PROPOSITION XV. 187 1 :whatsoever lies hidden deep in the sacred mines of the word of God, and must be digged thence with much learning and study, much toil and labour of reasoning, and can be drawn out only by long chains of laborious argument, these things can never be de- signed of God for the fundamental articles of our religion, nor ought they to be esteemed or imposed as such by weak and fal- lible men. 2. A second reason I have to persuade me, that no parti- cular explication of the Trinity, and the " modus" of it is necessary and fundamental, is this ; that there have been many, and very different explications of this doctrine embraced by some persons of most exemplary piety Such persons as have most firmly believed the general doctrine itself, and such, concerning whom I could even venture to say, May my soul be where theirs is in the other world! Some have asserted one substance, one conscious mind, inconceivably and necessarily distinguished into three personal agents. Others have supposed, three distinct sub- stances or minds, and yet all intimately, and essentially, and necessarily united in one godhead. Some have maintained the son-ship of Christ, andprocession of the Spirit, to be essentially and eternal necessary to the divine nature. Others would ac- count for the generation, and procession, and every thing that looks like derivation, some other way, rather than let it belong to godhead. And yet the writings and conversation of all of them, have been famous for a savour of piety ; they have all paid divine honours to Father, Son and Spirit, and lived and died to -the glory of God their Saviour : Some of them were certainly mistaken on earth, in their particular explication of this mystery, because they differed so widely ; and they were taken to heaven before they could agree in this point of controversy thence it plainly follows, that an agreement and certainty in this point is not necessary in our way to heaven. 3. Another argument I would use to prove, that the parti- cular explications of this doctrine of the Trinity, cannot be ne- cessary to salvation, is this, that the duties which we are obliged to pay to the Father, Son and Spirit, in order to our own sal- vation, do not depend upon any particular modes of explica- tion, in what manner they are one, and in what manner they are three; but upon their divine all-sufficiency to fulfil and sustain their several offices and characters, that are at- tributed to them in the word of God. But this I shall enlarge upon more in some followingprepositions. I shall conclude this head, with calling in the testimony of some authors to support this proposition, whose zeal for the sacred doctrine of the Tri- nity, can never be called in question. The first, is the reverend, learned and pious Doctor Owen, to whose name and memory I pay as great a veneration as to most of the writers of the last age. in his little Treatise of the
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