip, in the perfon of Jefus Chrift, one v/ith the Father, God. I grant Mr. Lindfey's aiTertion, that the word " God" is fupplied in the c;9th verfe, '* calling upon Gody and faying Lord Jefus receive my fpirit." It is of no confequence if it be omitted, for then the invoca- tion is made diredly to Chrift, and remains a proof that he is God, though he be not addrelled by that nanie. The word " God" being inferted by the tranf- lators, [ 86 ] Jators, fhews how they underftood the pafTage before us, and though 1 do not choofe to make ul'e of human au- thority, I cannot help this once faying that I look up- on this conclufion, drawn by men of great abilities, and employed in the mod diligent perufal 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 ov/n particular purpofes. Upon the whole, unlefs it be admitted that being vifible is a reafon for addrcffing prayer to any thing v,'e are looking at, here is an inftance of adoration, a precedent of religious worlhip preferred to our Lord and Saviour, and, if " religious worfhip and prayer be a proof of Godhead," I demand Mr. Lindfey^s acquiefcence in this conclufion, that Jefus Chrift is one with the Fa- ther, God ; who has faid, " am I a God at hand, and not a God afar 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 city and ftoned. The fcriptures are feldom fo vague as to require our belief of that which is not particularly revealed. The ftar which appeared to the v/ife men is never withdrawn from before their eyes till it ftood over the houfe where the young child was. The evangelift 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 himfelf, muft have known by the Spirit of Truth that future times would refer themfelves to the conduct of this martyr J and that men, like him, in articuio mortis, would [ 87 ] 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 hypo- thecs be true ; and therefore even the Holy Ghoft comes under this gentleman's charge of incompetency to be a witnefs to the great preferver of all ipirits. Before I difmifs this fubjeft I Ihall add one more re- mark, v/hich, if it do not afford conclufive proof of what has been advanced already, mull be allovi^ed greatly to corroborate the force of it. " Behold," fays Stephen, " I fee the heavens open- ed, and the Son of man ftanding on the right hand of God ; then they cried out with a loud voice, and ftop^ ped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, &c." A6ls vii. 56, 57. " Hereafter," fays our Lord, " fhall 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 fpoken blafphemy," '' then did they fpit in his face, and buf- feted him, &c." Matth. xxvi. 64, 65, 67. " Art thou theChrift, the Son of the bleffed ? and Jefus faid, I am. And ye ihall fee the Son of man /itting 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 witneffes, ye have heard the blafphemy ? what think ye ? and they all condemned him to be guilty of death, and fome began to fpit on iiim, &c." Matth. xiv. 61 to 65. When Jefus faid, *' before Abraham was, I am," " the Jews took up itones 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 makeft thy- felf God." The Jews alfo fought to kill him, " be- caufe he faid that God was his Father, makhig himfelf equal t 88 ] equal with God." Here the ground of the Jewifli re- fentment 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 condv^mned by the high prieft and his council, ws may therefore afcribe the fame meaning, and conclude that they were defigned to convey the fame idea of our Lord's equal and one Godhead v/ith the Father. The very fame thing which Jefus here fays they fhall here- after fee, St. Stephen declares to the very fame tribu- nal to be now before his eyes ; and the very fame con- fequence attends his declaration ; fo that we may confi- der Stephen as having in this refpe6T aifo borne his tefti-' mony to the one Godhead of the Father and of the Son of man. XXXII. After Peter had healed Eneas at Lydda, faying, " Jefus Chrift 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 miracle, folicited his imm.ediate 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 thofe who flood weeping by^ " he kneeled down and prayed, and turning him to the body, faid, Tabitha, arife. And fhe opened her eyes : and when fhe faw Peter, fhe fat up," Ads ix. 40. "■ And it was known throughout all Joppa 5 and many believed in the Lord," verfe 42. The words v/hich Peter fpoke to Eneas were adarelTed 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 clamorous grief might interrupt the fervour of his devotion, and remained alone with the dead body, fuch [ 89 3 fuch iaiigiiage being abfolutely unneceflary, it is vei^ probable that Peter did not ufe it on that account j 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 'probable, when we fee that the confequence of her revival on the call of Peter was, that " many believed on the Lord," for many who faw what had been done to Eneas *« turned to the Lord." XXXIIL " 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 preach- ing the Lord Jefus. And the hand of the Lord was with them : and a great number believed, and turnect unto the Lord :" upon which, when the church at Jerufalem heard it, " they fent forth Barnabas, that he fhould go as far as Antioch. Who, Vvhen 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," A6ls xi. i8, 20, 21, 22, 23. Upon the hand of the Lord being with them, Barnabas is glad to have feen the grace of God ; or^ he was glad upon having feen the " grace of God, who hath to the Gentiles alfo granted repentance unto life:" " but we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jefus Chrift, we fhall be faved even as they," A£l:s xv. 11. 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. XXXIV. That our Saviour was not intended " to be a light to lighten the Gentiles," and confequently, that the full ttianifeftatiori of his Godhead was delayed till M after [ 90 ] after his afcenfion, as I have already fhewed, is evr»- dent from the following words of St. Paul to the Jews at Antioch, who were contradidling and blaf- pheming, becaufe he gratified the requeft of the Gen- tiles, and on the fabbath day preached to them alfo '« the word of God." " It was necefTary," faid he and Barnabas, " that the word of God fhould firft have been fpokento you: but feeing ye put it from you, and judge yourfelvcs unworthy of everlafting 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 ftiouldeft be for falvation unto the ends of the earth," A6ls xiii. 45, 46, 47. Thefe words were fpoken by the Lord to Ifaiah, when he alk- 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 ?" Ifa. xlix. 6. Thefe words evidently fpoken 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 nations, and to be his witnefles unto the uttermoft parts of the earth," to teach repentance and remiffion of fms among all nations in his name, " and to bear his name to the Gentiles," are an uncontrovertible evi- dence that the Lord, who commanded the apoftles, faying, " I have fet, &c." is the fame God who had before fpoken by his holy prophet. It is farther re- markable, that our Saviour then firft " opened their underftanding that they might underftand the fcrip- tures, and fee the neceffity there was that Chrift fhould fufter and rife from the dead the third day, when he was about to commiftion them to go forth and preach him to the Gentiles, which was not till after his refur- teiSlionj not indeed till the moment preceding his afcen- fion. [ 91 ] fion. '' He was not fent but to the loft flieep of the houfe of Ifrael,'* Matth. xv. 24. " for it was iieceiTary that the word of God fliould firft have been fpoken to them ;" " but when they had put it from them," and offered up this great facrifice for the fms of the whole world, hanging upon a crofs " the Lord of glory," we find that, after he was made perfedt by fuffering death, and, by his fuffering, had atoned for and adopted all na- tions, he was to be preached to the 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 been only to Ifrael ; to them were his life and leffons, but to the whole world his falvation, which- was to. be promulgated after he had died for it; he therefore now fent out the apoftles to hold forth this great light to lighten- the Gentiles alfo,. according to the prophecy before, certifying to them, " that they fhould be for falvation unto the ends of the earth." Paul and Barnabas continued fome time at Antioch, preaching the " word of God," " and when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord : and as many as were ordained to eternal life, believed. And the word of the Lord was publifhed throughout all the region," A w^orfhip in the temple. Is evident; and therefore Mr. LIndfey himfelf mufl conclude him, one with the Father, God. XLIV. Paul charged before Felix with " having gone about to profane the temple," and being " a ringleader of the kS: of the Nazarenes," A6ts xxiv. 5. declares himfelf not guilty of any profanation of the temple j but to the other part of the accufation he anfwers, " But this I confefs unto thee, that, after the way vv'hich they call herefy, fo worfhip I the God of my Fathers, believing all things that are written in the law and the prophets," ASis xxiv. 14. The fcriptures, that is, the law and the prophets, " are they which teftiiied of Chrift," John v. 39. according to that teftimony, which Paul's " under- ilanding was opened that he might underftand," this bold apoftle of our Lord declares himfelf a worfhipper of the God of his Fathers; but this he acknowledges he is, according to the charge before Felix, that he was a ringleader of the [tS: of the Nazarenes. Jefus Chrift of Nazareth is here therefore pronounced by Paul to be the God of his Fathers, even one in Godhead with Je- hovah, the Father. — • XLV, St. Paul commences his epiftle to the Romans thus, « Paul, a fervant of Jefus Chi ift, called to be an apo- ftle, and feparated uuto the gofpel of God," Rom. i. i. N 2 ^^^ I 1(00 ] a^d, .then making a declaratiqn ofihf&^gi^^t gopd-\ylU t9vvard^ tJ^em, h?; ,%s,, ," For Gadrrisv^y .fwitn!Qf$.i whom I ferve with my fpirit in the igofper of his Soni that without ceafii^gLitiak^ mention qf; you always ii> my, p'^ayer^," Rorn^nsi. „9. i So that. here, in the famd breath, this gr^at iipollle of our Lobd and Saviour de- clares himfelf the fervant of Jefus Ghrift, the preacher of the gofpel of- God, and the Tet-vant of God, the preacher of the?, gofpel of Jefus Ghrift. : One only is the Mafter whom Paul ferved, and. he, whofe gofpel Rati}' preached, hut one, even Jefus. ChHfi: one with rhe Father, God. XLVI. " Thinkeft thou- that.thou'ffiiilt efcape the judgment of God?" Rom.ji. 3.i but " the Father .'judgethnia man,, but hath .committed all judgmeht unto> the Son,'' John v. 22.' who " fliall reward every man ac-» cording to his works;," Matth. xvi.--27. Who then: 1^9 that God whofe judgment is inevitable? certainly Je-.* fuft Chrift one with the' Father, • that '^ God, whd will render to every man according -to -his deeds,'- ■Rom. ii. 6. .- r ,7 . ■ :D :^.., XLVn. ■;^:::^:^: '• .^:-.:rT:q - *^ Or defpifeft' thou the riches of Ws gd6'dnefsy af\^ foi-bearance, and long- fuffering ; ilot knowing that' the goodnefs of God leadeth thee to repentance," Rom. ii. 4. to "repentance unto life," A£ls xi. t%. " How- rbeit," fays the fame apoftle, " for" Dili's cjaufe I obtained mercy, that in me firft Jefus Ch rift might fliew forth all long- fuffering, for a, pattern to them which fhould hereafter believe on him to life evei'la-fting!,"' i TiAi'.'it 1 6. We m.uft then " account that- the-J^ng-fuffering of our Lord is falvation ; even as our beloved brother -Paul alfo, according to the wifddth ■gi'^'en ^lifltb h-im, hath Written," 2 Pet. iii/ 15.' Who then- is this Lord^ who, *' is long-fuiFering.to us-ward ?" *'not willing that any [ lOA ] any fhould perlfh, but that atl fhould come to repen- tance,'' pL Pet. iii. -9. Certiainly he is t]ie fanrfc Lord Jeius.Ghrk];-whp mercifully, fnewed all long-fuffenn'g tp Paul,; for a pattern, to tl^m .who- flioulfi hereajter believe on h:im to ever-laftiijg lite"; on^, wkh.the Far ther, God, the riches^of■whJ^^e gqodnefs,; and forbear- ance^ and longdfufFeringi.jleadeth to repentance unto - The argument carried on through.the latter part of the third, and the \diole of the fourth. chapiter of St, Paul's epiil^e to the Roitians, affords a ftroiig proof of th^g- Godhead of Chrift.>> Abraham was faithful in God, his fiich-was imputed to Mm for righteoufnefs, and the promife" was therefore made to him j- he ;belicved in God, aiiii^^as }uffifrl*cl' by ^a^s beliefi^'fegit^%d is de- clared to be the '' ju'ilifier of him that believe^h in Je^ fus," Rom. iii. 26. The faith of Abraham, and the froaits. <3f' irafg fk fot^ ^^ a pattern -and peiRjafive to uS-;to have faith in Jefus-f ''lyat the faith of Abraham, whereby he was juftifr-id," was in God. Were Jefus Chrift'thdrefore- c)t4^ier fhari God, lie could: 'not hate been held out to us by this eloquent preacher of- his gofpel, as an objedi: of faith-after the exairple of Abra- ham.- The fame mode of argument is cai-ried through the iith chapter of Hebrews, and in the i 'at!! We are told that Jefus Chriil is the o-bjea of faith. xLix. -.^^U^; '' Ye are not in the ficfh, but in the'Tprr'tt, if fo be that the fpif^it of God dweH'eth in you. Now, if any man have 'not the fpirit of Chrifl-, he is none of hi's,'\ Rom. viii. 9. Here the context, and the courfe of St. Paul's -argument, put it out of con trpVerry^ that the fpirit of God and the fpirit of Chrift are fynonimbus. terms; but of him, whofethi'? fnirit is, it is faid, that *'hejaifed up Jefus from the dead," Rom. viii. 11. which [ I02 J which affords an apoftolical exprefTion of that which I have already laid down, that the one Godhead of the Father, and of the Son, was indeed the power which raifcd up the man Jefus from the dead ; for though I afTert that Chrift is God, I never yet denied that he was alfo a Man, and that his manhood was inferior to that Godhead which was in the flefh, and upon which the Hate of man is neceffarily dependent. L. <' Whofe are the Fathers, and of whom as concern- ing the flefh Chrift came, who is over all, God blefTed for ever. Amen," Rom, ix. 5. As it is not a very common cafe for men to come of their fathers as con- cerning any thing elfe than the flefh, St. Paul has ufed an expreflion concerning Chrift, which implies, that he had come of fome other origin than of the Jews, and in fome other manner than as concerning the flefli, and therefore has rendered an explanation ne- cefTary, which he accordingly proceeds to make ; and in order to fhew what that nature of Chrifl was, from which he had diftinguifhed his flefh, he dire6lly afferts in fo many exprefs words, that "he is over all^ God bleflTed for ever. Amen," LL " For the fame Lord over all, is rich unto all that call upon him. For whofoever fhall call upon the name of the Lord, fhall be faved. How then fhall they cal] on him in v/hom they have not believed ? and hov/ fhall they believe in him of whom they have not heard ? and how fhall they hear without a preacher ?" Rom. x. 12, 13. St. Paul is here preaching Jefus, of the con-r feflion of whom cometh falvation, and in whom, he fays, whofoever believeth fhall not be afhamed : 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. Lindfey mufl confefs him one [ 103 1 one with the Father, God. He is here preaching to thci 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. LII. *^ 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 there- fore 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 acS ; but this dedication of the ad is to God, whereas the a6l 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 object of our gratitude and thankfgiving, " to whofe glory, whether we eat, or drink, or whatfoever we do, we fliould do all," I Cor. X. 31 : " for the earth is the Lord's, and the fullnefs thereof," i Cor. x. 28. LIH. <' For we fhall all ftand before the judgment- feat of Chrift. For it is written. As I live, faith the Lord, every knee fhall bow to me, and every tongue fhall con- fefs to God. So then every one of us fhall give account of himfelf to God," Rom. xiv. lo, 11, 12. Here, in bowing [ I04 ] bowing t^e knee to Jefus- Chivikywe fulfil the j^rophecy that is exprefsly fpoken to Ifaiah, by God, of himfelfj " I have fv^^orn by myfelf, the word is gone out cf my mouth in righteoufnefs, and fhall not retlirTi5"^''that unto me every knee {hall bow, every tongue fliall fwear," Ifaiah xlv. 23, If this then be fulfilled by the bowing the Icnee to Chrift, Chrift is that God who fpoke this prophecy. I muft then refer to the v/hole chapter, every deelar^tion in which is made of him who has {o fpoken, even Jefus ChriH : " there is no G^3 el^^tfe^' fide me, a juft God, and a Saviour, there is none' B'e^' fide me. Look unto me, and be ye faved, all the ends of the earth : for I am God, and there is none el (eV* Ifaiah xlv. 21, 22. Befides this circumfrance, every man is here confeffing to God before the judgment- feat of Chrifl-, therefore that God, (one with the Fa- ther) before whom they are confelling, '^ for we riiuft all appear before the judgment- feat of CKiiil ; 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 v/ill come to judgment, *' it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God," Heb. X. 31. LIV. '< I know, and am perfuaded by the Lord JefuF, that there is nothing unclean of itfelf," Rorri. :?dv. 14. We do not find any particular revelation made to Paul that there is nothing unclean : he mull: then hat^e had it from Peter, to whom it was revealed, and who fays, " God hath fhcwed me, that I fhould not call any man corri- mon or unclean j" and this the Lord had fhewed him by a vifion in which Peter is called upon t6 eafchings heretofore common and unclean, but now cleanfed by God. If Paul therefore was perfaaded by Jefus Chrifl", through 4 i05 ] through the relation made by Peter, we find him look upon our Lord t-^ be the God which had fhewed 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 faid to have had fuch 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. LV. " That I fliould be the minifter of Jefus Chrifl: to the Gentiles, miniftering the gofpel of God," Rom. xv. i6. He goes- on to fay, that, according to this appointment, ''^ from Jerufalem and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gofpel of Chrifl," Rom. xv. 19 ; 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 Chrift, 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. LVI. «' The churches of Chrift faluteyou," 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. i, 2. It is remarkable that St. Paul wrote from Corinth to Rome, and in his epiftle thence calls thr 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 deno- i: io6] denominated, he addrefles himfelf " to the church o£. God which Is at Cdrinth," and defcribes the members of this church to be " fandtified in Chrift Jefus, called to be faints, and calling upon the name of the Lord Je- fus, both theirs and ours." There is but one church of God, and that is of Chriil: who is called upon in it : Tefus Chrift is therefore one with the Father, God. *' Grace be unto you," fays St. Paul, immediately af- ter addrefling 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 is a very extraordinary gift for our Saviour to make if it was 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. LVIL '' So that ye come behind in no gift ; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jefus Chrift : who (hall alfo 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 judgeth me 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. 