in him not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith; that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death."* And when his weeping friends would have dissuaded him from going up to Jerusalem, he answered, "What mean ye, to weep and to break my heart? For I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus."+ Under the influence of the same overpowering principle, we find him, "bowing his knees unto the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ," and praying for his Ephesian brethren and Sons in the faith, that "Christ might dwell in their hearts by faith." He then goes on to attempt an admeasurement of the amazing stature of the love of Christ, to show "its breadth, and length, and depth, and height," its length, extending from the first man that fell to the last that shall need a Saviour,-its breadth, stretching in one vast embrace from one end of creation. to the other, its depth, descending to the very confines of perdition, to snatch brands from the burning,-its height, exalting them, when "washed, justified, and sanctified," to the pinnacle of glory in the bosom of the Father; until at length, as if overwhelmed with the amazing prospect, he exclaims, "and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge."‡ Did the Apostle live? To him to live was Christ." Did he anticipate

the approach of death? "To him to die was gain," § that he might be with Christ. And almost the only severe expression that ever fell from his lips is, "If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maran-atha." ||

Phil. iii. 7. 10. † Acts xxi. 13. Eph. iii. 14. 17. 19. § Phil. i. 21. ¶ 1 Cor. xvi. 22.

3. Whether does Unitarianism or Trinitarianism represent us as most indebted to the undertaking of Christ? Our Lord has laid it down as an incontrovertible rule: "He that hath much forgiven him will love much, and he that hath little forgiven him will love little."* The system, therefore, which supposes us the greatest debtors to forgiving love, must needs have the greatest tendency to produce love. Our views of the depravity of human nature are such, that upon our system we have more to be forgiven than our opponents have upon theirs. We believe ourselves to have been utterly depraved, our very nature totally corrupted, and, consequently, that all our supposed virtues were destitute of virtue's very essence, while our hearts were at enmity with God. (17.) Further :-The views we entertain of the malignity of sin necessarily tend to produce the same effect. We do not seek to explain it away, by the use of extenuating names, to call it "human frailty," or "human imperfection;" nor do we affix any idea to it that shall represent us rather as objects worthy of the infinite compassion, than as subjects of that which his soul abhorreth. (18.) Once more:-The expence at which we believe our forgiveness to have been obtained, is a consideration which endears to us both the gift and the giver. We do not conceive that Christ, in bestowing this blessing upon us, has presented us with that which cost him nothing. If the portion given by Jacob to his son Joseph was heightened and endeared by its being obtained "by the sword and the bow," how much is a title to eternal life, by its being obtained through the death of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Now, in what way, do Unitarians speak of the love of Christ? The following extracts from the sermons of Dr.

Luke vii. 47.

Channing will present a fair and impartial view of their opinions upon this subject. You will perceive that the writer speaks of Christ's being to be loved, not for what he is in himself, nor for what he is to us, but, simply and exclusively, because of his moral greatness.

"What is it that constitutes Christ's claim to love and respect? What is it that is to be loved in Christ? Why are we to hold him dear? I answer, there is but one ground for virtuous affection in the universe, but one object worthy of cherished and enduring love in heaven or on earth; and that is, MORAL GOODNESS. I make no exceptions."

"After these remarks, you will easily understand what I esteem the ground of love to Christ. It is his spotless purity, his moral perfection, his unrivalled goodness. It is the spirit of his religion, which is the spirit of God, dwelling in him without measure. Of consequence, to love Christ is to love the perfection of virtue, of righteousness, of benevolence."

"Christians have been prone to fix on something mysterious in his nature, or else on the dignity of his offices, as his chief claim; and in this way his supreme glory has been obscured. His nature and offices I, of course, would not disparage; but let them not be exalted above his MORAL WORTH. I maintain that this gives to his nature and offices all their claims to love and veneration, and that we understand them only as far as we see this to pervade them. This principle I would uphold against Christians of very different modes of faith."

"I am persuaded that a love to Christ of quite a low character is often awakened by an injudicious use of his sufferings. I apprehend, that if the affection which many bear to Christ were analyzed, the chief ingredient in it would be found to be a tenderness awakened by his cross.

In certain classes of Christians, it is common for the religious teacher to delineate the bleeding, dying Saviour, and to detail his agonies, until men's natural sympathy is awakened; and when assured that this deep woe was borne for themselves, they almost necessarily yield to the softer feelings of their nature. I mean not to find fault with this sensibility. It is happy for us that we are made to be touched by others' pains. Woe to him who has no tears for mortal agony. But in this emotion there is no virtue, no moral worth; and we dishonour Jesus, when this is the chief tribute we offer him. I say, there is no moral goodness in this feeling."

"His cross is to inspire us with a calm courage, resolution, and superiority to all temptation. I fear—(is my fear groundless?)—that a fear which enervates, rather than fortifies, is the impression too often received from the crucifixion. The depression with which the Lord's table is too often approached, and too often left, shows, I apprehend, that the chief use of his sufferings is little understood; and that he is loved, not as a glorious sufferer, who died to spread his own sublime spirit, but as a man of sorrows, a friend bowed down with the weight of grief."

"Love to Christ of a very defective kind is cherished, in many, by the views which they are accustomed to take of themselves. They form irrational ideas of their own guilt, supposing it to have its origin in their very creation; and then represent to their imaginations an abyss of fire and torment, over which they hang, into which the anger of God is about to precipitate them, and from which nothing but Jesus can rescue them. Not a few, I apprehend, ascribe to Jesus Christ a greater compassion towards them than God is supposed to feel. His heart is tenderer and this tenderness is

than that of the Universal Parent,

seen in his plucking them by a mighty power from tremen

dous and infinite pain, from everlasting burnings. Now, that Jesus, under such circumstances, should excite the mind strongly-should become the object of a very intence attachment is almost necessary; but the affection so excited is of very little worth."

Such are the opinions of one of the most eminent of Unitarian divines on this great theme, the love of Christ. Are these the views presented to us in the pages of the New Testament? Christ not to be loved on account of the dignity of his person, the bitterness of his sufferings, or the suitableness of his mediatorial character and offices to the necessities of our fallen and helpless condition! We are simply to love him on account of the perfection of his MORAL WORTH! Let one short extract from the writings of St. Paul for ever contradict, if it does not silence, such miserable reasonings. "For the love of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge, that if ONE DIEd for all, then were all dead; and that He died for allL, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto HIM WHIch died for tHEM, and rose again."*

Of one short passage more I cannot omit the insertion:

"We think that much, which is called piety is worthless. Many have fallen into the error, that there can be no excess in feelings, which have God for their object; and, distrusting as coldness, that self-possession, without which virtue and devotion lose all their dignity, they have abandoned themselves to extravagancies, which have brought contempt on piety. Most certainly, if the love of God be that which often bears its name, the less we have of it the better. If religion be the shipwreck of the understanding, we cannot keep too far from it. On this subject, we always speak plainly. We cannot

* Cor. v. 14. 15.