thus Unitarians have constructed a science of equivocations, and tread a plank of double meanings; it expunges the term Unitarian as designative of their creed, and it takes the words representative of the creed of the great Church through all ages, and, reversing the miracle of our Lord, they use them as vessels in which the wine is turned into water. This is the principle which has governed in Unitarian hymn-books. The selection of many of the hymns from Watts, even his sacramental hymns, have in several instances not been permitted to pass unmutilated; and then, putting the top stone upon the column of injustice, the further indignity, amounting to insolence, of claiming him as a Unitarian. It is a curious thing to find a writer in the “Wesleyan Magazine” for 1831 boasting that none of the Wesleyan hymns have ever been used for the purpose of Unitarian or Socinian worship, while Watts’ have been thus frequently employed. The writer admits that in such instances they have been altered, but says that “Charles Wesley’s hymns are made of too unbending materials ever to be adapted to Socinian worship.” He was quite mistaken in the fact, they have often been “bent” for this purpose; but it is the very peculiarity of Watts that he rises to the pre-existent and uncreated realms of majesty, of which our Lord speaks as “the glory I had with Thee before the world was.” It would be interesting to know how any Socinian or Unitarian could “bend” that magnificent hymn, Ere the blue heavens were stretched abroad, From everlasting was the Word: With God He was; the Word was God, And must divinely be adored. By His own power were all things made; By Him supported all things stand; He is the whole creation’s Head, And angels fly at His command. Ere sin was born or Satan fell, He led the host of morning stars: Thy generations who can tell, Or count the number of Thy years? But lo! He leaves those heav’nly forms, The Word descends and dwells in clay, That He may hold converse with worms, Dressed in such feeble flesh as they. Mortals with joy beheld His face, The Eternal Father’s only Son; How full of truth! how full of grace! When through His eyes the Godhead shone. Archangels leave their high abode To learn new myst’ries here, and tell The loves of our descending God, The glories of Immanuel. But, indeed, the sum of the matter is that the theology—the evangelical theology of Watts’ hymns—is the chief reason of the exception taken to the poetry. He is in a very eminent sense the poet of the Atonement; he saw the infinite meanings in that great expression “the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.” We have heard some quote and speak of what they have called that dreadful verse!—