"God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory; for therefore we both labour and suffer reproach because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe. These things command and teach."

Again, we are told,—

"And Jesus answered and said, while he taught in the Temple, How say the Scribes that Christ is the Son of David, for David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand till I make thine enemies thy footstool. David therefore himself calleth him Lord, and whence is he then his son? And the common people heard him gladly."-St. Mark, c. xii., v. 35-37.

Here is a question,—" The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand till I make thine enemies," &c. It is here represented that the Lord God himself addressed David's Lord (the Son of God). David calls him his Lord, how then could he have been his son? Shall we say that David's son by descent sat as desired while the Lord made a footstool of his enemies! David himself called him, "My Lord," which proves that he was God manifest in the flesh. But the question still arises," Whence is he then his son ?" Plainly, because God descended into flesh, becoming in flesh a servant and a son of God-by descent from David: he was thus believed on in the world, and received up into glory, and became God again as he was before the world began. Thus explained, the Divine Incarnation caused no division in the being nor confusion of the persons of the Holy Trinity. There is but one God-one person, who by incarnation became manifest in human form-the Son of God, being by virtue of Adam's generation the life of himself. The omnipotent will and power of the Most High-the Holy Ghost-overshadowed the Virgin Mary, and the Son of God was conceived, not carnally, but by power.

If God had not divested himself of the power of his glory his death would have been impossible, as no man could have beheld him. No man has seen God at any time; and neither the eyes of man nor the strength of his spirit could withstand the appearance of God in his glory. Christ addresses the Father when praying unto the "Exceeding Glory ;" and this sufficiently explains his words when he exclaimed, "My Father is greater than all."

But again, Christ also said, "I and my Father are one." Christ here asserts his co-equality with the Father: the one Almighty God being at that time thus manifested in two positions-Father and Son. “If f ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also; for I am in the Father, and the Father in me. No man can come to the Father but by me." This is the language of Christ himself, and therefore he taught his followers to pray, "Our Father which art in heaven," &c., in which prayer he himself is prayed to. Christ thus taught the unity of the Trinity in one Godhead. Were it otherwise, how could a Mediator be the forgiver of sins? He would have been the intercessor and receiver of pardons obtained, and not the Saviour in whose name man obtains the remission of sins. God, manifest in flesh, became himself intermediate between God and man; for man having been cast forth from the presence of God in consequence of defilement by sin, could not again approach his Maker except by a Mediator. And God descended from his "exceeding glory," and clothed himself in an inferior nature, that man through him might be forgiven and accepted by the Father in this life; and that hereafter, when death has cleansed man's nature of those propensities to evil which now forbid his entrance to the presence of Holiness, he might, being then pure and spotless, dwell with the Father for ever. How great was the love of God for man!

Our thoughts on this subject will be readily apprehended-the Trinity— the Unity-the one undivided substance of the Father-the very God and Saviour, both Lord and Christ. Christ declared that "Whoso blasphemeth against the Son of Man shall be forgiven, but whoso blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven, nor held guiltless that taketh the name of God in vain." These names are all most holy; but the Son of Man, though holy, is in an inferior position, and the blasphemy against him may be forgiven, while the position of the others, being superior, is sacred.

The doctrine here expounded is the sacred rock on which man should lay the foundations of his faith, and having once obtained strength sufficient to do so, nothing will shake his belief. There is but one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. Man is not baptised unto three persons, but in the name of three persons. Our way is now clear and unclouded with doubt. The mystery is unveiled, and our path has become straight. "He that hath the Son hath the Father also." Every word Christ spoke

of himself and of his Father is readily to be understood, and the Prophets and Apostles also all announce the same truths. Man's salvation is based upon this foundation; and we will proceed to further substantiate so important a doctrine, placing it beyond doubt by the words and arguments from Holy Writ.

MONOTHEISM.

“And God spake all these words, saying,

"I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

"Thou shalt have no other gods before me."-Exodus, c. xx., v. 1-3. This was spoken by the mouth of God to the multitude of the Children of Israel from a trembling mount, burning as with fire. The expression used is in the singular number,—“I am the Lord thy God,” “Thou shalt have no other gods before me." Certainly this expression of God's will, thus powerfully proclaimed, would never have taught that ancient people that the Son of God was then in being, who was equal and co-eternal with the Lord their God. Had there been more than the One God, the expression in this instance would have been plural, as “We are the Lords thy Gods," &c. Nor did that people ever imagine a plurality of godsGod the Father and God the Son: they reject the word "co-eternal” as applied to Christ as an impossibility. The language before us, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me," clearly expresses that “ There is no other God than myself alone.” “I AM THAT I AM." "I have sworn by myself," &c. And "Thou shalt not make to thyself anything in resemblance of me, nor anything in my kingdom nor in any world that my hands have created, for I am a jealous God, and will assuredly punish."

