was darkened." In the connection of this noted passage, it is said concerning those, against whom the wrath of God is revealed from heaven, that "That which may be known of God is manifest to them, for God hath shewed unto them." He manifested his true character, as we have found, by his mighty works. He manifested his eternal power and Godhead, in such a manner and degree, by the great and glorious work of creation, as to render the heathen without excuse, in all their idolatries. That Godhead which was manifested by the work of creation, was something more than eternal power; which is only a natural perfection. It implied, also, moral perfection, which is necessary to render God the object of love and adoration. The same argument from the light of nature, is stated in the 19th Psalm. "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament sheweth his handy work. Day unto day uttereth speech; and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard ;" i. e. the voice of the heavens, and the firmament, proclaiming the glory of God. But what glory could possibly redound to God, from his mighty works, if he were destitute of moral perfection, and were an unholy and malevolent being? An omnipotent being, void of goodness, and devoted to evil, would justly merit the abhorrence and detestation of all rational creatures. And would not such a being feel conscious of his own infinite baseness and malignity? which would render him supremely and eternally miserable! If God has the least regard to his own honour and glory, and to his own happiness, he must certainly be an infinitely holy being, possessed of perfect moral goodness and benevolence.

We further observe, that in the scriptures, the moral perfection of God is inferred from his infinite supremacy and independence. The patriarch Abraham relied on this argument, when he interceded for the Sodomites; "Shall not the judge of all the earth do right?" Is it possible, that an infinite being, a being absolutely supreme and independent; a being far above all possible interest, motive, or inducement to do evil, should pervert judgment, and do wickedly? To act without a motive would seem to be impossible; but to act against the strongest motives, is clearly and decidedly impossible.

Another evidence of the goodness and even the mercy of God arises from the good which he actually does; and from the numberless favours, which he confers on the guilty race of men. All who can distinguish between right and wrong, must be sensible of great sinfulness and ill desert. All, therefore, ought to realize the great goodness and mercy of God, manifested in their daily preservation, and daily comforts. Thus reasons the Apostle. Speaking of the living God, who made heaven and earth; and who, in times past, suffered all nations to walk in their own ways; he adds, Nevertheless, he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness."

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Thus it appears that the common blessings of divine providence afford conclusive evidence, that the Lord is good, and that he is merciful. "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, and because his compassions fail not."

Further; the system of divine law and government, which is revealed in the bible, affords unquestionable evidence of the holiness and goodness of God. "The law is holy, and the commandment is holy, and just, and good." Especially does this appear, since the law is enforced by an adequate penalty. The character of legislators is learnt by their code of laws; and by the steadfastness, with which they enforce their laws. If we attend also, to the history of divine providence, we discover increasing evidence of the infinite goodness of God. He always acts the part of a friend to holiness, and an enemy to wickedness. This he did, in the destruction of the ungodly world by the flood, when Noah was saved in the ark. This he did when Sodom was destroyed, and just Lot was delivered. This he did, when the Egyptians and Canaanites were, in their turns, destroyed, and his chosen people were delivered, and inherited the promises. Also, in the destruction of all the proud and idolatrous empires of the earth, which have, from time to time, oppressed the people of God, he has displayed his love of righteousness, and hatred of wickedness. Beyond all doubt therefore, he is holy, just and good. He claims the confidence, the submission; the fervent love, and most cheerful obedience, of all his intelligent creatures.

ESSAY IV.

The Unity and Trinity of the Godhead.

In pursuance of the system of divine truth, we have found evidence of the being of a God; and that the scriptures of the old and new testaments were given by divine inspiration. We have, in the last place, attended to an illustration and proof of the natural and moral perfections of God.

Depending chiefly on the holy scriptures, for light and evidence, on the high and mysterious subjects which relate to the Godhead, we may, in the next place, proceed to a consideration of the Unity and Trinity of God.

Previously to attending to the doctrine of the sacred Trinity, it is thought proper to consider the evidence of the unity of God. For the principal objection to the doctrine of the Trinity is, that it destroys his unity. The Unity of God is abundantly asserted in the holy scriptures, and is agreeable to the dictates of reason. The scriptures declare, that "The Lord our God is one Lord." "I am the Lord, and there is none else." "Holy One of Israel.' "The only Lord God." shalt have.no other Gods before me.

