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recting prayer to him unfeen, or addreffing him as God, whom the bleffed martyr declares he faw with his eyes, and calls him "the Son of man ftanding on the right hand of God." Calls him the Son of man, in this his highest state of exaltation. Son of man, and God most high: what a space between?" Apology, p. 129. Does this gentleman conceive that the actions of an almighty God are circumfcribed by the limits appointed to his comprehenfion; that the space beyond which his imagination cannot pafs, is equally an obstruction to the will of him to whom "all things are poffible ;" and that the Omnipotent is to pause in his progrefs, till Mr. Lindsey shall have leisure to come up with him and mark his footsteps? I hope I have already evinced the abfurdity of this appeal from the written word to natural religion, and shewed that the fcriptures only are the fountain from whence the courfe of our argument is to flow; they are granted to be true, and to be ultimate, and if from them I find that God has put his own nature into union with that of man, I will believe that he has done fo; that he has formed us a creature with whom it was poffible for him who had put all things into his own power" to come into union, notwithstanding that neither Mr. Lindfey nor I know any thing of the manner. The space between God and man may be utterly unfurmountable to our conceptions, but shall it therefore impede the Almighty? It is not reafon which ftands in the way of our belief, but the impious pride of ignorance, "fpeaking evil of that which it understands not," "beguiling unstable fouls," "withdrawing from the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jefus Chrift, by which we had before escaped the pollutions of the world," 2 Peter ii. Mr. Lindsey having allowed that "the principal argument for Chrift's divinity is to be fetched from religious worship and prayer being addreffed to him," Apology, p. 135, is most exceedingly diftreffed at the paffage before

fore us, and accordingly ufes his utmost diligence to éxtricate himself from the melancholy neceffity of yielding up his fpirit into the hands of his Redeemer, his Mediator, and his Judge; and left it should follow that he who "bought us with the price of his own blood," "and fo loved us that he gave himself a ransom for all," has any right in his purchase, or should" in due time be teftified," by the invocation of St. Stephen, to be one with the Father, God, recourfe is had to an expedient, the moft fingular perhaps that ever was made use of to any purpose whatfoever, and it is afferted that this firft Martyr of our Saviour having feen the Lord Jefus with his eyes when he prayed, affords no precedent for directing prayer to him unfeen. The very fact, as stated by Mr. Lindsey, is difputable; for although it be said that Stephen, while before the council, and under their dif pleasure, so long as he looked up fledfastly into heaven faw Jefus Chrift, it by no means follows that the vifion continued, or that he could conveniently keep his eyes fixed ftedfaftly upon it at the time when they ran upon him, caft him out of the city, and stoned him; that is, at the time when he called upon the Lord Jefus. But I will, for argument's fake, admit that Stephen ftill continued to have his eyes upon him, and that "being filled with the Holy Ghoft, he fill faw the glory of God, and Jefus Chrift ftanding at the right hand of God." Is not God himself here equally before the eyes of the bleffed Martyr as the Son of man? why then fhould his view of the one induce prayer more than his view of the other? Nay, wherefore should he pafs down from God moft high through that immenfe space which lay between him and the Son of man, unless that, conducted by the Holy Ghoft, fent "to guide him into all truth," John xvi. 13, he faw that Father and Son were not one and another, but one and the fame God, and that there was no space between the Son of man and God

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most high? unless indeed he faw the Lord Jefus, into whofe hands he commended his spirit, to be the almighty God to whom David had faid "into thine hand I com