"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth." [For "Waters under the Earth," see Page 7, source of the tide].—Exodus, c. xx., v. 4.

If these resemblances had not been made there would have been no cause for the following command: "Thou shalt not bow down to them nor serve them." Observe the expression, “serve them." It could not have been by the desire of any graven image thus made; yet there are many graven images in the likeness of things upon the earth that make the possessors of them serve them in a variety of ways. This however is digression.

"Or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above." God himself dwelleth in the heavens; and are there not graven images and likenesses of God, or of Jesus Christ, made, and set up to be bowed down to and worshipped? God declares himself to be a jealous God, and will neither be worshipped by proxy nor by the medium of an image in his likeness; the worship he requires must be in spirit and in truth. He will not allow that there shall be other gods before him; or accept the worship offered to a likeness of himself made with hands, though made of purest gold or silver, not to speak of baser materials, wood and stone. The very use of a tool by the hand of man pollutes the object on which it is used, though it be to raise an altar or temple.

"Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold."

"And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.” -Exodus, c. xx., v. 23 and 25.

By this the necessity of the mediatorship of Jesus Christ is plainly indicated, to come between man corrupted and the holiness of God. We now return to the subject we were considering at first, from which we have thus digressed to mark the difference between the worship of the Godhead and idol worship.

"Thou shalt have no other gods before me." The word "me," and the word "I" in the sentence "I am the Lord thy God," &c., are sufficient of themselves, it might be supposed, to prove that but the One God then existed or could have existed from eternity; and in this sense the powerful expressions, "I am the Lord thy God," and "Thou shalt have no other gods," are readily understood. When Moses, the type of Christ and shadow of things to come (being made an angel of the covenants of grace), wrote his books, he wrote by inspiration, or directly from the lips of God, who proclaimed himself to be the great "I Am." Moses stood in this exalted position, and his language is, "And God said, Let us make man in our image and likeness." These expressions, "let us" and our image," form the chief part in the Holy Writings leading men to suppose the plurality or the trinity of the Godhead. How was it possible for Moses to commence his history in any other way than he has done for the people to understand? The multitude were totally ignorant previously, and had been ever since the fall of Adam-all except those few persons who, obtaining favour in the eyes of God, had enjoyed a return of

that love and communion which Adam lost by his disobedience. The expression used here by Moses is, "And God said, Let us." Now God made man according to his own pleasure and love; consequently, were was the occasion or necessity for him to take council with or seek the permission of any other being whether he should for his own pleasure make an image in his own likeness, to receive the breath of his own life? Had not the Deity a will free to accomplish the work it was his pleasure to perform? or, as Isaiah has it, "With whom took he council?" There was no power either equal or superior. But admitting the contrary of this, was the work of creation performed by one or more than one person ? The words, “Let us make," would imply that the work was performed by more than one. Yet this idea will not harmonise with the expressions used to describe the completion of the work,-" So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him, male and female created he them." These words are significant-" he him," and "he them," and not "they him." And if Moses, instead of writing "Let us," had written," And God said, I will make," then, doubtless, ingenious minds, not content with the simple truth so plainly revealed, would still have had some question, as, "To whom was God speaking ?" especially so if the sentence in full had been written, “I will make man in my image and likeness." Had this been the language used, there would perhaps be no excuse for assuming that a second person was consulted, but the question before indicated might still have been urged,-"To whom was it necessary for God to communicate his intended pleasure in this instance ?" And it must be evident that had Moses written in any other way, some similar question might have arisen in the minds of those who have received the belief in the plurality of the Godhead. Previous to the Incarnation, the idea of the Trinity never entered the mind of any The Jews, who alone were possessed of the light of truth in that dark age, knew what many thousands now reject, that there was from everlasting but one God Almighty-one person only, who made man in his own image and likeness. And in the fulness of time, this same One God became incarnate-God manifest in flesh-and called the Son of God, being begotten by the power of the Almighty One; and being born into the world like the children of men, they became his brethren by their common descent from Adam. In consequence of confusion, he was of the seed of Abraham; and in consequence of division, of the

man.