ART. (Jehovah from Jehovah); from the defcription of the WifI. dom of God in the 8th of the Proverbs, as a person with

God from all eternity; and from the mention that is often made of the Spirit, as well as the Word of God that came to the Prophets; they have, I fay, from all these places, and fome others, concluded, that this is contained in the Old Teftament. Others have doubted of this, and have faid that the name Elobim, though of a plural termination, being often joined to a fingular verb, makes it reasonable to think it was a fingular: which by fomewhat peculiar to that language might be of a plural termination. Nor have they thought, that fince angels carry the name of God, when they went on fpecial deputations from him, the angels being called Jebovah, could be very confidently urged that fublime defcription of the Wisdom of God in the Proverbs feems not to them to be a full proof in this matter: for the Wisdom there mentioned feems to be the Wisdom of creation and providence, which is not perfonal, but belongs to the effence; nor do they think that thofe places in the Old Teftament, in which mention is made of the Word, or of the Spirit of God, can fettle this point; for thefe may only fignify God's revealing himself to his prophets. Therefore whatever fecret tradition the Jews might have had among them concerning this, from whom perhaps the Greeks might have alfo had it; yet many do not pretend to prove this from paffages in the Old Teftament alone: though the expofitions given to fome of them in the New Teftament prove to us, who acknowledge it, what was the true meaning of thofe paffages; yet take the Old Teftament in itself without the New, and it must be confeffed that it will not be eafy to prove this Article from it.

But there are very full and clear proofs of it in the New Teftament; and they had need be both full and clear, before a doctrine of this nature can be pretended to be proved by them. In order to the making this mystery to be niore diftinctly intelligible, different methods have been taken. By one Substance many do understand a numerical or individual unity of fubftance; and by Three Perfons they understand three diftinct Subfiftences in that effence. It is not pretended by thefe, that we can give a diftinct idea of Perfon or Subfiftence, only they hold it imports a real diverfity in one from another, and even fuch a diverfity from the fubftance of the Deity itself, that fome things belong to the Perfon which do not belong to the Subftance: for the Substance neither begets, nor is begotten; neither breathes, nor proceeds. If this carries in it fome

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thing that is not agreeable to our notions, nor like any ART. thing that we can apprehend; to this it is faid, that if God has revealed that in the Scripture which is thus expreffed, we are bound to believe it, though we can frame no clear apprehenfion about it. God's eternity, his being all one fingle act, his creating and preferving all things, and his being every where, are things that are abfolute riddles to us: we cannot bring our minds to conceive them, and yet we muft believe that they are fo; because we see much greater abfurdities muft follow upon our conceiving that they fhould be otherwife. So if God has declared this inexplicable thing concerning himself to us, we are bound to believe it, though we cannot have any clear idea how it truly is. For there appear as ftrange and unanfwerable difficulties in many other things, which yet we know to be true; fo if we are once well affured, that God has revealed his doctrine to us, we muft filence all objections against it, and believe it: reckoning that our not underftanding it, as it is in itself, makes the difficulties seem to be much greater than otherwife they would appear to be, if we had light enough about it, or were capable of forming a more perfect idea of it while we are in this depreffed state.

Others give another view of this matter, that is not indeed fo hard to be apprehended: but that has an objection againft it, that seems as great a prejudice against it, as the difficulty of apprehending the other way is against that: it is this; they do hold, that there are three Minds; that the first of these three, who is from that called the Father, did from all eternity by an emanation of effence beget the Son, and by another emanation that was from eternity likewife, and was as effential to him as the former, both the first and the fecond, did jointly breathe forth the Spirit; and that these are three diftinct Minds, every one being God, as much as the other: only the Father is the fountain, and is only felf-originated. All this is in a good degree intelligible: but it feems hard to reconcile it both with the idea of unity, which feems to belong to a Being of infinite perfection; and with the many exprefs declarations that are made in the Scriptures concerning the unity of God. Inftead of going farther into explanations of that which is certainly very far beyond all our apprehenfions, and that ought therefore to be let alone, I fhall now confider what declarations are made in the Scriptures concerning this point.

The firft and the chief is in that charge and commiffion which our Saviour gave to his Apoftles to go and make dif

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ciples

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ART. ciples to him among all Nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. By name is meant either an authority derived to them, in the virtue of which Mat. xxviii. all nations were to be baptized or that the perfons fo baptized are dedicated to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft.. Either of these fenfes, as it proves them all to be Perfons; fo it fets them in an equality, in a thing that can only belong to the Divine Nature. Baptifm is the receiving men from a state of fin and wrath, into a state of favour, and into the rights of the fons of God, and the hopes of eternal happiness, and a calling them by the name of God. These are things that can only be offered and affured to men in the name of the great and eternal God; and therefore, fince, without any diftinction or note of inequality, they are all three fet together as perfons in whofe name this is to be done, they must be all three the true God; otherwife it looks like a juft prejudice against our Saviour, and his whole Gofpel, that by his exprefs direction the first entrance to it, which gives the visible and fœderal right to thofe great bleffings that are offered by it, or their initiation into it, fhould be in the name of two created beings, (if the one can be called properly fo much as a being, according to their hypothefis,) and that even in an equality with the Supreme and increated Being. The plainnefs of this charge, and the great occafion upon which it was given, makes this an argument of fuch force and evidence, that it may juftly determine the whole matter.