4, 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- eth 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 [ I07 1 he is God ;'* and if this needed farther proof, it wiH 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 you,, and not to boaft in another man's line of things made ready to our hand. But he thatglorjeth, let him glory in the Lord. For not he that commendeth himfelf is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth," 2 Cor. x. 14 to 18. LVIIL ^' 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. 11, 12, 13. From Chrift's not being divided, he dilTuades them from divifions, ver. 10. '' Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, 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 the 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 " he fhall confirm them unto the end," I Cor. i. 8. That which was given to every man, confirmation in faith, is then the gift of Jefus Chrift the Lord -, but God gave the encreafe : therefore Jefus Chrift, the Lord who gave it, is one with the father, God. Oz ^'I [ io8 ) LIX. ■ *' 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 Je- fus 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 com.mand, went forth into all nations, baptizing in the name of Jefus Chrift, one with the Father and the Ho- ly Ghoft, God, (for I dare not fuppofe 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 objeds of their adherence as Chrift, who alone was crucified for them, prxDceeds to return thanks to God that he had not led fuch unfta- ble fouls into farther errour, and by the exercife of that duty vvhich 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 baptifra 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 adr miniftered in the name of Chrift ; an errour of fo great magnitude, that the apoftle is very happy in not having afforded occafion for it to men, whom he faw fo ready to mifinterpret the miniftry and apoftleftiip of the gofpel, which he had preached among them. Mr. Lindfey draws a very extraordinary conclufion from the paflage 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 requeft that this chapter may be turned to, and refer it to the meaneft reader, who ftiall honour me with a perufalj whether Mr, Lindfey has not fallen into the very [ I09 ] very errour which St. Paul Is here cenfuring in the Co- 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. LX. As I have already proved that it was Jefus Chrifl: who fent forth the apoftles to preach him, and who had chofen thofe veflels which fhould bear his name before the Gentiles, I {hall not now repeat the arguments al- ready made ufe of, but defire my reader may compare the palfages brought together to that purpofe, with the following declaration of St. Paul, " that not many wjfe men after the flefh, not many mighty, not many nQble 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 j that no flefh iliould glory in his prefence," i Cor.'^i, 26, ^17, 28, 29. This he fpeaks of the preachers of the gofpel who had been fent by Jefus 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 llrength is perfedted 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 defires 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 [ no ] LXI. *^ Had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory," i Cor. ii. 8. " Ye killed the Prince of Life," or, as it ftands in the margin of the 3ible, " the Author of Life." And now, brethren, J wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did alfo your rulers," Ai^s iii. 15, 17. " My ])rethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jefus Chrift the Lord of glory, with refpe<5l of perfons," James ii. i. In this laft text the tranflation has fupplied the words *' the Lord^^ but the following words " of glory," which exprefs the whole meaning in the Greek, require them, or other? to the fame purpofe, to exprefs it in Englifh ; and St, Paul's having ufed the whole phrafe is a fufHcjent war- rant 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 not give to another." " Who is this King of glory ? 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 noftrils the breath of life," Gen. ii. 7, LXIL '' We fpeak the wifdom of God in a myftery." *' The things of God knoweth 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 the things of the fpirit of God;" *' for who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may inftru£l him ? but we have the mind of Chrift," I Cor. ii. 7, to the end. This needs- no comrnent. Lxin. That Chrift himfelf fpoke by the apoftles, is evident from what follows. Paul fays to the Corinthians, " Now, [ III ] " Now, concerning virgins, I have no commandment of the Lord : yet I give my judgement as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful," i Cor. vii. 25. Here the preacher makes a diftindlion between that effect which the immediate dictate of the fpirit had on him, with the authority of fpeech 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 Chrift, whence it is evi- dent that Chrift is the Lord meant here. " To the Lord our God belong mercies, and forgiven efTes." Dan. ix. 9. Let him then who extends them be ac- knowledged to be the God of our faivation. LXIV. 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 God, 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 eflablifh the worihip of the true God ; and now, if ever accuracy of exprellion be necefTary, it was incumbent upon St. Paul to diftinguifh between the Father and the Son, in terms never to be confounded, to afcribe fuch attributes to each as muft perfectly diflinguifh him from the other; nay, perhaps he fhould have gone farther, and have ab- folutely omitted the name of him, who was not to be confidered as a proper object of worfhip, left his idola- trous hearers, to whom a multitude of gods would not have been exceptionable, fhould interpret his words into an implication, that he, who was defcribed to them with attributes the very fame as thofe beftowed upon God, was pointed out as an obje(Sl: of adoration, inflead of [ 112 1 of the idols wriich tliey heard him obje6^ to, and ih- ftead of v/hich he v/as about to fubltitute a God for thetiT. Has this been the conduct of the apoftle ? has he dilig:ently withheld the name of Jefus Chrift, while! he recommends a new worfhip ? If not^ I think it rea- fbnably to be concluded, that he did recommend the worfhip of Jefus Chrift to thcm^ to whom he fays^ *' though there be that are called Gods, whether in hea- ven or in earth, (as there be Gods many, 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 appears conclufive foi* the- one Godhead of the Father and of the Son. In the' fame manner Paul- and Barnabas, after they had at Ly- ftra " preached the gofpel," and, by a miracle of heal- ing, confirmed the teftimony which they bore to the truth of their do6trines, and had received divine ho^ Hours fr extricate himfelf from the neceffity of bending under it. It is indeed furprizing, that a man who has fliewed fa evidently his attachment to what he believes the truth, fhould not be more circumfpecSt in the purfuit of her, but allow himfelf to be deceived by every painted fal- lacy that fhall appear ever fo little like the original, I am at a lofs to conceive how the following daubed mafk ftiould be taken for the native and unadorned fimplicity of truth, by ope who profeftes himfelf ena- moured of that fimplicity. But upon the 12th chap, and 8, 9 ver. of 2 Cor, a Mr. Beaufobre has afforded the following comment, to which Mr. Lindfey accedes with the moft fupine facility. " For this thing I be- fought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me," ^ Cor. xii. 8, 9. *' Paul appears here to have dire61:ed his prayer to God, the Father, and to have had in his, thoughts thoughts and to have imitated our Lord's prayer in the garden, the night before his fufFering, when he prayed to God, that, if it pleafed him, the cup of aiHidtion might pafs away from him without his drinking it.** Beaufobre on the place. Apology, p. 132. Let us take the whole pafTage together, and examine it with the context, and then fee whether the apoftle had any fuch fluff in his thoughts as the dreams of Mr. Beau- fobre are made of. St. Paul having faid, " of myfelf I 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, faying, *' lefi I (hould be e?^alted above meafure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me. a thorn in the flefh, the rnelTenger of Satan to buffet me, left I (hould 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 flrength is made perfecSt in weaknefs, Mofl gladly therefore will I rather glory in mine infir- mities, that the power of Chrift may refl upon me. Therefore I take pleafure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necefHties, in perfecutions, in diflrelles for Chrifl's fake: for when I am weak, then am I ftrong," 2 Cor. xii. 5, 7, 8, 9, 10. Wherefore does St. Paul glory? wherefore take pleafure in his infirmities? that the power of Chrift may refl upon him; for, by fuf- fering 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 Chrifl's fake; it is the flrength of Chrifl then that is perfected in his weaknefs : but it is the Lord who faid, my flrength is made perfea in weaknefs; the Lord therefore who fo fpoke, is Chrifl: but of the Lord who fo fpoke, Paul thrice befought the departure of " this thing." The Lord then being Chrift [ ii8 ] Chrifl, and Paul having thrice preferred his fuppllca- tions to him, it neceflarily follows, that the Lord Jefus Chrift is a proper object of prayer and religious wor- fliip, and therefore that he is one with the Father, God. Such is the conclufion from the context; whereas a dclufive aflertion is inferred by a Mr. Beau- fobre, from a partial quotation of but one fmall part of the pafTage, in itfelf proving nothing, but made the •liibje£l of the weakeft comment that ever obtained the acquiefcence of a man of virtue; a man, whofe errours aiHi6l 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 vifionaries have interprf'ted it, without fenfible regret. I do not deiire that even my comment fhould fupplant a fmgle inference drawn by a fenfible and candid mxan, from ^ perufal of the fcriptures themfelves; it cannot therefore be expecSled that I fhall indulge Mr. Lindfey in laying afide the ufe of his own better underflanding, that he may adopt the do6lrines of a multitude of defigning or filly men and women upon whom he places fuch implicit reliance, I only aflc of him, and every other reader, that they will take the uncorrupted word of God itfelf into their own confideration, and with di- ligence fearch the fcriptures, only, and thence infer^ fpr their ovyn ufe, fuch tenets as the Holy Spirit (hall be found to have teftified. LXVIIL 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 the Son are put into oppofition to man, and declared to be the Being from whom the apoftle had his authority; and he de- clares farther, that " the gofpel which was preached of me, is not after man. For I neither received it of man, * neither [ "9 ] neltlier was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jefu^ Chi-ift," Gal. I. II, 12. Who then is Jefus Chrift who has thus revealed the gofpel to Paul, and whofe authority is (o very high above that of men ? One with the Father, God. LXIX. " For do I now perfuade men, or God ? or do I feck to pleafe men ? for if I yet pleafed men, I ftiould not be the fervant of Chrift," Gal. i. lo. This is in. context with the laft cited paflages, and the apoftle, ftill preferving the diftindlion betvi^een God and man, fliews the Galatians the authority with which he is about to reprove them, and that they may. not expe<9: too great lenity, he fhews that he does not feek to pleafc them, but Chrift, whofe fervant he fhould not be if he negleded to maintain that gofpel which fome amono- them had perverted. He diflinguifhes himfelf from thofe who " dtfire to make a fair fhew in the flefh, 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. LXX. <« 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 aftertion before us. He is fhewing that the law was given as " a fchoolm.after to bring us unto Chrift, that wq might be juftified by faith," that it was given in the interval of time, between the promife and the time of fulfilling itj but by no means with a view of fupplying the place of that which was promifed, for it was impoftible 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- ceflary, and that being therefore emancipated from the bondage t 120 ] tondage of the law, " we are made the children of God, by faith in Chrift Jefus :'* 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 this affigning a rea- fon wherefore Chrift took manhood, and particularly why he was fent to the loft fheep of the houfe of Ifrael? But he has, according to " the gofpel, preached before to Abraham," Gal, iii. 8, fuiFered, and redeemed them, Ivhereby they have been juftified by faith, and by faith to juftification 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 paffagc before us, we are told, that God fent forth the fpirit of his Son; and by the fame preacher it is declared to the Romansj that it is by " the fpirit of him that raifed Jefus 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. ii, 14, 15. That fpirit, which raifed 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 refurre6tion 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 fons, and by the fpirit of our blefled Redeemer fent forth into our hearts, let us, without hefitation, cry to him, " Abba, Father," and addrefs the Lord's prayer to him, through v/hom, 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 preach- [ 121 ] preaching to men difpofed to Judaifm and the doarlnes of the law, the fpirit of adoption. Tent after juftification by faith in Chrift Jefus, was by no means neceffary 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 of Mofes was then the doarine 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. LXXI. " In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgivenefs of fms, 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 knees vmto the Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift, cf 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, and long-fuf- feringj not knowing that the goodnefs of God Icadeth thee to repentance?" Rom. ii. 4. " What if Gcd, &c. that he might make known the riches of his glory," Rom. ix. 23. The riches of God and of Chrif! are here made fynonimous terms, and furely the riches of grace, and of glory, and of long-fuffering, can only be the attributes of God. But left it ftiould 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 paffeth knowledge, that yr my be filled with all the fulnefs of God," Eph. iii. 18, 19; fo that all the fulnefs of God, and ths knowledge of [ 122 ] the love of Chrift, are again made fynonimous terms. But this fulnefs of God is attained to only by having " Chrift to dwell in our hearts by faith," Eph. iii. 175 and then wherh we have attained to this, and " come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God," what is the confequence? 