the Fall" to crush the Serpent's head " --or in God's own good time, to abolish the fway of the Grand Adverfary of mankind—annihilates the whole mysterious doctrines of the Fall and Redemption of mankind; an allegorical temptation and fall of our firft parents, and of too many of their pofterity, requiring only an allegorical recovery, by the expiatory facrifice of the fpotlefs LAMB OF GOD that taketh away the fins of the [repentant and reformed] world."-And this was the dreadful delufion of the earliest Heretics,-the Gnoftics and the Manicheans ;-as may be seen in Lårdner—that candid, unassuming, and laborious collector of the hiftorical evidences of the authenticity and credibility of HOLY WRIT-but by no means "Prince of modern divines."-Witness his crude argument on the Logos; turning on the old Sceptical objection :-" How can fuch things be?"-namely, the divine nature and miffion of JESUS CHRIST-for want of diftinguishing between matters

"above reafon

to comprehend or fully conceive; and "contrary to reafon."

And perhaps, one of the deepest devices of the TEMPTER-THE DECEIVER of the world is to ridicule or allegorize his own" existence and agency," in order the more effectually to put mankind off their guard against his fatal delufions, by engendering a falfe fecurity in his unfufpecting prey, and an overweening confidence in their own ftrength,

The dangers of our Spiritual warfare are thus expreffed with great energy and earnestness in the following awakening paffage, of our great mystagogue, the Apoftle of the Gentiles. Ephef. vi, 11.

"Put on the divine panoply, to enable you to withstand the methodifms of the Devil. (g) For our ftruggle is not with flesh and blood [i. e. mortal foes only], but with

(8) Στηναι προς τας μεθοδείας τε Διαβολα. This im portant but difficult phrafe is equivalent topos TAY μεθοδείαν της πλάνης— the methodim of THE IMPOSTURE," Ephef. iv. 14. or the artful method of obftructing the progrefs of CHRISTIANITY, as taught

by

with the principalities, with the authorities, with the worldly rulers of the darknefs of this age, with the fpirits of wickedness among the celeftials."

And the following is the Apostle's highly figurative description of the divine panoply, which he elsewhere styles "the armour of the light :"

-"Stand

by the Apostles-andεuovтes Ev ayann-" telling truth in charity" or Chriftian love;-in endeavouring to methodize, or explain away, the mysteries of the Gofpel.-According to the admirable comment of the apoftolical Father, Polycarp-the disciple of John the Evangelift :

Πας γαρ ός αν μη ὁμολογη Ιησεν Χρισον εν σαρκι εληλυθενας Αντιχρισος επι

Και ός αν μη ὁμολογη το μαρτύριον τε ταυρό, εκ το Δια βολο επι

Και ός αν μεθοδεύη τα λογια το Κυριό, προς τας ιδίας επι θυμιας, λεγη μητε ανάςασιν είναι, μητε κρισιν, έτσ πρωτο του επι τε Σατανα.

"For every one, that doth not confefs that JESUS CHRIST hath come in flesh, is antichriftian :

“And whoever doth not confefs the martyrdom of the Cross, is of the Devil:

“And whofoever methodizes the oracles of THE LORD, according to private fancies; and fays, that

there

"Stand therefore, having your loins girt with the belt of veracity, and having put on the breaft-plate of righteousness, and having your feet fhod with the preparation (or fandals) of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the field of faith, whereby ye will be enabled to quench the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of falvation, and the fword of the Spirit, which is God's oracle. feafon, praying in fpirit, with all manner

At every

there is neither refurrection nor judgment-this is Satan's first-born."

Prieflley, to whom I am indebted for this moft important extract-Hiflory of Opinions, &c. vol. i. p. 203. -overturning his whole fyftem of the fimple humanity of JESUS CHRIST-renders the important paffage :ὃς αν μεθοδεύη τα λογια τε Κυριε προς τας ιδίας επιθυμίας, "whofoever perverts the oracles of GOD to his own lufts or interests”—which is tantamount. Such a high Unitarian authority, is furely indifputable, by Belsham and his Reviewers. "Let us therefore,"-proceeding with Priefiley's Tranflation-" leaving the vanity of [the] many, and their falfe doctrines-[and his own, among the reft,]-return to THE WORD [THE ORACLE] that was delivered from the beginning." P. 196.

of

of prayer and fupplication, and watching thereunto in all perfeverance."

And perhaps a more ftriking Unitarian methodism can fcarcely be adduced, than in Wakefield's tranflation of the foregoing moft awakening and alarming paragraph, to all that are not 66 high-minded, but fear." Ephef. vi. 11.

"Put upon you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the devices of the accufer. For we not only have to wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the authority, against the powers, against the rulers of this dark age; against the wickedness of Spiritual [men] in [a] heavenly [difpenfation]!!!”

66

Here "the Devil" is degraded into a mere mortal accufer!-and, by the most licentious parody, "the fpirits of wickednefs," (or wicked spirits,) among the celeftial" [beings], into Spiritual [men] in [a] heavenly [difpenfation]-i. e. the dignified Prelates of the Established Church! -although the Apostle plainly contrasts corporeal with fpiritual enemies.

And