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tradition; the probability of which has been shown by Clement of Alexandria.*

VI. The Scriptures of the Old Testament, as well as of the New, abound with clear and striking testimonies respecting this mystery. It appears from both, 1st, That there are more Divine Persons than one; 2dly, More particularly, that they are three in number; 3dly, Still more particularly, that they are the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

The first of these assertions is proved, 1. From those passages of Scripture where God either addresses himself, or speaks concerning himself, in the plural number; such as those quoted at the bottom of the page. 2. From those passages in which the LORD speaks of the LORD, or is distinguished from the LORD.S

The second assertion is confirmed by the places of Scripture where three distinct persons are mentioned. The third is proved from Mat. xxviii. 19. Rom. i. 4. 2 Cor. xiii. 14. 1 John v. 7.

To explain and vindicate all these testimonies might seem somewhat tedious, and it is foreign to our present design.31

VII. We have undertaken to show what it is to be

Strom. lib. ii. p. 103. See John Gerhard's Loc. Comm. p. 329, and Lipsius's Manuductio ad Philos. Stoic. lib. ii. diss. 19. This subject has been discussed professedly and at the greatest length by Christianus Schotanus, in his Triumphus Biblicus, lib. iii. cap. 7. * Gen. i. 26. iii. 22. xi. 7. Isaiah vi. 8.

* Gen. xix. 24.

Mat. xxii. 43, 44.

t

* Ps. xxxiii. 6.

Ps. xlv. 6. comp. Heb. i. 8. Ps. cx. 1. comp.
Dan. ix. 17. Hos. i. 7. Prov. xxx. 4.

Isaiah lxi. 1. comp. verse 8, from which it ap pears that JEHOVAH is the speaker in that passage. Isaiah lxiii. 9, 10. Hag. ii. 5, 6, 7.

VOL. I.

Mat. iii. 16.

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lieve in a Three-one God. This implies, principally, three things. 1st, The knowledge of this mystery. 2dly, The acknowledgment of it, or an assent to it. 3dly, The calm and holy dependance of the soul upon God as a Three-one God.

VIII. With regard to the KNOWLEDGE of this mystery, we deem it so necessary, that we cannot venture to assure any adult of salvation, without this knowledge. A distinction should be made, we allow, betwixt the degrees of knowledge, as more or less clear and distinct; -times, also, must be distinguished, for it is fit that knowledge should correspond with the measure of revelation afforded ;-the different capacities of men should be distinguished, since some are far more capable of instruction than others;-knowledge existing in the mind, too, must be distinguished from the expression of it with the mouth;-we ought to take into consideration, in fine, the diversity of the ministry under which individuals live. We do not presume to determine the degree or measure of the knowledge required. This only we state, that it does not appear to us, that the man who is entirely ignorant of this mystery is in the way of salvation. The following arguments tend to confirm this opinion.

IX. 1st, Since our Lord himself makes eternal life to consist in the knowledge of the Father, and of the Son whom he hath sent," who will say that such knowledge is not necessary to eternal life? This would be equally absurd as if one should affirm, that that in which salvation itself consists, is not necessary to salvation. No one, it must also be remarked, knows the Father, who is ignorant that from eternity he had an only-begotten Son; nor does any one know the Son, who does not

" John xvii. 3.

"Jesus

know He is the same God with the Father.
"saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you,
"and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that
"hath seen me, hath seen the Father. --- Believest
"thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in

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me ?" These words import a Trinity, at least a plurality, of persons in one godhead.

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x.. 2dly, It is admitted, that there is no hope of salvation without the knowledge of the true God. But he only is the true God, who, while he is One in essence, subsists in Three persons. Whoever entertains any other view of God than this, does not represent to himself the true God, but a figment of his own imagination, and an idol. Whoever," says Augustine, thinks that God is such a being as he is not, entertains a conception, in reality, of another and a false "God."* On this account, the heathen, who knew in general that there is some infinite Deity, but were ignorant of the Trinity, which is the foundation of the covenant of God with elect sinners, are said to have been" without God in the world." The true God, whom Paul preached, was to them UNKNOWN. "The Gentiles," it is said, "knew not God;" that is, they did not know him as a Tri-une God. They knew, indeed, that there is some Supreme Being; and thus far, the same Apostle affirms that "they knew God;" z but they were ignorant of what God is; as if one should know there is a certain King in the realm, but be unacquainted with the person of the King.

XI. 3dly, When the Trinity is not known, the ne

▾ John xiv. 9, 10.

* Acts xvii. 23.

z Rom. i. 21.

* Quæst. 29. in Josuam.

* ̓Αθεοι εν κόσμω. Ephes. ii. 12.

y 1 Thes. iv. 5.

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cessary consequence is, that the principal foundations of our faith and comfort, are unknown. All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, are hid in the mystery of God,32 and of the Father, and of Christ. I cannot know how God can show mercy to a sinner in a manner worthy of himself, unless I know he has a Son whom he could send to make satisfaction for sin, and a Spirit who can apply to me the merits of the Son. If I know not that the Father is God, I shall be ignorant that I am a Son of God,-which is the sum of our felicity. If I know not that the Son is God, I shall not form a right estimate of the love of the Father who has given him to me, nor of the grace of the Son, who, though possessing inconceivable majesty, humbled himself so wonderfully for my sake;-nor shall I be able to place a firm dependance upon his satisfaction, which could not be sufficient unless it were of infinite value, or to rely securely on his power, which cannot save me unless it be evidently omnipotent ;-it will be impossible for me, in short, to regard him as my Saviour and my Chief Good, because none excepting the true God of Israel is Israel's GOD and Redeemer. If, in fine, I am not sure that the Holy Spirit, to whose direction and government I ought to commit myself, is God, I shall not be able to esteem my subjection to him as true liberty, to maintain a holy acquiescence in his protecting care, or to rely on his testimony respecting my salvation as a most ample security. Christian faith is of so delicate a character, that it can firmly acquiesce in none but the Most High God. It must, then, be of the first importance and necessity for us to know a doctrine, on which the knowledge of so many necessary

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points depends. This argument is confirmed by experience; for, as we see in the Socinians, the same men who deny the Trinity, deny, also, the satisfaction of Christ, the invincible power of the Spirit in our regeneration and conservation, the certainty of salvation, and the full assurance of faith. The mystery of our salvation through Christ is so intimately connected with the mystery of the Trinity, that when the latter is unknown or denied, the former cannot be known or acknowledged.

XII. 4thly, It is indisputably manifest, that he who does not honour God the Father cannot be saved; for his own words are as follows: "Them that honour me, "I will honour; and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed." No one, however, rightly honours the Father, who does not, also, honour the Son. "The Father hath committed all judgment unto the "Son, that all men should honour the Son, even as

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they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the "Son, honoureth not the Father who hath sent him."d Further, no man can honour the Son who does not know him, and who does not know him even in his true character as the Only-begotten, of the same substance with the Father, and, therefore, worthy of the same divine honour with the Father. For what is honour but a reverential acknowledgment of the excellency possessed by the person whom we honour? It follows, then, that without the knowledge of Christ as one God with the Father, there is no salvation.

XIII. 5thly, It is necessary to salvation, to know him of whom all that are about to be baptized according to Christ's appointment, ought to make a profession. No one can profess what he does not know. But ever since the commencement of the Christian dispensation, it has d John v. 22, 23.

* 1 Sam. ii. 30.

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