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 ta the Gentiles, that they ftiould be partakers of the pro- mife in Chrift by the gofpel, " whereof I was made a minifter, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me," Eph. iii. y. " But unto everyone 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 f how un- fearchable are his judgments, and his ways paft find- ing out [ for who hath known the mind of the Lord^ or v/hohath been bis counfellour ?" Rom. xi. 33, 34. Thefe laft words afrord at once an argument, and no unufeful leflbn to a reader of the word of the God of truth. LXXII. " When he afcended up on high, he kd captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he af- cended, what is it but thaf he alfo defcended firft into the lower parts of the earth ? He that defcended, 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 irindfeian, as of the Platonick fchifm. He forefaw that [ »23 ] that our Lord's pre-exlftence 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 manner 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 condefcenfion). He forefaw that his divinity would be denied, and has therefore lifted him far above the heavens, and extended him even that he might fill all things. Let us then *' henceforth be no more children, tofTed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the Height of men, and cunning craftinefs, whereby they lie in v/ait 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. LXXIIL " Servants, be obedient to them that are your mafters according to the flefli, with fear and trembling, in fmglenefs of your heart, as unto Chrift : not with eye-fervice, as m.en pleafers, but as the fervants 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, v^he- ther he be bond or fi'ee," Eph. vi. 5, 6, 7, 8. If words 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 diftin£t from that which is done to pleafe men, I ft^.ould endeavour to paraphrafe this paflage. I fhall only now remark, that, in a parallel paftage to the Coloffian fervants, he fays, inftead of " with fear and trembling, in fmglenefs of heart, as unto Chrift ;" " not with eye-fervice, Q.2 as [ 124 3 as men pleafers, b ut in finglenefs '^of heart, fearing God," ColoiT. iii. 22. LXXIV. «' 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 lik:enefs of men ; and being found in fafhion as a man, he humbled himfelf, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the crofs," Philip, 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 words the form of a fervant^ th^ likenefs of men^ and the faJJnon of man^ be exactly of the fame import as an aflertion that he was actually a man, it necefTarily follows, that the fimilar expreilion, " being in the form of God," muft have a fimilar interpretation, and fignify that he is actually God ; and from the whole pafiage our Sa- viour's pre-exiftence (in a ftate of glory) to the time of his being " made man" is fo necefTarily deducible, that it cannot be avoided ; the condefcenfion of Chrift, equal with God, in taking on him a nature fo inferior as that of man, being the propofed example of humi- lity, by which we are exhorted to be humble. If this text flood without another to fupport it, it is conclu- live for the Godhead of Jefus Chrift. 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 thp invifible God," Colofl*. i, 15 ; and many other paflagqs declaring him to be " in the form of God." Lxxy. *' 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 ex- pe61:ation [ 125 3 pe<3:ation of the Saviour is from heaven, pronounces the jSaviour to 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 fupplications, and giving of thanks for all men, '' is good and acceptable in the fight of God our Savir 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 vv^ord throu&h preaching, vi^hich is committed unto me, according to the commandment of God our Saviour," Titus i. 3 : fo that God our Saviour, is the Saviour whofe coming from heaven Paul looked for, even Jefus Chrift, one with the Father ; that God who committed the preach- ing of his word, and the manifeftation of himfelf to be made in due time, faying, " I am Jefus whom thou perfecuteft," A6ts ix. 5. LXXVI. " Who is the firft-born of every creature," Col. i. 15. Inftead of conceiving that thefe words in the leaft degree derogate from the dignity of Chrift as God, or in the leaft point him out to be even the firji and pure/} Creature of God^ I believe them to have the very reverfe tendency; for from the context we may find St. Paul ufing the benefit of our redemption thro' the Wood 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 by him, and for him, and he is be- fore dl things, and by him all things confift," Col. i. 16, 17. And this redemption, which is afforded to us, the apoftle teftifies to be by the blood of the Son, who is [ 126] is the " firft-born of every creature." 'By the facrHice 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 defl:ru6lion of the Jewifti tem- ple, and confequently of the Jewifti ritual at hand ; and the event foonjuftified the prophecy; we find theit altars and offerings abolifhed, and their nation ceafe to be a people peculiar to God ; but we find alfo the adoption of all mankind to be, as it v^'ere, 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- tion of all mankind thro' him, and that thtir peculiar fandtity was maintained by blood, and by facrifices; fo we find, that this blood, and thefe facrifices were a type of the facrifice to be made for all mankind in or- der to their adoption ; for, as the facrifice was for an atonement for the fins and errours of the people, fo is the facrifice of Chrift, once offered, an atonement for the fins of thofe who were thereby adopted. But we find alfo, that the Jews were to be fan^tified by the offering up of the firfl-born to God ; and among other parts of their ritual, this fandtification new no longer feryiceable, was to be (et afide ; that event, of which it was a type, having taken place, and our fan6lification to God, by the offering up of Jefus Chrift to be '' the firft-born of every creature" being accomplifhed. 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 t 127 ] who not only gave himfelf for the whole of mankind, to be " the firft-born of every creature," but alfo has, inftead of the Leviticat priefthood, flood forth himfelf 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 dodrine of St- Paul to the Hebrews, by whofe rites he declares our Saviour's facrifice forefhewed, be not accepted. Jet the *' firft-born of every creature" be referred to a declara- tion in a few verfes after, that Jefus Chrift is " the firft-born from the dead," Col. i. i8. Words fpoken with refpeft to his refurreftion, whereby our refurre^lion 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 meer 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." Compaftion 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 fufficient to make any thing St. P^ul fays on this fubje^f altoge- ther unneceftary to be enquired into. The little paf- fage is taken apart, and an interpretation faftened upork^ it, which, when it is reftored to its original connection, it altogether reje^s. The [ 128 ] LXXVII. The following is an explicit declaration that Jeful Ghrift is both God and Man, " for in him dwelleth all the fulnefs of the Godhead bodily," Col. ii. 9. LXXVIII. To forgive fins is the peculiar attribute of him to whom belong mercies and forgivenefs; and accord- ingly we are called upon by St. Paul to '' put on (as the ele6t of God, holy and beloved) bowels of mercy^ Icindefs, humblenefs of mind, meeknefs, long-fuffer^ ing; forbearing one another, and forgiving one ano- ther, if any man have a quarrel againft any : even as Chrift forgave you, fo alfo do ye," Col. iil. 12, 13. This pafTage is immediately preceded by a declaration^ that " Chrift is all in alL" LXXIX. *' Of the Lord ye fhail receive the reward of the inhe- ritance : for ye ferve the Lord Chrift. But he that doeth wrong, fhall receive for the wrong which he hath done : and there is no refpeft of perfons/' Col. iii. 24, 25^ Before whom is there no refpe6t of perfons ? certainly before him who is to deal out the reward impartially^ whom we ferve; but we are told tlut " God will ren- der to every man according to his deeds," " for there is no refpeft of perfons with God," Rom. ii. ^, 11. And in the Ephefians, St. Paul fays, having called us firft fervants of Chrift," " your Mafter alfo is in heaven^ neither is there refpedl of perfons with him," Eph. vi. 6, 9. And accordingly we find St. James fay, '* My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jefus Chrift, the Lord of glory, with refpe6t of perfons," James ii. I^ LXXX. To the Theflalonlans, St. Paul fays, « We were bold in our God, to fpeak unto you the gofpel of God, with much contention," 1 Theft", ii. 2. " We v/cre willing to have imparted unto you, not the gofpel of God [ 129 ] God only, but alfo our own fouls," " for labourinf^ night 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, and our fellow labourer in the gofpel of Chrift, to eftablilh you, and to comfort you concerning your faith," i Theff. iii» 2. If Chrift be not God, is this the method of eftablifhing their faith ? no, but of fliaking it to its very foundation, for the idea that he is God is fuggefted by it. Either St. Paul intended to inculcate that do6trine, or he did not ; if he did, we muft accede to it ; if he did not, he has Ved to the Holy Ghoft, given " to guide him into all truth,*' John xvi. 13. or the fpirit of truth has, by inaccuracy, 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 ThelT. 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 witnefTes of our bleiTed Redeemer with equi- vocation, I am confident he will not blafphemoufly dare to impute falfehood to the Spirit of truth him- felf. If Paul then fpeaking, with the Holy Ghoft, has fuggefted that Chrift is God, we muft neceftarily believe that he meant to inculcate that doftrine, and therefore that Jefus Chrift is one with the Father, God. LXXXI. Reminding the ThefTalonians of his former leflbns, St. Paul fays, " 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 in- ftruft them in brotherly love, as the will of God, the commandment of the Lord Jefus. R " It [ ^3<> 3 LXXXII. ''It is a righteous thing with' God to recompencxf tribulation to them that trouble you ; and to you who are 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 : v/ho fhall be punifhed with everhfting deftrudion'from the prefence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; v/hen he fhall come to be glorified in his faints,, and to be admired in all them that believe (becaufe our teflimony among you was believed) in that day,"^ 2 Their, i. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. Seeing then tirat Jefus Chrifl is revealed from heaven, taking vengeance, and deflroying by everlafling expulfton from before the pre- fence of the glory of his po-wer j is act 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 Chrifl:, '' that the name of our Lord Jefus Chrifl may be glorified ?" See the entire chapter. The glorifica- tion of the name of our blefTed Lord gives a fancStion tc our addrelling him in thefe words, '^ Hallowed be thy name," Matth. vi. 9. " The Lord Jefus fhall be re- vealed, taking vengeance on them that obey not the gofpel of our Lord Jefus Chrifl ;*' and " what fhall the end be of them that obey not the gofpel of God V I Pet. iv. 17. LXXXIIL " Now our Lord Jefus Chrifl himfelf, and God even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath giver* us everlafling confolation, and good hope thro' grace^ comfort your hearts, and eflablifh you in every good word and work," 2 ThefT. ii. 16, 17. I am not yet going to enquire into Mr. Lindfey's curious do(5lrine of piaus wiihes, but, exclufive of the general fenfe of this pafTage, [ ^31 ] pailage, to make a remark on the great fingularlty of the expreffion. Either there are two nominatives join- ed by the copulative " and," or there is but one prece- pting the verb in the fentence before us, and in that cafe, the copulative unites tv^o fpecific terins put in appofition to the one general nominative ; if the former were the cafe, the verb muft nectflarily have been put in the plural number, whereas, from its {landing in the Tmgular, we muil: conceive it governed by one nomina- tive only ; now, if there be found one term in the fen- tence including the reft v/ithin its general import, that is the nominative cafe governing the verb ; But I have all along afTerted, that the Father is God, and that thvC Son is God, and therefore now fay that the word *' God," is here that general term comprehending within itfelf, " our Lord Jefus Chrift himfelf, and even our Father," one God, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlafting confolation. St. Paul feems to have been diligent to eftablifh this point by the ener- getick addition of the word " himfelf" after the name of our Lord ; for thus emphatically to dwell upon a word to be difmiiTed inftantly from being of any con- fequence in the conftrudlion of a fentence, is a pradlice unknown to any writer in any language, and furely not to be imputed to one of the moft accurate, concife, and obtrufive fpeakers that ever forced the meaning of words upon the underftanding 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 diftracl his argument. After he had thus givea them a bleiling from his warm and benevolent heart, this excellent man calls upon his hearers for their p • ly- ers, and, in confideration of the benedi6^ion that he has already beftowed on them, " that God fhould elta- blifli them in every good word and work," he fays, '* the Lord is faithful, v/ho fhall ftablifh you, and keep you from evil," 2 Theff. iii. 3. R 2 " And [ ^32 ] LXXXIV. *' And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Chrift j" or, as it ftands in the margin of the Bible, " the patience of Chrift," 2 ThefT. iii. 5. Here is the Lord, 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 diftinftion between the Father and Son, as God, is intended to be marked in fuch paffages 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 fpeak we in Chrift," 2 Cor. ii. 17; and in a multitude of texts, where the difti nation is marked only as in that before us, where the neuter word Lord is certainly both that God and Chrift from whom he feems to be diftinguift^- cd by the a6lion appointed to him. LXXXV. *' There is one God, and one mediator between God and man, the man Chrift Jefus ; who gave himfelf a ranfom for all, to be teftified in due time," i Tim. ii. 5, 6. Having already commented on the former part of this paflage, I fliall 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 nov/ 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 pafles 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 [ J33 ] Without wrath and doubting," i Tim. il. 7, 8. Where- fore ? becaufe he is a wltnefs to tcftify 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 anfwer given to this, namely, that he, whom he teftified, was the proper object of that prayer which he defired fhould be preferred, even Jefus Chriflr, one with the Father, God. LXXXVL St. Paul, about to fend Timothy to preach " found doctrine, according to the glorious gofpel of the blefl'ed God, which was committed to his truft," i Tim. i. 10, II. gives him the follov/ing epitome of what he would have him promulgate and teftify ; " Now, with- out controverfy, great is the myftery of godlinefs : God was manifeft in the flefh, juftihed in the fpirit, feen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory," i Tim. iii. 16. What can more demonftrate the Godhead of him who, ha- ving been manifeft in the fleih, was witnelled by the apoftles to have afcended into heaven, and who, by them, was now preached unto the Gentiles, than this direct alTertion, that he, of whom it was afierted, was, and is God. And fhall we now deny that the revela- tion of godlinefs is a myftery? LXXXVII. Forewarning Timothy of future defection from the truth, and recommending perfeverance, St. Paul fays, " We both labour, and fufrer reproach, becaufe we truft in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, I Tim. iv. 10. " This" he declares to be "a faith- ful faying, and worthy of all acceptation;" and in fo many words he has aflerted the fame thing of the following faa, that " Jefus Chrift came into the world to fave finners," i Tim. i. 15. To be the Saviour ^hen is the common attribute of God and of Chrift, wh© [ 134 ] who IS therefore God ; for Jefus Chrift is not faid t» have been the means of falvation, which would have better defcribed the inftrument of God in our redemp- tion, but he is one and the fame Saviour with God, Of the man Chrift Jefus of the feed of David, it is in- deed faid that he was raifed from the dead, 2 Tim. ii. 8. But Jefus Chrift as God, clothed with eternal glory, is he by whom we have obtained eternal falva- tion, 2 Tim. ii. 10. LXXXVIII. *' I give thee charge in the fight of God, who quick- cneth all things, and before Chrift Jefus, who before Pontius Pilate witnefled a good confeflion; that thou keep this commandment without fpot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jefus Chrift : which in his times he ftiall fhew, who is the blefled 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 rnan 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 flefti, yet now henceforth know we him no m.ore,'* 2 Cor. V. 16. That he is the King of kings, and Lord of lords, is not only afierted here, but is in fo many terms declared to be the name of Jefus Chrift by St. John, Rev. xix. 16. His Godhead is theretpre incontrovertibly eftabliftied here. That St. Paul fhould. 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 irrft chapter of this epiftle, that I choofe to refer to it, rather t I3S 3 lather than make a partial quotation, and the whole is too long to infert. The pious wifli, or rather let me have liberty to call it the benediftion of the apoftle, is " grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father, and Jefus Chrift our Lord ;" a vvifh, which I cannot Well imagine how he fhould expert 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 trufl 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 fays '* 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 everlafting, " 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 ftrong- ly imprefled upon his mind, as at once to call forth his acknowledgments and his exulting praife." LXXXIX. 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 fliall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing, and and his kingdom: preach the word, &c.