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ceived them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy Gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt." Ex. xxxii. 4. The same plural language is repeated again in verse 8th, "These be thy Gods, O Israel," &c. Aaron excused himself to Moses by saying, "They said unto me, make us Gods which shall before us. go ver. 23. "And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf." ver. 24. Can any rational mind pretend that the use of a plural noun and pronoun, in this instance, by the Israelites, proves that "this calf" was, in some sense, three calves, and at the same time only one calf?

The belief in one self-existent, eternal, omnipotent, and omnipresent God, was the great and fundamental doctrine of the Jewish religion; and the writings of the Old Testament are full of passages declaring that there is but one God, who is himself the Saviour and Redeemer of men. "I am the Lord," says he, "and there is none else there is no God besides me. "Thus saith the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker." Is. xlv. 5, 11. “I, even I, am the Lord, and besides me there is no Saviour." "Thus saith the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel." Is. xliii. 11, 14. These sentiments are reiterated and confirmed in the New Testament. "Jesus answered, The first of all the commandments is, hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord." "And the scribes said unto him, Well, master, thou hast said the truth, for there is one God, and there is none other but he:" Mark xii. 29, 32; which proves that the Jews believed then, as they do now, that he is one undivided Deity.

We are told by the highest authority, that "none is good save one; that is, God." Luke xviii. 19. The apostle Paul says, "God is one." Gal. iii. 20. And

the apostle Jude says, "To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever." ver. 25.

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2. There are many names given to the Divine Being, in the Old and New Testaments, which are either expressive of his attributes, or descriptive of the various ways in which he has manifested himself to the children of men, according to their several states and capacities. Thus he is called Jehovah, or self-existing; and he is called Jah, which means eternal. He is also called the King of Glory, the Lord of Hosts, and the Prince of Peace. To the wicked he appears as a consuming fire; but to the faithful he becomes the Lord our righteousness, the Rock of ages, and the Saviour and Redeemer of his people. Yet, notwithstanding this variety of names which are given to the Divine Being, in both the Old and New Testaments, it is said by the prophet Zechariah, in allusion to the gospel day, "In that day there shall be one Lord, and his name one. Chap. xiv. 19.— Which I understand to mean, that there shall be only one Divine power acknowledged, to whom all these various names are attributed. The name of the Lord is often used in Scripture, to indicate the power or presence of the Lord. Thus it is said, "The name of the Lord is a strong tower." Psalms xviii. 10.— "Thy name is as ointment poured forth." Cant. i. 3. "For that thy name is near thy works declare." Ps. lxxv. 1. "Behold, I send an angel before thee to keep thee in the way. Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not, for he will not pardon your transgressions, for my name is in him." Ex. xiii. 20, 21. From these and many other passages, I think it is clear, that to be baptized into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, signifies to be brought under the purifying influence of that one Divine power, whose manifestations to the children of men are represented by these various names. I see no reason to conclude that the Father,

Son, and Holy Spirit, are all distinct persons, because these names are all found in one sentence.

There are many other places in the Scriptures where the Divine Being is mentioned under different names in one sentence. For instance, "Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." ix. 6. Here are five names mentioned, and according to the trinitarian arguments, they imply five persons in the Deity. The reduplicative style is very common in the sacred writings. For example, the apostle James says: "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father, is this." i. 27. Aud the apostle Paul says: "Do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him." Colos. iii. 17. He also speaks in another place, of "God, and of the Father, and of Christ." Col. ii. 2. From these expressions some persons might conclude that God and the Father are two distinct persons; but the apostolic doctrine was, "There is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him." 1 Cor. viii. 6. .

3. The attempt to prove that there are three persons in the Deity, by saying that different offices are assigned to the Father, and the Word, and the Holy Spirit, will not stand the test of scrutiny: for the Scriptures ascribe precisely the same works to the Deity under each of these titles. For instance, the work of creation is ascribed,-first, to God: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." Gen. i. 1. Secondly, to the Spirit of God: "The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” Gen. i. 2. "Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created; thou renewest the face of the earth." Ps. civ. 30. Thirdly, to the wisdom of God: "By wisdom he made the heavens.". Ps. cxxxvi. 5. "The

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Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth." Prov. iii. 19. Fourthly, to the Word of God: "All things were made by him." John i. 3. "By the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water.". 2 Pet. iii. 5: Fifthly, to the Son of God: "He hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, by whom also he made the worlds." Heb. i. 2. "God created all things by Jesus Christ." Eph. iii. 9.

Here then, according to the trinitarian method of reasoning, are five persons concerned in the work of creation. But according to my view there is only one God, whose holy power or Divine influence is sometimes called the Spirit of God, or the Holy Spirit, because, "God is a Spirit." It is sometimes called the Wisdom of God; for "in him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." Col. ii. 3. It is likewise called the Word of God, because it is the medium by which he speaks to man. And it is called the Son of God, and Jesus Christ, because it was through this one Divine power that Jesus did the works of God. He said, "I can of mine own self do nothing; as I hear I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which sent me." John v. 30. "The words that I speak unto you, I speak not of myself, but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works." John xiv. 10.

4. This brings us to the last point of the argument, which relates to the union of the Divine and human natures in Jesus Christ. This union I fully acknowledge; but I can see no need of calling it a hypostatical union: for there is no such language used by the inspired writers, and I believe that this, and other Latin names, (such as a trinity and triune God,) have been used as blinds, to conceal from the public the deplorable ignorance of priests and professors in relation to divine things. They being ignorant of "that wisdom which is from above," (James iii. 17) have re

sorted to "the words which man's wisdom teacheth," in order to appear wise before men.

The Scriptures teach us, that "as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God."Rom. viii. 14. "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirits, that we are the children of God: and if children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ." ver. 16, 17. They also teach us, that we may become "partakers of the Divine nature." 2 Peter i. 4.

This union which takes place between God and all those who are born of his Spirit, is so perfect, that the church (or assembly of the righteous) is likened to a spiritual house, of which "Jesus Christ is the chief corner stone." 1 Pet. ii. 5. The apostle Paul, in addressing the Ephesians, says, "Ye are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; in whom all the building, fitly framed together, groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord; in whom ye also are builded together, for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” ii. 20-22.

The church is also compared to a body, having many members, of which Jesus Christ is the head. (Eph. iv. 15,-Col. i. 8,-Rom. xii. 4,-1 Cor. xii. 12.) It appears to me, that the apostles considered "the man Christ Jesus," (1 Tim. ii. 5,) to be the chief member or head of the spiritual body, which is made up of the faithful servants of God of all ages and nations; and therefore they speak of him as the "firstborn among many brethren." Rom. viii. 29. This title does not refer to priority of birth, but to the dignity of his station; for the first-born son among the Jews, was the head of the family or tribe, and the heir of his father's authority. Isaac was called the "only begotten son," (Heb. xi. 17,-Gen. xxii. 16,) because he was Abraham's heir, although his brother Ishmael was born before him.

With these views, I can fully acknowledge not only

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