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jection to his will: to breed in us patience under our fufferings, as knowing, that he, who is abfolute Lord, cannot abuse his power, which should make us dumb and not open our mouths at his doings: and to make us thankful for mercies received, as knowing, that they justly might have been denied us; we having no manner of right to claim them, as a debt from our Creator.

IX. The whole world, both the heavens and The creation the earth, and all things that are therein, were of the world. created and made by this fame God, and this, through the operation of his Son, that divine Word, or wifdom of the Father, by whom, the fcripture fays, that God made the world, and all things that are in heaven, By whom. and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities or powers; things were created by him and for him, and he is before all things, and by him all things confift; and without him was not any thing made that was made: all this likewise is very agreeable to found and unprejudiced reafon. Agreeable to For that, neither the whole, nor any part of the world; neither the form, nor motion, nor matter of the world, could exist of itself, by any neceffity in it's own nature, can be fufficiently proved from undeniable principles of reafon; confequently, both the whole world, and all the variety of things that now exift therein, muft of neceffity have received both their being itself, and also their form and manner of being, from God, the alone fupreme and felf-exiftent caufe; and muft needs depend upon his good pleasure every moment, for the continuance and prefervation of that being. Confequently,

reafon.

Opinion of

learned men.

The learned of all ages, have unanimously agreed that the world evidently owes both it's being and prefervation to God, the fupreme cause and author of all things: and then, that God made the world by the operation of his Son; though this could not indeed be known certainly without express revelation; yet it is by no means incredible, or contrary to right reason.

~God's proviX. And this all-wife and almighty Creator who dence. made all things by the word of his power, and up

holds

holds and preferves them by his continual help, does alfo by his all-wife providence perpetually govern and direct the iffues and events of all things; takes care of this lower world, and of all, even the fmalleft things, that are therein; difpofes things in a regular order and fucceffion in every age, from the beginning to the end of the world; and infpects, with a more particular and special regard, the moral actions of men: this, as it is far more expressly, clearly, and conftantly taught in fcripture, than in any of the writings of the moft learned men; fo it is also highly agreeable to right and true reason. For, that a being which is always prefent and infinitely wife, cannot but know every thing that is done in every part of the world, and with equal eafe take Founded on notice of the very leaft things as of the greatest; that an infinitely powerful being, muft needs govern and direct every thing in fuch manner, and to fuch ends, as he knows to be beft and fitteft in the whole; fo far as is confiftent with that liberty of will, which he has given to all rational creatures; and that an infinitely juft and good governor, cannot but take more particular and exact notice of the moral actions of all mankind, and how far they are conformable or not conformable to the rules he has fet them; all this (I fay) is most evidently agreeable to found reafon. And,

reason.

Three per

fons in the Godhead.

XI. We believe the Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft, to be three distinct 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 adminiftring the facrament of baptifm, which is in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghoft; and in the folemn bleffing with Proved by 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 also the three witneffes in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, prove that each of these perfons is God: be fides the names, properties, and operations of God, are at tributed to each of them in holy writ

fcripture.

That

That the names, properties, and operations of God, are attributed to the fecond perfon in the bleffed Trinity, the Son, is plain from St John, the Word was God; St Paul fays, that God was manifefted in the flesh: that Chrift 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 intents 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 also to the Lamb for ever and ever. And

We ascribe 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 Ghost, 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 Spirit 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 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 paffions, of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness, the maker and preferver of all things, both visible and invifible; 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. See the I. Article of Religion.

This doctrine of the bleffed Trinity is a great mystery, because we are not able to comprehend the particular manner

of

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mystery.

believed.

of the existence of the three persons in the divine nature: And yet it is reasonable to believe things concerning God, which we cannot comprehend. For, The Trinithe perfections of the divine nature are infinite, ty, a great and confequently above our reach; and therefore, if there be any fuch divine perfections, which our underftandings are not capable to conceive, yet if we may have reason to believe them, there can be no ground from reason to reject fuch a doctrine, which God hath revealed, though very mysterious, and the manner of it be incomprehenfible to us; fince natural light did always acknowledge the divine nature to be out of the reach of man. Why to be And though the doctrine of the Trinity is above reason, in that we cannot comprehend the manner of it, it is not however contrary to reafon, neither does it imply a contradiction to fay, 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 fame respect, 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 fcriptures, which affure us of the unity of the divine being, do likewise with the Father, join the Son and Holy Ghost, 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 Trinity, is the effect of their own prefumption and ignorance, which pretend to dive into the fecret things of God by the weakness of humane capacity, and because they cannot unfold the depths of divine wildom, they charge God foolishly with contradiction; so that when we treat upon the mysteries of the christian religion, let us prove them from the testimonies of holy writ, and the univerfal belief of chriftians, without pretending to make them clearer by a nice explication of those things that are not revealed. But this should teach us to fubmit our reason to the obedience of faith. To believe what we are enquired infufficiently affured God hath revealed, though we

Why difficult.

How to be

to.

cannot

cannot comprehend it. To contain ourselves within the bounds of fobriety, without wading too far into abftrufe, curious, and useless enquiries. 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. Never to grieve that eternal Spirit, by whose gracious help we are made partakers of life everlasting. Where

Does not

Obferve, in answer to a very popular argument take away against christianity, that to believe fuch doctrines the use of of christianity as we cannot comprehend, does not reafon. deftroy the use of reafon in religion; for nothing can be a greater reflection upon religion, than to fay it is unreasonable, that it contradicts that natural light, which God hath fixed in our minds, and that it declines a fair and impartial trial, and will not bear the test of a thorough examination. The Berrheans are commended for enquiring into the reasons of believing that doctrine, which they were taught; and when infidelity in fcripture is charged as a crime, it is where fufficient reafon and evidence was, first, offered for conviction of their unbelief. For,

The use of

the law of

nature.

XII. God enlightened man with reason to difreafon under cover the grounds of natural religion, and inculcate the wisdom and prudence of acting according to them. Reason fhews the conveniency of things to our natures, and the tendency of them to our interest and happiness; fince as we are thereby convinced, that piety towards God, that juftice, 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,

Under the

law of grace.

This reason is the faculty whereby the evidence and proof of revealed religion is to be tried, the proper exercise of it in a chriftian, is to examine and enquire whether what is propofed and required to

be

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