sus Christ. Blessing, &c. be unto him that sitteth upon the throne (viz. the one supreme God), and unto the lamb (that is, God's holy and innocent creature, and great instrument employed by him, for the salvation of mankind), for ever and ever. (Rom. xvi. 27. Rev. v. 13.)

Again; with respect to the worship of Father, son, and holy spirit, as being one God, it is a notorious fact, not to be overthrown by all the subtle inventions of learned men through the whole christian world, that this form of worship is so far from being commanded or authorised by the sacred writers, that the worship required in the scriptures is absolutely inconsistent with it; the one supreme God, who is generally described by the character of Father, being constantly set forth as the only object to whom all religious invocation should be directed. Nothing is more easy than for you, or for any other common christian, to determine this plain question, whether the worship of three persons and one God be in the New Testament, which you have in your hands, or whether it be not.

Athanasian. To speak impartially, your observations upon this article of religious worship appear to me of considerable weight. If the matter of fact be as you have represented it (and you very fairly refer me to the scripture itself for my complete satisfaction), I shall be obliged to give up the athanasian worship, as what cannot be defended by the word of God.

But as worship is paid to Christ in scripture, and glory is expressly ascribed to him, is not this a

very strong and conclusive argument, that Christ is equally divine, or one God, with the Father?

Unitarian. My good friend, as you begin to see some light and evidence, which you had not observed before, I shall take a particular pleasure in employing my best endeavours to give you every possible satisfaction upon this important article of religious worship. The argument usually urged by learned men, to prove Christ's supreme divinity, is clearly and solidly answered, by the plain scripture account of the honour and worship which is to be paid to him, and which surely will be found to be very short of divine worship. From scripture then we learn, that we must honour the son, because the Father hath committed all judgment unto him; (John v. 22. 23.) that we must confess Christ to be Lord, to the glory of God the Father, i. e. acknowledge his high authority from God. (Philip. ii. 10, 11.)

More particularly in the Revelation, (ch. v.) where, in a heavenly vision exhibited before the apostle John, our Lord is emblematically described as a lamb, receiving honours and worship. Be pleased, however, to observe, that the ground of these honours and worship was not his being God equal to the Father, was not because he was employed by God as an inferior instrument in the creation of the world; but because he was thought worthy to receive this tribute of blessing and praise, as a reward for his faithful attachment to the cause of God, and his willing sufferings in confirming the truth of the gospel, for the benefit of mankind.

But this worship paid to this lamb that was slain (i. e. to a creature, and to a mortal creature, capable of dying), cannot be divine worship; the worship to be paid to God cannot be construed into an invocation of the holy Jesus in prayer; especially when there is no command in the scriptures for it, given by Christ himself, or by almighty God: but it must be, that worship, reverence, and respect which we pay to fellow-creatures, our superiors in worth and excellence; worship proportionate to the highly virtuous and pious character of the blessed Jesus, and his benevolence towards us, whenever we think or speak of him; but not to make him almighty God by praying to him.

Athanasian. My good friend, it does not become a sincere christian to withstand the evidence you have, I think, fairly produced from the wrod of God. The objection I made is satisfactorily answered, more especially that in the fifth chapter of the Revelation; and I really wonder at myself, and many others who have not been so convinced before.

Unitarian. My dear christian friend, we ought to make great allowances for each other's infirmities, mistakes, and prejudices, naturally arising from various causes. Nothing is more common in human life, than even for thinking persons to receive information about things seemingly plain and obvious, and which may have escaped their notice. But the readiness you show to submit to evidence, when fairly laid before you, upon religious subjects, proceeds from an excellent temper of mind, which naturally qualifies you to receive the truth, as it

is in Jesus. As you freely grant that the athanasian forms of worship must be given up, if the fact be as I have stated it, I am willing to put the whole cause upon this short and important issue. If, upon inquiry, you can point out, by any one plain instance or precept in scripture, that it is the duty of christians to worship Christ and the holy spirit, as being each of them God, and three persons as one God, in prayer, or praise; I shall then freely acknowledge myself to be in a religious error, and shall think myself obliged to return to the church worship, which I have carefully avoided since the time of my conviction. On the other hand, if you cannot point out any such worship, in the scriptures, you will judge yourself obliged, by your own confession, to adhere to scripture forms of worship, notwithstanding the authority of even wise and learned men; it being an express duty required of Christ's disciples, to obey God rather than men.

Let it be observed, that this argument, drawn from the consideration of the term "worship," is adapted to all capacities, and absolutely demolishes the athanasian doctrine, with respect to the worship of the holy spirit; it being impossible to conceive that this holy spirit, who is supposed by the athanasians to be of equal dignity with God, the Father, should never have one prayer directed to him, should have no glory ascribed to him in the writings of the apostles, from whom alone we can ceive a faithful account of the christian dispensation.

Again; how is it possible to imagine that it was the design of the sacred writers to fix, in the mind of christians, the belief of Father, son, and holy spirit being three persons and one God, as they have left us no example of any sort of worship directed to three persons and one God? If this had been a fundamental doctrine of the gospel, we should not only have had it plainly and frequently expressed, but likewise solemn prayers and praises would have been addressed to God, under the character of three co-equal persons; otherwise, the apostles themselves have left us in the dark with regard to to an essential part of christian worship. Can it enter into the heart of any serious christian to believe in earnest that it is necessary to salvation to conceive of God, as a being consisting of three persons (as is profanely and absurdly maintained in the athanasian creed, which ought to be banished from the service of all christian societies), when the apostles themselves have never made it the duty of christians to offer up prayers and praises to God, under the athanasian character; but in all the examples of worship recorded in scripture, Almighty God is always addressed, as one supreme intelligent agent, one God and Father of all? This essential failure in the athanasian cause has, I find, driven some of its learned defenders into this palpable absurdity, that when we pray to God, under the character of Father, the word Father denotes Father, son, and holy spirit; which demonstrates the falsehood of the cause they are labouring to support: it being extremely clear

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