Actions to proceed I have not the least conception of for all that I conceive is only several Idea's of different particular Actions which no more express the Idea of that Principle from whence they spring than the Idea's of several particular Lines express the Idea of that Point they are drawn from All that we can perceive or imagine of corporeal Vnity is nothing else but a Connexion or joint Position of several Bodies which according as it is more or less perceivable according to the simplicity or multiformity of the Figure resulting from it and the easiness or difficulty of Separation makes several degrees of Vnion which all receive the common Denomination of Vnity Now as Extension by reason of its perpetual divisibility cannot give us a true Notion of simple Vnity so neither can I have any distinct knowledge of Vnion or Composition abstracted from all Considerations of Extension I do not understand how a Mind and Body are united any otherwise than that I perceive such and such spiritual Actions produced within the Compass of such a Body which I call One Neither am I able to comprehend the Union or Separation of Two spiritual Beings without considering them as in the same or different Localites for I have not distinct Idea's of several spiritual Natures nor if I should perceive the several Operations of different Spirits could I distinguish the several individual Beings or Principles they proceeded from For who is there that if all the Thoughts and Motions of the Souls of several Men were communicated to him could tell which proceeded from which Nay we cannot tell what difference of Actions is sufficient to determine the different kinds of Principles they proceeded from neither can any Co-operation or Consent of Actions make us conceive a spiritual Vnion without conceiving the same Term of Action too For suppose two Souls were so exactly framed alike that they always thought and will'd the same Things at the same times and were conscious of each other's Thoughts and Actions if they were put into different Bodies 't is plain we could not properly say they were united or made one And again supposing they were in the same Body we could not possibly conceive them to be two any otherwise than we knew them capable of a separate Existence that is if we examine our Thoughts honestly of a separate Vhi in different Bodies or elsewhere Not that I think local Presence or Determination is any way contained within the Idea of a spiritual Being but it helps us to conceive it better and discourse more distinctly about it And if we observe it there are several cases where our Conceptions and Judgments must necessarily differ These then are all the kinds of Vnity and Distinction I can possibly imagine namely in Idea Principle and Position Whatever else is called Unity is more properly termed Agreement the very Notion of which implies a distinction in some of the fore-mentioned kinds Identity is nothing else but a repetition of Vnity as Number is of Difference with the Judgment of the Understanding upon it What Personal Vnity and Distinction are will be easily understood by explaining the word Person which signifies one of these two things either a Particular Intelligent Being or an Office Character or some such complex Notion applicable to such a Being In the first sense one Man or Angel is one Person and several Men or Angels are several Persons In the second sense of the word there may be so many Persons as there are different Combinations of the Actions Relations and Circumstances of Intelligent Beings And thus having given an Account of the meaning and signification of the Terms in which we are required to express our Faith we are next to Examine how far and in what sense we can believe this Proposition That One and the same God is Three different Persons Now 't is certain that if those before-specified are all the Notions we are able to frame of Vnity and Distinction then God must be One and Three in some way or manner there laid down or else in some other way or manner not conceivable by Human Understanding First then let us see how and in what manner God can be One and Three according to those Notions our Souls have framed of Vnity and Distinction And here 't is granted on all hands that nothing can be One and Three in the same manner and respect We cannot conceive a thing to be in One determinate Position or Vbi and in Three separate Vbi's all at once We cannot conceive that One Principle or Nature should be but One and yet Three different Principles or Natures too or that any Object should be truly and adequately represented to any Mind or Understanding under One Idea and truly and adequately represented under Three different Idea's 'T is impossible to believe any thing of this kind because it implies a plain Contradiction to the clearest and most certain knowledge we can have of Unity and Distinction so that if One may be Three in the same respect 't is One then One and Three must stand for other Idea's than we conceive when we pronounce these words and if so they ought to have other Names and not be called One and Three Since therefore we cannot say that God is One and Three in the same respect in the next place let us Enquire In what different respects this may be affirmed of him Now as to the Vnity of God this is easily believed and acknowledged as being very agreeable to all our other Notions of the Deity The chief difficulty lyes in assigning the Distinction In attempting which the best and clearest way of proceeding will be by going over the several kinds of Distinction before-mentioned I will begin with that of Position And here 't is plain at first sight that we cannot possibly conceive God under any difference of Position we cannot exclude Omnipotence from any imaginable point of space 'T is the limited Powers and Faculties of created Beings which are the Foundation of all Local Distinctions And therefore when we endeavour to represent God to our thoughts in this manner we consider him as Omnipresent and I can no more conceive Three Omnipresents than I can conceive Three straight Lines drawn between the same Points But though there can be but One undivided Omnipresence may there not be Three Infinite Beings Co-equal to one another and Commensurate to One Infinite Space This is far above my Conception too Infinite swallows up all my thoughts Whatever Idea we apply this Term Infinite to I think it impossible to apply it to another of the same Denomination As for Example If I apply it to Power I cannot consider it as applicable to more than One Infinite Power For Infinite Power includes all the Possibilities of Action so that to conceive more than One Infinite Power would be to conceive more Power than is possible which is a gross and palpable Absurdity And therefore we cannot conceive
