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LETTER IV.

REV. SIR,

THOUGH I made no particular remark upon it, yet I hope, in looking over the last Letter, it would not escape your notice, that in the Epiftle to the Ephefians also as well as in that to the Galatians, the Apoftle repeatedly opposes the Lord Jefus Chrift to men.- Not with eye-service as men-pleafers, but as the fervants of Chrift;'— With good-will doing fervice as to the Lord (viz. Chrift) and not to men.' Now on the Socinian principles, this is faying, not as men pleafers, but as man-pleafers,—doing service as to a man and not to men!

The Epistle to the Philippians comes next in courfe, and contains a similar doctrine, as to the point in queftion, with the Epiftles already confidered. Indeed, the Apoftle is confiftent with himfelf in all his Epiftles and according to the Doctor's hypothefis confiftent in inconfiftency. Here, as before, he ftiles himself (not indeed an Apofle but) a fervant of Jefus Chrift, and reprefents Timothy as being joined with himself in this itate of fervitude to a mere man, and from this mere man, as well as from the Almighty God, begs grace and peace for the faints at Philippi, as he had done for the Churches to whom the preceding Epistles are addressed.-And then, verse 12, he writes, "I would that you should obferve, 'brethren, that my bonds in Chrift, (my bonds ' endured for a mere man!) are manifest in all the 'palace; and fome preach Chrift, (that is, preach a mere man!) even of envy and ftrife, and fome alfo of good-will. The one preach Chrift, (the famne mere man) of contention ;- -but the other of love. What then? Notwithstanding, every way,

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way, whether in pretence or in truth, Chrift, (the' mere man!) is preached, and I therein do rejoice, C yea and I will rejoice: For I know that this fhall * turn to my falvation through your prayer and the fupply of the Spirit of Jefus Chrift, (that is, the fupply of the Spirit of a mere man!) according to my earnest expectation, and my hope, that in nothing I fhall be afhamed, but that with all boldness, as always, fo now also, Christ (a mere man!) fhall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life or death.' For to me to live is Chrift (that is, a mere man," is the fupreme end of my life, and I value my life only as it is capable of being referred to the purposes of his honour,") and to die is gain, and what I shall 'chufe, I wot not, for I am in a ftrait betwixt two, having a defire to depart and be with Chrift, (the mere man, I speak of) which is far better, nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you:-that your rejoicing may be "more abundant in Jefus Chrift (the fame mere man) by my coming to you again. Only let your converfatin be as it becometh the Gospel of Chrift, *(viz. the Gospel of a mere man ;)-in nothing terrified by your adverfaries-for to you it is "given in behalf of Chrift (in behalf of a mere man!) not only to believe in him, but also to fuffer for his fake,' (for the fake of the fame mere man!) A ftrange doctrine, this indeed!

But to proceed Chap. ii. 1, we re If there be any confolation in Chrift, (that is, on the principles I oppofe, in a mere man!) if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the fpirit, -fulfil ye my joy and let this mind be in you, which was alfo in Chrift Jefus, who (though but a mere man, that had no exiftence till born in Bethlehem, in the days of b Auguftus Cæfar, yẹt) being, uπapxwv, fubfifiing in`

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• form of God (that is, fay the Socinians, being endowed, like Mofes and others, with the power of working miracles!) thought it not robbery to be equal with God,' a mere man, thought it not robbery to be equal with God! or as the the Doctor's party, contrary to the natural and proper import of the words, wifh to tranflate it, did not affume an equality with God, that is, a mere man, manifefted great humility in not af fuming an equality with God! The Apoffle goes on, 'but emptied himself, taking the form of a leivant, made in the likerefs of men (that is, a mere man was made in the likeness of men! and emptied himself that he might be made in that 'likeness!) And being found in fafhion as a " man, (for in what other fafhion was it reasonable to fuppofe a mere man could be found?) he humbled himself (still more) and became obedi " ent unto death.- -Wherefore God alfo hath highly exalted him, and given him a name a'bove every name, that at the name of Jefus, '(viz. the name of a mere man!) every knee 'fhould bow of thofe in heaven, and those in earth, and those under the earth; and that every tongue fhould confefs that Jefus Chrift (a mere man!) is Lord, to the glory of God the Father!' I appeal here to any reasonable man, whether it were poffible for any one poffeffed of common sense, to believe Jefus Chrift to be a mere man, and yet to write in this manner: and I appeal to any perfon poffcffed of a grain of piety, a fingle fpark of the fear of God, whether he could confider the Son of God as a mere man, and yet fpeak as follows: I truft in the Lord Jefus, (verfe 19, that is, on the Socinian hypothefis, I 'truft in a mere man,) to fend Timotheus fhortly 'unto you, for I have no man like minded,-for 'all feek their own, not the things which are Jefus Chrift's (that is, which are a mere man's!)