*' 2 Tim. iv. 1, And " unto all them that love his appearing," he fays, *' the Lord the righteous Judge ihall give a crown of righteoufnefs at that day," ver. 8. Here the king- dom, the judgement- feat, and the appearing^ are affignj- ed to Jefus Chrift, and the crown of righteoufnefs is conferred on all thofe who love his appearing, accord- ing to what he fays to Titus, to whom he is giving a like charge : " looking for that bleffed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God, and our Saviour Jefus Chrift," Titus ii. 13. That thefe then are all fynonimous terms I fhall not affront the underftanding 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* XC. In the charge to Titus laft cited, St. Paul holds out *' this blefTed hope, and glorious appearing of the great God, 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 doctrine 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 i" " that having been difobedient, fervlng lufts and pleafures, not our merits, but his mercy fhone forth in faving us :" that therefore, " Jefus Chrift ha- ving loved us, and waftied us from our fins in his blood," Rev. i. 5. *' the kindnefs and love of God our Saviour appeared, by waftiing of regeneration, and re- newing of the Holy Ghoft; which was fhed on us abundantly, thro' yefus Chrijl our Saviour^'^ Titus ill. 4, 5, 6. Here, fpeaking to a man who was to a6t under him, and whofe difcharge of the office conferred on him, muft in a great meafure depend upon the accu- 1-acy of St. Paul's expreffion, this apoftle, preaching that which was committed to him, according to the cona- [ m ] Gommandment of God our Saviour," falls into a mode of expreflion, which, if Jefus Chrift be not God, mafl perpetually miile.id Titus, keep him wandering in con- tinual errour, and utterly incapacitate him to " exhort and convince by found doctrine." That mankind had obtained falvation, is the committed doftrine; that God is our Saviour, and that Jefus Chrift is our Savi- our, are fentences occurring every where through the epiftle, nay, in contiguous verfes \ for, after declaring himfelf an apoftle by the commandment ot God our Za- vioury 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 Jefus Chri/i our Saviour^'' Titus i. 3, 4. Did he mean to diftra6t him ? if no^, he is very defective in his addrefs ; but if he meant to inculcate the divinity of Chrift, and to ftiew that the Father and the Son are one God, our Saviour, he has fpoken to the purpofe, and confiftently with the coherent ftile that fo exceedingly diftinguifhes the wri- tings of St. Paul. XCI. " Verily, he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the feed of Abraham," Heb. ii. 16. This is urged as a perfuafive to us to lay hold of and embrace the great falvation, afforded to us by fo wondejful 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, be- come the Captain of our falvation, by fuffering death for all men. But St. Paul fiy?, 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 pofti- ble to him, he has made a choice? and to that which is not yet uftiered into being, we know that there is not any thing pofiible ; therefore Jefus Chrift had pre- exiftence to the time he came in the flefh: But he ve- S rily [ n8 ] 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 choice among all inferior natures which he would take was his, he aflumed that in which a purpofe 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 belonged ? Certainly God, to whom alone all things are fubfervient, " by whom and for whqm all things were created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth," Col. i. i6. who can exalt, as well as debafe, the works of his own hands, and take into himfelf whatfoever nature it fhall pleafe him to honour. This ■ftupendous dignity he has conferred upon ours; and for our advantage has become man, even the man Je- fus Chrift. This adopted nature, this progeny of his power and mercy he has declared his Son ; and for the fake of this his " holy child Jefus," 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 fufFered, thereby to become the Author and Captain of our falvation, accompanied the * reafcending God into heaven, there for ever to remain our Mediator and Interceflbr; for his fake, I fay, has God been pleafed to extend falvation to us ; ^' for this beloved Son, in whom he is well pleafed," and whom therefore he has eternally united with him-r felf, has undertaken the caufe of our infirmities, and has gracioufly condefcended to call us brethren j he has even called us fons; and having taken part in that flefh and blood whereof we are partakers, pronounced * " Now, that he afcended, what is it but that he alfo de; Ccended firft into the Jower parts of the earth ?" Eph. iv. 8. [ 139 ] \is his children; and with more than paternal kindnefs bowed himfelf down to death for our fandification, " 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 fubjedt to bondage." See Heb. ii. throughout. Let us then, in memory of that fellowfliip which God himfelf has with us, having been " partaker of that flefh and blood," through the mercies which he has thereby vouchfafed 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. 20. " And having," therefore, "an liigh priefl over the houfe of God, let us draw near with a true heart, in full afTurance of faith," " without wavering;" for if we fm wilfully, after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, " of the offering of the body of Jefus Chrifl once," " there remaineth no more facrifice for fm, but a fiery indignation fhall devour the adverfary, who hath trodden under foot the iSon of God, and counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was fanifified 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/' Heb. x. throughout. Where now is Mr. Lindfey's analogy between the offering up of prayer and religious worfhip to -Aaron the high priefl of the Jews, and to our great high priefl Jefus Chrifl ? between the priefl " that flandeth daily ftiiniflering and offering oftentimes the fame facrifices which can never take away fm,'* 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 perfe6led for ever them that are fandtified ? " For S 2 the [ HO ] the law maketh men high priefts ; but the word of the oath which was fince the law, maketh the Son, who is confecrated for evermore ;" " who, having as a prieft, once made facrifice, having oiFered 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 Vv'hich he has declared, " I will put my laws into their minds, and write them in their hearts, and I v/ill be to them a God, and they fhall 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 and man, and whofe human nature, perfected by fufterings for an atonem.ent to reconcile man to God, is nov/ 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 afpired ; " he is a high prieft in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliLrtion for the lins of the people;'* and he is an objeft of our adoration and religious worfhip; " for in that he himfelf hath fufFered, being tempted, he is able to fuccour them that are tempted," Heb. ii. 17, 18. To this high honour the glorified body of Chrift is called, after it had been made perfe61:, and thertce become the author of our falvation : v/hereas of Aaron's priefthood it is faid, that " the facrifices which were offered year by year continually," under it, " could never make the comers thereunto perfe6t," Heb x. i. Are Aaron and Jefus Chrift now equally objeds of our adoration? or are we equally to withhold our worfhip from both, him who cannot, and him who can fuccour us ? from him who daily fhed the infufficicnt blood of bulls and goats, for the errours of the people, and from him who abolifhed the facriilce and offering by the one facrifice, the one offering of his own " prepared body, v/hich CJ^me and bled for us^ that we might be enabled to do thv [ 141 ] thy will, O God," Heb. x. 5, 6. that we might be a party to the new covenant ? The do(5lrine of the apofrle is therefore here manifeftly, that, inafmuch as the fleih and blood of the man Jefus is now in union v/ith the eternal Godhead, and that in the world he had fufFered fo much for us, and had called us bre- thren, we may entertain great hope in the mercy of him, whofe experience of human infirmities and temp- tations, can caufe him to have com.pafiion on us ; and therefore we are defired to call upon God through thefe mercies, through Jefus Chrift, his name, as our ran- fom from, death, abolilhed 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 expert it to have any weight with fuch as have not read the law of Mofes, and compared the types of the Jewifh ritual with the great event of which it was the {hadow ; and alfo attended to the courfe of the apoftle's argument throughout his epiftle to the Hebrews. Before I con- clude this comment I muft infift upon the circumftance of the lav/ having been no more than a fhadow of the things to come, and not the exa£t portraiture; and therefore cannot refrain from expreiling my furprize at feeing Aaron and our bleffed Lord fo clofely brought together and aflimilated by Mr. Lindfey, Vvho will not admit of even a fliadowy 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 fliall venture to aflert, that the government of the Jev/s, by God, was an epi- tome of the governm.ent of the afterwards adopted world ; that the feledion of the Jews, for the faith of Abraham their father, was an inlknce of the value of faith in the pure eyes of God, and an epitome of the adoption " of many fons," to be elefted thro' faith in Jefus Chvift; that the purifications by blood, and the atonement, by [ 142 ] by facrifices for the people, were a type of that great facrifice of the body of our Lord, offered once for our atonement, by which we are reconciled and reftored to that blefled hope of everlaffing life, which we had for- feited as heirs to the tranfgreffion of Adam ; for as in Adam all men died^ and as the law was giVen that fin hiight 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 perfe61:ed by death, aiid 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 he is our appointed judge, " becaufe he is the Son of man." XCIL As it is already laid down, and, I prefume, well re- membered, that all are to be judged by our Lord Jefus Chrifl, when he (hall 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 Lord; the judge flandeth 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 T-y C H3 ] 8, 9, 10, II. The patience of Job is here urged as an example to them who were defirous of haftcning the day of the Lord ; but the patience of Job was in wait- ing the end of God, whofe pity and tender mercy at length amply rewarded his refignation. The pitiful and tenderly merciful Lord,, who fhall recompenfe them who, after the example of Job, and *' the pro- phets, who fpoke 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 refpeft to fick perfons the elders of the church are to be called for, and to pray over them, " and the prayer of faith fhall fave the fick, and the Lord fhall raife him up," Jam.es v. 14, 15. This is in context with the preceding paffage, which renders it manifeft who the Lord is that fhall hear the prayer of faith, and heal the fick : even the fame Lord of whom St. Peter faid to Eneas, at Lydda, " Jefus Chrift maketh thee whode, arife," A61:s ix. 34; who faid himfelf to her that, with full afl'urance of his power, touched but his garment, and had her iiTue of blood launched, " daugh- ter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole," Luke viii. 48 ; and who, without the inter- mediate ufe of any other name, faid to the leper who befought him with a prayer of faith, * " I v/ill ; be thou clean,-' Luke v. 13: of Jefus Chrift then we are to afk and have. He therefore is one with the Fa- ther, God. XCIIL In the commencement of his epiftle, James calls himfelf " a fervant of God, and of the Lord Jefus Chrift," James i. i. As a reafon why we fhould "not have * Quere, How does this ftand in the French ? is xX-jefouhcute? Of if it be, what does it fignify ? See Apology, note, p, 5. [ H4 ] have the faith cf our Lord Jefus Chrlft, the Lord of glory, with refpe(5l: of pcrions," James ii. i, he fays, ^' hcarke.i, my beloved brethren, hath not God chofen the poor cf 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 refpecl to perfons, ye commit fin," James ii. 9. " For he fliali have judge- ment without mercy, that hath fhewed no mercy ; and mercy rejoiceth againft judgement," ii. 13, XCIV. In order to avoid repetition of arguments already ufed, I fhall obferve upon but one paffage in St. Peter's lirft general epiftle in its courfe. " The elders which are among you, I exhort, v/ho am alfo an elder, and a witnefs of the fufi'erings of Chrift, and alfo a partaker of the glory that fhall be revealed : feed the flock of God which is among you,'* " neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being enfamples to the flock. And v/hen the chief fliepherd fhall appear, ye fhall receive a crown of glory that fa- deth not av/ay," i Pet. v. i, 2, 3, 4. If it be remem- bered that this charge comes from St. Peter to men en- gaged in the fame occupation as himfelf, it is but reafonable to fuppofe that he had in mind thofe words of our bleffed Lord when he conferred the charge of his flock upon him, which were fo emphatically fpoken, and fo aifeilingly received by him. After his refurreftion from the dead, Jefus having on the third time fhev.^d himfelf to his difciples " Vv^hen they had dined, faith to Simon Peter, Simon fon'of Jonas, loved thou me more than thefe? he faith unto him, 3^ea, Lord; thou knowefl that I love thee. He faith unto him, feed my lambs. He faith to him again the fecond time, Simon fon of Jonas, lovefl thou me ? he faith unto him, yea, Lordj thou knowefl: that I love thee. He faith unto him. [ H5] him, feed my fheep. He faith unto him the third time, Simon fon of Jonas, loveft 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 knov^^eft that I love thee. Jefus faith unto him, feed my fheep," John xxi. 14, 15, 16, 17. A charge attended by fuch circumftances, and repeatedly conveyed in fuch terms, muft neceffarily have been deeply imprefled on the memory of Peter, who was grieved that he who knew all things ihould think it neceflary to renew it a third time. That Pe- ter fhould therefore ever afterwards confider the oiEce conferred upon him as that of a (hepherd, and thofe to whom he was fcnt as the flock of the chief fhepherd who had committed them to him, is not to be wonder- ed at 5 and accordingly we find him in another place fay of him, who had declared himfelf " no hireling, but the fhepherd, whofe own the fheep arej the good fhep- herd, who giveth his life for the fheep," John x. 13, 14. " Ye were as fheep going aftray 5 but are now re- turned unto the fhepherd and bifhop of your fouls," I Pet. ii. 25. So that here is that flock of Jefus Chriftj the good fhepherd, whofe own the fheep are, exprefsly declared to be the flock of God. St. Paul too has called " Jefus Chrift, that great fhepherd of the fheep, Heb. xiii. 20 ; and fpeaking 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," A6ls xx. 28. From the chief fhepherd alfo, when he fhall appear, we are to receive a crown of glory which fadeth not away. *' BlefTed 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 explained ; " Hath not God chofen the poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom, T which [ 146 1 which he hath prormifed to them that lov^fe hmV^ James ii. 5. From whom now are we " * to obtaiii an incorruptible crown," *' a crown of righteoufnefs^ which the Lord, the righteous Judge, fhall give at that day, unto dl them that love his appearing? f" Certain- ly from that God who hath promifed the kingdom ; that Lord who hath promifed the crown of life to them that love him, (half we receive a crown of glory which fa- deth not away, wheri the chief Ihepherd fhall appear as a righteous judge to give an incorruptible crown of righteoufnefs to all them that love his appearing. This chief ihepherd 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 Chrifl:,- one with the Father, God 5 " fo whom be praife and- dominion for ever and ever. Amen." i Pet. iv. 11. xcv. The firft verfe of the firft chapter of St. Peter's fe- cond epiftle general, has thefe remarkable words, as li- terally tranflated in the margin of our Bible. " Simon Peter, a fervant and apoftle of Jefus 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 himfelf " arr apoflrle by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jefus Chrift, which is our hope/* i Tifn i. li XCVL <' An entrance fhall be miniftered tmto you abun- dantly, into the evcrlafling kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jefus Chrift," 2 Pet. i. 11. XCVIL *' The day of the Lord will come as a thief in thtf night; in the which the heavens fhall pafs away with ^ great noife, and the elements fhall melt with fervent V heat^ * J Cor. ije. aj. f a 'tim, iv. 8. [ H7] heat, the earth alfo and the works that are therein ihall be burnt up. Seeing then that all thefe things (hall be difTolved, what manner of perfons ought ye to be in all holy converfation and godlinefs, looking for and hafting unto the coming of the day of God, where- in the heavens being on fire fhall be difTolved, and the ekments -(hall melt with fervent heat ?" 