say whether the difference consists merely in the different degree in which a man was invested with divine powers to accomplish the purposes of divine wisdom and mercy. Does not the distinction arise from a higher source? Is not Jesus Christ here spoken of as a being of a more exalted nature, possessing the power of a legislator and governour, and appointed to administer all the concerns of the kingdom of grace and mercy, which he was commissioned to establish on earth?

Under this proposition, we have only to review the general language of the New Testament, respecting the honours to which Jesus Christ has ascended in heaven, the power which he possesses at the right hand of his Father, and the agency he will in future time take in raising men from the sleep of death, and passing judgment upon them. Then we may determine whether this language comports with the Humanitarian doctrine. The information in the New Testament, that Christ will raise the dead, is express." Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live. The hour cometh in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, to the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, to the resurrection of damnation." The language of scripture on the subject of the final judgment is not less plain and full. "The Father judgeth no man; but hath committed all judgment unto the Son. In the day, when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ. Then shall appear the sign of the Son of

Man in heaven; and then all the tribes of the earth shall mourn; and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory; and he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. The Son of Man shall come in the glory of his Father, with his angels; and then shall he reward every man according to his works."

What splendour of imagery do we find in the scriptural representation of the second advent of the Son of God into our world! How sublime and awful is the purpose for which he will appear! He comes encircled with the glory of his Father, and accompanied with the angels of heaven. A trumpet is sounded, which awakes the posterity of Adam from the sleep of death: Jesus ascends the seat of judgment; and before him all nations are assembled. On the righteous he pronounces a sentence, which introduces them to honour, glory, and immortality. The wicked are separated from God, and from happiness; and they are assigned to the place of misery and destruction.

Does this elevated description-do these solemn transactions accord with the character of a mere man ? With a man the most distinguished and exalted? Is not the Being, whose attendants are angels, whose glory is that of God, whose business is to pronounce judgment on the secrets of every heart, to determine unalterably the moral character of every man, and to apportion to every individual

of the human race the rewards and the punishments of a future state-is not this Being more than man?

Many learned and devout Christians think that the metaphysical character of Christ is not described by the inspired writers. Enough is revealed respecting him for the purpose of our salvation; enough for the exercise of our intellectual faculties, and for a test of our charity; but the full knowledge of the person of our Saviour will be acquired only in a higher state of being.

To conclude.

The author of the epistle to the Hebrews, after he had described the superiour dignity of Christ, and the higher excellency of his dispensation, draws an inference, which we ought, my Christian brethren, deeply to impress on our minds. "How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?" How aggravated is the guilt of those, who reject the offers of love and mercy made by Jesus Christ, the Son of God! It is to mock the authority of Deity, to slight the proposals of infinite wisdom and infinite goodness, to prefer misery to happiness. From reverence then to the Parent of all Being, from gratitude to a devoted Saviour, from the love of existence and of happiness, let us obey and live.

SERMON IV.

TEXTS OF SCRIPTURE EXPLAINED.

JOHN x. 30.

I and my Father are one,

IN the last discourse, I introduced a number of passages from the New Testament, in which our Saviour, in the plainest language, declares that he is a being distinct from God, and dependent on him for all the power he exercises. In the sacred writings there is no contradiction. My present purpose is to review and explain the principal texts which are adduced to support the Trinitarian doctrine.

Every one who is in any measure acquainted with this subject, must be apprized of its difficulty.Biblical criticism is often the result of laborious research into the idioms of the languages in which the scriptures were originally written; into the systems of philosophy, the national customs and private manners prevalent at the respective ages of the sacred writers; and into the meaning of particular words and phrases found in scripture, as these werę commonly used by profane authors. Such researches greatly aid in elucidating the oracles of

truth. But usefully to interweave learned criticisms into a sermon designed for a mixed audience, requires nice discrimination and sound judgment; and at last much must depend on authority. I labour under some apprehension that I shall not be able to make myself clearly understood by those who are not conversant with these studies. But I rest on the interest we all have in this subject, to ensure a serious and candid attention to the obser vations which may be made.

Language is necessarily ambiguous. Particular words, and often whole sentences, will bear differ ent meanings. Sometimes, after the closest attention to the main design of an author, it may be impossible to determine the sense of peculiar phrases, In all such instances, the consistent method is, to put a meaning on passages which are obscure that will accord with the undoubted sense of plain passages, and which at the same time will comport with the apparent purpose of the writer. In respect to that class of texts which are adduced as divine authority for the doctrine of the Supreme Divinity of our Saviour, the real question is not, whether these will bear, in accordance with the general principles of language, the construction Trinitarians put on them; but whether they will not bear the construction of Unitarians? This, as we believe, agrees with the evident sense of passages the most plain, and is in harmony with the general language of the inspired writers respecting the Unity of God, and the character of Jesus Christ. Bearing in mind the obvious sense of plain passages, and attending to the subject on which the writer treats,