much oâ— what they have no Idea of it must always end in darkness and confusion That part of a Christian Mystery which is intelligible and plain was ever so and that part which is mysterious notwithstanding all their vain endeavours will ever be so till we coâ—â— to another World Therefore our way to deal with these men is to fix the right sence and meaning of those Propositions wherein the Mysteries of the Gospel are reveal'd to us and then to insist upon the Proofs we have for the truth of the Revelation and shew that they are such as ought to convince any reasonable unprejudic'd man insomuch that if they do not give their assent to them they shall be without excuse when they come to be try'd for their Infidelity Thus we shou'd turn the course of our Thoughts into a right Chanel and confound all these Enemies of our excellent Religion For by freely owning as becomes us that we have no notion at all of these mysterious things as they are in themselves we cut off a multitude of frivolous and impertinent Objections And shew these men that our Christian Faith however is no lazy credulity or blind implicite assent since it is built upon a better foundation than is possible for any man to lay without the concurrence of the Almighty Power of God insomuch that we are ready to join issue with them upon the Principles of Reason in every point of our Christian Faith as far as the things reveal'd fall within the compass of it And therefore were I to give a reason of my belief of the TRINITY laying aside all affectation of hard words and abstruse Metaphysical Notions I wou'd do it thus I am fully perswaded of the necessity of Revelation in general in order to all the purposes of Vertue and Piety in this life and I am convinc'd that those Revelations of the things of another World which are made in the Gospel have better proofs of their Divinity than any other whatsoever They have such testimonies of their coming from God from Prophecies and Miracles and the agreeableness of the Doctrines therein contain'd to our common Notions that if I use my Reason with the same impartiality in these that I do in other things I must give my assent to them In those writings I find this Proposition There are Three that bear Record in Heaven the Father the Word and the Holy Ghost and these Three are one From whence and from many other passages in the Scriptures I find that there is a Distinction made in the Godhead under these three names of Father Son and Holy-Ghost which the Church hath exprest altogether by the word Trinity and singly by the word Person And I think these terms proper enough to express all that we know of this Mystery Now I find no account of the Manner and Nature of this Distinction in the holy Scriptures any otherwise than that the Son was begotten and that the Holy Ghost comes from the Father and the Son I conclude there is something more than a meer Nominal Distinction because we are said to be Baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy-Ghost Which must needs import something more than if that Commission had run thus Go Baptize all Nations in the name of Jehovah and of Elohim and of Adonai And if there were not something more intended than barely that they shou'd do it in the name of God this were a needless tautology Again I conclude that they are not three distinct different Spirits for then there must be three Gods contrary to Reason and Scripture From all which I infer there is in the Godhead something more than a meer nominal Distinction and something less than that of three different Spirits And because I find each Person seperatly as well as jointly mention'd as God and Divine Worship allow'd and paid to them Therefore as that excellent Creed expresseth it I worship the Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity neither confounding the Persons nor dividing the Substance Now at the same time I make this profession of my Faith I allow I have not the least knowledg how strict this Union is nor how great the Distinction It is as much beyond my Reason as the Glory of God is beyond my Sight and any man who strives to conceive it himself or takes pains to explain it to others is guilty of such a folly that I can't think of any action in nature extravagant enough to match it If we saw a Man stretching up his hand with a great deal of Vehemence to pull down a Star we shou'd certainly conclude him distracted because 't is utterly impossible for him to reach it or grasp it if he cou'd 'T is the very case of those men who go about to account for the manner of that Unity and Distinction for which they have neither Words nor Idea's And therefore I say it again in opposition to this Insolent Man that I thus adore what I cannot comprehend This is one of those Mysteries reveal'd in the Gospel and it is never the less a Mystery for any thing he hath yet said or ever will say for the Union is inexplicable and will be so to the end of the World However my assent to this is not precarious and implicite or any easie blind Credulity but is â—ounded upon clear and distinct Idea's For there are three things to be done by every reasonable thinking man concerning any Proposition wherein a Mystery is reveal'd 1. To be sure that he understand well the meaning of the Words 2. That he discern no Contradiction in them 3. That he hath sufficient evidence of the Revelations coming from God 1. As to the first of these in respect of the Mystery I am now upon I understand very well the meaning of the Words wherein it is reveal'd and they themselves who oppose this Doctrine understand them as well as I for if they did not know what was meant by the Words they wou'd never set themselves to argue against it for there is no other way of conâ—uting Nonsence but saying it is such So that thus far if it prove to be true these Propositions wherein the Trinity is reveal'd will hold good against them at the day of Judgment and render them without Excuse 2. As to the second thing I see no Contradiction in it and if there were I would utterly reject it For to say that Three are One is so far from being a contradiction that there is nothing more common in ordinary discourse than for any one to say that Three or any other greater number of things are but one and if every man who spoke such seeming contradictions were catch't up immediately and forc'd to explain himself upon all such occasions it wou'd make conversation very troublesome As if one shou'd say that there are three distinct things in a Man a Body the Animal Spirits and an Immaterial Substance and yet
