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Christ , are applicable rather to the glorious superangeHc spirit , who was the beginning of the creation ' of God , by whom , as a complex person , the
human soul being in strict personal Union with the divine secoiid person in the Trinity , all things were created . " This shews the steps by which he was led into the opinions which he afterwards maintained .
In the year 1 / 63 , the society sent Mr . Purves into Ireland , to consult with some Dissenters near Coleraine , who , it appears ,, agreed with them in their religious views . He continued in Berwickshire with various masters , pfobably as a wright , till 1764 , at
which time his journal ends . . The societies , with which he was connected , finding their interest on the decline , thought it would be adviseable to have one of their number appointed as public preacher , and , that he might be better
qualified for that office , resolved to assist him in acquiring a knowledge of the languages in which the Scriptures were originally written . Trial was made of three persons , who delivered discourses , June 8 , 1769 . One of them soon after separated from the societies , and of
the remaining two , Mr . Purves was chosen by lot , on the last Thursday in July 1769 . He went for a short time to Glasgow . Probably , the means afforded for his study were not great , but he acquired a very considerable
knowledge not only of the Greek and Hebrew languages , but of several other branches of classic learning . In 1771 , the society published an abstract of their principles , drawn up by Mr . Purves : in this he says , " There is one God the Father , of whom are all 3
things / " The executor of all the divine purposes and determinations is the only-begotten Son of God , the ong Lord , by whom are all things . " This occasioned several letters between Mr . Purves and some ministers of the
Reformed Presbytery 3 some of which were afterwards " published in 1778 . In one of these , in relation to the Trinity , he asks , * ' Do you think there are three intelligent beings , having each a distinct will and activity ? If you aiiswer in the affirmative , what notion do you form of the Unity of the Godbead ? If in the negative , what do you understand by the wordl persons , when : you-my thfere are three in the undivided esseoce of the Godhead V * ;
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In 1776 > several of the members of these societies removed to Edinburgh , and invited Mr . Purves to become their minister , which invitation he accepted . He continued to be their pastot till his death , in 1795 . In regard to his theological opinions , Mr . Purves was a
high Arian ; he possessed not , as a public speaker , that brilliancy of expression and gracefulness of delivery so necessary for attracting public Attention , but his discourses were solid , argumentative , well arranged , and calculated to promote the cause of truth and the practice of virtue . His publications were very numerous , some of
which may be noticed . His principal work is in titled , " An humble At * tempt to investigate and defend the Scripture Doctrine concerning the Father , the Son , and the Holy Spirit . " Of the Father , he proves , ** that he is the first cause , unbegotten and unoriginated , infinite , independent and immutable . That he can have no
equal . That he is the fountain of all being and perfection , and the supreme object , in whom all worship and honour should ultimately terminate . " With respect to the Son of God he maintains , " That he is a distinct
person , possessing a distinct intelligence and activity , that he is the express image of the Father , that he was brought forth before any creature existed , and that his inconceivable generation , and ail his unsearchable perfections , are from the Father . " " That
he was employed by the Father increating the world , ana was the medium of all the communications of God to mankind recorded in the Old Testament . " He defends very abl y the doctrine of Universal Restoration . The
second edition of this book was printed in 1784 . In 1779 , he published Observations on Prophetic Times and Similitudes , in two parts . This he afterwards very much enlarged , and in 1789 , republished it in two volumes , on the Visions of the Apostle John . Like most others who have attempted
to explain the Revelation , his explanations have not been-verified by succeeding events , for he says , " the period , when Christ will manifest his priestly and kingl y power in cleansing the sanctuary and exercisirig > theifcey o £ David , may be expected About the year 1811 / ' Iii 1 775 md * lf ? l , he published two treatises on Civil < 3 < n
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78 Memoir of the late Mr . Purves .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Feb. 2, 1820, page 78, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2485/page/14/
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