iftence of a Trinity of Perfons, in the fame Divine Nature, is even contradictory, and therefore impoffible; that it overthroweth the primary Notions of our Understanding, and allowed Principles of Reason. Even many Profeffors of Chriftianity, who acknowledge all the Revelations of Christ to be true, and believe him to have acted by a Divine Miffion, yet ftumble at this Stone of Offence; and therefore to avoid it, have taken up unwarrantable Opinions, plainly repugnant to the whole Tenor of the Gospel, as the Arians of old, and Socinians in later Days.

That we therefore may not be fcandalized with the fame Difficulties, that we may be able to refift the Delufions, and even overcome the Prejudices of thefe Men, it will not be amifs to confider, as far as we may with Safety and Modefty, that Doctrine which is the peculiar Bufinefs of this Day. For altho' it becomes us not too narrowly to pry into the Secrets of Heaven, and rafhly determine Matters, the cognizance of which belongeth not to us; yet fince it hath pleafed God to reveal this Mystery to Mankind, and make it an Article of Faith, it now ceaseth to be a Secret of Heaven, and it is both our Duty and Concern to enquire into the Credibility of it.

For the Chriftian Religion debars us not from a fcrupulous Search into the Truth of her Doctrines, and placeth no Merit in a blind

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blind Belief of her Propofitions. It is accepted indeed by God, as an Act of Obedience and Merit (I mean Merit in a large fenfe) to believe his Promises of a Refurrection and eternal Life after Death; as it was imputed unto Abraham for Righteous nefs, that trusting in the Promises of God, of giving him a better Inheritance in another Land, he forfook his own Country, and his Father's Houfe; altho' neither we nor he have received the Affurance of those Promises by the Evidence of Sense: He had not yet feen the Land of Canaan, and we do not yet enjoy the Poffeffion of those glorious Promises. Notwithstanding all this, God neither requires nor accepts an irrational Belief in Man; but as he at first endued him with reasonable Faculties, fo he expects he should make use of them to his Glory; which is by no other thing so much diminish'd, as by affixing to him Revelations repugnant to Reason, and including Contradictions; and that the Doctrine of the Trinity is not fuch, I will endeavour to mani feft, as plainly as the Obscurity of the Subject will permit.

The Foundations of my intended Dif course are laid down by the Apostle in the Text, and in the Context of it; which therefore it will be neceffary to explain; and therein I defire you to accompany me, by looking upon the place. The Apostle had, in the first eight Verfes of this Chap

ter:

ter, declared the Nature and Simplicity of his Preaching and Doctrine; that it was not recommended by pompous and affected Ornaments of Rhetorick; that it depended not upon Syllogifms and nice Speculations, as did that of the Gentile Philofophers, who were esteemed the only knowing Men of the Age; that the Matters declared by him, were not fuch as might be found out by the natural Light of Reafon; or when found out, were fuch as would be applauded by the World as extraordinary Flights of Speculation. [They were not the Wisdom of Men, nor the Wisdom of the World,] . 5, and 6. [But the Wisdom of God;] Matters not to be found out by the fole Guidance of Reason, but deliver'd by the infallible Revelation of God, who had attested the Truth of them by the wonderful Effects of his Power and Spirit, manifested in the Miracles and fuccessful Preaching of Chrift and his Apostles.

And left it should feem incredible to any, that the Matters of Divine Revelation fhou'd be inconceivable to human Reason, acting by its own Power, he fheweth us in the 9th Verfe; That this was no more than was foretold by the ancient Prophets, whose Veracity was allowed by the far greater part of those to whom he writ. For it was written in the Prophet Ifaiah, [Eye hath not feen, nor ear heard, neither have entred into the heart of man, the things which God

bath

bath prepared for them that love him.] So that it is undeniable, that the Will of God, and the Mysteries of Heaven may be unknown to Men, acting by the fole Light of Reason; but to Men acquainted with the Divine Revelations concerning them may be certainly known: Now this is the Cafe of Christianity. For as it followeth in the Ioth Verfe, [God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit,] that is, by his Son acting by the Spirit and Commiffion of God, and by his Holy Spirit inftructing the Apostles in the knowledge of them, and confirming them by Signs following. And that fuch Revelation is infallible, none can deny; for that it proceedeth from one who infallibly knew the Truth of what he taught, even the Spirit of God, [For the Spirit Searcheth all things, even the deep things of God.]

And left any one fhould except to these Revelations, and deny affent to them, because they are things which he never thought of before; and which, even when revealed to him, he cannot well conceive; the Apoftle fhews us, that we have no reason to wonder or stumble at this, from the obvious Example of the Soul of Man, in the 11th Verfe: The Nature of which cannot be conceived by any Being inferior to it, nor the Secrets, or the fecret Thoughts of it, found out by any Being equal to it. [For what man knoweth the things of a man, fave the fpirit of man which is in him?] Yet

would

would it be unreasonable for an inferior Being (if it could speak and argue) to deny that the Soul of Man is endued with noble Faculties, because it cannot conceive the Nature of them; or for one Man to deny that there are any fecret Thoughts in the Soul of another, because he cannot attain to the knowledge of them. And if things be fo, then we must allow the Conclufion drawn in the Text, [Even fo the things of God knoweth no man, but the spirit of God] and not unreasonably doubt of the Truth of them, because we cannot conceive the manner and nature of them.

So then, all Objections drawn from the Difficulty of the Conception cease; and it remains only to confider, whether the alledged Revelation be truly Divine. This therefore the Apostle afferts in the 12th Verfe; declaring his Preaching of it to be founded, not upon bare Conjectures and nice Conclufions, as were the Systems of Philofophy then received and applauded in the World; from which he diftinguifheth the Chriftian Faith by these two Characters, that this proceeded from the Revelation of God, that from the Invention of Men: [Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God.] And that whereas the Gentile Philofophy, the Wif dom of this World, contributed nothing to promote the Happiness of Man, and fecure to him the Favour of God; the other effect

ed