Saviour is by his laft declaration: "For we being many, are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one Bread," I Cor. x. 17.—But I apprehend Mr. Lindsey more earneftly objects to our mode of adminiftering the facrament upon another account, because it favours the doctrine of atonement made by the facrifice of our Saviour's body and blood once offered for our ransom. I grant him fo it does, and fo do the words of St. Paul already quoted; fo do the words of our Saviour, that "he came to minifter, and to give his life a ransom for many," Matth. xx. 28; and fo do the following passages: "Looking for that bleffed Hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God, and our Saviour Jefus Chrift: who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity," Titus ii. 13, 14; "I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himfelf for me," Galat. ii. 20; "Chrift hath loved us, and hath given himself for us, an offering and a facrifice to God, for a fweet fmelling favour," Ephef. v. 2; "the blood of Chrift, who, through the eternal Spirit, offered himself without spot to God, purge your confcience from dead works to ferve the living God," Heb. ix. 14. This laft fentence is spoken by the apostle, as fhewing the superior value of the blood of Chrift fhed for all men, and purifying the confcience or spirit, to that shed in the Jewish facrifices, which could only afford carnal purification; and the apoftle, proceeding to fhew that "we are fanctified through the offering of the body of Jefus Chrift once for all," and that "this Man, after he had offered one facrifice for fin," "hath by one offering perfected for ever them that are fanctified," " and given us boldness to enter into the Holieft by the blood of Jefus," "through his flesh," Heb. x. 12, 14, 19, 20, pronounces exprefsly that "Chrift was once offered to bear the fins of many," and that " now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away fin by the facrifice

facrifice of himfelf," Heb. ix. 28, 26;

66

"He was deli"For when we

vered for our offences," Rom. iv. 25 ; were yet without ftrength, in due time Chrift died for the ungodly," "while we were yet finners Chrift died for us, "when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son," "by whom we have now received the atonement," Rom. v. 6, 8, 10, 11. “Being then juftified by his blood, and faved from wrath through him," Rom. v. 9, "who hath redeemed us from the curfe of the law, becoming himself a curse for us," Galat. iii. 13, Why are we not to difcern the Lord's body;""to fhew the Lord's death till he come;" to commemorate the facrifice by which we are preserved * and, when we receive our Lord's appointed memorial of the mercies he has vouchfafed to us, to invoke him to make us partakers of thofe great benefits which by his death he has rendered attainable by every man that cometh into the world? St. Paul and the other apoftles alfo have teftified that our Lord died for us to be our atonement; either therefore Mr. Lindfey does not believe the appointed witneffes of our Saviour fpeaking with the Holy Ghoft, or, believing, pays no attention to what they teftify. In the former cafe, my reader, finding this gentleman and the apostles on different fides of the que

X 2

stion,

*That we have received a vicarious atonement for fin from the fufferings of a fuperiour Being, and "that Chrift fuffered and died for the fins of mankind, is a doctrine fo conftantly and fo ftrongly enforced through every part of the New Teftament, that whoever will feriously perufe those writings, and deny that it is there, may with as much reafon and truth, after reading the works of Thucydides and Livy, affert that in them no mention is made of any facts relative to the hiftories of Greece and Rome." Jenyns's view of the internal evidence of the Chriftian religion, p. 29.

Unitarians, whose common-place answer to the members of the church of England confifts of no more than an affurance that prejudice alone is the ground of their belief, must here withdraw their trite objection; for the ingenuous author of this full and explicit declaration is fo far from uttering the language of original prejudice, that he acknowledges his prefent acquiefcence in the doctrines of the gospel to be nothing less than a converfion from a ftate of actual unbelief,

ftion, will probably know which to efpoufe himself; whereas in the latter, Mr. Lindsey muft ftand not only accused, but convicted of the utmost impiety and ingratitude in refusing to obey the word of the infpired writers, and to commemorate the immenfe "love of God, because he laid down his life for us," 1 John iii. 16. Left any fcruple should ftill remain upon its being faid that Chrift the Son is "appointed Heir of all things,' Heb. i. 2, let it be remembered, that a fimilar expreffion is made use of concerning the Father alfo, and that our Lord's afcending words declare that the disciples are not to know concerning "the times and the feafons which the Father hath put in his own power,” A&ts i. 7. But exclufive of this confideration, which may poffibly be thought by fome to be a fubtilty, our Saviour Christ, tho' "God over all blessed for ever," was yet of the feed of David as concerning the flesh, and as a Son of man might exceedingly well have received an appointment; and this appointment to the poffeffion of all things is accordingly affirmed to have been made to him upon his having taken his human body into heaven, there for ever to remain in union with his Godhead.

