sions, may be said, without hesitation, to have been THE GRAND OBJECT OF THE REFORMERS ; and the object in which they were ALL united, Other things were evidently regarded as important, just in proportion to the degree in which they were subservient to this, their FIRST AND HIGHEST PURPOSE. The doctrines espoused by the Orthodox, then, in opposition to Unitarians, may, with just as much propriety and emphasis, be styled THE DOCTRINES OF THE REFORMATION, as any opposition to Papal despotism, or Papal superstitions, may be called the WORK OF THE REFORMATION; and to insinuate the contrary, is to betray either an ignorance or a prejudice truly extraordinary.

In the review of all this, I entreat you, my christian Brethren, to lay your hands on your hearts, and then say, whether those doctrines which, besides their plain scriptural warrant, have been embraced, with affectionate attachment, by THE PIOUS IN ALL AGES; which were the doctrines of ALL THE EARLY FATHERS, who say any thing on the subject; which NO INDIVIDUAL, from the time of the Apostles, to the time of Luther, is known to have openly rejec

ted, without being cast out of the Church; which were the doctrines of the Paulicians, the Waldenses, the Albigenses, the followers of Wickliffe, the Bohemian Brethren, and all the WitNESSES FOR THE TRUTH, during the dark ages; and finally which ALL THE REFORMERS from Popery concurred in maintaining, as the very ESSENCE OF THE GOSPEL-I repeat it-Lay your hands on your hearts and say, whether these doctrines can be any other than the faith once delivered to the saints, and for which all christians are commanded "BARNESTLY TO CONTEND?"

LETTER VI.

Unitarians reject the inspiration of the ScripturesDifference between them and the Orthodox with respect to the proper office of Reason in examining Revelation-Specimens of Unitarian exposition-Consequences of this mode of expounding the word of God.

CHRISTIAN Brethren,

As the Unitarians, in their controversies with the Orthodox, constantly appeal to the SCRIPTURES, and profess to cherish a very profound respect for them, it has probably appeared to many that they view the inspired volume in the same light with the Orthodox. They frequently speak of the reverence and diligence with which they and their friends study it. They insist upon referring every question to it as a standard. They often quote, with much emphasis, the celebrated saying of Chillingworth, "THE BIBLE, THE BIBLE IS THE RELI

"GION OF PROTESTANTS." They object to Creeds and Confessions, lest they should come into competition with the Scriptures as a rule of faith. They frequently charge the advocates of evangelical truth with being backward to appeal to this standard, and with being governed by prejudice, or love of system, or feeling, rather than by the Word of God. In short, you would sometimes be led, by their language, to suppose, that none who bear the christian name, either feel so much reverence for the sacred Scriptures, as Unitarians, or lay so much stress on their authority, as an ultimate resort in controversy.

But this is a mere illusion: and a very small acquaintance with their writers and preachers will be quite sufficient to dissipate it. I asserted, in the first Letter, that Unitarians commonly deny the inspiration of the Scriptures, and produced some testimony in support of my assertion; but the subject is worthy of more particular notice. In my view the manner in which they consider and treat the Scriptures, is, next to their rejection of the Redeemer's true glory, one of the most conclusive evidences of the yital

rottenness of their system. Some Unitarians, indeed, profess, in words, to believe in the inspiration of the Word of God; but even they, when they come to explain themselves, plainly shew that it is not the reality, but the name only, of inspiration which they admit. They set out with a principle concerning the inspired volume, which almost entirely nullifies it, at once, as a rule of faith. According to them, Reason, after all, is the only safe and adequate guide, They assume it to be the prerogative of reason to sit in judgment upon Revelation, and to modify, or expunge from it, every thing which that reason cannot comprehend, or does not approve. Of course, whenever they meet with a passage which appears hostile to their general views, it gives them no serious difficulty. They find an easy way, either to silence it, or to make it speak agreeably to their wishes.

It is true the Orthodox also profess to employ reason in their inquiries respecting Revelation; but the essential difference between them and Unitarians, as to this point, lies here. The Orthodox maintain, that our own reason is altogether insufficient to guide us in spiritual things;