INTRODUCTION. 115 III. 'There is, and there can be, but one trueGod, but one such God as agrees with the foregoing description. IV. Since there can be but one God, the peculiar, divine and distinguishing characters of godhead cannot belong to any other being. V. And God himself is so jealous of his own honour, and so concerned to maintain the dignity of his godhead, as never to suffer these peculiar distinguishing characters to be ascribed to any other besides himself. VI. He is also so kind and faithful to his creatures, as to tell them what are these peculiar and distinguishing characters Of godhead, that they may not run into this mistake and guilt of ascribingthem to any other. VII. 'I'he peculiar and distinguishing characters of godhead, are those names, titles, attributes, works and worship which God has assumed to himselfin his word, exclusive of any other being ; and has either asserted them expressly to belongonly to himself, or left it sufficiently evident in his word, that they belong to him alone. VIII. Yet these very names, titles, attributes, works and worship, which are peculiar to God, and incommunicable to another, are ascribed to three, by God himself, in his word ; which three are distinguished by the names of Father, Son, and Spirit. IX. There are also some other circumstantial but convine.. ing evidences, that the Son and the Spirit have the trueand pro- per godhead ascribed to them as well as the Father. X. Thence it necessarily follows, that these three, viz. the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, have such an intimate and real communion in that one godhead, as is sufficient to justify the ascription of those peculiar and distinguishing divine cha- racters to them. XI. Since there is, and can be, but one true God, these three, who have such a communion in godhead, may properly be called the one God, or, the only true God. XII. Thougl'i the Father, Son, and Spirit are but one true God, yet there are such distinct properties, actions, characters and circumstances ascribed to these three, as itre usually ascribed to three distinct persons among men. XIII. Therefore it has been the custom of the christian . church, in almost all ages, to use the word person, in order to describe these three distinctions of Father, Son and Spirit, and to call them three distinct persons. XIV. Though the sacred three are evidently and plainly discovered in scripture to be one and the sane God, and three distinct personal agents or persons ; yet the scripture bath not in plain-and evident language 2 explained, and precisely
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