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has ascribed to nature, or to fecond caufes, exclufively of the first; and what men vulgarly call chance or unforeseen accident; is in fcripture refolved into the immediate will and providence of God. Thus, when a person is flain by chance or accident, as men vulgarly fpeak, the fcripture more accurately expreffes it, faying, that God delivered fuch a one into the band of him that flew him without defign. Exod. xxi. 13. And in all other inftances the fame notion is every-where kept up in fcripture: neither is it merely in a pious manner of expreffion, that the fcripture afcribes every event to the providence of God; but is strictly and philofophically true in nature and reason, that there is no fuch thing as chance or accident: it being evident that those words do not fignify any thing really exifting, any thing that is truly an agent, or the caufe of any event; but they fignify merely men's ignorance of the real and immediate caufe. And this is so true, that very many, even of those who have no religion, nor any sense at all of the providence of God, yet know very well by the light of their own natural reason, that there neither is nor can be any fuch thing as chance, that is, any fuch thing as an effect without a caufe; and therefore what others afcribe to chance they afcribe to the operation of neceffity or fate. But fate alfo is itself in reality as truly nothing, as chance is. Nor is there in nature any other proper caufe of any event, but only the free will of rational and intelligent creatures acting within the sphere of their limited faculties, and the fupreme power of God directing, by his omniprefent providence, the inanimate motions of the whole material and unintelligent world. This is the trueft philofophy, as well as the best divinity. For what is nature? is it an understanding being? or is it not? If it be not, how can an undefigning being produce plain notices of contrivance and defign? If it be an understanding being, who acts throughout the universe; then it is that great being whom we call God. For nature, neceffity, and chance, mere phantoms, which have no reason, wifdom, or power, cannot act, with the utmost exactness of wisdom, powerfully, inceffantly, and every-where.

F 3

V. We

Three per

Jons in the

Godhead.

V. We believe the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, to be three diftinct perfons in the divine nature; because the holy fcriptures in feveral places diftinguish them from one another, as we ufe in common fpeech to distinguish three feveral perfons: this is recorded in the form of adminiftering the facrament of baptifm, which is in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: and in the folemn bleffing with which St. Paul concludes his fecond epistle to the Corinthians: The grace of our Lord Jefus Chrift, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghoft: and alfo the three witneffes in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghoft, prove that each of these persons is God. Befides, the names, properties, and operations of God are attributed to each of them in holy writ. That the names, properties, and operations of God are attributed to the second perfon in the bleffed Trinity, the Son, is plain from St. John, the Word was God. St. Paul fays, that God was manifested in the flesh; that Christ is over all, God bleffed for ever; and that the word of God is fharper than a two-edged fword, and is a difcerner of the thoughts and intent of the heart. Eternity is attributed to him; the Son hath life in himself, he is the fame, and his years fhall not fail: perfection of knowledge; as the Father knoweth me, fo know I the Father: the creation of all things; all things were made by him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. And we are commanded to honour the Son as we honour the Father and the glorified faints fing their hallelujahs, as to God the Father, fo alfo to the Lamb for ever and ever. And

We afcribe the fame names, properties, and operations of God, to the third perfon in the bleffed Trinity, the Holy Ghoft; for lying to the Holy Ghoft is called lying to God, And, because the Chriftians are the temples of the Holy Ghoft, they are faid to be the temples of God: his teaching all things; his guiding into all truth; his telling things to come; his fearching all things, even the deep things of God; his being called the fpirit of the Lord, in oppofition to the fpirit of man; are plain characters of his divinity. Befides, he is joined with God the Father (who will not impart his

glory

glory to another) as an object of faith and worship in baptifm, and the apoftolical bleffing. And the blafphemy committed against him is faid to be forgiven neither in this world, nor in the world to come.

These plain texts fhew we are obliged to believe the doctrine of the holy Trinity; and our church affirms, 'There is but one living and true God, everlasting, without body, ⚫ parts or paflions, of infinite power, wifdom, and goodness, the maker and preferver of all things, both visible and invisible; and in the unity of this godhead there be three perfons, of one fubftance, power, and eternity, the Father, ⚫ the Son, and the Holy Ghost.'* Which doctrine of the Trinity, tho' it is above reason, in that we cannot why it must comprehend the manner of it, is not however con- be believed. trary to reafon: neither does it imply a contradiction to say, the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God; and yet there are not three Gods, but one God: because we do not affirm they are one and three in the same refpect. The divine being is that alone which makes God; that can be but one, and therefore there can be no more Gods than one: but, because the scriptures, which affure us of the unity of the divine being, do likewife with the Father join the Son and Holy Ghoft, in the fame attributes, operations, and worship, as proved above; therefore they are capable of number as to their relation to each other, but not as to their being, which is but one. Confequently, the difficulty, which

