that alleged difficulty here, as it may be done easily, and in a few words.

In the Acts of the Apostles, v. 3, "Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost? Why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God." There must be a great lack of scripture evidence for the Athanasian doctrine, when so weak an argument is relied on, and it is the strongest which can be produced, to prove the supreme Deity of the Holy Spirit for in the same book of scripture, we might find a similar argument to prove the supreme Deity of an angel. Acts xxiii. 9, "We find no evil in this man; but if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God. The plain meaning of the above passage is, that, by lying to the Apostles, who were inspired by the Holy Spirit, Ananias had in effect lied to the Holy Spirit; and that lying to the Holy Spirit, was the same thing as lying to God himself, who had given them his Holy Spirit. This is no forced interpretation; for you will all recollect that it is quite conformable to the usual phrase of scripture. Thus our Lord says to his Apostles, "He that despiseth you, despiseth me; and he that despiseth me, despiseth him that sent me." And thus the Apostle Paul says, "He that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his Holy Spirit."

And thus it is, that Ananias, by lying to the Apostles, lied to the Holy Spirit; and by lying to the Holy Spirit, lied to that God who gave them the Holy Spirit. And here I shall take leave of this part of my subject: for there is, in truth, no other passage of scripture which should raise even the shadow of a difficulty on this point.

I have now submitted to your consideration - such scripture testimonies, as appear to me clearly and satisfactorily to prove the position with which I set out,-that the beloved Son of God, our Saviour, and the Holy Spirit of God, the Comforter-however high in dignity and glory they confessedly stand-are yet subordinate, both in power and glory, to the great Father of all. And besides the testimony of scripture on this subject, there is none worthy of a moment's consideration.

I shall not refer you, for authority in doctrine, to fathers, to councils, to creeds of human composure. These all, with me, and I hope with you, pass for nothing, on a subject of this kind. What daring presumption would it be in me, to attach any authority to an opinion, as mine! And who is there, or has there been, since the days of the Apostles, in whom such a claim must not be regarded as equally presumptuous? If any man, or body of men, can produce a well-authenticated patent of infallibility-then, but not till then, let Christians surrender the

right of judging for themselves from Holy Scripture.

You are all aware that the doctrine of Trinity, as set forth in the Athanasian creed, has long been established by human authority: but you may not all be aware of the fact, a fact well authenticated in church history,-that it was not till the beginning of the fourth century of the Christian era, that this doctrine assumed the shape and character which it now bears. Till then, Christians generally were satisfied with the theology of the Bible; were satisfied reverently to speak of God, and of the Son of God, and of the Spirit of God, in the language of the Bible. And it were well if Christians generally could be induced to return to the same spirit and to the same practice. It were well if Christians could be taught to rest contented with the sole standard of the Christian scriptures. Then should the churches, in their several orbits, revolve, in perfect harmony, around the only true centre of spiritual unity. Then should they all; notwithstanding any little aberrations, or temporary obscurations, move equably and steadily within the blessed light and heat of the Sun of Righteousness. And then, instead of contending fiercely on points of doubtful disputation-instead of preaching Christ, even of envy and strife, it would be the delightful study of all to promote the good of all, and to preserve "the unity of the spirit, in the bond of peace.

Before I conclude this discourse, let me once more rebut a charge which may be directed against the doctrine which it contains, namely― that it goes to degrade the Son, and Spirit of God, and to rob them of their crown of glory. This would be a most awful charge, if there were any truth in it. But I take shelter under the shield of scripture, and do not feel it at all. I have spoken of these glorious beings only in the language of inspiration, in the language of Christ himself and his Apostles; and in company with them, I shall not be afraid to bear the brunt of any charge.

Let those who are accustomed to make this charge beware, lest, without any sufficient warrant from scripture, they subject themselves to the more awful charge, of invading the supremacy of the Father Almighty; and of giving, farther than he authorizes, that glory to any other, which belongeth to himself alone.

There still remains one general division of my subject, whereon I shall not now enter,) under which I propose replying to the several arguments drawn from scripture, which appear of any weight in support of the Athanasian doctrine. I have been long accustomed to regard scripture as being, on every subject of which it treats, its own best interpreter. I shall employ it in that capacity here. There are names, and attributes, offices, and operations, ascribed to our Lord

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Jesus Christ in the scriptures, which are thought to identify him with the Father Almighty. It shall, God willing, be the business of my next discourse to show you, that none of these, when properly understood-comparing scripture with scripture-militate in the least against the general doctrine of divine revelation already laid down. In the mean time, be intreated to keep up your habit of scripture reading; and may the Spirit of the living God direct you and me into the way of truth, and piety, and peace, for Christ's sake. Amen.