2 Pet. iii. 10, II, 12. As there is but one day mentioned in this pafTage, it is evident that the Lord, whofe day it is called in the £rft, is the lame as the God, whofe day it is faid to be in the laft verfe ; one and the fame God, 3ut, that the fpecified Lord, who is God, is our Lord Jefus Chrift, the context, to which I refer, ihews be- yond contradiction. Befides other circumftanccs evbi- cing this fa(?t throughout the whole chapter, the apoftle fays, " the long-fuitering of our Lord is to be account- ed falvation j 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 JefifS Chrift, Lord j and imme- diately 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 for ever, Amen." 2 Pet. iii. 18. XCVIIL « He is Antichrift, that denieth the Father and the Son," I John ii. 22. How is he who denieth the Fa- ther, Antichrift? How is he who denieth JeOis to be T z the [ h8 ] the Chrift, and '^ confefTeth not that he is come in the flefh," to be confidered as denying the Father ? For this plain reafon, that the Son is one with the Father, God ; and confequently the Father is denied upon the denial of him who is with him, one. XCIX. " Every fpirit that cbnfefleth not that Jefus Chrift is come in the flefh, is not of God," i John iv. 3. Though the apoftle's intention in this verfe be to ftiew that Jefus Chrift was truly man, yet it is no ftrained 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 Antichrift," which denieth the Father and the Son, C. As I do believe the 7th verfe of the 5th chapter of St. John's ift 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 per- fon then I fay that I believe in " the Father, the word;, and the Holy Ghofl, and thefe three are one.'' CI. If words could be found more dire(Slly enjoining prayer to Jefus Chrift than thofe which follow, I Ihould endeavour to enlarge on the fubjeft ; but as the beloved difciple of our Redeemer has given us the pre- cept, I fhall leave it to Mr. Lindfey to draw the c'on- clufion, for which he ftands engaged, and to acknow- 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 [ 149 ] have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. And this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we afk any thing according to his will, he heareth us. And if we know that he hear us, whatfoever we afl^, 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 we confidence tqwards God. And whatfoever we afk, we receive of him, becaufe we keep his command- ments," I John iii. 21, 2a. Hpre exactly the fame precept is repeated ; but the one Godhead is named in the latter, inftead of the fecond perfoa of the Trinity fpecified in the former palTage^ CII. '' And we know that the Son o( 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 eternal life," i John v. 20. It is remarkable that this declaration is followed by a defire to " keep from idols," to the overthrow of whofe worfhip he preaches the God- head of Jefus Chrift, the Son. But left it fhould be faid that tjie 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 oxit for adoration. " He that hath the Son, hath life," and "God hath given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son," an4 " thefe things have 1 written unto you that believe en the name of the Son of God ; that ye may know that ye have eternal life," i John v. il, 12, 13. Thefe words ex- plain who is the true God in whom we have this eter- nal life; befides, the gift of underftanding is an aft of Godhead, and is here made to us by the Son. Suppofe /or a moment with Mr. Lindfey that the prophetick eyes [ 15° ] eyes of the apoftles were blinded to the opinion after- wards to be entertained by mankind, who have fince their day believed Jefus Chrift to be God, notwith- flanding that they had feen him a man born and living amongft men, even this abfurd fuppofition would not extend to St. John, nor indeed to St. Paul, who were themfelvet; witnefles of that early herefy by which the manhood of Jefus Chrift was denied, and had heard that body which he had come in, declared only to have been an appearance ; fo that their own living experi- ence might have given them a hint, that accuracy in the application of the terms Lord, and Saviour, and the iih, was neceflary, if they had not been the moft ftupid as well as wicked men that ever lived on the earth.. They were accurate men, they were honeft 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 ftate, is, in this refpe6l alfo, very ftrongly djfplayed, that he took manhood on him, in order to give a fen- fible obje6lof worfhip to mankind, incapable of form- ing any adequate idea of the abftra(9: God, whofe qua- lities are of a nature incomprehenfible by our minds 5 and not only our natural incapacity to conceive a God purely fpiritual was confidered, but the world, merged in idolatry at the time of his incarnation, was mercir fully indulged with an object of fenfe, to which men could look according to habit alfo, and to whom, even by the exertion of the fame faculties by which they ha^ adopted and adored idols, they could prefer worfhip without the imputation of idolatry. A refting place is hereby given ^^o the mind, init^d of its being conti- nued t i5t ] hued under the neceffity of launching out into vafl in- finity and eternity, and vainly endeavouring to engage itfelf in the contemplation of matters, of which it caii form no idea at all. cm. <« Whofoever tranfgrefleth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Chrift, hath not God : he that abideth in the db61:rine of Chrift, he hath both the Father and the Son," i John 9. After having fhewed who had liot God, the elder goes on to fhew of the dire6l con- trary 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 6ne another, God dwelleth in us," i John iv. 12. Who now is the Father and the Son, who dwelleth in us if we abide in the do6trine of Chrift ? CIV. " Jude, a fervant of Jefus Chrift, and brother of Jamesj to them that are fandified 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 addrefled the Corinthians, " to them that are fan£tified in Chrift Jefus," I Cor. i. i. CV. Speaking of the judgement that awaits " 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," Jude fays, that " Enoch alfo, the feventh from Adam, prophefied of thefe, faying, behold, the Lord cometh with ten thoufands of his faints, to exe- cute judgement upon all, and to convince all that are un- [ 152 3 tingddly among therrl, of all their ungodly deeds, which they have ungodly 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 judgement, with the holy angels; that to thofe who work iniquity he fhall give everlafting punifhment, but unto the righteous, eternal life. We muft there- fore conclude him to have been the objecSl: 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 fliould be mockers, fen- fual^ not having the fpirit," and to defire that they to whom he writes, " building up themfelves in our moft holy faith, fliould pray in the Holy Ghoft, keep them- felves in the love of God, looking for the merCy of out Lord Jefus Chrift, unto eternal life. Now unto him that is able to keep us from falling, to prefent us fault- lefs before the prefence of his glory with exceeding joy,- to the only wife God, our Saviour, be glory and ma- jefty, dom^inion and power, both now and ever. Am.en." See Jude throughout. A comment muft be unnecefTary here; As I prefcribed to myfelf the order in which the books of the fcripture 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 intcllgent reader will fee the impoftibility of ftep- ing from proof to proof in a mathematical procefs, or of producing an encreafmg teftimony commencing at a partial, and, in the end, refulting in a full demonftra- tion of the truth of that one proportion, which muft be rendered equally manifeft by the firft, as by the laft argument in its behalf. That the fcriptures have de^ Glared [ 153] dartd the divinity of our Lord, it is my office to fhowg and that this declaration is true, if made, muft nrcef^ farily follow, upon the conceflion that the fcriptures are the word of God, and therefore true ; and as this Conceflion is made, I am only to produce fuch declara- tions as are contained in them : this muft be at once {een to preclude pfogreflive enquiry. I have, however, for the gratificatioh of rhy reader, referved a very few palTages, in which it is more directly and literally af- ferted that Jefus Chrift is one with the Father, God^ and with thefe I fhall clofe the evidence of the apoftles, the appointed witnefles of our blefled Redeemer, CVI. " Hereby perceive w'e the love of Ciod, becaufe he laid dbwh his life for lis," i John iii. i6. The name of " Jefus Chrift" does not once occur in the preceding part of the chapter, of which this is the i6th verfe, fo that it cannot poflibly 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 neceffary, 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 hirh ; but that God loved us, is manifefted by his having rendered himfelf fubje6t 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. i6. CVIL St. Paul preaches thus to the Ephefiaris, whom he had called to Miletus, and whom he appointed elders ever the church to preach the gofpel. V •" Take [ 154 ] '^ Take heed therefore unto yourfelveS, and to ali the flock over the which the Holy Ghoft hath made you overfeers, to feed the church pf God, which he hath purchafed with his own blood," Afts xx. 28« What can convince if this be unable ? Shall we fee the tlood of God himfelf ftreaming for our redemption, and ftill deny that God and man are one Chrift ? or ihall we not rather feek to be of the fold, " return to the fhepherd of our fouls," to the " Lord God, who Ihall feed his flock like a fhepherd ? who fhall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bofom," Ifaiah xl. ii. But St. Paul forefaw that men would look upon this pofition, which he has laid down, as a difHculty, which would turn afide fuch as yielded not their faith, but fhould proceed to enquire of the hidden myftery, and withdraw from the acknowledgment of fpiritual things, becaufe they were not in pofl^eflion of fpjritual things to compare v/ith them, whereby they Ihould comprehend the things of God, into which the natural man is unable to enquire 3 and therefore he has faid even to thefe elders to whom he directs his charge, " For I know this, that after my departing, fliall grie- vous wolves enter in among you, not fparing the flock. Alfo of yourfelves ihall men arife, fpeaking perverfe things, to draw away difciples after them," Acts xx, 29, 30. I wifh that St. Paul may not have had oui* prefent day in view when he fpoke thus. CVIII. To the Hebrews, St. Paul fays, that the addrefs from the Majelty on high to him, " by whom he made the worlds," is, " Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever ; a fceptre of righteoufnefs is the fceptre of thy kingdom : And, thou Lord, in the beginning haft laid the foundation of the earth ; and the heavens are the works of thy hands. They ihall periih, but thou re- inaineil : and they all ihall wax old as doth a garment ; and [ 155 ] and as a vefture fhalt thou fold them up, and they fhall be changed : but thou art the fame, and thy years Ihall not fail," Heb. i. 8, lo, ii, 12. That the attributes here afcrlbed, are afcribable only to God, 1 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 up- on him the form of God, the exprefs image of his per- fon ; 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 afbri- bed to Jefus Chrift, upon the reaffumption of that glory which he had laid down, when he was made a little Fovt^er than the angels, that, by the grace of God", he might tafte death for every man ; that, by fufFerino-, 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 hfe became our fellow, our brother, and our Saviour ; and by the afcent of which he has marfhalled our way to his eternal kingdom. To him, I fay, who had been' partaker of our ilefh and blood, and who, havino- made himfelf acquainted with our infirmities, has taken in- to heaven that nature, by which he can be touched with a compailionate feeling of them ; and has there- fore become our *' merciful high prieft and intercef- for,'* are thefe attributes afcribed, this addrefs of ex- ultation is made ; it is (if I m.ay fo fay) the welcome of God to the captain and leader of mankind to glory.- And, if 1 may dare to ufe the expreflion, we find, as it were, a pafHon of joy In the great God of our fal- vation, at feeing the means of his grace take effedl in* reftoring mankind to that forfeited happinefs, from- which by tranfgrefTion he had" fallen ; in reconciling him to himfelf i in feeing that a palTage is now open- U 2 ed [ 156 ] ed into his own eternal happinefs to man, by the ta^ king the manhood into God, as the Godhead had be- fore on earth rendered one man a worthy and fufficient atonement for all men. His grace is now perfeded ; our nature is feated in heaven ; and the glory which Chrift had with the Father before the foundations of the world were laid, is now afcribed to him ; the Fa- ther has glorified him with his own felf j 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 flrength 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 and declares the fecond perfon in himfelf; and this in €X2L& conformity with 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 fhall alfo glorify him in himfelf, and fhall ftraightway glorify him," John xiii. 31, 32. And as fuch a doxology, according to this predi£tion, 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 ; when we fee the in- 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 liftle creatures, we have an ad- ditional encouragement to approach the throne of hi? mercy [ 157 3 mprcy with thanrgiving for our redemption ; for which he not only fafFered, but rejoiced in his fufFerings, and efteemed them glory for our fake. ''• Of Jefus Chrift, the fame yefterday, and to day, and for ever," Heb. xiii. 8. Let us then acknowledge, that " of the Jews, as concerning the flefh, Chrift came, but that he is over all, God blefTed for ever. Amen." Rom. ix. 5. . ■ ' I now come to the fourth kind of teflimony 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 apo- calypfe, but to produce fuch evidence as the book af- fords to my .point only ; fuch other proofs as are refer- able to this head, I have noted, as they have occurre4 in the former parts of this enquiry. CIX. Jefus Ghrift reveals himfelf to St. John in the fol- lowing words : " thefe things faith the firft and the laft, which was dead, and is ^live," 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 come, the Almight^/^ Rev. i. 8, and xxii. 13. ex. Jefus Chrift fays, " I am he that fearcheth the rein« ^nd hearts: and I will give unto every one of you acr cording to your works," Rey. ii. 2^3. Q^^ %« to Je^ [ 158 ] rcmiah, " I the Lord fearch the heart, I try the reins^ even to give every man according to his ways, and ac- cording to the fruit of his doings," Jer. xvii. lo. Here God has declared himfeif the fearcher of hearts. Is there any other fearcher of hearts? None. But Jefus Chrift 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 Almighty, one with the Father; *' the Lord of hofts, that judgeth righteoufly, and tri- eth the reins and the heart," Jer. xi, 20; " the Lord of hofts, that trieth the righteous, and feeth the reing and the heart," Jer. xx. 12, And the unity of the Godhead of the Lord, the King of Ifrael, and his Re- deemer the Lord of hofts, is thus afierted by the one firft and laft; " Thus faith the Lord the King of If- rael, and his Redeemer, the Lord of hofts, I am the firft, and I am the laft, and befides me there is na God," Ifa. xliv. 6. CXL '* 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 Jefus Chrift, I will add this, that the declaration fol- lows a defcription of the coming of the Lord, exa61:ly correfponding to that given by our Saviour of the co- ming of the Son of man; " then ftiall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they fliall fee the Son of man co- ming 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 alfo which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth fhall v/ail becaufe of him," Rev. i. 7. He then proceeds to declare himfeif to be the Lord, which is, and which' [ 159 ] Was, and which is to come : to Jefus Chrift the Lordj 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. CXil. *' I am he that liveth, and was dead ; and behold, I am alive for evermore. Amen." Rev. i, i8. 7 hat thefe words are fpoKen by Jelus Chrift, cannot admic of a doubt. "• And when thofe beafts give glory, and honour, and thanks to him who fat on tne thione, who liveth for ever and ever, the four and twenty elders fail down before him that fat on the throne, and worlhip him that liveth for ever and ever, and cait 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," Kev. iv. 9, 10, 11. Such is the honour afcribed m heaven to iiim who is " alive tor evermore. Amen*" And ihail we, who are a part of his creation, " by whom are ail things, and we by hun,'* alone withdraw ourfelves from the worihip ot the '' one Lord, Jefus Chrift," " by whom all things confift?" And Ihall we not rather join our voice to tne voices in heaven, and fay, " hallowed be thy name. Ihy.will be done in earth, as it is in heaven?" iVIatth. vi. 9, 10 j fee alfo i Cor. viii. 6j and Col. i» 17. CXIII. 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 thee from the hour of temptation, which ftiall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth," Rev. iii, 10. « As r.6H CXIV. «' As riiahy as I love, I rebuke and chaflen," fay^ Jefus Chrift to St. John, Rev. iii. 19. " Behold, hap- py is the man whom God correfteth," Job v. 17. " Fo'r whom the Lord loveth he ehafteneth, and fcourgeth every fon whom he recerveth. If yeehdure chaftening, God dealeth with you as with fons . for what fon is hc whom the Father ehafteneth not?" Heb. xii. 6, 7. cxv. ^' Grace be unto you, and peace from lilm which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the feven fpirits which are before his throne ; and frorh 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 wafhed us from cur ftns in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priefts 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 thefe is art errour in the manufeript whence our tranflation of the firft chapter and fifth verfe of the apocalypfe was taken^ there is but very little loft by the conceftion ; for fubfti- tUtino- the words 1^; ayxTrriO-avloi y.ou hha-avroq inftead of the accepted reading Iw ocyccTryja-ocvn y,cu XHcTxvrii and then adopt- ing Mr. Lindfey's own tranflation, I do not fee that the doxology contained in the paflage, is by any means turned away from its proper obj eel, 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 kven fpirits which are before his throne; and from Jefus Chrifty who is the faithful witnefs, and the firft-begotten of the dead, and the Prince of the kings of the earth, wba hath loved us, and waftied us from our fins, in his own ¥lf)od, and hath made us kings and priefts unto God and [ I6I ] knd his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen." Revi i. 5, 6. It is difficalt to imagine how any man (hould conceive " him" to be referable to any preceding term in the fentcnfce, befides that to w^hich the multitude of epithets is referred ; and that this is Jefus Chrift, does not admit of a doubti This I fay even upon a fuppofition that Mr. Lindfey has taken the text as it was a(5l:ua]ly Written ; but I \vill now withdraw that conceffion, 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 relinquifli this text, which will however admit of nd other fenfe than that I have afcribed to it, it would avail this gentleman but very little, for the i 3th verfe of the 5th chapter affords a doxology which I will not refign fo eafily as he may expert. " Bleffing arid honour, and gloty, and powef be unto him that fitteth upon the throne, and unto 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 gentleman in another part of his book, is the proper objedl of worfhip ; but here Jefus Chrift in fight is a proper objedt of worfhip. 