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wilderness as their God. But what allusion this Psalm has to Christ, situated either in the wilderness or in an inhabited land, my limited understanding is unable to discover. As I have already noticed the argument adduced by the Editor respecting augels, in the begining of this chapter, I will not renew the subject, but beg my reader's attention to that part of my treatise.

The Editor quotes Psalm XCV. "For Jehovah is a great God and a great king above all Gods. O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before Jehovah our maker, for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand"; and justifies the application of this passage to Jesus upon the ground that in John I. 3. Jesus is declared equally with the Father to be the maker of all things. I wonder at the Editor's choosing this passage as being applicable to Jesus on such a basis; for should this reason be admitted as well founded, all the passages of the Old Testament in which Jehovah is mentioned, would be interpreted as referring to Jesus without selection. As I noticed this verse of John I. 3. and one or two similar verses in page 110, I will not recur to them here.

Having also noticed Psalm II. (page 103.) "Blessed are all they who trust in him" I will abstain from reiterating the same subject though I find the Editor repeating his arguments here in his usual manner.

To my great surprise 1 observe that the Editor again quotes John X. 30. "I and my father are one," to shew that God and Jesus though they are two beings yet are one, without any attention to all the illustrations I adduced to explain this passage in the Second Appeal. (page 19.) I will however elucidate this passage still more fully in its proper place. I thank the Revd. Editor for quoting such passages as Psalms LXXXI. 9, 10. and LXXXIII. 18. which in common with all other authorities of the sacred books decidedly prove the unity of the Supreme Being, and that no other being except him is worthy to be called Jehovah.

In the course of the quotation from the Psalms the Editor cites Heb. III. 3 4. "For this man is counted worthy of more glory than Moses, in as much as he who hath builded the house is worthy of more honor than the house. For every house is built by some man; But he who built all things is God." Upon which he

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comments that it was Christ that built the house understood, (as he supposes) from the phrase "all things" in the verse in question. I will not prolong the discussion by pointing out the errors appearing in the English version. I only repeat verse the 6th explaining what the apostle meant by the house of Christ, which the Editor omitted to mention; to wit. "But

Christ as a son over his own house whose house are we." Hence it is evident that the house which Christ bu lt by the will of the Father is the Christian church; and that God the Father of Jesus and of the rest of the universe is the author of all things whatsoever.

SECTION II.

The Prophets.

"If

In introducing the prophets the Revd. Editor commences with Proverbs saying. in this book Christ be represented under the character of wisdom, as divines have thought, and as seems implied in Christ's saying, Matt. XI. 49. "But wisdom is justified of her children," and Luke XI. 19. "Therefore said the wisdom of God I will send them prophets,"

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fresh proof is here furnished to the eternal deity of the son." He then quotes Proverbs VIII. 1. 22. 24. 30. "Doth not wisdom cry, the Lord possessed me in the begininng of his way before his works of old. When he prepared the heavens I was there, I was by him as one brought up with him, I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him." It is indeed astonishing to me how the strong prejudice of other learned divines as well as of the Editor in favor of the doctrine of the trinity, has prevented. them from perceiving that the identification attempted to be thus deduced by them from those passages of the book of Proverbs iustead of proving the "eternal deity" of Jesus or his self-existence, would go to destroy his distinct existence altogether; for Christians of all denominations agree that wisdom, understanding, and all other attributes of God have been from eternity to eternity in the possession of the almighty power, without either or any of them having been endowed with a separate existence; and were we to attribute to each of the properties of God selfexistence, we must necessarily admit that there are besides God numerous beings (his attributes) which possess, like God

1 in the original Hebrew does not signify "brought up." It means "steaded" stabled or established as qualities with substances. See Parkhurst's Hebrew Lexicon.

himself, eternal existence; a doctrine which would amount to gross polytheism. But the

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expression the Lord possessed me in the begining of his way" (v. 22. quoted by the Editor) proves that the wisdom there alluded to was considered as in possession of Jehovah just as his other attributes are. If Jesus then be meant here by wisdom, he must, so far from being esteemed as Jehovah himself, be supposed to have been possessed by Jehovah as an attribute. If this doctrine be admitted as orthodox, how then are the primitive Christians to be justified in condemning Sabellius on account of his maintaining the same doctrine? We find that consistently with the same prophetical language the inspired writer of Proverbs directs us to call wisdom a sister and understanding kins-woman (VII. 4.) instead of bestowing on her such epithets as Jehovah, the everlasting God, that are insisted upon by the Editor as properly applied to Jesus. In fact the book of Proverbs meant only to urge in the usual poetical style of expression, the necessity of adhering to wisdom both in religious and social life, strengthening the exhortation by pointing out that all the works of God are founded upon wisdom. If such poetical personifications as are found in the Prophets, as well as in profane Asiatic works ia

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