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was well, he came to thank her: She took no reward. Mr. Eliot received the man to hospitality; took no notice of all the calumnies with which he had loaded him; and by this behavior, so mild, so Christian, he mollified and subdued the mind of his reviler.

In fine; the benevolence of his heart was such, that he made it his habitual practice to take every occasion that presented to express it in some suitable form, by words, or actions, as the case seemed to require.

But what was the effect of this exemplary piety and Charity in Mr. Eliot? It will be no wonder to the reader, if he be told, that this good man walked in the light of God's countenance all the day long. It was believed, that he had a continual assurance of the divine love, wonderfully sealing, strengthning, and refreshing him for a great number of years before he died; and for this cause the fear of death was extirpated out of his heavenly soul, more than out of most men alive. Laboring once under a fever and ague, a visitant asked him, "how he did?" And he replied, “very well; but anon I expect a par oxism." Said the visitant, "Sir, fear not." But to that he an

He was also a great enemy to contention, and was earnest in his endeavors to smother the flame as soon as ever he discovered it to arise. When he heard any ministers complain, that such and such in their flocks were too difficult for them; the strain of his answer still was, Brother, compass them. And, Brother, learn the meaning of these three little words, bear, forbear, forgive. Yea, his inclina tions for peace were so strong, that, perhaps in some instances, he might have been thought to have gone to an extreme in order to effect this important end. He was willing to sacrifice almost any thing but truth and ev-swered, "Fear! No, no; I ident duty to effect this benevo lent design. Such an excess, (if it were so) flowed from his charitable inclinations to be found among those peace-makers, who by following the example of him who is our peace, come to be called the children of God.

ben't afraid, I thank God, I ben't afraid to die."-Being well assured of his preparation to leave the world, he rose superior to the fear of death in a degree beyond what is usually experi enced by other good men.

(To be continued.)

The Catholic Doctrine of a Trinity, &c.

(Continued from p. 315.)

XXIV.

THE Texts that follow, with this mark, (†) prefixed to them, are such as have been abused by the Arians to support their Heresy and to the best of my knowledge, there are some of every sort. But when the Scripture is brought to declare its own sense of them, they will either appear to be nothing to the purpose, or confirm and preach the faith they have been supposed to destroy.

Matt. xix. 17. Why callest thou ME GOOD? there is none good but ONE, that is GOD.

The objection is founded upon the Greek, which runs thus— Ουδείς εσιν αγαθώ, ει μη εις, ο Θεο There is none good but is, one; and that (one) is, • O☞, God. Whence it is argued, that the adjective is being in the masculine Gender, cannot be interpreted to signify one Being or Nature (for then it should have been EN, in the Neuter) but one Person: so that by confining the attribute of goodness to the single person of the Father, it must of course exclude the persons of the Son and Holy Ghost from the Unity of the Godhead.

To say the truth, I think this is the most plausible objection I have ever met with; and I have sincerely endeavored to do it justice. If it is capable of being set in stronger light, any man is welcome to add what he pleases to it. For supposing the words to signify one person (and in that lies the whole force of the argument) then if one person only is good, and that person is God; it must also follow, that there is but one person who is God: the name of God being as much confined hereby to a single person, as the attribute of goodness. But this is utterly false; the names of God, Lord, Lord of Hosts, the Almighty, most High, Eternal, God of Israel, &c. being also ascribed to the second and third Persons of the blessed Trinity. Take it this way, therefore, and the objection by proving too much, confutes itself, and proves nothing.

The truth is, this criticism, upon the strength of which some have dared to undeify their Saviour, has no foundation in the Original. The word as is so far from requiring the substantive person to be understood with it, that it is put in the masculine gender to agree with its substantive O, and is best construed by an adverb. If you follow the Greek by a literal translation, it will be thus-There is none Good- μn els o Os—but the one God; that is, in common English-but God only. And it happens, that the same Greek, word for word, occurs in Mark ii. 7.— Who can forgive sins-es μn els o ŒE—but God only: so it is rendered by our translators and we have a plain matter of fact, that as in this place cannot possibly admit the sense of one person, because Christ, who is another person, took upon him to forgive sins. In the parallel place of St. Luke's Gospel*, the expression is varied, so as to make it still clearer- μn pov & • QEQ- -nots, but ov, another adjective of the masculine gender: which, though it agree with its substantive O, is rightly construed as an adverb either the alone God, or God only. And the Greek itself uses one for the other indifferently-as, ex' apo μov, by Bread only†—ev ovo povov, in word olnyf. The utmost that can be gathered, therefore, from these words, is no more than this; that there is one God (in which we are all agreed) and that there is none good beside him; which no body will dispute. Whether + Matt. iv. 4. + 1 Thess. i. 5.

* Luke v. 21.

in this God, there be one person, or three, remains yet to be considered: and the Scripture is so express in other places, as to settle it beyond all dispute.

If it should here be asked, for what reason Christ put this Question- "Why callest thou me good ?" I answer; for the same reason that he asked the Pharisees, why David in Spirit called him LORD*; and that was to try if they were able to account for it. This ruler, by addressing our Saviour under the name of good Master, when the inspired Psalmist had affirmed long before, that there is none that doeth GOOD, no NOT ONE†; did in effect allow him to be God; no mere man, since the fall of Adam, having any claim to that Character. And when he was called upon to explain his meaning, for that God only was good ; he should have replied in the words of St. Thomas"My Lord, and my GOD :" which would have been a nobler instance of Faith, and have cleared up the whole difficulty. If the case be considered, this man was a very proper subject for such a trial. Fully convinced of his own sufficiency, he comes to Christ in the presence of his disciples, to know what good thing he might do to merit everlasting life. Whence our Saviour takes occasion to correct his mistake as to the nature of goodness; and having tried this good and perfect man in a tender point, sent him away grievously dissatisfied.