1 will draw the necelTary conclufiofi ; therefore Jefus thrift in fight is God. And, «* am I a God at hand, faith the Lord, and not a God afar oiF?" Jer. xxiii. 23. Is this to be acceded to ? If Jefus Chrift be a creature, he is not an objeft of worfhip ; and my turning my eye upon him can neVer confer infinity and eternity on that which was before local and temporary ; but Mr. Lind- fey 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. 1 fliall only afk, if Je- fus Chrift has not any right to our adoration, how he is X authorized [ l62 } authorized to demand it on fight ? and, if he be iti aAy 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 ftupidity, as well as impiety, to deny that our Lor4 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 for ever. Amen." fays St. Peter ; and one fuch declara- tion, that glory is his for ever and ever, is equal to ^ thoufand ; and, were every other one to be given up^ this would remain a fufficient eftabliihment of the eter- nal glory of Jefus Chrift ; but, when we find glory once fo afcribed, I do not fee any reafon for doubting fuch doxologies as repeat the praifes of our Lord and Savi- our; for, one eftablifhing the right, it is but reafonable to believe, that men, who faw with the fame enlight- ened underftanding as Peter did, {hould equally afcribe to him the glory which they muft have equally feen id be his due. CXVL " The kiftgs of the earth, &c. Yiid themfelves in thif dens, and in the rocks of the mountains ; and faid toi the mountains and rocks, fall on us, and hide us froni the face of him that fitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb : for the great day of his wrath is coniie ; ^ind who fhall be able Co ftaild ?'* Rev. vi. 15, 16. This fpeaks for itfelf. There is in context with it a rerharkable paiTage, by which Jefus Chrift, coming to judgement, ads exactly in correfpondence with thofe words which are addre'f- fed to him by the Father upon his afcenfion into heaven ; " The heavens fhall perifti^ and wax old as doth a garment, and as a vefture fhalt thou fold them up," Heb. i. 12. *' And the ftars of heaven fell unto- * Apology, p. 157. C ^63 3 unto the earth, even as a fig-tree cafteth her untimely fio-s when flie is (haken of a mighty wind : and the heaven departed as a fcrowl when it is rolled together," Rev. vi. 13, 14- CXVII. <« And I faw another angel fly in the mldft 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 aftiamed of the teftimony of our Lord, nor of me his prifoner," % Tim, i. 8 ; and alfo fays to the Philippians, that though fome do preach Chrift out of contention, and fome of love ; yet, be- ing ^' fet for the defence of the gofpel ; what then ? Notwithftanding every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Chrift is preached ; and I therein do rejoice ; yea, and will rejoice," Phil i. 17, 18, Thefe paffages precifely afcertain the meaning of the words preaching the gofpeU and ftiew them to be of the fame import as preaching Chriji, or bearing the tejilmony of Chrift, Now, in the text before us, we fee an angel flying in the midft pf heaven to preach the everlafting gofpel. And, as we well know that it is " the Lord Jefus Chrift, who ftiall judge the quick and the dead at his appear- ing, and his kingdom," 2 Tim. iv. x. what does this Jleftial harbinger of our Judge proclaim ? "Fear God and give glory to him, for the hour of his judge- ment is come." " We have one Lord Jefus Chnft, by whom are all things, and we by him," i Cor. vm. 6 X 2 "^ ■ [ i64] f All things were created by him, and fpr him, and he is before all things, and by hini all things confift," Col. i. i6, 17. But the angel proceeds, '' worfhip him that made heaven and earth, and the fea, and the fountains of waters.'* A new and heavenly preacher ofthegofpel, that is, of Chrift, here directly a fcribes to our Judge the name and attributes of God : let us then, upon ttje teftimony of this herald, " fear and give glory to the Lord Jefus Chrift," the final preacher of whofe gofpel has declared him to be one with the Father, God, . CXVIII. ^' The lamb fhall overcome them : for he is the Lord of Lords, and King of kings," Rev. xvii. 14. '' The King of kings, and Lord of lords" appears again in the 19th chapter and i6th verfe, mounted upon a white horfe, and followed by the armies in heaven ; he is allailed by the bc^ft, and the kings of the earth, and their armies ; but the bealt is taken, and his armies are overcome ; and " the remnant were flain with the fword of him that fat upon the horfe ; and all the fowls were filled with their flefli," Rev. xix. 21. In the 17th 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, corne and gather yourfelves to- gether unto the fupper of the great God ; that ye may eat the flefti of kings, and the flefh 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, 18. The war immediately enfues ; and he that fat up- on the horfe, having overcome and flain thofe who came againfl him, " filled all fowls with their flefli ^" fo that we find that fupper given to them by the King of [ ^65 ] pf kings, and Lord of lords, to which they are invited l?y an angel as to the fupper of the great God. Him then we muft believe to be the great God, who fuppli- €d it to them who were called to come to it : but Jcfus Chrift fupplicd it to them ; Jefus Chrift is therefore one with the Father, that great God. CXIX. * f' His iiame (that fat upon the horfe) is called the Word of God," Rev. xix. J3. As there is not the leail doubt that it is Jefus Chrift Vv^ho fat upon the horfe, we may vpnture to explain the beginning of the firft chapter of St. John's gofpel by this declaration, that •' his name is called the Word of God ;" and whatfo- ever is there fpoken of the Word of God, muft be al- lowed to have been faid of him who fat upon the horfe, even Jefus Chrift, " the vi6lorious Lamb, the King of kings, and Lord of lords ;" and there it is exprefsly declared that " the Word was God," John i. i ; that «' the Word was made flefti, 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 his own, the world was made," John i. 2, 10, 11. And as " in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth," Gen. i. l. "that all things were made by him (the Word) j 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 ; and " he that fol- loweth me, fhall not walk in darkiiefs, but fhall have the light of life," John viii. 12. " We declare unto you, "that God is light," fays the fame Evangelift, J John i. 5. " We have looked upon, and our hands have handled of the Word of life ; (for the life was ma- jiifefted, and we have feen it, and bear witnefs, and ' {hew [ 166] jfeew unto you that eternal life which was with the father, and was manifefted unto us)" i John i. i, 2t ^' God was man Lfeft in the flcfh," fays St. Paul, J Tim. iii. i6 ; and that " the Word of God liveth and abideth for eyer," is the declaration of St. Peter, I Pet. i. 23. *' Through faitli we underftand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God," H<"b. 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 beeji .the original and author of all created things ; or, to ufe St. John's expreffion, ^^ the beginning of the creatiori 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 pf God (l>ere feated on a hoife, and declared to be Jefus Chrift himfelf under that appellation) is exprefsly faid to be God ; Jefus Chrift therefore being that Word mariifeft 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 Vyord 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 bare witnefs of him," John i. 15. It is very remarkable that thefe words are not once preceded, in St. John'§ gofpel, by the name of Jefus Chrift ; but that they im- mediately follow a declaration, that " the Word was made flefh and dwelt among us j" the Word therefore is Tefus Chrift, and " the Word was God 5" Jefus Chrift ^s therefore one with the Father, God. A» i 167 ] As tb Mr. Llndfey's laborious difTertatlon on tiie Chaldee Targums and the word Mimra, I have nothing to fay to it, it does not properly come within my pro-* vince 5 one fhort remark, however, I will make on it= If the word Mimra fignify both *' word and kU,'* 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 com- ftion expreiiiori^ jefus Chrift is therefore God's own felf *. This I infer from Mr. Lindfey's awh premifes; and fo obvious is the coriclufion from the manner in which he has fupplied them fi'om half a dozen writers, that I wonder how it efcaped evefi his own obfervation. I will take occafion here to fay, 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 fmgiilar number. They may afford argument to thofe who, with better knowledge than I ftm pofleffed 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 m.en to yield their affent to a propofitiort cflentiai to the happinefs of their immortal fouls, God forbid that I ftiould knowingly call one fophifm into proof, or offer that as argument to my readers, which did not carry convi£^ion to my own breaft. At the fame time that I relinquifh this argument, it is but for myfelf I do, or can relinquifh it. cxx. When Mr. Lindfey has declared the office of a prieft to be '' to offer up the prayers of others," Apol. p. 127, jhe fhould not therefore have precluded prayer to Chrift, and the pradtice of making him the objea of religious tvorftiip, unlefs he were very certain that no priefthood had been appointed to him ; but " they fhall be priefts df God and of Chrift," Rev. xx. 6. I have brought this * Glorify thou me with ifiioe own felf, Joho xvii. 5. [ i68 ] th!s verfe to eftabllfh the Divinity of our blefled Re- deemer, upon a foundation which negligence or blinded prejudice overlooked; but upon virhich I nov^^ demand the acquiefcence 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 thefe priefts of Chrift are thofe who are par- takers of the firft refurredion, of whom it is faid " that they are blelfed and holy :" to thofe then who are blef- fed and holy we have reafon to conclude, that this my- llery of the Godhead of Chrift will be more manifeftly difplayed than to us, who are yet to tafte of death. Surely there can be no more uncomfortable convi CHAP. IV. CGntrowrted Evidence of our Saviour* s Divinity eflahTijh- ed. — ObjeSiions anfivcred. — The Divinity of the HoJy Ghoft proved from the Scriptures, *' 13 Eligious worftilp," fays Mr. Lindfey, <« is tlae X\. 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 J by angels and thofe v^'ho have already become partakers of the benefits of his paflion in heaven ; and ia 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 atis 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 effentially diftinguifh the poffeflbur- but Jefus Chrift is the pofTefTour j Jefus Chrift is there- fore one with the Father, that God alone whofe incom- municable honour and prerogative it is to be the obje<2: of our religious worihip 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 (o reludantly under the eafy yoke, the light burden of the gofpel ; he fo boifteroufly dafties 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 fpei^acle, and there- fore * Rev. xlx. 10. 1 176] fore I feel it a duty incumbent upon me to force, as ftrongly as I can, this convidion upon him, that if he will drink of thefe waters, they will refrefh him, and he fhall not thirft again ; that if hfe return to Chrift, the great fhepherd and bifhop of our fouls, however forrow- ful and heavily laden he may bej he (hall find reft to his foul 5 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 defired of him *," Let me therefore now, prefu- ming that Chrift at hand is not different from Chrift afar off; and that no merits can put any created being into pofTeilion of the incommunicable prerogatives of God, or render inferior natures worthy of the honour which belongs to God alone, recapitulate, and once again prefent him with an inftance of each ; of prayer, by that of Stephen, " Lord Jefus receive my fpirit ;" *' Lord, lay not this fm to their charge." Of praife, by that in the Revelation, *' Bleffing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that fitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever ;" '' falva- tion to our God which fitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb " and of thankfgiving, by that of St. Paul, " I thank Chrift Jefus our Lord, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the miniftry." There is yet another fpecies of religious vvorfhip, which I have intentionally omitted to take notice of ill its courfe ; it is Benedidlion ; and my reafon for defer- ring to obferve upon it, is, that it demanded a feparatfe confideration, on account of Mr. Lindfey's do6lrine 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 afTertion, Apology, P- 131? * 1 John V. 14* [ ^11 ] p. 131, concerning fuch paflages as i Cor. i. 3. * is, " that they are only pious wifhes, not prayers." Ad- mitting for a moment only this diftindlion between prayers and pious wifhes, and the conclufion thence in- ferred, I believe thefe fame pious wifhes will be found to be very impious wifhes, and a wifh that God fhould have an affiftant \n conferring bleilings on mankind, be acknowledged rather derogatory from the all-fuificiency of his power : but I do not fee how any inference can be drav/n from a wifh different from that which follows from a prayer, they both equally acknowledge the power w hich they defire to have put into exertion ; and if the power be acknowledged by a declaration of it to a third perfon, entrufled with an afTurance that I wifh it to be exerted J I cannot imagine why the pofTefTor of it fhould not be addrefTed and let into the fecret alfo, he may not elfe know 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 adequate to the gift of bleffings, is unintelligent and un- able to hear our prayers ? ol: are we not to addrefs him, becaufe he is unable to grant them ? If the latter, we reje(3: our own conclufion, and wafle our wiflies ; and I believe the inconfiflency 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 power of God is acknowledged by prayer to be in Jefus Chrifl, 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 Fa- ther, God, by the benedictions of the apoflles, the ap- pointed witnefTes of our Lord. Z Of * " Grace le unto you, and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jefus Chrift." [ 1/8 ] ' Of thefe benedi£lions I need only produce one from St. Paul, becaufe it comprehends in it the fubftance oi 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 bleffings of grace, mercy, and peace proceed ; but I will fhew that they have all proceeded from Jefus 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 j who was be- fore a blafphemer, and a perfecutor, and injurious. But I obtained mercy^ becaufe I did it ignorantly in un- belief : and the grace of our Z(?r<3? was exceeding abun- dant," I Tim. i. 12, 13, 14. Here we find grace and mercy beftowed by the fearcher of hearts, who, thro' the veil of blafphemy and perfecution, diftinguiftied 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 bleiling, were not of Apollos nor of Ce- phas, who were only fellovz-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 bleftings ; from God alone, to whom belong mercies, it was fit that he ftiould 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," John xiv. 27. If grace, mercy, and peace then be in the power of our gracious and merciful Re- deemer to beftow, every benedidion of the apoftle of the gofpel of peace is to be confidered as a fliort prayer pre- ferred [ 179 ] ferred to him ; and benediiSlions being thus confidercd as a part of religious worfhip, it is eafy to fee the con- clufion, that Jefus Chrift, to whom it is offered, is one with the Father, that God, whofe incommunicable prerogative and honour religious worfliip is. " Let us Itherefore, beloved," " being called unto the grace of Chrift," Gal i. 6. " not feparate ourfelves, having not the fpirit, but building up ourfelves on our moll holy- faith, praying in the Holy Ghoft, keep ourfelves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jefus Chrift unto eternal life," Jude ig, 20, 2i ; and " be- lieve that through the grace of our Lord Jefus Chrifl we fhall be faved," A6i:s xv. ii. But it has been faid that the mterpofal of the con- junclive a72d^ enumerates diftin6l natures between the Father and Son 3 and that grace, mercy, and peace may proceed from, or glory, honour, and dominion beafcri- bed to one part of the fubjeft, without afFcfting the other. Not to infift on the abfurdity of introducing a name, to fay nothing about it, in any propofition ; on other grounds alfo, the diftincSlion between God and Lord, how well foever it may have been fupported by an epigram *, fecms to me not only v/eak but infmcere. " From God the Father and our Lord Jefus Chrift," are words that occur perpetually in St. Paul's cpiftles ; and I think that candour will allow that '^ the Father, and our Lord Jefus Chrift," are, in fuch paftages, put in apportion to " God," and mark a diftinelion of per- fons indeed, but undoubtedly an unity, an identity of Godhead ; for, were that copulative and to be taken as a mark of any other diftin6lion, and infifted on as introducSlory of a fecond power, however fubordinate it may be to the Father, and adling under him ; the confequences of fuch a manner of underftanding it ^ight prove very fatal to the caufe it is brought to fupport i for the fame copulative is ufed by St. James, Z 2 in -Apology, p. 6. [ i8o3 in a manner that would deftroy the Godhead [o? tho Father himfelf ; for by it the word " Father" is fet apart from God. He