growth of a blade of grafs, or the virtues of the load-ftone. Till we are able to do this, it becomes us to lay our hands upon our mouths, and our mouths in the duft. Far from attempting to explain the doctrine of the Trinity to my hearers, I rather wish to leave an impreffion upon your minds, that it is to us (and perhaps to the highest created intelligences) incomprehenfible. But if it be contained in the fcripture (which I must leave to your own confciences to determine in the fight of God) it is thereby fufficiently proved, and humble faith requires no other proof.

Allow me to confirm my own fentiments, by an obfervation of a celebrated French writer to the following purport:-" The "whole difference, with refpect to this fub

ject, between the common people and the "learned doctors is that while they are "both equally ignorant, the ignorance of "the people is modeft and ingenuous, and "they do not blush for being unable to fee "what God has thought fit to conceal. "Whereas the ignorance of their teachers " is proud and affected; they have recourse

* Abbadie.

" to

"to fcholaftic diftinctions, and abstract rea"fonings, that they may not be thought upon a level with the vulgar."

The form of baptifm prescribed by our Lord, for the ufe of his church, is thus expreffed, Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost *. It is evident, by comparing this fentence with that which I before recited from the Epiftle of John, that the WORD and the SON are fynonymous terms, expreffive of the fame character. They are both the titles of MESSIAH; of him John spoke, when he said, The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, And of him God the Father faid, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. Had God spoken thus to an angel, it would have been in effect faying, Thou art the Word, which in the beginning was with God, and was God, by whom all things were made. But to which of all the angels would the great God ufe language like this?

Our Lord, in his conference with Nicodemus, was pleased to say, God fo loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, &c. † It was undoubtedly his defign, by this ex* Matt. xxviii. 19.

↑ John iii. 16.

preffion,

preffion, to give to Nicodemus and to us, the highest idea poffible of the love of God to finners. He fo loved the world, beyond description or comparison, that he gave his only begotten Son.-Surely then the gift fpoken of must not be limited to fignify the human nature only. This was not all that he gave. The human nature was the medium of the acts and fufferings of MESSIAH; but he who affumed it was the Word, who was before all, and by whom all things were made. It is true the human nature was given, fupernaturally formed by divine power, and born of a virgin. But he who was in the beginning God with God, was given to appear, obey, and fuffer, in the nature of man, for us and for our falvation. And to him are ascribed the perfections and attributes of Deity; of which the highest angels are no more capable, than the worms which creep upon the earth.

I cannot, therefore, suppose, that the title of Son of God, is merely a title of office, or belonging only to the nature which he affumed. But that MESSIAH is the Son of God, as he is God and man in one person. If the forming a perfect and spotless man,

like Adam when he was firft created, could have effected our falvation, it would have been a great and undeferved mercy to have vouchfafed the gift; but I think it would not have required fuch very strong language as the fcripture ufes, in defcribing the gift of the Son of God. The God-man, the whole perfon of Chrift, was fent, came forth from the Father. The manhood was the offering, but the Word of God, poffeffed of the perfections of Deity, was the altar neceffary to fanctify the gift, and to give a value and efficacy to the atonement.

The term begotten, expreffes with us the ground of relation between Father and Son, and upon which an only fon is the heir of a father. I feel and confefs myself at a lofs here. I might take up your time, and perhaps conceal my own ignorance, by borrow ing from the writings of wifer and better men than myself, a detail of what have been generally reputed the more prevailing orthodox fentiments on this fubject. But I dare not go beyond my own ideas. I shall not, therefore, attempt to explain the phrase eternal generation, because I must acknowledge

rftand it myself.

Long

Long before time began, the purpose of conftituting the Mediator between God and finners, was established in the divine counfels. With reference to this, he himself fpeaks, in the character of the Wisdom of God. The Lord poffeffed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. I was Set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. Then I was by him, as one brought up with him, rejoicing always before him; rejoicing in the habitable parts of the earth, and my delights were among the fons of men. If the Word of God had not engaged according to an everlafting and fure covenant, to affume our nature, and to accomplish our falvation, before the earth was formed, he would not have appeared afterwards; for we cannot with reafon conceive of any new determinations arifing in the mind of the infinite God; to whom, what we call the past and the future, are equally prefent. In this fenfe, (if the expreffion be proper to convey fuch a fenfe) I can conceive that he was the begotten Son of God from eternity. That is, fet up and appointed from eternity for the office, nature, and

Prov. viii. 22, 31.

work,