fome men pretend they find in the belief of a Tri- Why diffinity, is the effect of their own prefumption and ig- cult to be norance, which pretend to dive into the fecret believed. things of God by the weakness of human capacity: and because they cannot unfold the depths of divine wisdom, they charge God foolishly with contradiction. The truth of the cafe is this: our profpect is bounded by a very narrow horizon; our faculties limited within a very narrow sphere of activity. And whatever abfurdities fome people may alledge, without being able to prove, against the Trinity; the greateft abfurdity of all is, that weak ignorant creatures fhould pretend to fathom an infinite fubject with a very fcanty line. F 4

See the first Article of Religion.

Want

Want of humility, in points of fo high a nature, is always, in fome degree, want of fenfe. There may be a bright and parkling imagination, but there can be no fuch thing as a well-poifed judgment and found sober sense, without humility. Let us then proceed in our researches after truth, with all due humility and modefty; and not stand upon terms with our Maker, and lofe the humble and meek chriftian in the vain difputer of this world. For, however valuable a clear difcernment and an uncommon reach of thought may be, yet humility, which does not exercise itself in matters which are too high, is undoubtedly far more amiable in the fight of that being, who, though he inhabiteth eternity, yet dwells with the lowly and contrite. We then give the best proofs of the ftrength of our reason, when we own the weakness of it, in the deep things of God; humbly content to fee him through a glass darkly, till we can see him as he is, face to face.

How to be inquired

in.o.

This fhould teach us to fubmit our reafon to the obedience of faith. To believe this mystery, which we are fufficiently affured God hath revealed, though we cannot comprehend it. To contain ourselves within the bounds of fobriety, without wading too far into abftrufe, curious, and useless inquiries. To admire and adore the most glorious Trinity, as being the joint authors of our falvation. To acknowledge the extreme love of God towards us, in giving his only-begotten Son, who was in the bofom of the Father from all eternity, to die for us finners; and the wonderful condefcenfion of our dear Redeemer, the merits of whose fufferings were made of more value by the dignity and excellence of his perfon; and never to grieve that eternal Spirit, by whofe gracious help we are made partakers of life everlafting. The leaft grain of fand is able to baffle the finest understanding: and yet we would pretend to found the depths of the divine nature and counfels; never confidering, what has been often obferved, that, if what was revealed con'cerning God were always adapted to our comprehenfion; how could it with any fitness represent that nature, which 'we allow to be incomprehenfible?' We need not to ranfack the fcripture for difficulties: every thing about us and

within

within us, above us and beneath us, convinces us, that we are very ignorant; and, if once we come to a refolution to quit what is clear (fuch are the proofs for chriftianity) upon the account of what is obfcure, we shall run into univerfal fcepticism. Where

Does not

Obferve, in answer to a very popular argument against christianity, That to believe fuch doctrines of christianity as we cannot comprehend does not take away destroy the use of reason in religion: for nothing the use of can be a greater reflection upon religion, than to reafon. fay it is unreasonable; that it contradicts that natural light, which God has fixed in our minds, and that it declines a fair and impartial trial, and will not bear the test of a thorough examination. For God inlightened man with reason to difcover the grounds of natural religion, and inculcate the wifdom and prudence of acting according to them. Reason fhews the conveniency of things to our natures, and the tendency of them to our intereft and happiness; fince as we are thereby convinced, that piety towards God, that justice, gratitude, and mercy towards men, are agreeable to our natures: fo reafon discovers to us, that these duties are good, because they bring benefit and advantage to us. And this reason is the faculty whereby the evidence and proof of revealed religion is to be tried: the proper exercife of it in a christian is to examine and inquire, whether what is propofed and required to be believed is revealed by God; whether it comes with the true marks of his authority, and hath him really for its author: for our accepting of any thing as revealed by God must be grounded upon evidence that it comes from him. And when by proper arguments we are convinced of the divine authority of the revelation, reafon affifts us in difcerning the true and genuine fenfe of fuch a revelation, and helps us to apply general rules contained in it to all manner of fpecial cafes whatsoever. And when we are fatisfied that a doctrine is revealed by God, though it is above the reach of our understanding; yet we have the strongest and most cogent reafon in the world to believe it: becaufe God is infinitely wife and all-knowing, and therefore cannot be deceived; and being infinitely good, we may be fure he will not deceive

us,

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