A fecond argument is taken from this, that we find St. Paul begins or ends moft of his Epiftles with a falutation in the form of a wifh, which is indeed a prayer, or a benediction, in the name of thofe who are fo invocated; in which he wishes the churches Grace, Mercy, and Peace, from God the Father, and the Lord Jefus Chrift; which is an invocation of Chrift in conjunction with the Father, for the greatest bleffings of favour and mercy that is a ftrange ftrain, if he was only a creature; which yet is delivered without any mitigation or foftening in the most remarkable parts of his Epiftles. This is carried farther in the conclufion of the fecond Epiftle to the Corinthians 2 Cor. xiii. The Grace of the Lord Jefus Chrift, the Love of God, and the Fellowship of the Holy Ghoft be with you. It is true, this is expreffed as a with, and not in the nature of a prayer, as the common falutations are: but here three great

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Rom. i. 7. Rom. xvi. 20, 24. 1 Cor. xvi. 23. 1 Cor. i. 3. 2 Cor. i. 3. Gal. i. 3. Gal. vi. 18. Eph. i. 2. Eph. vi. 23. Phil. i. 2. Phil. iv. 23. 1 Theff. i. I. Theff. v. 28. 2 Theff. i. 2. 2 Theff. iii. 18. z Tim. i. 2. Tit. i. 4. Philem. 3, 25. 2 John i. 3.

Col. i. 2.

1 Tim. i. 2.

bleffings

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bleffings are wifhed to them as from three fountains, which ART. imports that they are three different Perfons, and yet equal for though in order the Father is firft, and is generally put firft; yet here Chrift is named, which feems to be a ftrange reverfing of things, if they are not equal as to their effence or fubftance. It is true, the fecond is not named here, The Father, as elsewhere, but only God; yet fince he is mentioned as diftinct from Chrift and the Holy Ghoft, it must be underftood of the Father; for when the Father is named with Chrift, fometimes he is called God fimply, and fometimes God the Father.

This argument from the threefold falutation appears yet ftronger in the words in which St. John addreffes himself to the feven Churches in the beginning of the Revelations : Grace and peace from him which is, which was, and which Rev. i. 4, 5. is to come; and from the feven Spirits which are before bis throne: and from Jefus Chrift. By the feven Spirits must be meant one or more perfons, fince he wishes or declares grace and peace from them: now either this must be meant of angels, or of the Holy Ghoft. There are no where prayers made, or bleffings given, in the name of angels: this were indeed a worshipping them; against which there are exprefs authorities, not only in the other books of the New Teftament, but in this book in particular. Nor can it be imagined that angels could have been named before Jefus Chrift: fo then it remains, that feven being a number that imports both variety and perfection, and that was the facred number among the Jews, this is a myftical expreffion; which is no extraordinary thing in a book that is all over myfterious: and it imports one perfon from whom all that variety of gifts, adminiftrations, and operations that were then in the Church, did flow: and this is the Holy Ghost. But as to his being put in order before Christ, as upon the supposition of an equality, the going out of the common order is no great matter; fo fince there was to come after this a full period that concerned Chrift, it might be a natural way of writing, to name him laft. Against all this it is objected, that the defignation that is given to the firft of thefe in a circumlocution that imports eternity, fhews that the great God, and not the person of the Father, is to be meant: but then how could St. John, writing to the churches, with them grace and peace from the other two? A few verfes after this, the fame defcription of eternal duration is given to Chrift, and is a strong proof of his eternity, and by confequence of his divinity: fo what is brought fo foon after as a character of the eternity of the Son, may be alfo here ufed to denote the eter

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ART. nal Father. These are the chief places in which the Trinity is mentioned all together.

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I do not infift on that contefted paffage of St. John's 1 John v. 7. Epiftle: there are great doubtings made about it: the main ground of doubting being the filence of the Fathers, who never made ufe of it in the difputes with the Arians and Macedonians. There are very confiderable things urged on the other hand, to fupport the authority of that pallage; yet I think it is fafer to build upon fure and indifputable grounds: fo I leave it to be maintained by others who are more fully perfuaded of its being authentical. There is no need of it. This matter is capable of a very full proof, whether that paffage is believed to be a part of the canon, or not.

It is no fmall confirmation of the truth of this doctrine, that we are certain it was univerfally received over the whole Chriftian church long before there was either a Chriftian prince to fupport it by his authority, or a council to establish it by confent: and indeed the council of Nice did nothing but declare what was the faith of the Christian church, with the addition only of the word confubflantial: for if all the other words of the Creed fettled at Nice are acknowledged to be true, that of the Three Perfons being of one fubftance will follow from thence by a juft confequence. We know, both by what Tertullian and Novatian writ, what was the faith both of the Roman and the African churches. From Irenæus we gather the faith both of the Gallican and the Afiatic churches. the whole proceedings in the cafe of Samofatenus, that was the folemneft business that paffed while the church was under oppreflion and perfecution, give us the most convincing proof poffible, not only of the faith of the Eastern churches at that time, but of their zeal likewife in watching against every breach that was made in fo facred a part of their trust and depofitum.

And

Thefe things have been fully opened and enlarged on by others, to whom the reader is referred: I fhall only defire him to make this reflection on the ftate of Chriftianity at that time: the difputes that were then to be managed with the Heathens, against the deifying or worfhipping of men, and thofe extravagant fables concerning the genealogies of their Heroes and Gods, muft have obliged the Chriftians rather to have filenced and fuppreffed the doctrine of the Trinity, than to have owned and publifhed it fo that nothing but their being affured that it was a neceffary and fundamental article of their faith, could have led them to own it in fo public a manner;