it is expressly faid of him, by Elibu: "The Spirit of God hath made me; "and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life." From the whole it appears, That as there was a plurality concerned in the formation of man, this plurality was neither more, nor fewer than three; which are the Father, the Word, and the Spirit; and which three are but one God: for "have we not "all one Father? hath not one God created us1?"

3dly, In the account which is given Ifa. lxiii. 7, 9, 10, 11, 14. of the people of Ifrael's deliverance out of Egypt, and of their protection and guidance through the wilderness, is a clear testimony of a Trinity of Perfons in the Deity; where there are three diftinctly mentioned, and to them distinct perfonal characters and actions are afcribed. There is, first, the Lord, Jehovah the Father, whofe mercies and loving kindneffes towards the house of Ifrael, are taken notice of in ver. 7. and they are faid to be his people, and he to be their Saviour, in ver. 8. And befides him, there is mention made in ver. 9. of the angel of his prefence, as diftinct from him; and who alfo fhewed to the people of Ifrael, great love, pity, and compaffion; and in confequence of it, faved them, and redeemed them, and bore them, and carried them all the days of old; all which cannot be faid of a created angel: nor are they applicable to mere names and characters. And then the holy Spirit is introduced, not as a mere name or character, but as a diftinct divine Perfon, in ver. 10, 11, 14. against whom the Ifraelites rebelled, and whom they vexed; infomuch that he turned to be their enemy, and fought against them: and yet, though they thus provoked him, he led them on, and caufed them to reft, to make himself a glorious name.

4thly, This truth may receive fome further confirmation, from the confideration of the covenant of grace; in which, all the three persons are manifestly concerned. The Father made the covenant; the Son is become the Surety, Mediator, and Meffenger of it; and the Spirit of God ftands by, as a witness to it and to see all the articles agreed upon between the Father and the Son, performed on each fide. The Father's part in this covenant, was to fill it with all spiritual bleffings and suitable promises; the Son's part was to receive them all, in the name, and on the behalf of all the elect; and the Spirit's part is to apply all, in time, to the promised feed. You have them all distinctly mentioned in Hag. ii. 4, 5. where the Lord, by the prophet, exhorts Zerub-. babel, and Joshua, the high priest, and all the people of the land, to be strong, and work, in rebuilding the temple; and for their encouragement, adds: "For "I am with you, faith the Lord of Hofts, Cum Verbo, quo pepigeram vobiscum, with the Word, in whom I covenanted with you, (as Junius reads the text) "when

"when ye came out of Egypt; fo my Spirit remaineth among you: Fear ye "not." Where it may be obferved, That here is Jehovah, the Lord of Hofts, the first Person who promifes to be with them, together with the Word, the second Perfon, in whom he covenanted with them, when they came out of Egypt; at which time God was pleafed more largely than heretofore, to reveal the covenant of his grace, which he had made with his Word, from everlafting and then here is the Spirit of God, the third Perfon, who was remaining, ny standing, continuing, and abiding among them, to fee that there was a performance, and to make an application of all that Jehovah, and his Word had covenanted about, and had agreed unto.

But before I proceed further, I fhall briefly confider the notions of a late writer"; concerning the covenant, who seems to be aware, that the common notion of the covenant of grace, as an agreement, or compact by ftipulation, between two, at least, will furnish out an argument for a diftinction of Perfons in the Godhead; which he is not willing to allow of. I overlook his mistake in calling that a covenant of peace, in Zech. vi. 13. which is only a council of peace, and has no reference to any eternal tranfaction between God and the Lamb; the tranfaction being paft in eternity: and this, whatever is meant by it, was future, was to come, when the prophecy was given forth. The text does not say, the council of peace was, but shall be between them both. It is true indeed, there was an eternal transaction between God and Chrift, which may be called a council of peace; because it was concerning the peace and reconciliation of God's elect: and it is, perhaps, in allufion to this text, that it is fo called by divines: but the thing itself is not intended in it, but fomething else, namely, that peace which should be between Jew and Gentile, as the confequence of peace made by the blood of Christ, and of his preaching it to them both, by his apostles. But to proceed: This author tells us, That by the covenant, "we are not to understand a striking of hands, as fome men "boldly speak, as though the Father propofed conditions to the Word, which "he complied with on the behalf of finners." As to the phrase of striking of hands, it is used among men to exprefs a mutual agreement; and fo it is used in scripture, Job xvii. 3. Prov. vi. 1. and xxii. 26. And when it has been ufed by divines, with refpect to the covenant, and the concern of Chrift in it, they only defign by it to exprefs the furetyfhip-engagements of Chrift, and the mutual agreement between the Father and him, refpecting the elect. And this figurative expreffion need not be accounted a bold one, fince the act fignified by it, was performed by one who thought it no robbery to be equal with God. Moreover, the Father did propofe conditions to the Word, or things

