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2. LET it be obferved;, that God doth not fay I, but we will make man in our image, &c.Hence it hath been generally fuppofed, and strongly argued, that in the Godhead there is a plurality, not of Effences but of Perfons; that is, there are diftinct modes of fubfifting in one and the fame effence-which verily feems to be a truth intentionally delivered to the church, and revealed in our text; not only from the pronouns WE and OUR, but here the very name of God is plural likewife.however inexplicable and incompréhenfible this mystery may appear to human reafon, yet by divine revelation it is made manifeft.-The Creator of man is in the fcriptures often faid to be more than one; thus remember thy Creator is in the original thy Creators; again, thy Maker is thy bufband, in the Hebrew it is thy Makers are thy bufbands. Yet we believe, and teftifie that there is but one living and true GoD-JEHOVAH is a pure Spirit, felf-existent and felf-fufficient, one eternal, immortal, invifible, immutable, Almighty God-This St. Paul affirms to be a fundamental article of our creed; to us there is but one GOD the Father+; and again, God is one §. Mofes also taught the church of old the very fame faith; bear, O Ifrael, JEHOVAH our GOD is one JEHOVAH . It is then an undoubted truth clearly revealed and teftified in the fcriptures, that there is but one GOD, whofe

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name is JEHOVAH, he who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty. And whatfoever doctrine tends to divide the Effence, or make a plurality of Gods, is to be abhorred, and rejected.

BUT why fhould it be thought incredible that in the effence of Deity there fhould be different modes of fubufting? Will any man affirm that it is not fo? Or dare the boldeft infidel affert that it is impoffible for the godhead to exift in a threefold manner without dividing the effence? Can't thou by fearching find out GOD? Can't thou find out the. Almighty unto perfection*? Are not the understanding, will, and affections three diftinct properties, or modes of fubfiftence in one and the fame rational fpirit, which God created in his own image? It is fuppofed by many That fire, light and air in the natural world are an emblem of this mystery. And is it not highly probable? As these are but three Separate conditions of one and the fame natural spirit whereby all flesh is animated, and preferved in Being; according to the good pleasure of him who hath made all things for his own glory.

THE light which coexifts with fire, and is of the fame effence fprings forth from it as a fon from a father; and is a lively emblem of the divine generation of Jesus the fon of GoD who is often called the light; and perhaps alluding to the fame natural

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Job xi. 7.

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image, he is faid to be the brightness of glory.
our GOD is á consuming fire +, and CHRIST the only
begotten Jon is the light thereof:again, doth not
Mofes declare to us a plurality in the divine ef
fence? when he afferts, that JEHOVAH our
GOD is one JEHOVAH: the first and laft of
thefe names are fingular, importing the immutabi-
lity and felf-existence of deity. THE fecond is plu-
ral, and feems to point at the relation fubfifting
betwixt God and his chofen in CHRIST, as efta-
blished by oath between the facred perfons in the
effence before the world was; and becaufe it is im-
poffible for GOD to lie, therefore the promife of eter
nal life is fure to all the feed.

IF this fecond name of GOD had not been in tended to express a plurality, Mofes would not have immediately added is one JEHOVAH; for an infpired writer ufes no vain repetitions: but having juft declared that a plurality ftood related to Ifrael as their God, left they fhould imagine there were more JEHOVAH's, or more Effences than one, he immediately adds our Gods are one JEHOVAH; whereby he plainly taught the church that in the Godhead there is a mysterious diftinction which

Heb. i. 3.

+ Heb. xii. 29.

Who can rationally doubt of its being plural when ap plied to the true God, for it is joined in divers texts with adjectives, pronouns, and verbs plural. See an inftance of each in Gen. iii. 22. xxxv. 7. and Pfal. lviii. 12.

Compare Heb. vi. 17, 18. Tit. i. 2.

which we call perfonal, and but one undivided EL fence; which the New Teftament fhews us clearly, and expressly teftifies in these words; There are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghoft and these three are one

IN the creation of the world this bleffed and eternal three but one JEHOVAH concurred, defigned and wrought. When GOD faid let there be light and there was light; the FATHER willed, the WORD fpake, and the SPIRIT moved on, or fpread itself over the face of the waters; thus by the word of JEHOVAH were the heavens made, and all the bofts of them by the breath of his mouth.

So likewife in the work of redemption the Father fent, the Son came, and the holy spirit prepared him a body : again, the Father delivered him up, the Son laid down his own life§, offering himfelf a fpotlefs facrifice to God for us thro' the eternal fpirit §§; by whom alfo he was raifed from the dead according to the will of God even the father: -be was put to death in the flesh, but quickned by the Spirit.-Hence our LORD commanded the disciples to baptize his followers, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghoft: for thro' him, we both Jews and Gentiles (believing) have an access by one fpirit unto the father. Thus 'tis plain

1 John v. 7. H Rom. viii. 32.

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plain there are three who were jointly concernedboth in the work of creation, and man's redemp tion; and that these three are one, that is of one effence, eternity, power, and glory.

I HAVE fome where met with an humble attempt to illustrate this fublime mystery (from the. bleffedness of Deity) in the following manner: as the delightful harmony of mufick arifes from a diftinct variety, centering in a perfect unity; fo the infinite delights and bleffedness of God in himfelf, and from himself, may be conceived to arise from a perfonal diftinction, centering in the unity of the divine nature and effence.

CONSEQUENTLY there can be no counsel, will, or operations of the Father, Son, or Spirit, but what are common to all. It is the fame GOD which worketh all in all * whatsoever things the Father doth, thefe alfo doth the Son likewife; for as the Father raifeth up the dead and quickeneth them, even fo the Son quickeneth whom he will +; all these worketh that one and the felf-same spirit, dividing to every man fe-* verally as be will. Hence we learn who it was which faid in the text, we will make man in our image, even the bleffed TRIUNE GOD which Trinity in Unity from eternity decred, and in due time created man in the image of God; who be cause he is three perfonally diftinct, therefore he faid WE will make man in OUR image; yet being

✦ 1 Cor. xii. 6. John v. 21. || 1 Cor. xii. 11.

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