about to facrificed for his fake; and that he was magnified whatever his fervant might endure: to proclaim him as able to change even our vile bodies, and make them conformable to his own glorious body, nay, and to fubdue all things to himfelf; and to begin and end his Epiftle with folemn prayer, addreffed to him for grace to be conferred upon the people to whom he wrote; -furely these things, (to fay nothing of the celebrated paffage in which this mere man, as the Doctor thinks him, fhines forth in the form of God, and is declared to be equal with God,) are very extraordinary, and not to be reconciled with found reafon, or common fenfe, any more than with infpiration, or piety.

I proceed now to the Epiftle to the Colloffians, which will alfo furnish us with a variety of examples of a fimilar kind. Having ftiled himfelf, Chap. i. 1, An Apoftle of Jefus Chrift, and infcribed his Epiftle to the faints and faithful brethren in him, he begs as ufual for grace and peace from him, as well as from God our Father; and (verle 14) informs us that we have redemption through his blood, (that is, if we may believe Dr. Priestley, through the blood of a mere man!) even the forgiveness of fins: who (adds he) is the IMAGE of the invifible God, the first born of every creature, for BY HIM (though a mere man, born in the days of Auguftus Cæfar) WERE ALL THINGS CREATED, that are in heaven and that are in earth, vifible and invifible, whether they be Thrones, or Dominions, Principalities or Powers: ALL THINGS were created by HIM (this mere man) AND FOR HIM, (the fame mere man!} and he (though he had no exiestence till about 60 years ago) is BEFORE ALL THINGS, and BY

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HIM

*St. Paul is fuppofed to have wrote this Epiftle, as alfo that to the Ephefians, about the year of our Lord 63

HIM (a mere man) ALL THINGS CONSIST: And he is the head of his body the Church: the beginning, the first born from the dead: that in all things, he (a mere man!) might have the pre-emi6 nence. For it pleafed the Father that in him (a 6 mere man!) fhould all fulness dwell, and hảving made peace through the blood of his cross, by him the fame mere man) TO

RECONCILE

ALL THINGS to himfelf, by him, (a mere man !) I fay, whether they be things on earth, or in heaven.' Surely this is unparalleled. No nonsense that ever was uttered, can equal it! The Apostle proceeds, And you who were fometime alienated and enemies in your minds by wicked works, yet now hath he (a mere man !) reconciled in the body of his flesh, through death to present you holy and unblamable, and unreprovable in his fight,' (the fight of the fame mere man!) • The myftery (verfe 26,) hid from ages, and from generations, is now made manifeft to his faints, to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this myftery, among the Gentiles which is, Chrift, (a mere man!) in you the hope of glory: whom (a mere man though he be!) we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man, in all wifdom, that we may prefent every man perfect in Chrift Jefus, (the fame mere man.) Whereunto I alfo labour according to his working, (that is, the working of a mere man!) which worketh in me mightily.'

Now is not this ftrange doctrine? A mere man hath reconciled to God, those that were alienated and enemies in their minds by wicked works! A mere man is in them, many thousands and myriads as they are, the hope of glory, that is, the foundation and fource of their hope! A mere man works mighly in and by his Apoftle! The Gofpel (Chap. ii, 2,) is the mystery of the Eternal God

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and of a mere man! And in a mere man (verfe 3.) are hid all the treafures of wifdom and knowledge! He goes on, And this I fay, left any man fhould beguile you with enticing words. As ye have therefore received Chrift Jefus the Lord (the mere man I speak of) fo 6 walk ye in him, rooted and built up in him, 6 (the fame mere man!) and established in the faith.-Beware (then) left any man spoil you through Philofophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the 'world, and not after Chrift' (a mere man !) For in HIM (mere man as he is!) dwelleth ALL 6 THE FULNESS OF THE GODHEAD BODILY; and ye are complete in HIM, who (though but a man) is the HEAD OF ALL PRINCIPALITY AND POWER:' Observe, Sir, All the fulness of the Godhead bodily (or fubftantially) dwells in a mere man! and a mere man is the head of all Principality and Power!