The great concern of Jew and Gentile, &c. p. 30, 32, 33.

;

things upon condition to him. For inftance, upon condition of his making "his foul an offering for fin ";" he proposed to him, that he should "fee his feed, prolong his days, and that the pleasure of the Lord fhould profper " in his hand," that he should "fee of the travail of his foul, and be fatisfied, and by his knowledge justify many." He propofed to him a great reward, and promised to "divide him a portion with the great, and the spoil "with the ftrong," on condition of his "pouring out his foul unto death being numbered with the tranfgreffors, and bearing the fin of many; and making interceffion for tranfgreffors." And with all this, the Word, or Son of God, complied, and faid: "Lo, I come in the volume of the book "it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is "within my heart." This author goes on, in order to remove the notion of agreement by ftipulation from the covenant, to tell us, That the word covenant is used to fignify a promise; and for the proof of this, cites Gal. iii. 15-17. Now granting this, that the covenant of grace is a promise of eternal life to God's elect; it should be observed, that this promife was made before the world began; and so could not be made to the elect, as perfonally existing; but must be made to Chrift, with refpect to them, into whofe hands it was certainly put: hence we read of "the promise of life, which is in Chrift "Jefus P." So that the argument for a distinction of Perfons, is as strong, when taken from a promise, as from the covenant. For if the Father made a promise to the Word, the Word, to whom this promife is made, must be distinct from him, by whom it is made. And after all, this author is obliged to acknowledge, that the fure and everlasting covenant is made of our God "with his Christ, and in him, and with refpect to him, with his people;" which is the fubftance of what found divines fay concerning the covenant.

5thly, The doctrine of a Trinity of Persons in the Godhead, may be learnt from the oeconomy of man's falvation, in which the Father, the Word, and the Spirit are concerned, and take, by agreement, their diftinct

parts. Thus we find in fcripture, that election is, in a more peculiar manner, ascribed to the Father, redemption to the Son, and fanctification to the Spirit. And we meet with them all in one verfe": "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the "Father, through the fanctification of the Spirit unto obedience, and sprinkling of the blood of Jefus Chrift." But no where are those acts of divine grace more diftinctly afcribed to each Perfon, than in the first chapter of the epistle to the Ephefians; where, in ver. 3, 4, 5, 6. the God and Father of Christ, is faid to bless his people with all spiritual bleffings in him; to choose

them

Ifa. Tiii. 10-12,

• Pfalm xl. 7, 8.

P 2 Tim. i. 1.

1 1 Pet. i. 2.

them in him before the foundation of the world; and to predeftinate them unto the adoption of childrem by him; and to make them accepted in the beloved. After which, in ver. 7. Jesus Christ is spoken of as the author of redemption, in whom the faints have the remiffion of fin, and a justifying righteousness, whereby they come to have a right to the glorious inheritance, ver. 11. and then in ver. 13, 14. the holy Spirit is mentioned with a distinction from the Father, and from Chrift, as the earneft of this inheritance, by whom believers are fealed up, until they come to the full and actual poffeffion of it.