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The unity of God has also been said to be agreeable to the dictates of reason. It is evident from the divine perfections. In all his attributes and perfections, God is infinite and supreme. In his power, omniscience, omnipresence, God is supreme; he is "all in all." It is absurd to suppose, that there is a plurality of Deities, each of whom is supreme; each of whom is all in all. It is said that in his wisdom and knowledge, God is infinite, and unsearchable. "None by searching can find out God." But if there are more Gods than one, then, by searching, they can find out one another. To conceive of more than one being, who is self-existent, independent, uncontrollable, immutable, eternal and infinite, is utterly impossible. If we attempt to conceive of two such beings as God is represented to be; they must, in all respects, be perfectly alike. In all their attributes and works, they must be exactly the same. This would render them one and indivisible. It is therefore, in the nature of things, impos

sible; or to say the least, inconceivable, that more than one infinite being should exist. The created universe is infinitely too small to admit of a plurality of Gods. Nor is a plurality conceivable.

Having, in opposition to all idolatry, established the unity of the Godhead; the way is now prepared, with all humility and reverence, to attend to a discussion of the doctrine of the Trinity. This doctrine is taught and supported, only by divine revelation; and, of course, no at-* tempt will be made to explain or prove it, by arguments drawn from any other source. As a clue to this high and mysterious doctrine, we find, in the beginning of the bible, and elsewhere, that the name of the Deity is used in the plural, as well as in the singular number. In the Hebrew language, which was the original language of the old testament, the name of God is generally plural. "In the beginning, Gods created the heaven and the earth." nouns relating to God are also used in the plural number. "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." is added, in support of the unity, as well as the plurality of the Godhead; "So God created man in his own image; in the image of God created he him." After the apostasy of man, in order to keep up the idea of plurality, as well as unity, God said, "Behold the man is become like one of us to know good and evil.”

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To frustrate the building of Babel, the Lord said, "Let us go down, and there confound their language." In many other places, in the old testament, the name of God, and the pronouns relating to it, are expressed in the plural number, indefinitely. But waving these, let us proceed to the direct evidence of the particular doctrine of the Trinity. In the sixth chapter of Isaiah, the Lord speaking of sending the Saviour, says, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Here the sender, after expressing himself in the singular number, I; changed to the plural number, us. He that consented to go, was a third person. This makes a trinity of persons in the Godhead. Accordingly, when the seraphim, as in the same chapter, celebrate, in heavenly strains, the glory of God, it is the glory of the triune God. "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory." Another passage in the forty-eighth chapter, is clearly indicative of the sacred Trinity. In this, the Redeemer himself, an

ticipating his coming in the flesh, says, "And now the Lord God, and his spirit hath sent me." Here the Trinity is expressed most distinctly. Thus we find, even in the old testament, many indications and expressions of this mysterious doctrine.

In the new testament, this doctrine is doubtless confuted or confirmed. That it is confirmed, and not confuted, will appear from the plainest testimony. The Apostle John, who had occasion, on account of the heresies which sprang up in his old age, to write more particularly on the Unity and Trinity of the Godhead, than his fellow apostles, has stated the subject very clearly. "There are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one." This testimony is so clear and explicit, that it admits of no evasion. The only shift that can be made, is, to pronounce it uncanonical. Admit this testimony of the Apostle John, and the point is settled. But, even supposing this passage to be doubtful, or even uncanonical; yet we have evidence remaining abundantly sufficient to establish the doctrine of the Trinity. The Apostle, in his epistle to the Colossians, speaks of the acknowledgment of "the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ." God and the Father will be admitted as terms denoting divinity and Christ has the same rank and dignity. With great propriety, this is the acknowledgment of a mystery. In view of the same subject, it is said, "Great is the mystery of godliness, God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the spirit," &c. Mystery is admitted in this, as well as in other subjects, the truth of which is unquestionable. Mystery implies no absurdity, no contradiction; and of course, it is no objection to this, nor to any other doctrine of divine revelation. Do any object to the doctrine of creation or providence, on account of mystery? But if the works of God are mysterious, may we not expect to find the mode of his existence equally mysterious?

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To proceed with the argument. When we attend to the history of the Saviour, as recorded by the evangelists, we find him always speaking of the Father, and of the Holy Spirit, as of God; and he hesitates not to consider himself as one and the same God. "I and the Father are one." He requires that all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He speaks also of the