because of the inability of our reason, to comprehend what is revealed. We are not willing to see these truths, because difficulty and mystery attend them; and it is exceeding natural and easy to wink a little, when we are not willing to see.

Now if these secret prejudices are indulged, if we will not submit to receive these sacred truths, merely because we cannot comprehend and reconcile them, we have some ground to suspect ourselves guilty of that inward pride, and obstinacy of mind, which is highly criminal in the sight of God. And whether the great God will not terribly resent in the other world, these faulty prejudices, this haughtiness of the mind, this unbelief of truths so plainly revealed, is a thought that should make us tremble, and render us exceeding cautious, and meek and humble in all our conduct about these important doctrines of religion.

I must confess for myself with honest freedom, that in my diligent search after truth in the bible, I would have been glad to have taken up with some ideas of the Trinity, that might have been less subject to the cavils of human reason, and more easily comprehended and reconciled, if the plain and obvious sense of scripture in a multitude of places, had not constrained my faith to submit to divine revelation, and to acquiesce in this great truth, that "Father, Son, and Spirit, are three persons, and yet but one God.”

1 might here add another reason also, why we ought to believe, that these three persons have some real and intimate communion in the godhead, viz. because the characters and offices they sustain in the matter of our salvation, and the duties which we owe them, do in my judgment require the perfections of a God, that they may be fit to fulfil those offices, and to receive the homage of those duties. There appears to be a necessity of omnipotence and omniscience, and of other divine attributes, to execute those glorious works, which are assigned to the Son, and the holy Spirit, in the word of God, as well as those which are ascribed to the Father. Nor do I know how we can justly pay them honours answerable to these characters, if we believe them to be mere creatures.

PROP. XVII.-And wheresoever we meet with any Thing in Scripture, that is incommunicably divine, ascribed to either of these Three Persons, we may venture to take it in the plain and obvious Sense of the Words, since we believe the true and eternal Godhead to belong to them all.

It has been hinted before, that there is a great deal of reason to suppose, that the Arians and the Socinians, and all others who deny the proper godhead of the Son and Spirit, are guilty of a gross mistake; because there are so many places of scrip

ture which they are forced to handle with much art and criticism, and to twist, and to strain, and to pervert them from their plain and native sense, before they can make them consist with the Arian or Socinian doctrines. But the christian who believes, that the Son and Spirit have proper communion in the godhead, reads with pleasure all those expressions of scripture, which ascribe divine titles and dignity both to the Spirit, and the Son, as well as the Father, and understands, and believes them in the plain sense of the words, with much satisfaction and ease, and lets his faith rest upon the express revelation of God in his word.

All that is incommunicably divine, and that is attributed to the Son or Spirit in scripture, is naturally and easily applied or imputed to the same godhead or divine nature, which belongs both to the Father, to the Son, and to the holy Spirit, or in which the Son and Spirit have communion together with the Father.

PROP. XVIII. Where any Thing inferior to the dignity of Godhead is really and properly attributed in Scripture to the Person of the Son, or the Holy Spirit, it may be easily imputed to some inferior Nature, united to the Godhead in that Person, or to some inferior Character or Office sustained by that Person.

Here let it be observed, that there are some inferior properties and actions in scripture ascribed to God in general, and to the person of the Father, as well as to the Son and Spirit, which are not to be taken properly, but merely in a figurative sense, such as to have eyes and ears, hands and feet, to rejoice, to grieve, to repent, &c. Which signify the pure actions of God as an infinite Spirit, expressed towards his creatures in a figurative and familiar way, and in likeness to man, that we may understand them the better. These are not the inferior expressions which I speak of. But when any thing inferior to the dignity of godhead, is in a real and proper manner attributed to the Son, or the Spirit; then it is to be explained in one of these two ways which this proposition describes.

The reason of this proposition is evident; because since the Son, and the holy Spirit, are truly and properly partakers of godhead, or the divine nature, therefore nothing that is inferior to the nature of God, can be asserted concerning them, considered absolutely and simply as partakers in the divine essence. Whatsoever therefore is properly ascribed to any of these sacred persons, that is beneath the dignity of godhead, must arise from something external to God, something that is not essential to the divine nature.

Now this something external to God, is either real or rela

tive. If it be real, it must be some inférior nature united to the godhead. If it be relative, it must be some inferior character or office, sustained by one of the sacred persons: And upon either of these accounts, we may suppose something inferior to the supreme dignity of godhead, to be ascribed to one or more of the sacred three.

Let us enquire particularly concerning this.

There are many things inferior to the dignity of godhead, which are evidently attributed to the Son in scripture; such as these, that he was "made of a woman;" Gal. iv. 4. That he was in the form of a servant;" Philip. ii. 7. That he "inéreased in wisdom and stature ;" Luke ii. 52. That he "knew not the day of judgment;" Mark xiii. 32. That he was hungry and thirsty, and asleep'; that he wept, that he groaned, that he was forsaken of his Father, that his soul was exceeding sorrowful, that he was crucified, and died, that he rose again, and ascended to heaven.

But all these things are easily accounted for, by the union of the godhead, to the inferior nature of man, in the person of Jesus Christ. For he who was born of the virgin was "Emmanuel, or God with us ;" Luke i. 54. He who was true and real God, was also true and real man, and of the "seed of David according to the flesh;" Rom. i. 3. He who was God over all, blessed for ever, according to his divine nature," came from the Jewish fathers according to the flesh, or his human nature;" Rom. ix. 5. He who was the true God was "manifested in the flesh;" 1 Tim. iii. 16. This is called the "incarnation of Christ," and the New Testament is full of it.