6. The Lord Jefus Chrift was fent in the fulness of time, to work out the falvation of his people; and the account which is given of his mission, to this work, in Ifa. xlviii. 16. "And now the Lord God and his Spirit hath sent "me," is a clear proof of three diftinct Persons in the Deity. The only difficulty in determining the sense of these words, lies in fixing the person who is faid to be fent by the Lord and his Spirit. And, that a divine person, and not the prophet Ifaiah, as fome think, is here intended, will appear from the context. He that speaks here, and says, "I have not spoken in fecret from the beginning, from the time that it was, there am I; and now the Lord God "and his Spirit hath fent me;" is no other than he, who in ver. 12, 13, fays of himself, "I am he, I am the first, I also am the laft. Mine hand alfo hath "laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the hea"vens." And this fame perfon is continued fpeaking, in ver. 14, 15. unto the words under confideration. From whence it is manifeft, that it is a divine person, the mighty Jehovah, the Word of God, who is here said to be sent by his Father and the Spirit; which are not fo many names and characters of one and the fame perfon. For then the sense of the words would be: And now I, and myself, have fent myself; which is no fense at all.

7. The Son of God being fent in the fulness of time to redeem his people, was made of a woman. God was manifeft in the flesh, the divine Word was incarnate; upon which occafion all the three perfons appear; though but one of them was made flesh, and dwelt among us. Mention is made of them all three in the account of the incarnation, which was given by the angel to Mary, in Luke i. 32, 35. where we read of the Highest, that is, the Father, who is the most high God; and of the Son of the Higheft, which is the Lord Jefus Chrift, who took flesh of the virgin; and of the Holy Ghoft, or power of the Highest, to whose overshadowing influence the mysterious incarnation is owing.

8. Chrift being fent, and having united an human nature to his divine perfon, he was anointed by, and with the Holy Ghoft; whereby he was fitted and qualified for his office, as Mediator. This is prophetically expressed, in Ija.

VOL. III.

F

Ifa. lxiii. 1. "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because he hath "anointed me, &c." where it is easy to obferve three divine perfons: the Anointer is the Spirit of the Lord; the anointed is the Meffiah, the Word, the Lord Jefus Chrift: and befides thefe, here is the Lord, or Jehovah, by whofe Spirit he was anointed. Much to the fame purpofe is Ifa. xlii. 1. Under this head may be very properly reduced the unction and fealing of believers with Chrift; the account of which is given in 2 Cor. i. 21, 22. "Now "he which establisheth us, with you, in Christ, and hath anointed us in God, "who hath also fealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts." Where God the Father is confidered as the Eftablisher and Anointer; and Jefus Christ, as a diftinct Perfon, in whom the faints were established and anointed; and the Spirit as diftinct from them both, as the earnest of their future glory. 9. Chrift, the Word, being made flesh, and dwelling among men, when he was about thirty years of age was baptized of John in Jordan; at which time the Holy Ghost defcended like a dove, and lighted on him; and a voice was heard from heaven, saying, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well "pleased." Here was the Son of God fubmitting to the ordinance of bap tism; and the Father, by a voice, declaring him to be his Son; and the Spirit of God defcending on him as a dove. This has been thought fo full a proof of a Trinity of Perfons in the Godhead, that it was a common faying with the ancients: Go to Jordan, and there learn the doctrine of the Trinity. A late writer seems to intimate', that this proof is infufficient; and that it was not the Father's voice which was heard; fince our Lord has faid: " And the Father "himfelf, which has fent me, hath born witnefs of me. Ye have neither "heard 'his voice at any time, nor feen his shape." The meaning of which words I take to be this, That though the Father's fhape was never feen, nor his voice heard, under the Old Teftament-difpenfation, but only that of the Word, who was to be incarnate; yet the Father had, by a voice from heaven, born witness to the Sonship of Chrift: and therefore the Jews were the more inexcufable in not believing on him; fince the Father had in fuch a peculiar way, which he had never used before, given testimony to him. The faid author endeavours to fupport his hypothefis from a text in John xii. 28, 29. where, upon hearing a voice from heaven, fome of the people that stood by, said it thundered; others faid, that an angel spake to him. Upon which, this writer observes that he "doubted not, many amongst us, who profess "themselves Chrift's difciples, would think both those fentiments of the Jews "alike mistaken, had not our Lord himself determined it." And I must take the