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prayer in the garden, the night before his fufferings, when he prayed three times to God, that if it pleafed him, the cup of affliction might pafs away from him, without his drinking it." He obferves alfo, that Dr. Hammond thus paraphrafes the words, "and I earnestly prayed unto God to be delivered from it." (p) Perhaps the apoftle might underftand the answer which he received, as referring to the fupport, the gofpel, which was the gift of God by Jefus Chrift, (and which in other places, as well as in this, is called duvaus To E8, the power of God) was calculated to afford him. And therefore he very naturally breaks out into the following exclamation; Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Chrift, i. e. of the gospel of Chrift (q) may rest upon me; fimilar to what he fays Phil. iv. 13. I can do all things through Chrift, i. e. the gospel of Chrift, which strengtheneth me.

I. Cor. i. 2. To all that in every place call upon the name of Jefus Chrift. The words may be rendered with greater propriety, To all that in every place

(p) Mr. Lindsey's Apology, p. 147.

(q) It has been already proved, p. 101. 102. that the word Chrift is frequently used in this fenfe, in the writings of the apostle Paul. Another inftance occurs in the second verfe of this chapter.

place are called by the name of Jefus Chrift, i. c. to all who are chriftians. The fame may be obferved of Acts ix. 14. 21.

The apoftle's greetings at the beginning of his epiftles, and his benedictions at the end of them, are not to be confidered as prayers, but only as pious wifhes. This is evident from Rev. i. 4. 5. Grace be to you and peace from him which is and which was and which is to come, and from the Seven Spirits which are before the throne, and from Jefus Chrift. And I Cor. xvi. 24, after wifhing them the favour of the Lord Jefus Chrift, the apoftle adds, My love be with you all, in Chrift Fefus.

I have now examined all Mr. Hawker's arguments, and I trust it will appear to the unprejudiced reader, that more than one half of the paffages he has produced from fcripture, in favour of the doctrine for which he contends, are proofs of the contrary, and that the reft will admit of an easy interpretation, on unitarian principles. That the trinitarian interpretation cannot poffibly be the true one, will, I hope, be made fully to appear in the fubfequent chapter.

CHAPTER

CHAPTER XIII.

Of the Arguments from Scripture against the Doctrine of our Lord's Deity.

N the fecond chapter of this work, I attempted

IN

to establish these three points, that there is but one God, that God is one perfon, and that this person is the Father. If this be the true doctrine of the holy fcriptures, the doctrine of the trinity muft be falfe; (r) there are, there can be no fuch perfons as God the Son, or God the Holy Ghoft. But the fcriptures furnish us with a variety of

other

(r) The only paffage in our Teftament, which with any plausibility can be urged in favour of the doctrine of the trinity, is 1 John, v. 7. 7. For there are three that bear record (in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth) the fpirit, and the water, and the blood: and thefe three agree in one. But the words included in the parenthesis are spurious, as has been fully proved by many able writers. Many learned Trinitarians have acknowledged them to be fo; and among the reft Griefbach, who has left them out of his edition of the Greek Teftament. The reader who wishes for farther fatisfaction, will find it in Mr. Emlyn's Enquiry into this text, and in the controverfy between Archdeacon Travis and Mr. Porfon.

other arguments equally decifive against the deity of Jefus Chrift, the chief of which I will now

mention.

1. Jefus Chrift is diftinguifhed from God, and is opposed to him throughout the fcriptures. Were I to collect all the paffages which occur in which this is the cafe, I fhould be obliged to quote more than one half of the New Teftament. I will content myself with a few. Matt. xvi. 27. The Son of man fhall come in the glory of his Father. Matt. XX. 23. To fit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it fhall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father. Luke i. 32. The LORD God fhall give unto him (Jefus Chrift) the throne of his father. Luke xxii. 29. And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me. John vi. 27. For him (Jesus Christ) hath God the Father fealed. John xiv. 31. As the Father gave me commandment, fo I do. II Cor. He which raised up the Lord Jefus, fhall raife us up alfo by Jefus. I Tim. v. 21. I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jefus Chrift, and the elect angels, that thou obferve these things. Heb. xii. 23. 24. And to God the judge of all, and to the Spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jefus the mediator of the new covenant. In all these paffages it is very evident that Jefus Chrift is diftinguifhed from God, in the fame manner in which

iv. 14.

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other perfons are. If, therefore, he himself be God, it will follow, either that he is that very God from whom he is diftinguished, which is abfurd and impoffible; or that there are two diftin&t Gods, which is a doctrine contrary to the uniform declarations of fcripture.

2. Jefus Chrift is called the Son of God, the Son of the living God, the Son of the most high God. It follows therefore, if he himself be God, either that he is his own father, or that there are two living and moft high Gods, one of whom is the Father of the other,

3. Jefus Chrift folemnly declares that his Father is the only true God. John xvii. 3. And this (faid he in prayer to his Father,) is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God. If, therefore, we fay that Jefus Chrift is God, we make him to be guilty of a falfehood; for in this case he acknowledged his Father to be the only true God, at the time he himself was the true God, as well as his Father. Jesus Christ therefore is not God according to his own declaration.

4. Jefus Chrift, and also his apoftles declare that THE FATHER IS HIS GOD. The following are the paffages in which Jefus Chrift afferts it. Matt. xxvii. 46. MY GOD, MY GOD, why haft thou forfaken

me ?

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