180 TfE CIIRISTIAN nOC'ritiNE at THE TRINITY. PROP. `.tit1. /lhoug /a the Father, Son and Spirit are but one ( od,'rtft.themxt are such different Properties, Actions, (/a. raetcr91 and Circumstances ascribed to these 'Three, as are zsiuiail y a-atribed'to litres distinct Persons amongst Bien. 're ivake this 1woposition evident I shall do two things, First, I will attempt to prove that they have personal actions and characters ascribed to them in scripture : And then secondly, stew that- these actions require distinct persons. First, " The sacred thyse have personal actions and characters ascribed to them." That God the Father is a person all parties easily allow. The actions of creating, and governing all things, purposing ends and using means, and disposing the creatures according to the rules of his wisdom, justice and grace, are abundant evidences of his personality, and the scripture is full of them. The Son of God, even before he came into this world, did converse with the ancient patriarchs, was sent of God as the angel of his pre- sence, ttilead the Israelites in the wilderness, to encoörageJoshes as captainof Jehovah's host, and then to take flesh upon himOf the virgin Mary ; all which are personal actions. The holy Spirit did lead Israel through the desart, did inspire the pro- phets, and speak by them, did guide and influence our Lord Jesus Christ, did work miracles by the apostles, &c. And álI these are personal actions. Now lest any opposer should say, All these several actions are perfortued by óùé single person, even the great God himself, tit't'er mere different naives or appearances, and not by three distinct jersonal agents,"' I shall therefore prove. In the second place. That " actions which require distinct persons, are ascribed to the sacred three in scripture." Now those are certainly such distinct personal actions and characters, as require threedistinct personal agents, which cannot he ascribed or attributed to each other. And there are such different and distinct personal characters and actions ascribed to each of these lime plural words to be mere expressions of eminence concerning God in the iri few language, as Abraham is called a masters," and Pharoah, Lords; Gen and Ix. I. And ad the hebrewword for God is t=1' 1t Elohim, which signi. ties Gods, and is used for a false god. or an angel, as well for the true God. There arealso some Other expressions inscripture, where the Father, Son and Spirit seem as plainly to be denoted; Gen. iii. 22. "'the Lord. God said, behold the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil." And Is. vi. 8. When the Father, Son, and Spirit are represented in vision, the prophet " heard the voice of the Lord saying, whom shall I send, andwho will go for us t" That is, I as one God, and as as three persons. Since this was in the press, there has appeared a small discourse called " The Trinity of the Bible," wherein the argument arising from these hebrew plurals, nod from the name Elohim is shewn in its fullest force, and pushed to the utmost; pyd that with great probability, if the author had but answered the objections, he himself has raised 19 the margin, page 9 and 10. to the fuller satisfaction of his leaders. ..
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