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-Him I hope to fend, and I truft in the Lord, The fame mere man,) that I alfo myfelf fhall come fhortly. Surely the putting our truft in a mere man for things which are wholly in God's power and abfolutely at his difpofal. is flagrant Idolatry, and the open declaration of that trust is a public avowal of that idola ry.

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Indeed if Chrift be a mere man, St. Paul idolized him almost as often as he mentioned him.' Many inftances occur in the next chapter, Finally my brethren (fays he, verfe 1,) rejoice in the Lord,' (viz. in a mere man,) for, verfe 3, we are the circumcifion who worship God in "the Spirit, and rejoice in Chrift Jefus.--Verfe 7, What things were gain to me, those I counted lofs for Chrift, (that is, for a mere man!) Yea 'doubtless and I count all things but lofs for the excellency of the knowledge of (this fame mere man) Chrift Jefus my Lord, for whom, (though "but a man,) I have fuffered the lofs of all things, and I do count them but dung, that I may win Chrift,'-that is, that I may win a mere man, ' and be found in him, not having mine " own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Chrift, (that is, faith in a mere man!) the righteoufnels which is of God by faith: that I may know him, 【 (may know a mere man!) and the power of his refurrection, and the fellowship of his fufferings, being made conformable to his death:'that I may apprehend that for which, alfo, I am apprehended of Chrift Jefus, that is, of a mere man! As this is certainly magnifying a mere man, too much; fo in the paffage following (verfe 20,) the Apoftle fpeaks of expecting from him what no mere man can poffibly perform. We look, fays he, for the Saviour, the Lord Jefus 'Chrift who fhall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, " • according

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according to the working, whereby he is able to fubdue all things unto himself.' The Apoftle however, was not only perfuaded of Chrift's ability to do all this, but believed that he could even impart ftrength to others, affuring us, in the 13th verfe of the next Chapter, that he himself could do all things, (viz. all things which it was his du ty to d) through Chrift ftrengthening him, whofe grace therefore, before he puts a period to his Epiftle, he defires for the Philippians, as in his other Epiftles he does for the other churches, faying, The grace of our Lord Jefus Chrift, (that is, as Dr. Prieflley will have it, the grace of a mere man!) be with you all! Amen!

Such, Rev. Sir, according to Dr. Priestley's hypothefis, is the doctrine of St. Paul, concerning Chrift in this Epiftle to the Philippians, a doctrine which I think every intelligent reader must pronounce moft abfurd and ridiculous -To rejoice fo exceffively that a mere man was preached, though at the expence of many and extreme fufferings endured by thofe who preached him; to reprefent ferving and glorifying him as the one great end of living, and to intimate that life itfelf was only defirable fo far as it answered that end; to cenfure thofe who fought their own things, and not the things of this mere man: to fpeak of trusting in him, expecting the fupply of his Spirit, and being able to do all things through his help; to lay it down as a principal branch of the character of a Chriftian to rejoice in him, and repeatedly to exhort all Chriftians to do this to mention it as a great favour to be permitted to fuffer for him, and to represent all things as vile and worthlefs, when compared to the excellency of his knowledge to speak with fatisfac tion of having won him, though with the lofs of every thing befide, even liberty and life, juft about

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