XXV.

† 1 Cor. xv. 24. Then cometh the END, when HE shall deliver up the KINGDOM to GoD,

FATHER.

even the Luke i. 33. HE (Jesus) shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of HIS KINGDOM there shall be

NO END.

This of St. Luke, being a contradiction in terms to that of the Apostle, shews the former to be spoken only of Christ's humanity ; as the latter relates only to his Divinity. When both are laid together, it is evident to a demonstration, that Christ is perfect God, as well as perfect man. As man, he received a kingdom, which again, as man, he shall deliver up, when his mediatorial office, for which he took the nature of man, shall be at an end. But there is a kingdom pertaining to him, which shall have no end. And this cannot be true, unless he is a person in that God, who after the Humanity has delivered up the kingdom shall be all in all. The distinction in this case between the God and man in the joint person. of Christ Jesus, is warranted by another part of the Chapter, wherein the Apostle has given us a key to his own meaning. Since by MAN (says he) came death, by MAN came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. Here, it is evident, he is drawing a contrast between the man Adam and the man Christ; so that unless it

*Matt. xxii. 43.

† Psalm xiv. 3.

be done on purpose, no reader can easily mistake the meaning of what follows Then cometh the End, when HE (that is the man Christ, the second Adam) shall deliver up the kingdom, &c. for so it must be, according to the tenor of the Apostle's dis

course.

The New Testament abounds with expressions of this nature; but they have no difficulty in them, if it only be remembered that Christ is man as well as God; which the Arians are willing upon all occasions to forget. And it has been chiefly owing to an abuse of these texts, that they have been able to put any tolerable gloss upon their Heresy. The Old Testament seldom speaking of Christ, but as a Person of the Godhead before his Incarnation, does not afford them so many opportunities: and hence is it, that most of them confine their enquiries to the New, which is the history of him after his Incarnation, when he appeared, as the first-born of many brethren*, anointed above his Fellows (Mankind) receiving authority and dominion from God, who by a power superior to that of his human soul and body, put all things in subjection under the feet of it.

But some, for whose sakes he thus humbled himself, and became obedient in the flesh, instead of receiving it with humility and devotion, even cast it in his teeth, and make it an argument against him: vainly imagining that they do honor to their supreme God, while they say with Peter- -Lord, be it far from thee: this shall not, it cannot, be unto thee. And it is worth their while to consider whether they may not fall under the same rebuke, when it will be too late to retract and change their opinion.

A solemn advocate of theirs, tells us -his present concern is with the New Testament onlyt. And another writer of some figure, who, you are to suppose, is addressing himself to a young Clergyman, puts it into his head, that he "may reject Arguments "brought from the Old Testament to prove the Trinity, as tri"fling, and proving nothing but the Ignorance of those that make "use of them." And I could wish that were all: for I had much rather be accounted a fool in their judgment than find myself under a necessity of charging them with the horrible guilt, of denying the Lord that hath bought them.

XXVI.

† Acts x. 42. That it is HE which is ORDAINED Of GOD to be the judge of quick and dead.

This passage will help us to detect, once for all, that common fallacy of our adversaries, in misapplying such words as relate only to the human nature of Christ, and erecting arguments thereupon to the degrading of his supreme Essence. Christ is ordained of God, it is true and the nature that receives power, must be inferior to the nature that confers it. But is his Godhead therefore ordained? They tell you it is; and their scheme requires it :

*Rom. viii. 29.

† A sequel to the Essay on Spirit, p. 8. Letter to a young Clergyman upon the Difficulties and Discouragements which attend the study of the Scriptures in the way of private judgment.

But the Scriptures declare the contrary- -GOD (saith St. Paul) hath appointed a day wherein HE will JUDGE the world in righteousness by that MAN εv avdpi, (IN that MAN) whom he hath ORDAINED*. The supreme God that was manifest in the flesh, and IN Christ reconciling the world to HIMSFLF, shall remain in the same personal union with him, till he has judged the world, andis ready to deliver up the kingdom. And though our Judge shall even then retain the Character of a Man, yet as God who ordained him, shall be present with him in the same person, the act of the last judgment is equally ascribed to both natures. In the text just above cited, it is said He (God) will judge the world; though it immediately follows, that a man, even the man Christ, is ordained to this office. And so we have it again in the Epistle to the Romans we shall all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, as I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to ME, and every tongue shall confess unto GODt. We are to give an account of ourselves at the judgment seat of ChristAnd how does the Apostle prove it? Why, because it is written, that we shall give an account of ourselves to the Lord God, who swears that he liveth. But unless Christ, who is a man, be also this living God and Lord, this proof is not to the purpose.

XXVII.

† Acts x. 40. Him GOD raised up and SHEWED HIM openly to us who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead.

John xxi. 1. After these things JESUS SHEWED HIMSELF again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias; and on this wise SHEWED HE HIMSELF.

The former text takes something from Christ, as man; in which capacity he was at the disposal of the Father. But the latter restores it to him again as God; under which character he is at his own disposal, and in unity with the Father. The same is to be said of the two articles which follow.

XXVIII.

† John iii. 16. GOD SO LOVED the world, that HE GAVE his only begotten Son.

Ephes. v. 25. CHRIST also LOVED the Church, and GAVE HIMSELF for it.

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XXIX.

Eph. iv. 32. Forgiving one another, even as GOD, for CHRIST'S SAKE, hath FORGIVEN you.

Col. iii. 13. Forgiving one another-even as CHRIST FORGAVE you.

*Acts xvii. 31.

† Isa. xly. 23.

VOL. VI. NO. 9.

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