the Father of Christ, the first person in the Trinity, who gave the law at mount Sinai. 3. If the God of Abraham was the father of Christ; then the Father of Christ was the King of Israel under the Old Testament.-The Israelites, from the time they left Egypt, until they were finally dispersed after the destruction of their city and temple, were under a peculiar civil government, which has been generally called a Theocracy, or a government of God. It fully appears from the writings of the Old Testament, that the God of Abraham was their King, or supreme civil Ruler.-God asserts, and they acknowledge, his absolute supremacy over them, in the mutual covenant, which they entered into with each other, recorded in the twenty-sixth of Deuteronomy. "This day the Lord thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments: thou shalt therefore keep and do them, with all thine heart and with all thy soul. Thou hast avouched the Lord this day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and to hearken to his voice. And the Lord hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments."-That this was the God of Abraham who entered into this covenant with Israel, and became their King and supreme civil Sovereign, appears from the twenty-sixth of Le viticus, where he tells them, in case of disobedience, "If then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they accept the punishment of their iniquity; then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember: and I will remember the land." Agreeably to these representations, we find that the Church of God in Isaiah's day, owned and claimed him as their king and sovereign, "The Lord, say they, is our Judge, the Lord is our Law-giver the Lord is our King; he will save us." If the God of Abraham was the King of Israel, and the God of Abraham was the Father of Christ, then the Father of Christ, the first person in the Trinity, was the King and Governor of Israel, under the Old Testament. 4. If the God of Abraham was the Father of Christ; then it was the Father of Christ who appeared and spake to men under the Old Testament. We have abundant evidence, that it was the God of Abraham, who appeared and spake to men, under the Mosaic dispensation; and of course, we must have the same evidence, that it was the Father of Christ, or the first person in the Trinity, who appeared and spoke to the ancient Patriarchs. Let us now consider some of the most remarkable divine appearances under the Old Testament God's appearance to Abraham is the first I would mention. The amount is this: "And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and I will multiply thee exceedingly. And Iwill establish my covenant between me and thee, for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee." This was certainly the appearance of the God of Abraham, and the God of Abraham, we have shown, to be the Father of Christ. In the 3d chapter of Exodus, we have an account of a divine appearance to Moses. It is said, "The angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire, out of the midst of a bush and he looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses, And he said, Here am I. And he said "Draw not hither; put off thy shoes from off thy feet; for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moreover he said I am the God of thy Father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face: for he was afraid to look upon God." Though the person that appeared on this occasion is called the angel of the Lord; yet he expressly declares, that he was the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob: and consequently he was the Father of Christ, or the first person in the Trinity. The next divine appearance we have an account of, is that of the pillar of cloud and fire in the wilderness. In the 13th chapter of Exodus, it is said, "The Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light. He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night." This divine appearance was considered by the Israelites as the appearance of the God of Israel, who often spake from it; es, pecially when he gave the ten commands at mount Sinai, and when he spake to Moses face to face as a man speaketh to his friend, And if he was the God of Israel, who was the God of Abraham, he was the Father of Christ, the first person in the Trinity. This leads me to mention the next divine appearance, which was on mount Sinai. Moses, in giving an account of it to the people, says, "The Lord talked with you face to face in the mount, out of the midst of the fire, and said, I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me, &c." 'These words the Lord spake unto all your assembly, in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud and of thick darkness, with a great voice-and ye said, Behold, the Lord our God hath shewed us his glory and his greatness, &c." This appearance and voice on mount Sinai were certainly the appearance and voice of the God of Israel and of the God of Abraham. I might mention the divine appearance in Solomon's temple, that to Isaiah, that to Ezekiel, that to Daniel, that to Adam in the garden of Eden, and every other divine appearance under the Old Testament; but there is no occasion of doing it, for if these I have mentioned were the appearances of the God of Abraham, then we may justly conclude that it was the God of Abraham, who was the Father of Christ, that made all the divine appearances, under the Old Testament. 5. If the God of Abraham was the Father of Christ; then all the sacrifices offered under the law, were offered to the Father of Christ. For all the sacrifices were offered to the God and King of Israel, who was the God of Abraham. And nothing could have been more proper, than that all the sacrifices which typified Christ should be offered to Him, to whom Christ was to offer himself. And Christ did offer himself, we are told, without spot unto God, that is, to God his Father. The pious Israelites, like pious christians under the gospel, always approached to God the Father, by the Son, who was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. They came to God for pardon and acceptance, through a Mediator, who was typified by all the sacrifices they offered for their sins. 6. If the God of Abraham was the Father of Christ; then the God of Abraham was not Christ himself. This inference is of great importance, to which I have had an eye through the whole of this discourse. I have endeavored to pave the way, to bring out this inference