THE GOSPEL EXHIBITED. 1 COR. IX. 16. Yea, wo is unto me, if I preach not the Gospel. On the recurrence of the anniversary of the interesting period, when I was set apart, by the solemnities of ordination, to be a preacher of the glorious gospel of the blessed God to you, the people of my charge, it is natural for us to look back upon the ground we have gone over. It is well for me to consider the manner in which I have discharged my duties, and for you to consider what improvement you have made under the advantages which you have enjoyed. I have felt myself impelled not only by inclination, but by a sense of duty, to reflect upon what I have done, and what I have left undone during the past year, for the religious improvements of the souls for whom it is my privilege to labor; to consider what parts of my duty I may have neglected, or discharged with remissness; and what methods remain to be tried for the promotion of the temporal and everlasting welfare of this people. The result of my meditations on the diligence and fidelity, or the contrary, with which I may have discharged my duties, it would neither be proper nor useful for me to lay before you. The reflections, which have occurred to me, must be laid up in my own mind for my own use. I have abundant reason to humble myself before that omniscient One, to whom I am accountable; but it would be of no use to make my confessions to the ears of man. But one part of the reflections, to which the anniversary of my ordination has naturally led me, may form a profitable subject of discourse to you at this time. I have been led to take a survey of the substance of the doctrines, which I have endeavored to illustrate and enforce. By an exhibition of a summary view of what have been the doctrines and duties, to which I have invited your attention, you, as well as myself, will be able more easily to perceive whether I have rightly divided the word of truth; whether I have declared to you the whole counsel of God; or whether I have subjected myself to the wo incurred by those, who, in contradiction to their obligations and professions, preach not the gospel. The subject of discourse, then, will be, a summary view of the doctrines and duties of the gospel, as understood by me, and as I suppose, by most of the denomination, to which I belong. I. The foundation of all religion, and that which gives a complexion to all its parts, is the nature and character of God. In respect to this, it has been my object to deepen in your minds the conviction of the existence of one God, of infinite power, wisdom, goodness, justice, and mercy, and the existence of but one God. I have endeavored to show that all the appearances of nature, all that we can see in the heavens above or the earth beneath, may be accounted for upon the supposition of the exist ence of a single Infinite Mind; that nothing less will account for the existence of the universe; and that anything more is inconsistent with that unity of design, which is stamped upon all the works of creation. I have endeavored to show that this doctrine of the perfect unity of God is sanctioned by revelation as well as proclaimed by the works of nature; and I have endeavored to defend the doctrine from whatever appeared to me to be inconsistent with it. In particular I have endeavored to show that the doctrine of the Trinity, so called, is subversive of the unity of God, and wholly at war with the Scriptures. This doctrine teaches that there are three distinct agents, each of which is God Supreme. Each of these agents is said to have his own particular will, and to perform different parts in man's redemption and salvation, neither doing the work of the other. Now to assert, that each of three such intelligent agents is God Supreme, appears to me to be the same thing as to assert that there are three Gods. I do not mean to charge Trinitarians with holding a belief in three Gods. I know not what subtile distinctions their minds can make; nor what idea of unity they have, when they say that three intelligent agents, each of which is God, make together but one God. I only say that the proposition, There are three intelligent agents, each of which is God Supreme, and the proposition, There are three Gods, appear to my mind to be synonymous. In consequence of what has been said of our denomination, it is necessary to state, that we believe in the Father, and in the Son, and in the holy spirit. But to believe that these three are one and the same being, is quite a different thing. Baptism has sometimes been represented as an act of worship; but very erroneously. "Know ye not," says the Apostle, "that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?' Is then the death of Christ an object of worship? Of the children of Israel, too, it is said, "They were baptized into Moses." But was Moses the object of their religious worship? St Paul asks, "Were ye baptized in the name of Paul?" But did he mean to ask whether he had been worshipped by the Corinthian converts? Baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and holy spirit, is a profession of faith or belief in the Father, who raised up Jesus to be our teacher and Saviour, in the Son or Messiah, who finished the work which was given him to do by the Father who sent him, and in the holy spirit, which was shed abundantly upon the Apostles, and which is now given to those, who ask the Father for it. has sometimes The apostolic benediction, "May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the holy spirit be with you all," been quoted in support of the Trinity. But does this verse declare that God, and Jesus Christ, and the holy spirit are one and the same being, or that each of them is God? No. Neither is this benediction properly an act of worship; but rather a benevolent wish, an aspiration. If, however, any prefer to regard it as a prayer, it is a prayer to the Father of all. The grace of Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the holy spirit, are the subjects, not the objects, of the petition. They are prayed for, not prayed to. The following form of expression, "May the blessing of God, and the favor of good men, be your portion," makes good men objects of |