in unifon with our own private fentiments, or otherwife. Suppófe we preach in oppofition to these articles. We fhall incur the guilt of perju-ry, and be liable to fufpenfion by the Bishop. True: he may fufpend us from executing the duties of our office; but cannot deprive us of our legal emoluments, our Livings being our Freeholds. I leave you then to judge, whether a man, who according to their statement can be base enough to preach to others what he difbelieves himself, whether fuch an one would be likely to boggle at perjury; and not rather gladly take refuge in suspenfion, as relieving him from the irksome task, and continuing to him the profits, without the labours of his Office.

But enough of this. Let me only add, that while an immoral or licentious, a vicious or pro fane Clergyman, ever is, and juftly deferves to be an object of your abhorrence and contempt; the groundless and impudent calumnies 1 have now adverted to are equally beneath a man of common candour to utter, and a man of common fenfe to believe.

I now proceed to point out to your notice fome few out of the numerous texts which the Bible:

affords

affords, whence we are led to believe that Chrift is God, and that the Holy Ghoft is God. When our Saviour, at his final parting with his Apostles, gave them a commiffion to baptize all nations, it was in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Saint John, who, as I before remark'd, wrote his Gofpel profeffedly to counteract the herefy of Simon Magus and the Gnoftics, opens that Gospel with this irrefragable testimony. In the beginning, meaning from all eternity, was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. On which memorable paffage I would fuggest two brief obfervations; first, that the Word was a title of the Meffiah, or Chrift, familiar to the Jewish writers; and fecondly, that this expreffion of the infpir'd Apostle contains a mystery exactly congenial to that of the Trinity. For the difference is equally effential between two and one as between three and one: yet we are told that the Word, or Chrift, was with God, implying a diftinction of Perfon; and yet was God, afferting an Unity of Nature. Saint John goes on to affirm of Chrift, All things were made by Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made. Chrift then is the Creator of all things; therefore Chrift is God. Our adverfaries allow Jefus to have been a good Man, who did no fin, neither

E

neither was guile found in his mouth. They allow Him alfo to have been an infpir'd Prophet, full of grace and truth. Surely then He could not lie. Now what fays He of Himfelf? I and the Father are One. He that hath feen Me, hath feen the Father. Before Abraham was, I am. Where you may observe, that in the Old Testament the Almighty God appropriates to Himself the peculiar appellation of I Am. When we read of any of the Prophets, whether under the Mofaic or Evangelic difpenfation, offering worship and adoration to the glorious Beings who communicated to them divine meffages, or revelations, we find them conftantly check'd: See thou do it not; I am thy fellow-fervant: worship God. when the long incredulous Saint Thomas ador'd Chrift, faying, my Lord, and my God; Chrift reproves him not for it. Saint Paul tells the Romans, Chrift is over All, God bleffed for ever. In the Epiftle to the Hebrews it is written, To the Son He, that is God, faith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever. Of the Holy Ghost we read in the Acts, that when Ananias and Sapphira lied against the Holy Ghost, they lied not unto men, but unto God.

But

But

But I must remember my promife, not to detain you too long at one time. Here then I difmifs you for the present. In my next I purpofe laying down fome methods, by the ufe whereof any fincere Christian may obtain full and ample fatisfaction on this point; and the following shall be allotted to the confideration of the Athanafian Creed.

Now to God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, be honour and glory for evermore.

52

SERMON V.

PREACH'D ON SUNDAY MARCH 8, 1795.

THOUGH my principal intention in this dif

course be, as stated in my last, to recommend some few methods, whereby every reader of the Bible, however unlearned, may satisfy himself of the truth of the Trinitarian doctrine; I think it neceffary in the first place, to addrefs a few words on the fubject to fuch of my Chriftian hearers, as through a total want of education, are utterly unable to read at all. Such have fouls to be faved, fuch have duties to perform; and of thofe duties Faith is a most effential one. But their Faith not being grounded on knowledge, must be taken up on truft. For their inftruction chiefly is the Chriftian miniftry appointed others may have, and often have great need of being reminded of their duty; these must

be