Hence it comes to pass, that the properties and actions of one nature are ascribed sometimes to the whole person, and sometimes to the other nature. So the Son of man is said to be in heaven; John iii. 13. and that while the man Jesus was here upon earth; because, as God, he was in heaven and earth, and every where present. So the Lord of glory is said to be crucified; 1 Cor. ii. 8. because the man Christ Jesus was crucified, who in his divine nature is the Lord of glory. the Lord of glory. So the church is said to be "purchased with God's own blood;" Acts xx. 28. because the blood of the man who was also God purchased the church. So "God laid down his life for us;" 1 John iii. 16. that is, he who was God laid down his human life. This is what divines usually call a communication of properties.

If there be any thing inferior to the dignity of godhead attributed to the Son or Spirit, which cannot be imputed to some real inferior nature, united to the godhead in that person, then it arises from something relative, and it must be attributed to some inferior character or office, sustained by that person in the economy of our salvation.

Now there are some things that seem inferior to the dignity of godhead, which are attributed to the Son, even before his coming in the flesh, and being born of a virgin; as, that God the Father sent his Son into the world, which seems to imply his being before. That he "came down from heaven, not to do his own will, but the will of him that sent him;" John vi. 38, 39. Gal. iv. 4. That he left the "glory which he had with the Father before the beginning of the world;" John xvii. 5. That God the Father "prepared a body for him;" Heb. x. 5. The Son came and assumed that body "to do the will of God on earth;" verses 7, 9. compared with Ps. xl. 6, 7, 8. as he had been God's angel or messenger to the patriarchs.

Now if we can give ourselves leave to suppose, that the human soul of our Lord Jesus Christ had a being, and was personally united to the divine nature, long before his body was born of the virgin, even from the very foundation of the world, and that this was the angel who conversed with Abraham, Moses, Joshua, &c. then we may most easily account for these expressions of scripture, which signify something inferior to godhead before his incarnation; and we may attribute them to the human soul of Christ; which, though infinitely inferior to God, yet doubtless is a spirit of a very excellent and noble nature, as being formed on purpose to be united to God, and never existed but in a personal union with God.

There is nothing in the whole word of God, that I know of, which discountenances such a supposition as this; and there are a great many texts both of the Old and New Testament, which are with the greatest ease explained and reconciled this way, which it is very hard to account for, without admitting this opinion; nor has it the least ill aspect on any other article of our faith*.

But if we dare not venture our thoughts so far out of the common track, as to suppose that the human soul of Christ had any being, before he took flesh, then we suppose, that he existed

*If any of my readers imagine, that either here, or in the end of this chapter, 1 have forgot the words of my title page,and have used the aid of human schemes, I intreat them to remember, that I have built nothing at all toward the proof of the Trinity, upon any such supposition or scheme whatsoever; but have only proposed an illustration, a simile, a thought or notion, whereby the divine doctrine may be more easily apprehended, or whereby many texts of scripture may be more naturally explained, and more happily reconciled. Those who disapprove these hints, may entirely neglect them, and the plain scriptural doctrine of the Trinity abides the same still.

I do not mention this pre-existence of the human soul of Christ as a point of faith, which I firmly believe, but merely as a matter of opinion not to be rashly rejected, and well worth our farther enquiry; for I have not met with any thing yet published against it, that is sufficient to forbid the proposal of it here; and perhaps I shall say much more for it, if I should live to publish some short "dissertations" that I have written relating to the "doctrine of the Trinity."

only in his divine nature before his incarnation; and then these inferior expressions of being God's messenger or angel, of hav ing a body prepared for him by the Father, of being sent, of coming to do the will of his Father, and of not doing his own will, &c. must be attributed to his character and office as Mediator, which carries something inferior in it, and which he assumed even from the beginning of the world: So that the Son who had all power and sovereignty as God, must be said, under the character of a mediator, to be the messenger, the servant of God the Father, and be sent by him to do his will.

And thius by considering our Lord Jesus Christ, either in his inferior nature, as having a human soul, and a human body united to godhead, or in his inferior office as being a mediator, we may explain all those texts which ascribe something to him below the majesty of godhead. And where we cannot apply it to his human nature, it must be applied to his office.

I might multiply examples out of many parts of the New Testament and the Old, to shew with how much ease and readi→ ness, this doctrine will assist us to explain and reconcile many things that are said concerning Christ; but I chuse rather to exemplify this, in explaining those difficult expressions of our Lord Jesus Christ concerning himself, which are recorded in John v. 19-30. "Verily I say unto you, the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doth, these also doth the Son likewise. The Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doth. As the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment to the Son, that all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. -The dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son, to have life in himself; and bath given him authority to execute judginent also, because he is the Son of man." And yet a little after, he saith again, “I can of any own self do nothing."

Here are some divine characters, which seem to be too great for any mere creature; such as, "Whatsoever things the Father doth, these also doth the Son likewise. The Father sheweth the Son all things that himself doth. The Son raiseth the dead by his word, and quickeneth whom he will; all men must honour the Son, as they honour the Father. As the Father hath life in himself, so the Son hath life in himself."

Here are also some characters, that seem much inferior to to the dignity of godhead; "The Son can do nothing of himself. Judgment is committed to him by the Father. He has it