with clearness and conviction. And if I have proved, that the God of Abraham was the Father of Christ, it must be admitted, that Christ, himself was not the God of Abraham. Some eminent divines, such as Watts and Doddridge, and many others, have supposed, that Christ himself was the God of Abraham; and of conse. quence, that it was Christ, who appeared and spake to Abraham; to Moses in the bush, to Israel at mount Sinai, and to the prophets : and that it was Christ who created the world, who gave the law at mount Sinai; who governed Israel; and to whom Israel offered sacrifices, and paid religious worship in the tabernacle and in the temple. But how can this be true, if it was the Father of Christ, who was the God of Abraham; who appeared and spake to him and other patriarchs; who created the world, gave the law at mount Sinai, governed Israel, and was worshipped in the tabernacle and in the temple? This notion is contrary to the whole current of scripture and to all the worship and institutions of the Old Testament and New, and introduces great confusion and error into the whole economy of redemption. For if it was Christ, who was not his own, and that he always the God of the Old Testament, acted in obedience to the comwho appeared and spake to men mands, which he had received and who gave the law and govern- from the Father. It is not a little ed Israel; then 'God the Father strange that so many divines have is not once mentioned in the Old believed and maintained the noTestament. But who can imagine tion that Christ was the God of that God the Father the first per- the Old Testament. But they son in the Trinity, is never men- have been led into this error, by tioned as appearing and acting, for another false and groundless opinthe long period of four thousand ion, that Christ pre-existed in his years after the world was crea- human nature before he was born ted? or what ground is there to at Bethlehem. This opinion has suppose that Christ would call the long been prevalent among modGod of Abraham his Father, it God ern divines, especially ever since the Father was never mentioned, Dr. Watts published his Treatise nor known to the Jews, under the concerning the glory of Christ; Old Testament. Further, if Christ in which he endeavors to prove, was the God of the Old Testament, that Christ was united with human then all the sacrifices offered un- nature before the creation of the der the Mosaic dispensation, were world, and that he actually creaoffered to Christ himself, instead ted the world, as God-man; that of God the Father. But how ab- he gave the law to Israel as Godsurd was it for those sacrifices, man-that he appeared to Abrawhich typified Christ as Mediator, ham and the patriarchs in human to be offered to Christ himself? nature; that this human nature was This would have prevented the the soul of Christ, and that by his Israelites having any idea of any incarnation, he received nothing Mediator between God the Father more than a human body. This and themselves, and given them a false notion of the pre-existence of false notion of the only way of sal- Christ's human nature has laid the vation. Besides, the supposition, foundation not only of the opinion that Christ was the God of the Old that it was Christ in his pre-existTestament, will appear still more ent nature that created all things, absurd, if we consider that upon that gave the law, and appeared this supposition, when he came in- visibly to the Patriarchs; but that to the world, he obeyed himself, Christ was not a divine person.-instead of obeying his Father; for This led Dr. Watts, Dr. Clark, Dr. he certainly obeyed the God of Price and the Arians of the present Abraham, and if he was the God of day, to deny the Divinity of Christ. Abraham, then he obeyed himself. But here it may be objected, But he always declared, that he came to do his father's will, and 1. That Christ was the rock that followed the Israelites in the wil. derness. Ans. That rock only typified Christ. 2. It may be objected, that it was Christ whom the Israelites tempted in the wilderness. Ans. When God the Father is tempted, God the Son is also tempted. For whatever may be said to be done to one person in the Trinity, may be said to be done to each person in the Trinity: just as what is said by one perso in the Trinity, is said by each person in the Trinity. Thus the vision of Isaiah, when he saw heaven opened, and heard the seraphim cry, Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, is ascribed, not only to the Father, but to Christ, and to the Holy Ghost, in the New Testament. Objection 3. How could the Father, a pure spirit, visibly appear to the ancient patriarchs? In answer to this, I ask, how could the Holy Ghost at the baptism of Christ, visibly appear in the form of a dove? and afterwards in the form of cloven tongues? The truth is, either of the persons in the God-head, may, if he pleases, assume a material vehicle, and visibly appear and speak to mankind. 7. If the God of Abraham was the Father of Christ; then there appears a perfect consistency in the economy of the work of redemption-God the Father is the first person in the Trinity, and holds the office of Creator, Law giver and Governor. God the Son is the holds the office of Redeemer. And God the Holy Ghost is the third person in the Trinity, and holds the office of Sanctifier. All these three persons were concerned in creating, in governing, and redeeming the world: but still in their official character, they bear distinct parts. The Son and Spirit in creating, governing, and redeeming the world, act by a delegated authority of the Father, who holds the supreme office in the sacred Trinity. It is of great importance to understand and maintain the economy of redemption; in order to understand and maintain the doctrine of the Trinity; and in order to avoid the errors of the Sabellians, the Arians, and Socinians, or Unitarians. 8. We learn from what has been said, the great importance of worshipping the one living and true God, as existing in three distinct persons and giving to each the glory due to his name-to the Father the glory of Creator-- to the Son the glory of Redeemerto the Holy Ghost the glory of Sanctifier. Messrs. Editors. A writer in your Magazine for the month of May, asks a question, to which I have seen no answer in your work. I send you the following for publication, if you think proper to insert it. His question, as stated in his second person in the Trinity, and own words, is this: "When a per |