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of our Lord. If he himself, and the Holy Ghost, have an equal title to the Godhead with the Father, then, I ask you, in what sense would it be true that the "Father is the only true God?" I shall not dwell upon this: but leave you to think whether you can fairly draw any other conclusion from this solemn declaration of Christ, than one-that the Father Almighty is, what our Lord hath entitled him, "the only true God."

Let me next request you to look into the best sermon that ever yet was preached—I mean our Lord's sermon on the mount, recorded most fully in St. Matthew's gospel, 5th, 6th, and 7th chapters-and you must observe throughout, that there is a continual reference to "the Father," as the one supreme God, the origin and end of all. Especially you will not fail to observe, that in there prescribing to his followers a form of devotion, our Lord has expressly instructed them to address their prayers to their Father in heaven; nor has he any where else taught his disciples to offer up their prayers to any but the same holy and merciful Father, to whom he was accustomed to offer up his own. He does indeed elsewhere instruct them to pray the Father "in his name," as "Mediator between God and men;" and thus only have we reason to hope that our prayers will be heard and answered in mercy. Now, to my apprehension, these plain instructions of our Lord seem directly opposed

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to those originating in human authority, which tell us, that we must "worship the Trinity in unity"that we must worship God in three distinct persons, all the same in substance, all equal in power and glory. This phraseology is unknown to the New Testament, and must have originated elsewhere. Look attentively through the entire teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ, and you will not find any thing like it, any thing approaching to it, any thing that bears the least resemblance to it. In truth, if you are disposed, as I hope you are, to be guided by the plain instructions of Christ on this subject, you will be taught to offer up your prayers and your supreme adoration, through Christ Jesus, and in his name, to the Father of all, as "the only true God."

Turn your attention now to the plain language of our Saviour, recorded in Matthew, xix. 16: "And behold, one came and said unto him, good master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is God." Could any mind, except a mind accustomed to take its instructions from some other teacher, imagine that our Lord intended in these words to represent himself as the supreme God? or as on a footing of equality with the supreme God? On the contrary, it appears to me, and I think will to a plain unprejudiced mind, that he intended to convey a

meaning directly the reverse. If Christ were himself the supreme God, or equal to the supreme God, how should we account for the distinction so strongly and unequivocally marked in the words before us between himself and that God?

I know that this, and every thing of this kind, is attempted to be accounted for, by alledging that in all such cases our Lord is speaking only in his human nature. But is there any such distinction as this—any such account of this distinction to be met with anywhere in scripture? No such thing. It is a mere gratuitous assumption. It is a human contrivance, to bolster up a human error. Divine truth stands in no need of it; and I shall have occasion, afterward, directly to disprove it by the testimony of Christ himself.

If Christ were the supreme God, who will dare to entertain the blasphemous thought, that he should, in any case, deny himself in this manner, without affording, at the same time, such an explanation as might lead us to understand him aright? The total absence of such explanation in the scriptures, and especially in the case before us, leaves to us the clear and certain conclusion as to our Lord's doctrine-that the infinitely good God is one; and that he himself is not that one God.

I might occupy your time by a multiplication of passages to be met with every where through

out the teaching of Christ, which would necessarily lead us to the same conclusion-that the Father Almighty is the one supreme God. And although the authority of our Lord, on this or on any subject, ought to be paramount with us, yet it may be satisfactory to see that, on this subject, the teaching of his inspired Apostles is perfectly consonant to his own. Let us now attend to two or three passages of this description.

The very first sermons of these inspired men show, with sufficient plainness, the sentiments which they had been taught to entertain on the subject. Thus, in the second chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, on the day of Pentecost, ten days after the ascension of Christ to God's right hand, when the Holy Ghost was sent down upon his Apostles according to his own promise, and they were thus enabled to declare to all nations, in their own tongues, the wonderful works of God; and when this miraculous preaching excited the doubt and amazement of some, and the mockery of others," Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said, ye men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and signs which God did by him in the midst of you, as you yourselves also know: him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have

crucified and slain: whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear."

And in the next chapter, when the lame man who sat for alms at the beautiful gate of the temple, was healed by Peter and John, and when the Apostles saw that the people were filled with amazement, Peter addressed them in these words, "Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk? The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our Fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead, whereof we are witnesses."

I shall not have time for comment on these passages, nor can I think it necessary. Let any one without prejudice read these two first sermons of the Apostles of Christ, and judge whether they appear to have known anything of the Athanasian doctrine; or whether they seem to have identified that blessed Saviour, whose

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