fays, " true religion, and unde- filed before God and the " Father," where the copu- lative is ufed exa6lly in t^e^ fame manner as by St, Paul: If it be admitted then that the perfonal term.s ftand in apportion 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- jun(9:ive enumerates diftin6t natures, a confequence will neceflarily follow, which even an Unitarian would ftart at drawing from it. St. James does not ftand alone in this manner of diftinguifhing between God and the Father ; St. Paul has aftbrded many inftances of a like nature, '' giving thanks to God and the Fa- ther," Col. iii. 17. " Now, God himfelf, and our Father, and our Lord Jefus Chrifl:, dire61: our way un- to you," I ThefT, iii, 11. " In the fight of God and the Father," i ThelT. i. 3. How uncandidly then does even this honeft and difmterefted man deal by himfelf, in making ufe of, or yielding his affent tq 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. ii. 2. " Now, unto God and our Father, be glory for ever and ever. Amen." Phil. iv. 20 *. In * If It be infifted upon, that the following words, " Peace from Go4 our Father, and the Lord Jefus 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 fhall infift upon the dif- tinftion between " God and the Father" here, and maintain that they have diftinft 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 anfwer, that it has a meaning, and figni- fies the Son, our Lord Jefus Chrift, to whom, as well as to the Father, glory is afcribed. I give Mr. Lindfey his choice how he will interpret j for, let him take it either way, the divinity of our Lord follows. [ i8, ] In the Jewifh ritual, the necefTity of repeating the facrifice is made ufe of as a proof of the infuiSciency of any fingle viclim, to eflablifh 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 beino- finifh- ed. Juft fuch is the cafe with Mr. Lindfey's argu- ments ; the facrifice of to-day manifefted the weaknefs 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 eilablifh the votary, that docflrine, of v/hich he llands the prieft ; it acknowledges the weaknefs of the priefthood, and that it is not faultlefs ; like that of the Jews, therefore, I entertain a chearful hope that the v.?hole iiiali at length yanifh away. This gentleman, accordingly, very juft- ly confidering all that he has already urged as no argu- ment at all, proceeds to iniinuate, rather than fay, (for he has not put it into fo many v/ords) that the jun£tioaof the name of Chriff, in doxologies and be- nedictions, with the name of God, which is invoked or glorified in them, does not afford any proof that Je- fus Chrifl: is God, becaufe that to their names fome- times other names alfo are joined. Had the fact been as here ffated, I fhould have allowed it fome weight, and therefore looking on it as material, I did literally " fearch the fcriptures," and throughout could find but that one inftance in which Mr. Lindfey has exemplified the rule. It is the benediction of St. John in the firft chapter and fourth verfe of the Revelation, " Grace be unto you, and peace from him which was, and which is, and which is to come, and from the f^ven fpirits, which are before his throne ; and from Jefus Chrift," Rev. i. 4, 5. And here it mult be granted, that unlefs the feven fpirits be God alfo, t'.ie junction of the name of Jefus Chrift is not a proof that he is God j but I may [ l82 } jnay poffibly fyrprize Mr. Lindfey by an affurance that thefe feven fpirits alfo are God ; and this Is a pofi- tion eafily explained to any man v/ho remembers that " Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord*;" " The fcven fpirits are the eyes of the Lamb f ;" and grace, in the eyes of the Lamb, is furely a blefTing devoutly to be Implored, when we confider who that Lamb Is, even our Lord Jefus Chrift himfelf, " the Lord of Lords ;" and when we reflet on the advantages that accrued to Nqah from his having found favour in his eyes before. According to Mr. Lindfey 's mode of ar- guing, we might as well declare that St. Paul meant to diftinguifh betv/een God and the hands of God, when he fays, " It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God," Heb. x. 31. F'or, 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 diftin£l meanings. This Is the only benediction againft which this charge Is brought, and I hope I have fhewed Its inabi- lity to affect the Godhead of our bleffed 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 feck to draw them : but furely if the names of other Beings be found joined with that of God in the performance of acftions, of which other Beings are capable, it can never be ad« mitted an argument againft the divinity of Chrift, whofe name Is often found joined with God, and in- voked to perform anions of which God alone Is capa- ble. To Timothy St. Paul fays, " I charge thee be- fore God and the Lord Jefus Chrift, and the ckS: an- gels," 1 Tim. v. 21 ; and on this paffage Mr. Lind- fey * Gen. vi. 8. f Rev. v. C. [ i83 J ity makes the fame obfervation as that above, fayhig^ « the angels being here joined with God and Chrift' fliews that when God is joined with other Beings in the moft folemn manner, no equality can be inferred from fuch a conjundion;" Apology, p. 107. Now I deny that God is in this inftance joined with other Be- ings in the moft folemn manner, the conferring of a charge upon Timothy was an a6l of which every Be- ing, upon whom God had bellowed the powers of dif- cernment, was a proper and competent witnefs before whom he ihould confer it, and therefore, had the apo- ftle joined mail and every intelligent nature to the name of God, and of Jefus Chrift, and the elect angels, it could not in the leaft derogate from the dignity of God, or ever be interpreted as conferring upon them a claim to Godhead. That it fhould argue againft Chrift's di- vinity, it is necefTary 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 therefore this moft folemn conjundion cannot im- peach the divinity of our Lord. I do not defire the aid of this verfe in proof of our Saviour's Godhead, there teing no greater power called into exercife than that of witnefling a charge to which the witnefs of God will add folemnity indeed, but which is an a6l that he hai given power to inferior natures to perform. " Ye are my witnelFes, and God alfo," i Thefl'. ii. 10, fays St. Paul: now which does this moft folemn conjunction of God and the ThefTalonians prove, the Thellalonians to be God, or God a Theffalonian ? 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 performed equally before God and them, and they bc- ino; endowed with adequate faculties, were therefore /equally competent witnelles of it. But with rjfpecl: to the 1 184 ] the pafiage before us, the apoflle^ about to fend forth a preacher of the gofpel of Jefus Chrift, and recom- inending perfeverance and conftancy in " the teftimo- ny of our Lord/' has, with peculiar accuracy, feledled the witnefTes to his charge to Timothy, remembering that Jefus Chrift, coming to judgement, is to be attend- ed by the holy angels, who are therefore on that day^ when all flefh fhall be ailembled before God, to be witnefTes to the manifeflation of all the hidden things, and the ccunfels of all hearts : before them there- fore 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 apoftlelhip, and, according to the difcharge of his holy funftiori, "' have praife of God," or " be made a fpedtacle to angels," i Cor. iv. 9 j foT Jefus Chrift has himfelf faid, " whofoever fhall confefs me before men, him fhall the Son of man alfo confefs before the angels of God," Luke xii. 8. &c. I have now brought to an cn6, 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 mufl paufe, and therefore confider myfelf as well warranted to do fo now, as I fhould be after a liiiich more voluminous work : for, to my apprehenfion, I have already exhibited proof amply fufficient to efla- 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 Chrifl is with the Fa- ther the one " firfl and lafl, which was dead and is alive [ i85 ] 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 fcrlptural proofs which I have made ufe of, as equally able to fuftain the argument by Itfelf ; for feme 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 utmoft, and fuppofe every afTertion that Chrift is God, which I have brought from fcripture, confuted and fhewed to be mifapplied, one only excepted, that one to which no anfwer can be given muft remain as compleat a proof of our Saviour's divinity as ten thoufand repetitions of it could afFord; for all fcrip- tures being written by infpiration, there is no aflertion for the truth of which God himfelf is not refponfible, and that which God has once faid requires no farther confirmation : but if it be found that he has once de- clared the Godhead of Jefus Chrift, that fa£i: is im- mutably eftablifhed ; and being eftablifhed, may well be allowed a matter o{ fufKcient importance to be fre- quently referred to, nay, (though not neceflarily for the confirmation of God's truth, yet for the more ex- tenfive information of mankind) to be frequently re- peated. If then many texts in fcripture, upon incon- teftible proof of Chrift's Godhead from any one, ad- mit 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 thereby rendering the word of God, which alone is true »nd wife, inexplicable and inconfiftent with itfelf? A a It [i86] It is only the fa6ls which are revealed, and not the man- ner of relating the fa£ts contained in fcripture, that are (aid 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 doilrines. Inconfiftency with itfelf is incon- fiflency with God, who fees things only as they really are, and confequently not as they are 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 havti feen them as they really are. What God relates cannot be but true ; he cannot relate conr tradl(3:ions; our belief therefore is not required to con- tradictions. A God crucified in the fielh, in which he had humbly taken the form of a fervant, and fubrnitte4 to feel the infirmities of man, was, to, the philofgphicsil religion of the Greeks, foolilhnefs 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 flretched out to lead or to chaftife them, the. bleeding body of our Lord fufFering death under their own hands, was indeed a ftu.mbling-block ; for it was altogether in- confiftent with their idea of the Almighty Jehovah. A plurality of perfons in the God who had declared hi."* name to be " one," was to the Jews an unfurmountable difficulty; it tranfcended their faculties, and, as they conceived themfelves in pofieftion of a full acquaintance with the incomprehenfible nature of their Maker, it was altogerher inconfiftent with their vain prefump- tions. To the Jew and to the Unitarian it is alike a fiumbling-block, " For unqueftionably the Trinity is [18;] one of thofe doftrines that prejudice them moft again ft chriftianity,'* Apology, p. 88. If it be afked, as indeed it is, though not in direct terms, why a fa6l 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 epiflles? it is not difficult to give an anfwer to fuch as v/ill confider, that the epiftles were written to men already in poffeiliion of it; not with a view of introducing them to a new ob- je6|: of faith, but of cftablifhing 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 addrefied his epiflles, 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 eveiy I'egion ; I can prove, from internal evidence, that he only wrote to thofe v/ho had already obtained grace t6 be faithful, and who therefore needed not that he fhould now inftruft them in the object of their faith. From Corinth, where he had firft knov/n 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 falutes them there. To th^fe 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 dire^s his letter to them in the following terms : '-^ To.ail that be at Rome, be- loved of God, called to be faints, and whofe faiih is fpoken of throughout the whole world," Rom, i. 7, 8. If fuch was their faith already, to what end fhould the objedolent 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 becomes the voluminous pamphle^ teer of the Stuarts, and, with juft enough of plaufibili- ty to conceal a falfehood from one who has no longer an rntereft in detecting it,^ to the confenting flave points 0ut the acceptable tyrant, and to the tyrant the hands which he has fitted to his chains *. Mr. * 1 raay feem here to hive ftcpped out of my way unneceffaarily 5 I can- not, however, admit that I have. The peace and tranquillity of mankind are my objed:, and to the maintenance of them it is necefl'ary that I ftiould firike 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 Fat, nibbled at, the bonds of religious duty, that a neceflity might thence arife of impofing the manacles of civil flaveiy ; who frees as from our God that he may enthral us to man ; inflicts the heavieft ills upon us in this life, and with a mercilefs hand tears away that hope of a future recompenfe, which was the only confolation that remained to the wretch he had endaved. — Let it not be faid that, in what he has done to thefe ends, he h himfelf alfo deceived. No man can ignorantly faiftfy in the relation of important hJiloMcal fa.€tsj he therefore who has fo fiifified 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 irt our liberties, arid, by premeditated fophiftry, at our religion. The neceflity of tlieir aid to the promotion of his defign, is no mean proof of our right to enjoy the invaluable bl«fl>ngs of freedom and hope, and gr- gues them to ftand upon the firm bafis of truth ; and furely 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 defpife 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 conneded with oujr T^rtue, and our virtue with the religion of the gofpel, that, on the over- [ 199 1 iAr, Whifton may give his voice for Mr, Lindfey^j he preferred the npojiolical conftitutlons to the canoni- cal books of the New^ Teftament, declared them more facred and quite divine, becaufe they favoured his Arl- an fentiments *. This book vv^as vi^ritten in the fourth century; and, as it teaches a doctrine not found in the fcriptures, has, from this apoflolic old man, obtained a preference. But I fhall ceafe to purfue this idea farther; for, however deferving of ridicule Mr. Lindfey's argu- ment may be, the fubje6l calls on me to be ferioiis, Mr. Lindfey dwells upon the prejudices of mankiii• and this will, I 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 fome eafe to the mind in giving its affent to the exiftence of a third perfon in the Godhead, to refle^l that it has already acqujefced 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 bleffed Re- deemer; it is not fo ftrenuoufiy oppofed ; befides my attentive reader has, in all probability, inferred it for himfeif, from feVeral contexts which I have laid down already, though I have not diredlly 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- fered r 209 ] fered concerning the fufEciency of any one afTertion, for the truth of which God hiihfelf is refponfible. " Hefhdl be great, arid ftiall be called the Soh of the Higheft." « The Holy Ghoft ftiall come upon thee, atid the pov/pr of the Higheft ftiall overftiadow thee: therefore alfo that Holy Thing which ftiall be born of thee, ftiall bfe 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 i the Holy Ghoft therefore, of whom the Son of God is conceived, is one with the Father and the Son, " the Higheft," , " I will pfay the Fathef, and he ftiall give you ano- ther Comforter, that he may abide with you forever, even the Spirit of Truth." " I will not leave you com- fortlefs:, 1 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 isj the Comforter, the witnefs to the truth, which ftiall 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 thfi Holy Ghoft ?" " thou haft not lied unto men but unto God," A6ls V. 3, 4. Here alfo the Holy Ghoft is diredtly pronounced to be one, with the Father and the Son^ God. « The things of God, knoweth no man but the Spirit of Godj" *' which things alfo we fpeak, not in D d the 1 2IO 3 the words which man*s wifdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghoft teacheth," i Cor. ii. ii, 13. Here the Holy Ghoft is ohe 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 Fa- ther and the Son, from both of whom, one God, he equally proceeds. *^ What, khoW ye not that ye ai-fe 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 how 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?" A(Ss XX. 28. Being then redeemed by the blood of Jefus Chrlft 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 dweileth in you ? If any man defile the temple of God, him fhall God deftrdy; for the temple of God is holy,^ which temple ye are," i Cor. lii. 16, 17. The Father is God, and the Son is " God, who purchafed us with his owii 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 h to be worfhipped. This may feem to ' the natural man', Mf . Lindfey, to be hay an J Jiubble\ but let him lay afide the vanity of thinking himfelf in the leaft degree a judge of fpirrtual things^ and believe that which God has witnefTed ; <^^ Let hint become a fool, that he may be wife, for the wifdonrf of this world is fooliftinefs with God," i Cor. iii. i8y 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 [an] the houfe of Chrift, if we hold faft the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end," Heb. iii. 6. " Know ye not your ownfelves that Jefus Chrift in you, except ye be reprobates?" 2Cor. xiii. 5. ^^ Ye are the temple of the Holy Ghoft which is in you.