therefore Authority consider'd in the Revealer is the only grounds of my assent to the substance of this Proposition But to make this plainer we must consider that all natural Truths which do not necessarily require Revelation need no other ground of perswasion but Evidence but those which do have both these grounds of perswasion Evidence and Authority as will appear if we distinguish the three things in every relation 1. The meaning of the words 2. The relation it self or the very act of revelation 3. The substance of the thing intended by the Revelation As to the meaning of the words and truth of the revelation in any proposition Evidence is the ground of perswasion for why do I believe this Proposition When Christ appears we shall be like him Because I know the meaning of the words and because there is an evidence in my Mind of its coming from God from those proofs to my Senses and Reason which argue the Divine Mission of the Person who relates it and consequently the Divinity of the relation it self But as to the Substance of that Proposition Authority is the only ground of Perswasion as indeed it is in all relations whatsoever And therefore 't is now plain how Divine and Human Authority differ as well in degrees of Perspicuity as of Certitude And why because when a meer man relates any thing to me thô I allow the veracity of the man yet it is impossible for him to give such proof to my Sences and my Reason of the reality and substance of what he relates as God can And therefore can't raise so great a degree of Evidence in my Mind Though I suppose this mans relation to be true so that this relation of his and one of God's shall be upon equal Terms as to certitude being both alike true yet this assent of mine to what the man relates is more precarious and worse founded than my faith of any divine proposition because this is more clear and distinct as having a degree of Evidence in the mind which the other wants I shall make this plain by an instance A man tells me that Rome is swallow'd up by an Earthquake I have such an opinion of the veracity of the Man that I give my assent to it and believe it firmly Let us suppose afterwards that God reveals this same to me As yet there is the same degree of perspicuity allowing the ability and veracity of the man for then both God and he tell truth in this But if God confirm the relation by a Miracle this shall raise an Evidence or degree of knowledge in my Mind beyond any thing the man is able to effect and consequently the revelation of the same thing from God makes it clearer and gives it a greater degree of perspicuity than it had before But it will be yet more clear That Authority is a ground of Perswasion if we consider that all Evidence in the Mind proceeds from Evidence in the Thing Now all Truths in themselves are equally evident but in respect of us they are not so for some we are capable of knowing distinctly and some we are not because they are not suited to our present capacities In respect of those divine truths or of that part of them which is suited to our present capacities Evidence is the ground of perswasion but in respect of that part of it which is not suited to our Capacities as we have seen Authority is And thus we see how we may give our assent to many propositions for the substance of which we have no Evidence in the mind Why then says he a man shall believe what he doth not know and that is giving his assent to nothing But this is a quibble and to remove it effectually let us take up the same propositions again The three angles of a Triangle are equal to two right ones 'T is plain a man who knows what a Triangle is and what it is for one Angle to be equal to another may give his assent to this proposition though perhaps it may be utterly impossible ever to beat the demonstration into his head And though he doth not comprehend it yet he can't be said to be ignorant of it And the only ground of his assent is the Authority of some person who is able to demonstrate it And thus it is with a divine proposition When Christ appears we shall be like him Any one who knows what it is for a body to be rais'd and for one thing to be like another may give his assent to this proposition though it be impossible for him to know wherein this likeness will consist or to demonstrate that it will certainly be so And therefore the Authority of God is the only grounds of perswasion in this proposition and no Evidence is necessary any farther than to understand the meaning of the words and the truth of the revelation it self So groundless is that main principle of his that a man can give his assent to nothing but what he comprehends whereas the contrary is as clear as the light from what hath been said But farther from this supposition of his that Authority is only a means of Information and Evidence the only ground of Perswasion these two absurdities will directly follow 1. That a man can never be deceived in any thing for if Evidence in the Mind be the only ground of Perwasion a man can never give his assent but where there is this Evidence for if there be but one only cause the effect can never proceed but from that cause and what is evident i e what is truly known can never deceive He hath no way of evading this but by saying that the cause of error is the giving assent where there is none or not sufficient Evidence in the Mind which destroys every thing he says upon this head for this supposes that there may be some other cause of assent besides Evidence But if we suppose Evidence to be the only cause of assent then it must vary in degrees together with it's cause so that a clear Evidence shall have a firm assent and the least degree of Evidence shall have but the least degree of assent so that still a man can never be deceiv'd in any thing or in any degree And for him to say that we may think we have this Evidence when we have it not is still supposing that there is some other ground of assent Nay worse 't is supposing that a thing may be Evident to us and not Evident at the same time 2. It will follow that no Person either God or Man can be believ'd on their word For what they relate is evident to the Mind or it is not If it be then they give their assent to that Evidence and not to the Person who relates it If it be not evident i e according to him if he doth not know it perfectly he must utterly reject it And thus in a few words he destroys
