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suppose a mere association of names in a rite to be sufficient to prove the identity of their subjects. I am indeed sorry I cannot, without overlooking a great many scriptural authorities, and defying reason totally, join the Editor in the opinion, that the association of the name of the Holy Spirit with that of the Father of the Universe, in the rite of Baptism, is "decisive" of, or even allusive to, the separate personality of the Spirit.

2 Chronicles, ch. xx. ver. 20: "Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper;" wherein the name of the Prophets of God is associated with that of the Deity himself in the profession of belief, which is considered by Christians of all denominations more essential than an external symbol of Christianity. Again, in Jeremiah, ch. xxx. ver. 9, "But they shall serve the Lord their God, and David their King, whom I will raise up unto them," the Lord joins his name with that of David in the act of religious service, which is in its strictest sense esteemed due to God alone. Would it not therefore be unscriptural to make an attempt to prove the deity of the Prophets, or David, under the plea that their names are associated with that of God in religious observances? But we must do so, were we to follow the process of reasoning adopted by the Reverend Editor. The kind of evidence on which the Editor relies in this instance, would besides suit admirably the purposes of those who

might seek in the sacred Scriptures, grounds, for justifying idolatry. Fire worshipers, for instance, insisting on the literal sense of the words, might refer to that text in the 3rd chapter of Matthew, repeated in Luke, ch. iii. ver. 16, in which it is announced, that Jesus Christ will baptize with the Holy Ghost and with fire. If the association in the the rite of Baptism of the names of the Son and Holy Ghost, with that of the Father, proves their divinity it is clear that fire also being associated with the Holy Ghost in the same rite, must likewise be considered as a part of the Godhead.

God is invariably represented in revelation as the main object of belief, receiving worship and prayers that proceed from the heart, through the first-born of every creature, the Messiah, (" No man cometh unto the Father but by me," John, ch. xiv. ver. 6,) and leading such as worship him in spirit to righteous conduct, and ultimately to salvation, through his guiding influence, which is called the Holy Spirit, ("when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth." John, ch. xiv. ver. 13). There is, therefore, a moral obligation on those who avow the truth of such revelation to profess their belief in God as the sole object of worship: and in the Son, through whom they, as Christians, should offer divine homage: and also in the holy influence of God, from which they should expect direction in the path of righteousness, as the consequence of their sincere prayer and supplication. For the same reason also in publicly adopting this religion, it is proper that those who

receive it should be baptized in the name of the Father, who is the object of worship: of the Son, who is the Mediator; and of that influence by which spiritual blessings are conveyed to mankind, designated in the Scriptures as the Comforter, Spirit of truth, or Holy Spirit. As God is declared through his Holy Spirit to have led to righteousness such as sought heartily his will, so he is equally represented to have through his wrath afflicted rebels against his authority, and to have prospered through his infinite mercy those who manifested obedience to him; as appears from the following passages. 2 Kings, ch. xxiv. ver. 20: "For through the anger of the Lord it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence." Psalm xc. ver. 7: "For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled." Psalm xxi. ver. 7: "And through the mercy of the Most High he shall not be moved." Psalm vi. ver. 4: "Return, O Lord, deliver my soul; O save me for thy mercy's sake." Nor can we legitimately infer the idea of the self-existence or distinct personality of the Holy Ghost from such metaphorical language as the following: "The Holy Ghost shall teach you." Luke, ch. xii. ver. 12. "The Holy Ghost is come upon you." Acts, ch. i. ver. 8. "The Comforter, who is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send." John, ch. xiv. ver. 26. For we find expressions of a similar nature applied to other attributes of God, personifying them equally with the Holy Spirit. Psalm lvii. ver. 3: "God shall send forth his mercy

and his truth." Ps. lxxxv. ver. 10: "Mercy and truth are met together." Ps. c. ver. 5: "The Lord is good, his mercy is everlasting." Ps. xxxiii. ver. 22: "Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us." Ps. xxxvi. ver. 5: "Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens." Ps. cviii. ver. 4: "For thy mercy is great above the heavens." Ezekiel, ch. vii. ver. 3: "I will send my anger upon thee." 2 Chronicles, ch. xxiv. ver. 18: "Wrath came upon Judah for this trespass."

Were every attribute ascribed to the Deity which is found personified, to be therefore considered as a distinct personage, it would be difficult to avoid forming a very strange notion of the theology of the Bible. It appears, indeed, to me impossible to view the Holy Spirit as very God, without coming to ideas respecting the nature of the Deity, little different from some of those most generally and justly condemned as found amongst Polytheists. Take, for instance, Matthew ch. i. 11, where it is said, that Mary was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Ver. 20: "That which is conceived in her, is of the Holy Ghost." Luke, ch. i. 35: "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee." In interpreting these passages according to the opinion maintained by the Editor, we should necessarily be drawn to the idea that God came upon Mary, and that the child which she bore was in reality begotten of him. Is this idea, I would beg to know, consistent with the perfect nature of the righteous God? Or rather, is not such a notion of the Godhead's

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having had intercourse with a human female, as horrible as the sentiments entertained by ancient and modern Heathens respecting the Deity? On the other hand, if we understand by those passages, merely that the miraculous influence of God came upon Mary, so that, though a virgin, she bore a child, every thing would stand consistent with our belief of the Divine power, without shocking our ideas of the purity of the Deity, inculcated alike by reason and revelation. This mode of interpretation is, indeed, confirmed by the very passage of Luke above quoted, "The power of the Highest shall overshadow thee;" plainly and simply declaring, that it was the power of God which gave birth to the child, contrary to the ordinary course of nature. If by the term "Holy Ghost" be meant a third distinct person of the Godhead, equal in power and glory with the Father of all, I am at a loss to know what Trinitarians understand by such expressions as the following: Matthew, ch. iii. ver. 11, and Luke, ch. iii. ver. 16: "He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire." Acts, ch. x. ver. 38: "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power." Matthew, ch. xii. ver. 28: "I cast out devils by the Spirit of God." Ver. 31: "All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men." Luke, ch. iv. ver. 1: "And Jesus, being full of the Holy Ghost, returned from Jordan." If the term "Holy Ghost" be synonymous with the third person of the Godhead, and "Christ" with the

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