CVII.

The first verse of the first chapter of St. Peter's fecond epiftle general, has these remarkable words, as literally tranflated in the margin of our Bible. "Simon Peter, a fervant and apoftle of Jefus Chrift, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us, through the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jefus Chrift," 2 Pet. i. 1. Paul to Timothy alfo, calls himself "an apoftle by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jefus Chrift, which is our hope," 1 Tim. i. I.

CVIII.

"An entrance fhall be miniftered unto you abundantly, into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jefus Christ,” 2 Pet. i. 11.

CIX.

"The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens fhall pass away with a great noise, and the elements fhall melt with fervent heat, the earth alfo and the works that are therein shall be burnt up. Seeing then that all these things fhall be diffolved, what manner of perfons ought ye to be in all holy converfation and godlinefs, looking for and hafting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire fhall be diffolved, and the elements fhall melt with fervent heat?" 2 Pet. iii. 10, 11, 12. As there is but one day mentioned in this paffage, it is evident that the Lord, whofe day it is called in the first, is the fame as the God, whofe day it is faid to be in the laft verfe, one and the fame God. But that the fpecified Lord, who is God, is our Lord Jefus Chrift, the context, to which I refer, fhews beyond contradiction. Befides other circumftances evincing this fact throughout the whole chapter, the apostle fays, "the long-fuffering of our Lord is to be accounted falvation; even as our beloved brother Paul alfo hath written unto you," 2 Pet. iii. 15. Now the words of Paul, to which St. Peter here refers, are, "For this caufe I obtained mercy, that in me first Jefus Chrift might fhew forth all long-fuffering, for a pattern to them which fhould hereafter believe on him to life everlafting," 1 Tim. i. 16. Here then, mercy and life everlasting, which are falvation, are preached to all through the long-fuffering of Jefus Chrift, after the pattern of Paul. to which Peter has referred, calling him, who is by Paul called Jesus Chrift, Lord; and immediately after calling him, whom he had himself named Lord, God. Let us not thereforefall from our ftedfaftnefs, but grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jefus Christ: to him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.” 2 Pet. iii. 18.

CX.

CX.

"He is Antichrift, that denieth the Father and the Son," I John ii. 22. How is he who denieth the Father, Antichrift? How is he who denieth Jefus to be the Chrift, and "confeffeth not that he is come in the flesh," to be confidered as denying the Father? For this plain reason, that the Son is one with the Father, God; and confequently the Father is denied upon the denial of him who is with him, one.

CXI.

"Beloved, now are we the Sons of God," 66 we know that when he fhall appear we shall be like him, for we shall fee him as he is," 1 John iii. 2. Here GOD is the subject spoken of, and continues the only antecedent to the subsequent affertion, "that HE was manifested to take away our fins, and in him was no fin,' ver. 5. It is only in the flesh of Jefus Chrift that it is pretended God was manifeft, 1 Tim. iii. 16; and we know that it is by the flesh of Jefus Chrift crucified that our fins are taken away. But it is God who was manifested to take away our fins; the apostle himself fums up the argument, for he proceeds, "hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us," 1 John iii. 16; and when he had affumed our mortal nature, why should we doubt that mortality is predicated of him? It is God who laid down his life for us; but it was Jefus Chrift: Jefus Chrift is therefore one with the Father, God.

CXII.

Every spirit that confeffeth not that Jefus Chrift is come in the flesh, is not of God," I John iv. 3. Tho' the apostle's intention in this verse be to shew that Jefus Chrift was truly man, yet it is no ftrained inference to fay, that the Being who came in the flesh, had pre-existence to the time of taking it upon him; and this indeed follows the more naturally, when we confider that