.

often said that we set Reason in opposition to Revelation, or above it, and that therefore we do not come to Scripture with a teachable spirit. This is not true, nor is any thing like it true. We do indeed think that the Unitarian system of Christianity is more rational than what is commonly called Orthodoxy at the present day, and this is one argument for its truth; for, as Reason and Revelation are both of them God's work, there cannot be any real opposition between them. If we are sure of any doctrine that it is irrational or self-contradictory, we may be equally sure that it is not a revealed truth. Revelation may tell us a great many things which are beyond our discovery, and which we can but imperfectly understand; as when it tells us that God answers prayer, or that "he works within us both to will and to do of his good pleasure." It makes us feel that the Truth is above us, and that, however earnestly we may reach upwards, we cannot perfectly attain it. But at the same time it develops, enlarges, and strengthens our rational nature, while commanding us to believe. Christianity never tells us to stop thinking, but to "prove all things and hold fast what is good." We are not commanded to receive any doctrine without inquiry, but to "search the Scriptures daily to see" what is true, and of ourselves "to judge what is right." We ask no charter of freedom greater · than this; but this charter we do claim, not only as rational beings, but as Christians.

The outcry against reason, made by many religionists, is not only unwise, but inconsistent with their own practice; nor are there any Christians who adhere more closely to the plain and direct meaning of the Bible than Unitarians. The doctrine of the Trinity is nowhere plainly taught in Scripture, nor can it be stated in Scripture words; it is a doctrine of inference, built up by arguments, and depend

ing upon distinctions so nice and difficult that it requires a good deal of metaphysical acuteness to perceive them. A crusade against reason comes with ill grace from those who use it so freely. There is no such doctrine in the Unitarian system, but it would be puerile to deny that reason is used in our religious researches. We become Christians only by its use. There is no other means by which we can guard ourselves from gross superstition. We cannot use it too freely or too much, so long as we use it reverently and with prayer.

It only remains to say, that the following Sermons were delivered in the Church of the Messiah soon after its dedication. They were not prepared as controversial discourses, and do not pretend to be a complete discussion of the subjects introduced. In their preparation I must acknowledge my great indebtedness to two works, "Concessions of Trinitarians," and "Illustrations of Unitarianism," by that ingenious and learned man, JOHN WILSON, of Boston, formerly of England. To his industry I am indebted for a great part of my quotations from Trinitarian writers.

St. Louis, April 10, 1852.

W. G. E.

UNITY OF
OF GOD.

AND JEHOVAH SHALL BE KING OVER ALL THE EARTH: IN THAT DAY THERE SHALL BE ONE JEHOVAH, AND HIS NAME ONE.- Zech. xiv. 9.

THIS IS LIFE ETERNAL, THAT THEY MIGHT KNOW THEE, THE ONLY TRUE GOD, AND JESUS CHRIST WHOM THOU HAST SENT.— John xvii. 3.

I HAVE selected the first of these two passages, because it not only contains the belief of the prophet in the Unity of God, but it is also a prophecy that, in the Messiah's time, the same doctrine should be more fully established: for he says, "In that day there shall be One Jehovah, and his name One," words which convey the idea of absolute Unity as strongly as any words can.

The second passage contains the words of Christ himself, and declares with equal plainness the same doctrine. They are words spoken in prayer. "These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee; as thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they may know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent."

When we consider that these are words of a prayer of fered by Christ himself, when we look at their great explicitness, at the distinction which they make between the Father and the Son, at the emphasis with which they declare the Father's supremacy,· we see how important they are in the controversy between the Unitarian and Trinitarian believer. For the act of prayer is in itself an admission of supremacy; and when, in that prayer, we find the distinct assertion that the Father is the ONLY TRUE GOD, by whom Jesus Christ was sent, there seems to be nothing else needed for the final and conclusive argument. If we try to imagine some method in which Christ could have put the controversy at rest, I think we could find none less open to objection than this. If such words, under such circumstances, can be explained away, it would be in vain to seek for others which will stand.

Having such authority to rest upon, we begin our inquiry this evening. My subject is the Unity of God, and I shall attempt to prove that it is the doctrine both of the Old Testament and the New. But as all Christians receive this doctrine in some form, it is necessary to state more explicitly the position we desire to establish. When we speak of the Unity of God, we take the word in its common mean`ing; we mean simple, absolute, undivided unity. We mean that God is one being, one person, one Infinite and almighty Jehovah, the Creator and Upholder of all things. We do not pretend to understand the nature of God perfectly. Both in his being and in his attributes he is far above our comprehension. But we find no sufficient authority in the Scripture for increasing the difficulty, by dividing the unity of his being into a trinity of persons; a distinction which is beyond our clear conception, and which seems to us to lead to hopeless contradiction: for by each person we must un

derstand one who has existence, consciousness, will, and attributes of his own, and this is also the definition of a separate being. The more earnestly we seek to explain this apparent contradiction, that there are three and yet only one, three persons but one being, the greater the difficulty becomes; until we must end, as most persons do end, with saying that it is an unfathomable mystery, in which we must believe without questioning. Now we distinctly say, that, if the Scripture is so, we will try to believe it. We do not set up our reason against Scripture, which is the acknowledged revelation of God; but we must use our reason to search the Scripture before we can admit a doctrine so obscure and so difficult. We have a right to expect plain proof before we can be required to believe it. Upon this basis we proceed to consider the subject.

The Unitarian belief is, that there is one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth. The Trinitarian believes that there is one God, Father, Son, and Spirit; that the Father is God, that the Son is God, and that the Holy Spirit is God, yet that there are not three Gods, but one God. Which of these is the true doctrine? You see the exact point of difference, and I cannot help here saying that we have this advantage: we can express our whole belief in unaltered Bible language. We believe in one God the Father; and the Apostle Paul speaks with us when he says, "To us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him, and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him." (1 Cor. viii. 6.) And again, when he says, "There is one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in you all." (Eph. iv. 6.) We say that the Father alone is the supreme God; and herein we have the testimony of Christ himself in the words of our text, "that we may know thee, the only