order therefore to form a determinate Act of Faith in this Point I must carefully examine my self what Notions I have of God of Vnity and Identity Distinction and Number and Person As to the Notion of a Deity 't is true indeed I have not a full and adequate Idea of God neither is my Soul capable of it but what Conceptions I have of his Nature and Perfections are according to my Apprehension so far clear as to enable me truly and justly to determine which of those distinct Idea's I have in my Mind are applicable to him and which are not And such a Knowledge of the Divine Nature as this is a sufficient direction of my Faith in any Proposition concerning God where I clearly understand all the Idea's attributed to him In the next place therefore I am to consider what Notions I have of Vnity and Identity Distinction and Number And here I confess I am at a Loss how to deliver my self these being some of our first and most simple Idea's which are so clear of themselves that I cannot find clearer to explain them by For this is certain that every Man is conscious to himself that he has a power of perceiving and comparing his Perceptions and consequently must know when any thing is presented to his Mind whether it be perceivable at one entire view and whether the Object have one uniform appearance or not He must be also sensible in a succession of Idea's when the same Appearances are repeated again and how often the Representation is varied However notwithstanding the Clearness of these Notions with respect to what passes in our own Minds we are not able to make true and distinct Judgments of the unity or multiplicity of things without us For it does not follow that what is represented to the Soul at once under one Idea or Appearance should according to the reality of things be one undivided nature neither can it be inferred that what is represented to the Soul under different Idea's are so many distinct real Beings For there are some Idea's purely of the Soul 's own making and not copied from any external Patterns where there are a great many particular real Beings of different kinds and natures comprehended under one Representation Thus all the Hills Plains Rivers Trees and Towns c. which the Eye can reach from such or such a Point we put into one Picture and call it a Landskip or Prospect Thus does the Soul enlarge its View to all the Works of God and Nature it takes in the whole Creation at a Thought and calls it World On the other side the real Natures and Essences of Things which are allowed to consist in a simple undivided Vnity are not conceivable by us at once but at different Views by different partial Conceptions which the Soul afterwards compounds and calls by one Name Thus when we endeavour to comprehend the Nature and Essence of what we call Man we form at different times several confused Notions of Substance Body Life Sense and Reason every one of which is a complicated Idea and to be resolved into a great many others more simple and distinct As for instance I must form a great many Idea's of particular Actions and the Modes Differences and Relations of them before I can have any tolerable knowledge of what Reason is and so for the rest All therefore that we understand of the unity of things without us is this When we perceive any Object in a continued Position bounded and fenced out from other things round about it all within such Terms and Limits we call One And then again observing a great many different Actions produced in and by such an Object we judge all these Actions and Operations to proceed from one common Principle in some such manner as Streams from a Fountain or several Lines from the same Centre And whatever we thus judge to be One tho' a great many Thoughts and Conceptions go to the forming of such a Judgment we endeavour as well as we can to represent to our selves under one Idea or Appearance tho' the Representation be often very confused and indistinct And this we do as supposing it wholly and uniformly conceivable at one single View were it not for the Imperfection of our Faculties Which Supposition is not without good Ground for this we have plain Experience for that when any visible Object is of such a magnitude or in such a situation that the Eye cannot receive the whole Image of it at once we take it in at different times from different points of Sight and yet for all this we find no more Reason to doubt of the real Unity of such an Object than of any other whose Image came into the Soul entire at one Act of Vision for we easily conceive there may be other Organs of Sight which would reflect the whole Object together And from thence we conclude further that there may be also some other Mind more perfect than ours which perceives that as one simple Idea which we cannot apprehend but by a union of several different Conceptions From whence it follows that the most perfect Mind which is God is the only true and proper Standard of all Unity and Distinction The Summe of all my Thoughts is this What is meant by one or more the same or different Idea's is better to be conceived by inward Reflexion than can possibly be explained by Words Such an Idea which is not distinguishable into different Appearances I call a simple Idea When I have any Thought or Perception which is resolvable into several Idea's I call this a complex or compounded Notion And hence I term any Being simple or compounded according as it is perceivable by some Mind under one simple Appearance or a complex Idea Whether my Idea's are agreeable to the real Natures of Things or those original Fatterns in the Mind of God I cannot certainly know but when they are the same and when they differ from one another I plainly perceive tho' I cannot always judge of the Identity or Distinction of Things according as they are represented to my understanding under the same or different Appearances For here I should be sometimes mistaken too as 't is plain I often must if I judged of the real unity or multiplicity of Things by my own Idea's The Notions we have of the unity of Things without us come the nearest that can be imagin'd to our Idea's of Point and continued Extension one of which represents simple unity the other compounded the one we apply to what we call spiritual Beings the other to material For 't is certain the Conception we have of Body can never furnish us with any Idea of simple Unity By a Spirit then we mean something without extension and consequently indivisible capable of performing some such kind of Actions which do in some manner or degree resemble those we are conscious of But what that is from whence I suppose such
