sons as exclude all creature-worship; namely, because he is God, Jehovah, Eternal, Immutable, Creator, Preserver, Sustainer, and Governor of all things.

2. That our blessed Lord made no alteration in this law, but explained and confirmed it: his Apostles, after him, inculcated the same thing, long after our Saviour's exaltation and ascension; and an angel from heaven reinforced it, thereby proclaiming its perpetual obligation. No distinction of worship, mediate and ultimate, was ever intimated; nor of inferior and sovereign: but all religious worship supposed to have one meaning, one significancy, one object, viz. the divine nature; whether subsisting in one Person, or more.

3. Such being the rule and standing law for religious worship, none can have any right, title, or claim to worship, but in conformity to the same rule.

4. If the Son of God be very God, Jehovah, Creator, Sustainer, and Preserver of all things; then he both may, and ought to be worshipped, in conformity to the Scripture-rule, and upon Scripture-principles: but if he be a creature only, the worship of him is not consistent with the fundamental rule both of the Law and the Gospel. In a word; if the Son of God is to be worshipped, he is not a creature: if a creature, he is not to be worshipped.

It remains now only to inquire, whether the primitive Church, which had the same Scriptures that we have, and better opportunities of knowing and understanding them, made the same or the like conclusions from them. It is an argument of no small importance; and therefore I shall think it worth the while, to give you a brief summary of the sentiments of the earliest Christian writers; and in their own words, that every impartial reader may be able to judge for himself.

Justin Martyr, giving account of the Christian worship, says plainly, "We worship God alone;" and, "None but "God ought to be worshipped."

• Θεὸν μὲν μόνον προσκυνοῦμεν. Apolog. i. c. 23. Τὸν Θεὸν μόνον δεῖ προσκυνεῖν. c. 21.

d Athenagoras, in like manner, speaks to this effect : "We are not to worship the world, but the Maker of it; "we worship not the powers of God, but their Creator "and Governor."

Theophilus says, "I will honour the king, but I will "not worship him. I will worship God, the real and "true God: no one ought to be worshipped but God " alone."

fTatian, to the same purpose, though not so fully, says; "The works of God, made for our sakes, I will not wor"ship."

8 Tertullian says, "What we worship is one God, who "made the whole mass of things purely from nothing. "I am commanded not to call any other, God, nor to "adore, or in anywise worship any other besides that ❝one."

h Clement of Alexandria has more to this purpose: "Angels and men" (says he) "are the works of God's "hands: let none of you worship the sun, but let him set "his heart upon the sun's Creator: neither let him deify "the world, but to the Maker of the world let his desires "be. I seek after God, the Creator of the world, him "that lighted up the sun, and not after the creatures (egya) "which God hath made. The Gentiles ought to learn,

ὁ Οὐ τοῦτον, ἀλλὰ τὸν τεχνίτην αὐτοῦ προσκυνητέον, p. 55. Οὐ τὰς δυνάμεις (τῇ Θεοῦ) προσίοντες θεραπεύομεν, ἀλλὰ τὸν ποιητὴν αὐτῶν καὶ δεσπότην, p. 56.

e

Θεῷ δὲ τῷ ὄντως Θεῷ καὶ ἀληθεῖ προσκυνῷ- -οὐκ ἄλλῳ ἐξόν ἐστι - pooxy νεῖσθαι ἀλλ ̓ ἢ μόνῳ Θεῷ, p. 30, 33.

* Δημιουργίαν τὴν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ γεγενημένην χάριν ἡμῶν προσκυνεῖν οὐ θέλω, p. 18. Vid. et p. 79.

8 Quod colimus, Deus unus est; qui totam molem istampressit. Apol. c. 17.

-de nihilo ex

Præscribitur mihi ne quem alium Deum dicam,――ne quem alium adorem, aut quoquo modo venerer, præter unicum illum qui ita mandat. Scorp. c. iv. p. 450. Rigalt.

Η "Αγγελοι καὶ ἄνθρωποι ἔργα τῶν δακτύλων αὐτοῦ μὴ τὸν ἥλιον τις ὑμῶν προσκυνείτω, ἀλλὰ τὸν ἡλίου ποιητὴν ἐπιποθείτω. μηδὲ τὸν κόσμον ἐκθειαζέτω, ἀλλὰ τὸν κόσμου δημιουργὸν ἐπιζητησάτω, p. 53. ed. Οx. Τὸν κόσμου δημιουργὸν, τὸν ἡλίου φωταγωγὸν Θεὸν ἐπιζητῶ, οὐ τὰ ἔργα τῦ Θεοῦ, p. 59. Τοὺς Ἕλληνας χρὴ διὰ νόμου, καὶ προφητῶν ἐκμανθάνειν ἕνα μόνον σέβειν Θεὸν τὸν ὄντως ὄντα παντοκράτορα, p. 825. Τὸ δ' ἐςὶ θρησκεύειν τὸ θεῖον διὰ τῆς ὄντως δικαιοσύνης ἔργων τε καὶ γνώσεως, p. 778.

"from the Law and the Prophets, to worship the one only God, the necessarily-existing Almighty. This it "is to worship the divine Being in true righteousness of "practice and knowledge."

i Irenæus expresses himself thus: "You ought to wor66 ship the Lord your God, and to serve him alone, and to

give no credit to him who deceitfully promised things "which were not his own, saying; All these things will "I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me’"The system of creatures is not under his dominion, since "he himself is one of the creatures."

k Origen has a great deal to our purpose, in his book against Celsus. I shall select a few passages: he blames the Gentiles," who from the stupendous greatness of the "things in the world, and the beautiful order of creatures, (δημιουργημάτων,) could not look up and consider that "they ought to admire, worship, and adore him only that "made them." In another place he says, "To worship the "sun and the creatures of God (Oеou inμiovgynμara) is for"bidden us, who are taught, not to serve the creature "besides the Creator." He observes, a little after that; "We ought not to honour those in the place of God, or "of the Son of God." Which I take notice of here particularly, that you may see how clearly Origen distinguishes the Son from the nμoupýμaτa Osoũ: as, indeed, he does every where. In another place, he observes that

i Dominum Deum tuum adorare oportet, et ipsi soli servire, et non credere ei qui falso promisit ea, quæ non sunt sua, dicens: Hæc omnia tibi dabo, si procidens adoraveris me.Neque enim conditio sub ejus potestate est, quandoquidem et ipse unus de creaturis est, p. 320. ed. Bened.

