that believe.* As being the Christ, in whom, all that die in Adam, are to be made alive.† As the King, who shall bring all things into subjection unto himself, that must reign until he hath put all enemies under his feet. As having been dead, but is now alive for evermore, and having the keys of hell and of death.§ As having redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. As having obtained eternal redemption for us.** As remaining in Heaven, until the times of restitution of all things.tt As, after having subdued all things to himself: he will be subject unto him, that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.‡‡ As being highly exalted of God, and having a name given him which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and, that every tongue should confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the Glory of God the Father.||||

It therefore cannot but be obvious, that whether we consider the Son of God with respect to his co-existence with the Father, before his incarnation; or the manifestations of his illimitable love, wherewith, he so loved us, as to give his life a ransom for all; after his incarnation, mankind in every part of the world, wherever his name hath been heard, and his gospel preached, have, as is shown above, sufficient imperious motives, to pay Divine Honor, to the very and true Son of God "The first begotten, and to whom, the Father hath commanded even the angels of God to worship him.§§

III. Of the Holy Ghost.

For ourselves, we consider the Holy Ghost, to be the third integrant essence, that together with the Father and the Son, establishes most clearly to our conceptions, the manifest properties, of the Supreme, Eternal, Uncreate, Self-subsisting Spirit; even God the Almighty; the in

*1 Tim. iv. 10, Psalms cvii. 2. †1 Cor. xv. 22. Heb. ii. 8. ||1 Cor. xv 25. §Rev. i. 18. ¶Gal. iii. 13. **Heb. ix. 12. tt Acts iii. 21, Matt. xvii. 11, Luke i. 68, 70. ‡‡1 Cor. xv. 29. ||||Phil, ii. 9, 11. §§Heb. i. 6.

visible Father; and we thus conceive of these properties, which some term, Attributes of the Deity, primarily, as the essentially inherent, "internal relations,"* of these Divine Properties, to their source and centre, the illimitable, invisible incomprehensible God. Secondarily, we derive our knowledge, or conceptions of these internal relations, from both reason and revelation, or the manifestations of those properties, which, both reason and revelation convince us, are not only essential to, but are also exclusively the properties, or attributes of God.

From these integrant essences, or internal relations which we have considered, as the Wisdom, Power and Holiness of the Supreme First Cause, as essential to, and united in one Spirit, we have arrived to those ideas of that incomprehensible being, which establishes in our ninds, the most awfully, and unspeakably grand and sublime conceptions, of the Author and Governor of the Universe, and its untold Worlds.

The sacred volume informs us of this Holy Being, as God the Father-a Son of God-a Holy Ghost: and in obedience to the command of that Son, to whom all power in Heaven and in Earth had been given; we were baptised unto God in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, as unto one God. Reasoning, therefore, upon the doctrines of the sacred Scriptures, in relation to these divine names, we arrived at our present conclusions; and having compared them with all the Systems and Theories of the numerous Sects of Christians contained in the various Ecclesiastical histories in general use; we have improved, it is true, by the comparison, but have discovered no sufficient reason to alter or abandon our faith in the doctrine of "the holy, undivided Trinity.'

As the Son of God, is declared to be "the power of God, and the Wisdom of God;" as it has been declared of him, that he "was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was"— "that when the foundations of the earth were appointed, then was he by

* We are indebted to Dr. South for this appropriate term.

him, as one brought up with him, and was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him ;* And from a variety of parallel passages throughout the scriptures; we have been induced to believe, that the Wisdom of God, willed, and the Power of God produced the only begotten of the Father. This Divine Process, we consider to have been altogether spiritual and incomprehensible to man; but which may be considered as the anti-type of that which succeeded in the incarnation of the Redeemer, as described by St. Luke, ch. 1. v. 35, and in which, the union of these integrant essences, are described, as the Holy Ghost, and the Power of the Highest.

