"NONE OF THEM (NO MAN) CAN, BY ANY MEANS, redeem HIS BROTHER, NOR GIVE TO God a TANION FOR BIM."-Psalm xlix. 7.

"CHRIST HATH redeemed US-WHO GAVE HIMSELF a ransom FOR ALL."—Gul, iii. 13; 1 Tim. ii. 6; Matt. xx. 28.

PREFACE.

THE office of our Lord Jesus Christ, as PRIEST of his Church, bears the same relation to the conscience of man, that his office, as PROPHET, bears to the intellect of man. The conscience takes cognizance of righteousness, the intellect of knowledge. My Reverend Brethren, who have preceded me in this series, have, from the nature of their subjects, been called chiefly to the consideration of our Lord's Prophetical Office; and have, consequently, addressed themselves chiefly to the communication of sound knowledge. In maintaining the Canon of Scripture against Unitarian objections, and exposing the boasted improvements in the translation of the New Testament, under the patronage of the Unitarian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, they have conferred a lasting benefit upon the Christian Church.

The subject assigned to me introduced our Lord's priestly Office, and demanded an argumentation of righteousness addressed to man's conscience. In the treatment of it, I have done what I could, within the compass of a Sermon; and I now, with humble confidence, consign it to Him, to whom alone it appertains to control the unruly wills and affections of sinful

men.

Other pressing duties have compelled me to confine the Appendix to a few extracts from the Fathers of the Reformation, and from Burton's admirable compilation from the Ante-Nicene Fathers. I do not, of course, expect that such testimonies will have much weight with Unitarian opponents; but they will, I trust, prove acceptable and valuable to our Christian readers; while they will also shield myself from the charge of heterodox novelty. I have said none other things concerning our ruin in

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the first Adam, who was of the earth, earthy; and our redemption in the second Adam, the Lord from heaven; than the noble army of Martyrs found in the Scriptures, and died to maintain. "The judgment of the Reformed Churches herein," observes Dr. Owen, in language which I gladly appropriate, "is known unto all, and must be confessed, unless we intend by vain cavils to increase and perpetuate contentions. Especially the Church of England is, in her doctrine, express as unto the imputation of the righteousness of Christ, both active and passive, as it is usually distinguished. This hath been of late so fully manifested out of her authentic writings, that is, the Articles of Religion, and Books of Homilies, and other writings publicly authorized, that it is altogether needless to give any further demonstration of it. Those who pretend themselves to be otherwise minded, are such as I will not contend withal. For to what purpose is it to dispute with men who will deny the sun to shine, when they cannot bear the heat of its beams. Wherefore, in what I have to offer on this subject, I shall not, in the least, depart from the ancient doctrine of the Church of England; yea, I have no design but to declare and vindicate it, as God shall enable."-Owen on Justification, ch. vii.

It is with sincere pain that I feel constrained to refer to our more immediate opponents, the Unitarian Ministers, in this town; but, as it may assist our readers to distinguish between profession and practice, in the much abused matter of charity—I consider it a duty.

I am in no way surprised, that the late Archbishop of Dublin's Treatise on the Atonement, should be felt to be a barrier in the way of Unitarianism; and, therefore, be assailed by Unitarian writers and, had the observations of our Reverend opponents been confined to scholastic criticism or literary argument, neither I nor any other friend of truth, or of that distinguished defender of truth, would have any cause to complain. Such assaults, however vigorous, might be perfectly compatible with real Christian charity; and perfectly consistent in the teachers of a body whose professions of gentleness, and urbanity, and forbearing