Κ Οἱ ἐκ τοῦ τηλικούτου μεγέθους τῶν ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ καὶ τοῦ κάλλους τῶν δημιεργη μάτων μὴ δυνάμενοι ἀναβλέψαι καὶ θεωρῆσαι, ὅτι προσκυνεῖν καὶ θαυμάζειν καὶ σέβειν χρὴ μόνον τὸν ταῦτα πεποιηκότα, p. 158.—σέβειν δὲ τὸν ἥλιον, καὶ τὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ δημιουργήματα ἅπερ ἡμῖν ἀπηγόρευται διδασκομένοις μὴ λατρεύειν τῇ κτίσει παρὰ τὸν κτίσαντα, β. 375.

I shall add another passage.

Οὐδεὶς γὰρ βλέπων τοῖς τῆς ψυχῆς ὀφθαλμοῖς ἄλλῳ τρόπῳ σέβει τὸ θεῖον παρὰ τὸν ὑποδεικνύντα ἐνορᾷν ἀεὶ τῷ τοῦ παντὸς δημιουργῷ, καὶ πᾶσαν εὐχὴν ἀναφέρειν ἐκείνῳ, p. 367.

above all

Christians are bred up to thoughts elevated far creatures, and might very justly disdain to worship any of them. The like he remarks of the Jews, "that they were taught to mascend up to the uncreated nature of "God; to fix their eyes upon him only; and on him alone "to rest all their hopes and expectations."

I might add many more testimonies, to the same effect, from the Ante-Nicene writers; but these are sufficient to give us a just idea of their principles, in relation to the object of worship. This we shall find run through them all, that God alone is to be worshipped; the Creator, in opposition to all creatures whatever; the rò Oriov, (as Clement of Alexandria and Origen sometimes accurately express it,) which also Tertullian seems to intimate, in the words, quod colimus, above cited. The sum then of the case is this: if the Son could be included, as being uncreated, and very God; as Creator, Sustainer, Preserver of all things, and one with the Father; then he might be worshipped upon their principles, but otherwise could not. What their practice was, shall be considered in its proper place. For the present, let it be a rule and maxim with us, fixed, as far as Scripture and the concurring judgment of antiquity can fix it, (besides what might be justly pleaded from the reason of the thing,) that no kind or degree of religious worship is due, or can be lawfully paid, to any creature. The conclusion from all is; if our blessed Lord is a creature, n he is not to be worshipped; if he is to be worshipped, he is not a creature. Now we may pass on.

1 Τους διδαχθέντας μεγαλοφυῶς ὑπεραναβαίνειν πάντα τὰ δημιουργήματα, &c. p. 237.

τι ̓Αναβαίνειν ἐπὶ τὴν ἀγένητον τοῦ Θεοῦ φύσιν κἀκείνῳ μόνῳ ἐνορᾷν, καὶ τὰς ἀπ' αὐτοῦ μόνου ἐλπίδας προσδοκῶν, p. 189.

Compare p. 160. where Origen insists upon the necessity of elevating our thoughts and devotions above and beyond all created being, i, TITOTOÜV YıYNTov, in one place, ravròs yevro in the other. See also Clem. Alex. p. 809, 816. Ox. ed.

η Κτίσμα γὰρ κτίσματι οὐ προσκυνεῖ, ἀλλὰ δοῦλος δεσπότην, καὶ κτίσμα Θεόν. Ath. Orat. ii. p. 491.

QUERY XVII.

Whether, notwithstanding, worship and adoration be not equally due to Christ; and consequently, whether it must not follow, that he is the one God, and not (as the Arians suppose) a distinct inferior Being?

YOU answer, that " equality of divine honour is never "attributed in Scripture to the Son with the Father;" and then, in proof of a matter of fact, you assign a reason of your own devising; "for then the Son would be abso"lutely equal with the Father, which is contrary to "Scripture and reason," (p. 94.) But why do you not keep close to the words of the Query, and to the point in question? Worship and adoration are my words; not divine honour, which is ambiguous, and leads us off from the argument in hand. Suppose it had been said sacrifice: would you answer thus? Equality of divine sacrifice is never attributed, &c. Do not you see the impropriety? Well, but, as it is, you must say, equality of divine worship is never attributed, &c. And then, pray tell me, what you mean by equality or inequality of worship; whether you mean longer or shorter prayers, more or less frequent addresses, or any thing else. Be that as it will, worship, religious worship, greater or smaller, longer or shorter, has the same import and significancy; and speaks the Person addressed to, to be divine: just as sacrifice, whether offered once a year only or once a day, or whether it were a lamb or only two young pigeons, carried the same acknowledgment with it of the divinity, sovereignty, and supremacy of the person to whom it was offered. Now, worship being, as hath been said, an acknowledgment of the true God, in opposition to all creatures whatever, which are by nature no gods; and being offered to the Father, not for the recognizing his personal properties, as he stands distinguished from the Son and Holy Spirit, but his essential perfections, common to all, and by which he is distinguished from the creatures; it is very manifest, that if the Son is to be worshipped too, he is equally God,