these three are but one and he shou'd be forc'd to explain himself and say that his meaning is not that three men are one man or that one man is three men They who cry there is a Contradiction in this Mystery seem to me neither to know what a Contradiction is nor what is the Christian Faith concerning the Trinity For we don't believe that the Divinity is One Three in the same sence then indeed it wou'd be a contradiction But we affirm the quite contrary viz. that the Godhead is One Three in different respects So that all this noise of Contradiction vanishes and the whole force of the Objection amounts to no more than this viz. That we are not able to conceive in what respect he is one and in what respect he is three and therefore because we have no clear and distinct Idea of this we must utterly reject it I grant we are not able to account for this and it is this that makes it a Mystery and if I cou'd clearly solve the manner of this Union and Distinction it wou'd â—â—aâ—e to be such Thus much of it is purely the Object of my Faith and the Authority of God is the only ground of my assent to this part of it But then 3. I have sufficient proof of this Revelation's coming from God I have for This all the proof that I have for the Truth of the Scriptures and the Divine Mission of the Persons who wrote them so that I must either reject all reveal'd Religion or allow This to be an Article of my Faith But perhaps this man will Object that thô he shou'd grant it to be an Article of Faith yet it is so no farther than we can comprehend it But I have already made it out at the begining that both what we do and what we cannot know are both in gross call'd the same Mystery and that my assent to what I do not apprehend is founded upon the Authority of God but my assent to what I do apprehend is founded upon Evidence The first assent is properly Faith the last is Knowledge And so likewise if I were to give an account of my belief of the DIVINITY OF THE SON it shou'd be thus I am convinc'd by the Completion of Prophecies the Miracles he wrought and the agreablness of his Doctrine to the natural sentiments of our Minds that whatever Jesus Christ was He came from God I find him in many places assuming to himself the Name and Titles and Worship of God In discoursing with the Jews he useth this form of Speech Before Abraham was I AM on purpose to signify to them that he was that very Divine Being which was reveal'd to Moses under that Name And sometime after he tells them that as he was the Son of God so He and the Father were one That the Jews understood him in this sence I am sure because they took up Stones at each of these sayings to stone him as a Blasphemer because he made himself equal with God If these expressions were not to be understood in the sence they took them he wou'd certainly have undeceived them and have made it known that he was not God in the sence they understood him but that he was only a God by Deputation according to the wild notion of the Socinians But he â—poke the Truth and the Jews understood him right That he was eternal God equal with the Father the very same God who was signify'd by that sacred name I AM. And he hath never undeceiv'd either them or us to this day but instead thereof hath us'd many expressions to countenance and encourage this notion of him and therefore if I act like a reasonable man I am under a necessity either of giving my assent to this or of utterly rejecting him as an Impostor Now had he been and Impostor God who shew'd himself always very jealous of his Honour wou'd never have confirm'd this Doctrine of his with such repeated Testimonies If we suppose him to be only a Messenger come from God and a meer Man who spoke only by his Spirit and Commission he wou'd never have us'd such expressions as must naturally be misunderstood and lead thousands into the gross sin of Idolatry which of all others is the most detestable to God Moses was never suffer'd to enter into the Land of Canaan for a much less suspicious expression and in the heat of passion too Must we bring water out of the Rock which was a vainglorious insinuation that they wrought that Miracle by their own immediate power and proper efficacy This comes much short of these expressions of our Saviour's destroy this Temple and in three days I will raise it again I have power to lay down my liâ—e and I have power to take it up And before Abraham was I am And indeed that passage concerning Moses seems to have been upon Record by the special providence of God for this very purpose that it might be a good argument of conviction to the Jews of the Divinity of the Son since this inference was very natural and obvious from it viz. If God was so incens'd with Moses for making use of one expression which seem'd to encroach upon his Prerogative then how far wou'd he have been from giving testimony of much more frequent and greater Miracles to a Person who by many plainer expressions assum'd to himself the full power and perfection of the Godhead if he were not really what he gave himself out to be For this reason I say because I can't reject him as an Impostor therefore I believe this Proposition and confess the blessed Jesus the Son of God to be Eternal God equal with the Father Now thus far I proceed in this Mystery upon the strictest rules of Reason and Evidence and my Faith of this Proposition is founded upon clear and distinct Idea's for I know clearly who I mean by Jesus Christ i. e. that Person who was born of the Virgin Mary and Crucified under Pontius Pilate I have a clear and distinct Idea of what it is for one thing to be equal to another and I apprehend very well what is signify'd by the name of God here i. e. that Divine Being whose necessary Existence I infer from that clear knowledg I have of his Creatures And of whose Nature thô I have not the least notion as it is in it self yet I form the best Idea of him I can by enlarging all the Perfections that are discernable in the Creatures And I have a clear and distinct Idea of what it is for one Person to be the Son of another Thus I understand the meaning of the words nor is there any thing in them contradictory to my reason And lastly I have clear and distinct Idea's of those miraculous proofs to the senses of men and of those completions of Prophecies and the excellency of that Doctrine they confirm the agreableness of it to the common notions of Men and it 's natural