The Apoftle mentions afterwards the worshipping of Angels, and oppofes it to holding the head, from which (adds he) all the body, (the church univerfal, with every member thereof,) with joints and bands, having nourishment miniftered and knit together, increaseth with all the increafe of God." So that, it seems, this mere man minifters fpiritual nourishment to every true member of his myftical body, that is, to every true believer in every part of the world, and caufeth them all to increase, with all the increase of God! I hope, if Dr. Priestley cannot fhew how this is done, he can at leaft prove that it is poffible and that this fame mere man is capable allo of being OUR LIFE, as the Apostle oblerves in the next Chapter, verse 4, and our ALL, verse 41, and even IN ALL that believe!

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Sundry are the paffages in the remaining part of this Epiftle, in which the Apostle affirms of Chrift, or afcribes to him what common fenfe will pronounce, cannot belong to a mere man. For example Forgiving one another if any man have a complaint against any; even as Christ (a mere man) forgave you, fo alfo do ye.-and whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jefus, (that is, in the name of a mere man) giving thanks to God, even the Father, by him-Wives submit your'felves to your own hufbands, as it is fit in the Lord, (a mere man!)-Servants obey in all things, your Matters according to the flesh, and whatfoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, (a mere man!) and not unto men! knowing that of the Lord ye fhall receive the reward of the inheritance, for ye serve (a mere man!) the Lord • Chrift!--Chap. iv. Mafters give unto your fervants that which is juft and equal, knowing that ye also have a Mafter, (viz. a mere man !) in heaven.-12, Epaphras, who is one of you, a fervant of Chrift, (that is, of a mere man!) fa" luteth you,-17, fay to Archippas, take heed to the miniftry which thou haft received of the Lord (a mere man!) to fulfil it.-Grace be with you! • Amen!'

Methinks, Rev. Sir, it must be impoffible for any one to pay the fligheft attention to the above texts, quoted from the Epiftle to Coloffians, and here interpreted according to Dr. Priestley's hypothefis, without being convinced that his doctrine, and that of St. Paul, concerning the perfon and offices of Chrift are abfolutely irreconcilable on the principles of common fenie. Would any man, who was not abfolutely an idiot or lunatic, if he believed Jefus Chrift to be no more than a man, have held him up to view as

the

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the perfon, BY WHOM ALL THINGS WERE CREATthat are in heaven, and that are in earth, vifible and invifible, whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities, or powers, nay, as the perfon FOR WHOM as well as BY WHOM, they were created, and who of confequence exifted BEFORE

ALL THINGS, AND BY WHOM ALL THINGS CON

SIST and are upheld? Would he have reprefented him as a perfon in whom all fulness dwells, yea, all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, and as the head of his body the church, and not an head of guidance or government only, but of vital influence alfo? Would he have fpoken of this mere man, as making peace by the blood of his crofs, and reconciling all things to God, whether things on earth, or things in heaven? Would he have taught it as a great and important mystery, hid from ages and generations of old, but now made manifeft to the faints, that this mere man was in real Chriftians their hope of glory, working mightily in and by his Apoítles and Servants?

Further would he, in fpeaking of the mystery of the Gofpel (which by the by, on the Doctor's principles can hardly be termed a mystery at all ;) have denominated it the mystery of God the Father and of Chrift, this mere man, thus joining him with the eternal God, and making him, together with the self-exiftent Jehovah, the author of the Gofpel? Would he have reprefented him as a perfon in whom are hid all the treafures of wiflom and knowledge, and the head of all principality and power? Would he have spoken of receiving him, walking in him, and being rooted and built up, and complete in him, or as εν αύλω πεπληρωμένοι rather fignifies, filled with or by him? Would he, in guarding them against the vain deceits of Philofophy, (thofe déceits which are after the rudiments of the world, and the tradition of men, and not after Chrift, have cautioned them against the worship

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