verted from Atheism by accidentally dipping into the New Testament, and reading the first chapter of St. John's Gofpel. This, fays the author, is recorded by Theophilus Spizelius in his fcrutiny of Atheism. He tells the story himself in his Life fixed to his works, printed at Geneva 1705.

pre

Mr. Boyle in his Confiderations, &c. makes mention of the above circumftance, as related fomewhere by Junius himfelf, and at the fame time refers us to the history of a certain Rabbi who was converted to Chriftianity by reading the 53d. Ch. of Ifaiah; and to the converfion of St. Austin, who was "changed from a debauchee into a Saint," by a paffage in the 13th. Ch. of St. Paul's Epift. to the Romans.

TOWNSON on the Gofpels. p. 25, 63. See LARDNER; and teftimonies prefixed to St. MATTHEW'S Gofpel in MILLS's Gr. Teft. Prolegomena ad Commen. in Mat. RANDOLPH's Vindica. pt. 2. p. 20, 21, 25. BOYLE'S Confid. p. incert. SEE WATERLAND'S Import. of the doctrine of the Trin.

Page 67. (1) the Son of God.] It is excellently. obferved by the incomparable Dr. Barrow, that "the first Adam derived his being immediately "from God's power and divine inspiration; that

Ifaac, Samuel, and John the Baptist had a generation extraordinary and miraculous, as being "of aged fathers, or barren mothers, by the in"terpofition of Divine Power; and that we can

<< not

"not easily conceive how the production of angels "fhould be fo much inferior to our Saviour's temporal generation, fuppofing he had no "other."

It will corroborate what has already been advanced, to remark farther, that if Jefus Chrift be any thing less than very God by eternal generation, he was abundantly over paid for all he did and fuffered for our fakes; he was recompenfed beyond all measure by his exaltation to the right band of the majesty on high, and by the divine honour and worship which has been univerfally ascribed and paid to him. Under this view of the matter, the affumption of humanity deferves not the name of a condefcenfion. In his human capacity indeed, Jefus Chrift for the joy that was fet before him endured the Crofs, and despised the shame; but in his divine, he could have no respect to the recompenfe of a reward. This is a thought which has been started and pursued by feveral writers. Equidem rem attentius perpendenti, fays Bp. Bull, liquebit, ex hypothefi five Sociniana five Ariana, Deum in hoc negotio amorem, &c, fuum potius in illum ipfum Filium quam erga nos homines oftendiffe.

BULL'S Judic. Ecclef. Cath. cap. 5. p. 313. WATERLAND'S Import. of the Dott. of the Trin. p. 47, 48, 49. BARROW on the Cr. p. 136.

Page 72. (m) Baptized for the remiffion of Sins.] Perfons baptized were in the primitive Church

dipped

dipped three times; and this immerfion at the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghoft repectively, let us, I think, fufficiently into the sense of the Christian Church, with regard to the equality of the Perfons in the blessed Trinity. It affords at least a most strong prefumption; which is greatly confirmed by the ftrictnefs of the Apoftolical Canons, which, as Dr. Cave acquaints us, order him, Bifhop, or Prieft, that neglects the trine immerfion, to be depofed. Afterwards, fays the fame learned Author, to obviate the pretences of the Arians, who ufed the trine immersion to denote the Perfons in the Trinity to be three diftinct fubftances, the fourth Council of Toledo in their fifth Canon decreed, that a fingle immerfion would be fufficient; that the dipping under water would exprefs Chrift's death and burial, or descent into hell, and the coming out, his refurrection; the fingle immersion expreffing the Unity, while the Trinity of Perfons would be fufficiently noted by the Form of words in Baptifm. To this effect Dr. Cave.

It is but reasonable to make allowances for the zeal, or, if you will, the fimplicity of the devout Christians of the firft ages. In procefs of time, and as the Chriftian world grew darker and more corrupt, many ceremonies and cuftoms became acts of piety, which were originally but its appendages. I fhall only mention one, for example's

fake,

fake, I mean that of praying with uplifted and expanded hands, in reprefentation of the figure of the Cross: a practice which has given fanction to much folly and fuperftition.

CAVE'S Prim. Chriftian. p. 205, 183. See HOOKER'S Ecclef. Pol. B. 4. p. 154.

Page 120. (n) Jesus Christ our Lord.] The numerows paffages we meet with, both in the writings of the Apostles, and of thefe Apoftolical fathers, * which strongly mark the human nature of Jesus Christ, might, one fhould think, direct us to the fense we are to put upon fuch as are relative to his divine. The perfect Godhead and perfect manhood of our Saviour feem to me to be forcibly contrafted in this difcrimination. It had been better perhaps if Divines had refted wholly in this one general diftinction. We can hardly be copious without being obfcure at best on the subject of the bypoftatic union. But we must not yet difmiss the paffage before us.

In the first dialogue of Theodoret, which Voffius refers to in his note at this place, there is a remarkable variation of reading. Inftead of made and not made, or born and unborn, gerntos naı ayeVNTOS ;

t it there runs γένητος ἐξ αγενητο. It feems, Athanafius, and Gelafius, in his treatise de duabus naturis,

*For proof of the genuinenefs of St. IGNATIUS's feven fhort Epift. &c. See p. 131, &c. of Parkhurst's Divin. of J. Chrift. and Arch. Bp. Wake on the Epift. of Ignatius.

See Note at p. 136. of Parkhurft's Divin. of Jefus Chrift.

defend

+

defend the first reading. But both come to the fame point. Jefus Chrift was made and not made, born and unborn, except in a mysterious and tranfcendent sense; he was the eternal Son of God. Or, he was made, or born of a woman, through the operation of the Holy Ghoft, who came upon her, who was unmade and unborn; he was "both of "Mary and of God;" the latter claufe being a kind of paraphrase on the former; and fo in effect Ignatius afferts here both the perfonality and the eternal existence of the Spirit.

There is another paragraph in this Epistle to the Ephefians, wherein omniscience, an effential property of the Godhead, appears to be attributed in the fullest terms to Jefus Chrift, xaydaril Tov

κύριον, αλλά και τα κρυπία ημων εγγυς αύτω εςί. Πάντα εν

ποιωμεν ως αυτό εν ημιν κατοικέντος, ινα ωμεν αυτό ναοί, και αυτός εν ημιν θεός ημών, ωσπερ και εςιν, και φαινησεται προ προς σωπο ημών, εξ ων δικαιως αγαπωμεν αυτόν. Jefus Chrift is fignified by the word augos, wherever it occurs in the Epiftles of this Father, I believe, without exception; and the context evidently patronises this application. Arch. Bp. Wake feems to have overlooked the plain scope of this paffage. His tranflation runs, "there is nothing hid from God, &c."

I had the fatisfaction to find my fentiments exactly coinciding with thofe of Bp. Bull upon this very paragraph. His words are thefe, De Chrifto loqui Ignatium, indubium eft, non modo ex voce Kugiu,

qua