not to be look'd upon as a nice abstracted Speculation designed for the Exercise of our Understandings but as a plainer Revelation of God's Love and Good Will towards Men and a greater Motive and Incitement to Piety than any we had before this Doctrine was delivered Had man stood confirmed in his Original Righteousness and there had been no need of Redemption 't is highly probable God had never been considered by Man in his state of Probation under any such Distinction as is now revealed to us And therefore I should think those different Titles and Relations by which God has been pleased to express that Eternal Distinction in the Godhead to us should be chiefly considered by us with reference to the great Work of Man's Salvation Thus far then the Scriptures require us to believe That the One only Supream God upon his fore-knowledge of Man's Fall did from all Eternity Purpose and Decree to Redeem Mankind into a capacity of Salvation by the Death and constant Mediation of a Man chosen and enabled for this Work by the fulness of the Godhead dwelling in him And in consideration of his Passion and Intercession to impart such Gifts Graces and Spiritual Assistances as would be sufficient to render this Redemption effectual to the Saving of much People And moreover we are to believe that God has accordingly executed this his Gracious Design towards us By sending into the World Christ Jesus the Man who before he had ordained should in the Fulness of Time be born and suffer for our Sins in and by whom as has already been shewn God acted in a wonderful manner was worshipped and adored and acknowledged in all his Attributes and with whom he abideth in the Fulness of Power and Glory for ever And since his Death and Reception into Heaven by a plentiful Effusion of Spiritual Graces and Influences by which means a great many have embraced the Gospel of Christ and become Heirs of Salvation and more from henceforth to the end of all things shall daily be added to the Church of God be supported in the Faith and be made Partakers of the purchased Inheritance reserved in Heaven for those that are Sanctified by the Spirit of God Now with respect to this great Design of Saving Mankind and the Order and Method of the Divine Wisdom in the Execution of it To give us as full and distinct Apprehensions as our Souls are able to conceive of the Misery of our sinful Condition the difficulty of Deliverance and the unspeakable Mercy of God in restoring us to the Happiness we had justly forfeited and to raise our Souls to the highest pitch of Veneration Love and Gratitude we are capable of expressing for such an inestimable Blessing God has been pleased to reveal himself to us under several Personal Characters and Relations Such as Father Son and Holy Ghost Saviour Mediator and Comforter By which Names and all other Expressions consequent thereupon we are directed to consider some such kind of Distinction and Subordination of Offices and Relations in God as the Terms made use of do commonly import Thus when God is pleased to represent his Love to Mankind in the highest Image of Nature that of a Father sacrificing an only well-beloved Son the exact Transcript and Resemblance of himself perfectly Innocent and Obedient to his Will in all Things we are to believe that by the Sufferings and Death of Christ God has given greater Proofs of his Love towards us than any Man is capable of doing to another and that such an Action of an Earthly Parent suggests the nearest and likest Conception we can possibly frame of what our Heavenly Father has done for us tho' at the same time we must acknowledge it comes infinitely short of expressing the Riches and Fulness of his Mercy and Loving-kindness And the same Use and Spiritual Improvement is to be made of all other Revelations of this nature And thus we have seen how far we are capable of conceiving a Trinity and what the Scriptures expresly oblige us to believe concerning this Point All that is beyond lies far out of our Reach and Comprehension and no particular Explications can add any thing to our Faith for the Terms made use of for that End being in use before this Doctrine was taught must either signifie the same they did before or not If the same where 's the Mystery If not what do they signifie Something that we cannot explain but in Words used already and then the Question will return again The same Difficulty would attend new Terms invented on purpose for either they would have no meaning at all affixed to them or else they would be understood in the sense of some other in use before And therefore had the very same Terms and Forms of Expression been found in the Scriptures as are now in our Creeds the Revelation of the Trinity had been no plainer nor we obliged to believe any farther than the present Language does import For upon a fair and distinct Examination both of Scripture and Reason it plainly appears that what 's already revealed amounts to as much as we are capable of conceiving and does besides imply something more which we can not comprehend and 't is not in the Power of Language to make us understand any thing better For 't is utterly impossible to frame any Notions above our own Level And should God be pleased to stamp some new Idea's upon the Minds of Men they could not be conveyed to others by the help of Words or any other Signs but only by the same Divine Impressions so that whatever Idea's the Apostles and Inspired Writers might have of a Trinity by immediate Infusion the Terms they have made use of can give us but this imperfect Discovery of them that they were such as we are not able to comprehend without the like Assistance This then is the utmost we are required to believe or are capable of believing concerning the Doctrine of the Trinity viz. That these Three different Terms Father Son and Holy Ghost are all applied in Scripture to the One only supreme God That all the Actions Offices and Relations which are in Scripture ascribed to any of these Names excepting those proper to the Humane Nature of Christ are there plainly attributed and do truly belong to one and the same Divine Nature That there are such frequent and evident Assertions of the Vnity of God in Scripture and yet such plain Expressions of distinction signified by these Terms Father Son and Holy Ghost as imply a consistency of unity and distinction in the Godhead That this Distinction whatever it be is not the same with that we conceive betwixt the Attributes of God which are partial Conceptions of his Essence nor a meer difference of Name Office or Relation such as is signified by the like Terms when applied to Men tho' these are all the Differences we can expresly conceive as applicable to the Divine Nature but some other