I72 THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY'. because of the inability of our reason, to comprehend what is revealed. We are not willing to see these truths, because diffi- culty and mystery attend them ; and it is exceeding natural and easy to wink a little, when we are not willing to see. Now if these secret prejudices are indulged, if we will not ,submit to receive these sacred truths, merelybecause we cannot comprehend and reconcile them, we have some ground to sus- pect ourselves guilty of that inward pride, and obstinacy of mind, which is highly criminal in the sight of God. And whe- ther the great God will not terribly resent in the other world, these faulty prejudices, this haughtiness of the mind, this un- belief of truths so plainly revealed, is a thought that should make us tremble, and render us exceeding cautious, and meek and humble in all our conduct about these important doctrines of religion. I must confess for myself with honest freedom, that in my diligent search after truth in the bible, I would have been glad to have taken up with some ideas of the Trinity, that might have been less subject to the cavils of human reason, and more easily comprehended and reconciled, if the plain and obvious sense of scripture in a multitude of places, had not constrained my faith to submit to divine revelation, and to acquiesce in this great truth, that " Father, Son, and Spirit, are three persons, and yet but one God." I might here add another reason also, why we ought to be, lieve, that these three persons have some real and intimate com- munion in the godhead, via. because the characters and offices they sustain in the matter of our salvation, and the duties which we owe them, do in my judgment require the perfections of a God, that they may be fit to fulfil those offices, and to receive the homage of those duties. There appears to be a necessity of omnipotence and omniscience, and of other divine attributes, to execute thoseglorious works, whichare assigned to the Son, and the holy Spirit, in the word of God, as well as those which are ascribed to the Father. Nor do I know how we can justly pay them honours answerable to these characters, if we believe them to he.mere creatures. PRop. XVILAnd wheresoever we meet with any Thing in Scripture, that is incommunicably divine, ascribed to either of, these Three Y,ersons, we may venture to take it in the plain and obvious Sensé of the Words, since we believe the true and eternal Godhead to belong to then all. It has been hinted before, that there is a great deal of rea- son to suppose, that the Arians and the,Sociniaus, and all others who deny' the proper godhead of the Son and Spirit, are guilty of agross mistake, because there are so Imlay places of scrip-
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