mit

*

my fpirit: thou haft redeemed me, O Lord God of truth?" Pfalm xxxi. 5. Will Mr. Lindsey perfift to fay that the Holy Ghoft had led him into error? and yet into an error he has led him, if Jefus Chrift, even in this his highest ftate of exaltation, be but his fellow creature. But because Jefus was in fight he was to be worshipped; and there is nothing wrong in worshipping a vifible creature.' If the cominand be, and if the duty of a Chriftian therefore be to worship God alone, I own myfelf too blind to difcern how the vifibility of any creature fhould fuperfede the commandment, and alter the unalterable law of God. The Angel was vifible to St. John, Rev. xxii. 9, yet reftrained him from worship, which Chrift did not do by his adorer; but he, who was equally vifible to Stephen as the Son of man, winked at the difrefpect with which he paffed by his own glory, and addrefied himself to the Lord Jefus ; and by a display of that glory teftified in the highest his approbation of that addrefs which was preferred to the Son of man by this holy Martyr, "with the Spirit of Truth," as being confiftent with the command, as a direct obedience to his will declared in thefe words, "Thou fhalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only fhalt thou worship." "Worship God," faid the Angel to St. John; our Saviour faid no fuch thing to Stephen, nor referred him to that God whofe glory was before his eyes. I therefore think it evident, that God, and God only, Stephen did worship, in the person of Jefus Chrift, one with the Father, God. I grant Mr. Lindfey's affertion, that the word "God" is fupplied in the 59th verfe, "calling upon God, and faying Lord Jefus receive my fpirit." It

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* See Inquiry into the belief of the Chriftians of the firt three Centuries

F 388.

is of no confequence if it be omitted, for then the invocation is made directly to Chrift, and remains a proof that he is God, though he be not addreffed by that name. The word "God" being inferted by the tranflators, fhews how they understood the paffage before us; and though I do not choose to make use of human authority, I cannot help this once faying that I look upon this conclufion, drawn by men poffeffed of great abilities, and employed in the most diligent perufal of the whole Bible, as more than a balance to every quotation produced by Mr. Lindsey from men pursuing fyftems, and wresting half fentences to their own particular purposes. Upon the whole, unless it be admitted that being visible is a reason for addreffing prayer to any thing we are looking at, here is an instance of adoration, a precedent of religious worship preferred to our Lord and Saviour; and if "religious worship and prayer be a proof of Godhead," I demand Mr. Lindfey's acquiefcence in this conclufion, that Jefus Chrift is one with the Father, God, who has faid, "am I a God at hand, and not a God afar off?" Jer. xxiii. 23.

I mean now to resume what for a time I admitted, that Stephen had Jefus Chrift before his eyes when he was caft out of the city and ftoned. The fcriptures are feldom fo vague as to require our belief of that which is not particularly revealed. The ftar which appeared to the wife men is never withdrawn from before their eyes till it stood over the house where the young child was. The evangelift has conftantly kept it in view; whereas there is no mention made that the heavens continued open to Stephen, from the time he was taken from before the council; and therefore we have no authority to affirm that they did. The very prayers which our Lord and Saviour, fuffering in the flesh, preferred, are preferred by Stephen, who therefore must be aware

of

of the force of example; or, if not fo acute himself, must have known by the Spirit of Truth that future times would refer themselves to the conduct of this martyr; and that men, like him, in articulo mortis would commend their spirit to the Lord Jefus, Did the Spirit mean to deceive? He furely has not guided to all truth, if he did not, and that Mr. Lindfey's hypothefis be true; and therefore even the Holy Ghoft comes under this gentleman's charge of incompetency to be a witness to the great preferver of all spirits.

Before I difmifs this fubject I fhall add one more remark, which, if it do not afford conclufive proof of what has been advanced already, must be allowed greatly to corroborate the force of it,

"Behold," fays Stephen, "I fee the heavens opened, and the Son of man ftanding on the right hand of God; then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, &c." Acts vii. 56, 57. Hereafter," fays our Lord, "shall ye fee the Son of man fitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven: then the high priest rent his clothes, faying, he hath spoken blafphemy;" "then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him, &c." Matth. xxvi. 64, 65, 67. "Art thou the Chrift, the Son of the Bleffed? and Jefus faid, 1 am, And ye fhall fee the Son of man fitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven, Then the high priest rent his clothes, and faith, What need we any farther witneffes, ye have heard the blaf phemy? what think ye? and they all condemned him to be guilty of death, and some began to spit on him, &c.” Mark xiv. 61 to 65. When Jefus faid, “before Abraham was, I am," "the Jews took up ftones to caft at him :" when he faid, "I and my Father are one, they took up stones again to stone him," saying, M 2

"becaufe

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