It is meant by us to be distinctly understood, that we consider these essences, though distinguished by terms, or names expressive of their influences and operations, as nevertheless eternally and indissolubly united, and centered, in one incomprehensible Supreme; and that all their operations, though manifested under names, or terms, as just before observed, all tend to one great and glorious end-when God shall be all in all. He was from everlasting all in all in these his essential properties or essences, before the creation-and is now and when Time shall be no longer-when the Son, the Power of God and the Wisdom of God, shall have brought all things into subjection to himself-when by the regenerating influence of the Holy Spirit, he shall have sanctified anew, all his works which he had done-when he shall have destroyed the works of the devil-and there shall be no more sin, and no more death-when he shall have judged the earth in righteousness, and rewarded every man according to his works: whether they be good, or whether they be evil; Having reconciled all things unto the Father: Then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

Then will the Son and Holy Spirit, having done all

* Prov. viii. 23, 33, where Christ is supposed to be intended under the similitude of Wisdom. See page 73.

The learned and pious Dr. Worcester says, "By the Holy Spi

their work, which the Father, the Supreme Wisdom, had assigned to them respectively to do, in heaven and in earth, return to the bosom of the Incomprehensible, that as it was in the beginning, Wisdom, Power and Holiness, glorified God and were glorified in and by him, that so shall it thenceforth ever be, world without end.

Wherefore, if to believe in the co-existence, uncreate essence, eternally divine nature and essential oneness of the Son of God! in his spiritual essence, with the Father and Holy Spirit: if to worship the Trinity in Unity," the one only living and true God, as the Father, in and through the person of his only begotten Son, our Mediator, Redeemer and Saviour; by the influence and operations of the Holy Spirit on our hearts: If to believe and maintain, that God made a Trinity in one person, as the image of himself; that this one person is Emmanuel (God with us;) that he is the God! in whose image man was made: If for these, we are denounced by men like ourselves, that with all our wisdom and knowledge, are, nevertheless, conscious of how much we are ignorant of divine things; though they call us Idolators; we nevertheless, conceive it our duty so to worship the God of the whole Universe, through the Son and Spirit, in and by the name of Father, Son and Holy Ghost, content to leave the question of Idolatry to the decision of the Supreme Judge of all the earth.

While on this subject, we consider the following remarks on Sceptical Philosophy, from the Rev. Dr. Wardlaw, of Glasgow, as strictly appropriate to our design:

"Those Philosophers of whom I speak, possess, in more than ordinary energy, a principle common to them with all, an aversion from having any thing authorita

rit radically considered, the same is understood as by the phrase, "the fulness of God!"-To this we have no objection, it is no more than an expression of our meaning by other words, than those we have adopted and used. We understand and include all the essenial properties of Deity, in their united influence, as constituting all the fulness of God! [See page 82, and elsewhere.]

tively presented to them. They cannot bear to be dictated to. They like to exercise their own powers of invention and discovery; to have their own systems, their own distinguishing tenets, and their respective followers and admirers. They must have the liberty of thinking for themselves."

"And, do not imagine that I am for denying them this liberty. It is right, that they, and that every man, should enjoy, and should use it. But still, if the Bible be once admitted to be the word of God, it follows of necessity, that it requires the submission of every mind to its dictates. Whatever it reveals, must be received as truth whatever it commands must be practised as duty. This restrains the high minded spirit of Freethinking, It represses the "airy wing" of a bold and lofty speculation. It sets down the Philosopher, at the feet of the Apostles and Prophets, in the humble capacity of a learner and asker of questions. For if these men really spoke and wrote "as they were moved by the Spirit of God," then, the sole inquiry, in consulting their writings, must be, "What is the meaning of their words?" When that is ascertained, there can be no liberty left to take or reject at pleasure,-to select what we may deem worthy of adoption, and to refuse what meets not our liking, or approval. There can be no liberty to alter and amend, to add or to diminish. The testimony of God must be taken as it is; it must be received, in humble simplicity of mind, as he has given it. And this submission of the understanding to its implicit and authoritative dictation, is a demand which the self-sufficient spirit of the wisdom of this world finds it especially difficult to brook. "It is a hard saying, who can bear it ?"*

"And one reason it is to be feared, why the divine authority of the bible does not, as it ought, engage their first and most anxious inquiry, is the secret consciousness, that if it do possess such authority, it must bind them down, it must command their assent, it must

* Two Sermons, entitled, man responsible for his belief.-Ser. 2d. p 52.