** «' Ye are the temple of the living God ; as God hath faid, I will dwell in them, and walk in them ; and I will be thei;- God, and they {hall be my people," 2 Cor, vi. i6, Is this to be refifted ? That it was God who fpoke by th,e prophets, is riot denied. But by the mouth of the prophet Pavid God has faid, ^' To-day if ye will hear his vorce, harden not your hearts as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wil^ernefs: wheo your fathers tempted me, proved me, and faw my work. Forty years long was I grieved with this gene^atio^, and faid, it is a people that dp err in their heart, and they have not known my ways. Unto whom I fware in my wrath, that they fhould not enter itito my reft," Pf.. xcv. 7, 8, 9, 10, II. Of him \i^ha 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-d^y if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, $cc,'* Heb. iii. 7, 8, 9, lo, 11, Our Saviour himfelf fays, «' The fpirit of tfuth^ trhich proceedeth from the Father, he fhall teftify of me," John XV. 26; and accordingly St. Paul having declared to the Hebrews, that they v/ho had h^ard the Lord confirmed his great falvation unto us, " God alfo bearing them witnefs,*' Heb. ii. 3. proceeds to preach the fufficiency of the one facrifice of Chriff's body once offered for fins, and the kingdom of heaven D d 2 opened [ 212 ] opened to all believers by his having overcome the fharpnefs of death, and '* an entrance into the ho- liefl by the blood of Jefus, by a new and living way which he hath confecrated for us," " whereof the Holy Ghoft is a \yitnefs to us," Heb. x. 15. *' It is the Spi- rit that beareth witnefs, becaufe t]ie fpirit is truth." f If we receive the wjtnefs of mer), the witnefg of God is greater: for this is the witnefs of jGod, which he hath teftified of his Son. He that believeth on the Son of God, hath the witnefs in himfelf : he that believeth not God, hatl> made hirp a Ijar, becaufe he beljpveth not the record that God gave of his Son," i John v. 9, ig. Thefe words amply explain the meaning of St. Paul's direcS^ion to the ThefTalonians, " Quench not the Spirit," i TheiT. v. 19 ; a;]d, upon the ^yhole, we fo frequently find the teftipiony of Jefus Chrif]: borne by God and by the Hojy Ghoft, tfiat we muft con- clude t\\e Holy Ghoft, yfha " is a witnefs unto us," to be one with the Father and with the Son, Qod, vvho hath given the record of his Son, " that witnefs who is in him that believeth on the Soi) of God." This may perhaps afford more provender for Mr. Lindfcy. I fhould hope however that he may, by this time at leaft, have begun to doubt tl>e tenets which he has pro- feffed, and reflect or| the very deftru6tive confequences of his errour, if ^e can be perfuaded to confide^ \[\s^ doctrine to be fuch. To this purpofe, and as the laft argument which I fhall produce to the divinity of the Holy Ghoft, and his unity with the Father and Son, I {ha(l add the declaration of our faviour himfelf, who declared to the Sc^;ibes, who (aid, " He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils cafteth he put devils ;" *' all fms fhall be forgivefi to tlie fons of men, and blafphemies, wherewith foever they fhall blafphcme : but he that fhall blafpheme againft the Holy Ghoft hath never forgivenefs, but is in danger ' '- ' of C 213 ] 9f Gternal damnation : becaufe they faid, he hath an unclean fpirit," Mark iii. 22 to 30. Here the context ^■equires 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 pever have forgiveiiiefs : I came not to bear record of myfelf, and therefore difpenfe with your unbelief; whereas, v^hen 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 tp the world, upon which God has thought right to demand the fejth of men, and to which he will not add ; then, if ye blafpheme, or lay fuch a charge againft the Son of man, de- clared by the Holy Ghofl to be God, ye refill the united Trinity, and fm againfl 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 corroborate* this manner of underflanding the declaration- of our Lord, " FJe that denieth me before men, fhall be de- nied before the angels of God. And whofoever fhal! fpeak a word againft the "Son of man, it fhall be for- given him : but unto him that blafphemeth againfl the Holy Ghofl, it fhall not be forgiven ;" for our Savi- our is in context with the declaration appointing the apoflles to be witnefTes unto him ; and for the purpofe of rendering them competent and irrefifiible without fm, he goes on to fay, ^' Take ye no thought how or what thing ye fhall anfwer, pr what ye fhall fay : for the Holy Ghofl fhall teach you in the fame hour what ye ought to fay," Luke xii. 9, 10, 11, 12. On this place it is to be remarked, that our Lord has declared of him who fhall fpeak againfl the Son of man, that he ihall be forgiven 5 and alfo, that he who denietl^ him^ [ 214 ] htm, {hall be denied alfo. Here are two contradic^orj aflertions made, and confequently two diftindl cir- cufnftances are to be underftood for the fake of recon-* ciling them to truth, and to fenfe, which eafily re- fults^ upon admitting that two diftindt times are in- ,tended; and that " he who now denies me is pardon- able j byt that he who fhall hereafter deny me, (hall himfelf alfo be denied. Ye have not now the manifeft teftimony of God; but hereafter the Holy Ghoft fhali bear me witnefs : and in the hour when the Holy Ghoft fhall teach my appointed witnefTes what they pught to fay : ye (hall not be forgiven if ye withhold belief." I d^fire my reader will refer this argument ta the dod^rine of my fccond chapter. I have now proved to my own, and I hope alfo to my reader's, entire fatisfadion, that the Son is God, and that the Jloly Ghoft is God: that the Father is God, and tliat there is but one God, are conceded pointsi; and, bayitig been admitted, I have been exempted from th^ neceffity of proving them. But as there is but one God, and that each of th« three perfons is God, does not a Trinity in unity ne- ceflarily follow ? But Mr. Lifvdfey doe§. not fiS4 — — xvii. 20 to 30J X. Matthew Luke — • X. 22 5 -* XI. Matthew Mark — Hebrews — xxviu. 20 n — xvi. 20 f ^ xin. 20 1 21J II } 52 Mark XII. IX. 24 57 VI. Isaiah Romans Hi. 7 7 VII. Psalm Matthew viii. 2 1 if 53 '• xxi 16 J VIII. Psalm — — xliv. 22' Romans — viii. 35. 53 IX. Matthew Matthew -♦ VI. lO 'x ' '^ J 54 XXIV. 30 r -*^ 31 3 Luke — Ifaiah Nehemiah XIII. v . 20 to 25^ xliii. 25S. 57 IX. 173 XIV. Luke I Peter vi. 22 'j V". 5^ ^ 58 59 f ^ IV. 13 I 14 J Luke Mark I John XV. — — viii. 38"^ I I 39 V. 19 > 59 20 I XI. 35 J XVI. 232 LijKE Luke 1 N D X. XVI. Ch. V. Page XXIU xxiv i. 42 1 43 > /. 26 i 60 XVII. John Afts — ii. 19I XVIII. John Jeremiah Revelation iv. 10" 14 John Ifaiah Ifaiah John Aas John Ifaiah xvn. 13 xxli. 1 17 iv. 14 Iv. I > 61 xliv. 3 VII. 37 XX. 28 IV. 42 xn. 3- ) XIX. John John Hebrews Hebrews John John John V. 17^ 18 V. 26 27 iv. 15 > 6- V. 21 ^5 28 vi. 69 ix. 38, John John John John John John XX. V. 24-^ iii. 18 iii. 13 iii. 31 ^ 65 vi. 62 I xvi. 28 I 29J XXI. John — Revelation Exodus John - John John John XXII. X. 30O «• 33 > 67 XXIII. Ch- V. Page John 68 XXIV. John ■• John Exodus I Timothy I John John 12I 13 j 14 XXV. John John John 2 Peter I Peter John XXVI John — — xvii Hebrews — John '-• ^^ > 73 m. 5 r ^5 24 3 XXVII John ■ xviii I Timothy — ■ John XXVIII. John — — xx. John XX. J- 377 i- 13 > 74 i' 493 ^9> 75 i6i XXIX. Acts 1. 24 J?*"? XV. 27 Marie XVl. I^ Romans __ »• 5 John 11. 25 Aas — — 1. 21 22 A^s — i- I Corinthians Luke — — Mattthew Adfs 1. xi. xxiii. ix. h H '5 17 49 34 20 sij Aa.4 N D X. 233 Ch. V. Pa,^e 1 Afts ix. 2") Ads . xxn. 14 ■, XXl. IJ f ' John John xiii. 37 I 38J XXX , Acts A 82 1 feremiah — xxui. 23 Afts Matthew vii. 56 57 xxvi. 64 Matthew ^5 67 xiv. 61 to 65 J 1 XXXII. 1 Acts ix. 40 7 g„ XXXIII. AcT! Afls xi. 18^ "! XV. II Acts Ifaiah Matthew Afts Ads XXXIV. xiii. ^5 ") 46 I 47 xlix. 6 — XV. 24 > _ xiii. 48 I 49 — . xiv. I I 3J Matthew . Ch. -— xxviii. V. 20^ Page Mark 20 1 Hebrews — ii. 4> 89 Ads TO ' 10 , XXXV. Acts xvi. 14^ Luke — — xxiv. 45 > 92 Mark Romans 1. i. 34 I Philippians Titus i. I i_ XXXVI. Acts xvi. 30I 31 3:^ > 93 33 1 34J XXXVII. Acts 18-1 APt94 Ifaiah xiii. 8J XXXVIII. Acts 8^ 10 > 95 11 1 Adts xxm. "J Acts XXXIX. XV iii. 96 XL. Acts Aas XIX. xix. XLi. Acts Matthew lol 17 I iS> 97 19 I 20 I in TO J xui. Acts 16 9S Acts 234 N D E X, Ch . V. Page XLIII. 17 1 A.Cir 20 3 XLIV. 57 H?- 99 XnUn -. .. 39 3 XLV. Romans 1. l}^9 XLVI. Romans 11. 3 7 Tohn — — V. ^^ C lOO Matthew XVI. 27 f T) „_,„__ •• 6 ) II. XLVIL Romans 4"l Ads — — XI. i8 I Timothy i6 >ioo a Peter 111. '^J XLVIII. Romans 1 Romans / Hebrews xi. xii. > lOI The whole of each chapter referred to, 1 XLIX. Romans ■ vm. r'.}'- L. Romans IX. 5 102 LI. ^,^- LII. Romans — — . xiv. 9 >i03 1 Corinthians 31 1 28 1 LIII. Romans — — XiV. 10-) 12 j Ifaiah — xlv. 22 2 Corinthians ~ V. 10 Hebrews X. 30 LiV. Ch. V. Page Romans xiv. 14 104 Romans LV. XV. 16 7 195 105 LVI. Romans xvi. i6"| I Corinthians ■■ - ■ i. i | 2 > 105 |i_ LVII. I Corinthians — I. 7"^ 1 Corinthians iv. 5 ! ^ 2 Corinthians x. 14 ^ ^° to I 18 I LVIII. I Corinthians — i. ii"^ 12 .13 I Corinthians — — i. 10 )» lo/ I Corinthians — — iii. 5 6 I Corinthians — — i. 8 J LIX. Corinthians — i. 14 ^_ „ 14? ^5S LX. 1 Corinthians — i. 26") 29 { 1 Corinthians — — - i. 21 f ^"^^ 2 Corinthians ■ x. 17 j Jeremiah ix. 24 J LXL "^ I Corinthians ii. S') Adls • iii. 15 I James - 11. 1 .' Plahn Xxiv. lo | Genefis ii. 7 ! LXII. 1 Corinthians ii. 7? to the end. 5 LXIII. I Corinthians vi Daniel -— - c. 9 5 LXIV I N D X. Ch. V. Page LXIV. 1 Corinthians vlii. I Corinthians — viii. Ads — — xiv. J Corinthians 1 Corinthians Xil. xiv. 7 15 >iii z I 3 I 35 ' LXV. 1 Corinthians x. 2 Corinthians — vi. 115 LXVI. a Corinthians iv. 2. Timothy — i. 5|„6 LXVII. a Corinthians xI lOj 116 LXVIII. Galatians 1. Galatians i. — I. 11^ 12 > LXIX. Galatians i. Galatians ■ vi. 119 LXX. Galatiaks iv. Galatians iii. Romans- — — viii. 1 Corinthians , I 'I LXXI. Ephesiaks — — i. Ephefians ■ iii. Romans Romans Ephefians Ephefians Ephefians Ephefians Romans >I2l 19 17 13 7 7 3^J LXXII. Ephesians — — iv. Ephefians Ch. V. Page LXXIII. Ephesians vi. Colofllans 8^ 9l 30 > 122 ^4 I .ly 7 > 123 22J LXXIV. Philippians Colofllans 1. I-; 124 LXXV. Philippians — iii. I Timothy i. I Timothy ii. I Timothy iv. Titus i. Adls - ■' Ix. 20^ 3 I 5J LXXVI. COLOSSIANS i. 125 LXXVII. Colossi ANs LXXVIIl. CoLOSSIANS •— — iii. 133 12S LXXIX. CoLOSSIANS iii. Romans Ephefians James 24I II > u5 I ! LXXX. I Thessalonians il. I Theflaionians — ii. I Theflaionians — iii. John -■ xvi. I Theflaionians — ii. ^1 9> 128 41 LXXX I. I Thessaloniajvs iv. g * JLXXXI. 236 I N D X. Ch. V. Page LXXXII. 2 Thessaloniaks i. 6~) 9 >i3o 10 Matthew ■ vl. I Peter • iv. 9 17 J LXXXIII. 1 ThESSALONI AMS a Theflalonians — i •"i 130 LXXXIV. 2 Thessalonians jii. 2 Corinthians ii. 4[ 173 I.XXXV. I Timothy ii. 132 LXXXVI. 3 Tjmothy iii. I Timothy i. \^.,, LXXXVII. 1 Timothy ■ iv. I Timothy ■ i. s Timothy ii. 1 r'33 LXXXVIII. iTlMOTHY vi. a Corinthians — v. Revelation xix. LXXXiX. 2 Timothy iv. Titus 8^135 f33 XC. Titus Revelation ~— . J. Titus - M - iii. '31 4 Titos >i36 xcr. Ch. V. Pagf* 137 James James A£ts Luke Luke XCII. JO I "I 14 > 14: 15 I IX, viii. XCiil. James James n '3J 143 XCIV. 1 Peter John John — — I Peter — Hebrews Afts James James — 1 Corinthians 2 Timothy I Peter — n. xiii. XX. i. ii. ix. n 2 3 4 14 15 16 17 W > '44 25 20 28 12 5 25 XCV. Peter Timothy J^ 146 XCYL 2 Peter IT 146 XCVil. 2 Peter 2 Peter 1 Timothy 2 Peter 111. "/ iii. 4 145 i. 16 \ lU. 18 3 xcvjir. I N^ D XCVIII. 5j John > ii, 22 i^ XCIX. 2 )0HN ■ iv. 3 148 C. yJOHN V. 7 148 3 John 1 John Ci. 111. 21 I 148 1 JOHN I -Joiin CIl. V. 20 -\ V. II / iz ( ^49 X. ex. n7 Ch. V. Page Revelation — ji. 25-^ Jeremiah xvii. 10 I Jeremiah xi. 2cA. 157 Jeremiah xx. 12 \ iiiiih . xliv. 6 J CXl. Revelation — i. 8 ") Manhew xxiv. 30 / Revelation — ^' 7 C Revelation — -_~ iv' g } 158 CXll. Revelation i. Revelation ■ iv. Matthew i8V 10 I cm. a John I John 1 John CIV. JUDE Philippians Titus — I Corinthians ■ — ■ I Corinthians Colonians 10 6| 17 J cx Revelation M.'.tthew iil. iii. vi. io7 '3 5 159 CXIV. Revelation — ii Hebrews xi cv. J u n e — 151 CVl. T Tn -M 111. 16 153 -- cVii, Acts • xx. 2S '\ Ifaiah xl. 11 / A<^s ■ XX. 29 f -53 3^_i CVill. Hebrews i. 8 ■ 10 to 12 Hebrews i. 9 Romans ■ if. 5 Hebrews xiii 8 ^54 -I [60 CXV. Revelation — v. Revelation i. Jeremiah J Co cxyj. Revelation — vi Hebrews Revelation CIX. Revelation — ii. Ifaiah • xliv. 6 John xi". 31^157 Revelation i. < Revelation xxii. i; CXVll. Revelation — xiv. Philemon ■ ■ - Romans i. 2, Timothy — — i. Philippians i. 2 Timothy I Corinthians Coloflians vin. i. 61 7 9 16 17 > i6j 18 ■ il 17 1 cxvin. 238 N D E X. Ch. CXVIII. Revelation — xvii. Revelation xix. V. 16 17 18, Page ^164 Ch. CXXII. Revelatio^i xxii. Revelation — — xxi. V. '3 1 17 ( 6 \ 7 J Page ■ . 173 1- CXIX. RsVELATION — xix. 13I I 14 2 10 II I 3 4 12 5 ^165 CXXIII. Revelation — xxi. Revelation xxii. Revelation in. 22-) 23 5 3 > 171 4 12 John ■— — — viii. I John — i. CXXIV. I Timothy » "i. Hebrews xi. .1 ^3 3 2 14 Revelation Revelation — r xxn, i. xxii. ■} ■'■ CXXV Revelation — Ifaiah Revelation iv. V, vii. i. liii. vii. xvii. vi. iii. iv. xii. ii. I Peter — i. John - i II 12 13 10 U 7 9 14 »5 15 j6 18 cxx. Revelation — xx. cxxi. Revelation — xx. Matthew — — xxv. I21 13 14 31 1 32 >i69 27 41 42 ^17^. I Peter n I N D E X TO THE Texts 0/ Scripture quoted in the third ChapUr" accord- ing to the Order in ivhich they Ji and in the Bible. Genesis i. 1 — • .'}}' 7 -- Exodus iii. 14 — iii. 15 _ Nehemiah ix. 17 Job v. 17 — Psalms viii. i — . .. xxiv. 10. — xxxi. 5 — Page 165 no 66 71 V' 160 53 53 110 85 53 50 50 62 7 — , Iv. I — Jeremiah ix. 24 — xi. 20 xvii. 10 — — xvii. 13 ■ .— xxiii. 23 Daniel ix. 9 — Matthew vi. 9 vi. 10 —^ xiii. 41 » I — xiii. 42 Page C 82 J Matthew xiv. 61' to 65. XV. 24 91 xvi. 27 55, 100, 169 xxi. 16 53 — — xxiii. 34 78 xxiv. 30 X58 31 54 — — XXV. 31 34 J 547 t69 — xxvi. 64' 65^87 xxvili. 20, 57, 92 93 59 55 57 77 57> 92 51 143 Mark 1. 34 v. 19 — ■ viii. 38 xvi. 15 xvi. 20 Luke iii. 6 3 V. 20O 2^53 5 — — vi. 22 7 viii. 38 ... 39 viii. 48 ix. 26 X- 22 'fi-..49 xvii. 2 - 58 58 59 143 55 - 56 ■Zl- 303 30 ■ ■■ • xxiiJ. 42 • — xxiv. 26 xxiv, 45 John i, i 55 60 60 9^ 71 Jo 11! 24° I N D E X. John X3J _ 14 i 63 64 62 - 69 68 — 68 'A\- 23 28 29 4\- XVlll XX. 37 Acts i. 14 3.5 16 17 2 22 24 25 3^- . 12 15 17 10 2 — - — vii. gi 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 . 59 ix. 2 Zl— 6 13 14 15 20 21 22 — 26 34 35 40 42 — — xi. 18 — • — 20 7.1 . 22 :?- ??- Page 72 84, 12Q 7? 70 65 66 73 74 — 75 HS n 75 61 81 59 58, 59 53 59, &z 59> 8a 59. 82 59, %% 59? 8a 59, 82 82 79 17 i 77 78 78 78 78 77. 78 77 78 82, 143 89, locJ 125 89 89 ACT! N D E X, 241 ii, 7 to the end 110 S — no — 107 — X07 Hh — 106 242 V N X. i CoRiNTHiAlJS vii, - viii. 4 — 6 — . ix. 25 — ^ X. 9 — 20 — 21 — 28 — .. 31 — m xii. 2 — . 3 — ■ . XIV. 33 — Page 25 HI HI 112,159,163 146 5* "5 "5 103 J03 "5 115, 120 "5 2 CORIKTHIANS II. 14 17 iv. 5 - , V. 10 16 . vi. 15 16 — . X. 14 15 16 17 18 " «i- 5 7 8 9 10 Galatians i. 1 — 10 — 11 — 12 — , iii. 8 — - iv. 6 — . vi. 12 — 17 — 7 -- 7 ~ 8 ~ 34 — 15 — j6 — 17 — 18 ~ 19 — 7 8 9 10 13 14 15 5 5 Ephesians 1. ' ' iii. IV. 7 — 13^ U2 116 104 »34 "5 "5 S07 107 107 107, 107 117 117 117 "7 117 T18 119 119 119 120 119 119 119 121 122 121 121 121 121 122 121 121 122 122 122 122 122 123 123 55 J23 109 Page Ephesians vi, 6 — 123, 12S 7 — 8 — . 9 — Phiiippians I. 1 17 18 ii. 6 123 "3 128 93. 151 163 163 124 124 124 174 124 10 ■ iii. 20 C0LOSSIAK8 i. 15 124, 125 16 95, 125, 138, 163, 173 17 95> "5> i59> 163 18 127 ii. 9 128 iii. II 128 12 128 13 128 22 123 24 128 H 128 I Thessalokiahs ii. 2 3 2 Thessalonians i. 129 8 129 129 129 129 129 130 130 8 130 9 130 10 130 ii. 16 130 I Timothy i. 1 10 II »5 16 ... '7 iii. 3 5 130 131 3^ 125, 146 133 »33 133 100, 147 u. 3 125 5 13a 6 132 7 132 5 132 iii. 16 71, 133, i66 iv. 10 125, 133 vi. 13 74> 134 14 134 : 15 134, 174 16 134, 174 I Timothy N D E 243 e Timothy i. 8 — .. ii. 8 10 ■ I . ■ iv. I 8 Titus i. i — 3 — 4 — 10 13 4 5 '5> 137 ii. 10 — ih. 4- — ■ Philemon Hebrews i 9 XI 12 Page 116, 163 134 '34 136, J46 93> 136 136 136 136 163 166 ^ss 15s 15s '55 155^ 139 163 i6z The whple referred to 3 4 16 17 iv. 15 vii. 57 57> 9* 137 140 63, 140 63 140 The whole referred tp, viii, 140 The whole referred to, ix. 24 73 X. 139 The whole referred to. lAMES Page jAMEsii. 13 — 144 : V. .168 The whole referred to. 8 — 9 — 10 — 31 — 14 — 1 Peter i. 11 23 .: *5 ' ' 11. ■ 25 ' iv, 1 1 ..■.,14' 17 . . ■ 2, 3 2 Peter 1. i II 21 — — — iii. 9 10 iz 12 15 18 1 John i. i — I 2 5 ii. 22 111. 16 21 22 iv. 3 12 15 V. 7 J I 12 »3 '4 15. 20 2 John I U D E , kEYELATlON i. 9 — the whole. 14a 142 J42 142 143 143 73 166 166 U5 146, 174 59 59 131 144 144 144 144 146 55> J46 72 101 147 100, 147 147, 174 71, 165 - 26s 165 147 >5i 153 149 149 14S 151 151 148 149 349 J49 149 149 149 J51 151 17a 66, 160 136, 160 157; i6o 157. '58 Reve- 344 I N D X. Page 1 Page Revilattoki. i8 »S9 REVElATlON'xit. 13 365 ii H rt, tf<# 1 16 334, 364 37 164 *3 5»> -f J/ 159 172 18 364 21 164 12 14 j66 19 i«o 32 169 »59» 159 '73 13 169 34 369 9 JO 11 '59 «S9> '73 15 169 173 ?6i. 7 '7' 32- J7I ^3 173 163 23 171 27 i6^ 14 35 162 ,16 162 3 '7' »74 173 4 '7' 5 171 30 14 174 6 372 »5 174 9 2s . '7 170, »73 Ii 5» 372 i6j »3 '57> 17=* 36 372 6 .. 7 163 37 62 «— ~i-— - xvli. 14 164, 174 ERR A T A. Page, line. /.r. read. 19 17 the infcrutable bis infcrutable 3.^ 23 the Lord fhall the Lord God fhall 101 32 fynonimous , dele the full point 160 31 1« % 164 12 the Lord dele the There are, befides, a fpw typographical errours of lefs importance, which are therefore left unnoticed. The reader is requefted to pardon thefe, and the omif- fion or mifplacing (if any there be) of the inverted: commas, by which quotations are marked. Page 40— Pliny's Epiftle to Trajan, giving him an account of the profeflburs of Chriftianity, is alluded to; in which he fays of them, " Carmenque Chrifto quad •' 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 Mofheim's Ecclefiaftical Hiftory, Vol. I. p. 401, 06tavo, 176S. Page 198 — In fupport of vi^hat I have faid concern- ing Mr. Hume, fee his works pajftm. Or rather fave yourfelf the difagreeable labour, and attentively read Dr. Beattie's manly and convincing EJfay on the Nature and Immutability of Truths in oppofition to Sophijiry and ScepticiJ?n ; in which you will find Mr. Hume already detected. — See alfo Harris's well-authenticated Hijlo- rical and Critical Account of Charles I. p. 264, Odavo, 1758, where the Infidelity of the Hiflojian is ppinte4 put. f^i^ltnwr-^HmmmH 3.« 5l ^« Ayj