THE SECOND PART. pREFACE TO " DISSERTATIONS RELATING TO THE CHRIS- TIAN DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY." IT istot a matter of light or trivial concern to write upon the sacred article of the Trinity. Many of the glories of our holy religion are derived from it, and so much of this doctrine as is necessary to the safety of our souls, is revealed with bright evidence in theword of God. The various andparti- cular modes of explaining it can byno means be esteemed of equal import- ance with the doctrine itself : For menof wisdom and Learning, and exem- plarypiety, have fallen into different sentiments in this attempt : And there will always be room for further enquiry, while we abide in this feeble and imperfect state. Here, in this world, we see but a glimpse of many of the' deep things of God, and they are discpvered to us but darkly as in a glass. Yet we are encouraged by a prophet ; Hosea vi. 3. to followonto know the Lord ; and are required by an apostle 2 Pet. iii. 18. to grow in grace, andis the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Adiligent christianwould seek daily to arrive at some clearer ideas of the great God, whom he adores, and the Redeemer, with whom he has entrusted all his immortal concerns ; especially, whenwe have just reason to believe, that there is much sacred truth which lies yet concealed in the mines of scripture, in the search whereof we may happily employ our labour and meditation : and since we have also ground to hope for the promised assistance of the blessed Spirit of God, who is appointed to guide his people into all truth, and to glorify our Saviour, by taking of the things of Christ, and manifesting them to us ; John xvi. 14. And as we are encouraged by scripture to seeka- 'further acquaintance -with the mysteries of the gospel, so we are sometimes constrained to it by the importunate objections of our opponents. There are, and have been, many writers, who will notallow it to be possible in any manner whatsoever, that true godhead should belong to each of the blessedThree. It seems pro- per therefore, tor some persons to endeavour to make it appear, that there is a possibility in the reason-and nature of things, for true and eternal deity to be attributed to the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit, without danger of those absurditiesand inconsistencies which are pretended to arise thence. And though the modus, or peculiar manner of explaining this 'difficulty, be not necessary for every christian to understand in order to hisown salvation; yet the providence of God may sometimes make it necessaryfor those who are set for the defenceof the faith, to explain and vindicate this great point, as far as the holy scripture furnishesus with any traces of divine light, and the powers of reason, under the conduct of scripture, can afford us any assist- ance. And to encourage our search we may reasonably hope;_ there are several things in thegospel which are not surrounded with snclrjmpenetrable shades and darkness, as thewritingsofmen have sometimesrepréaented them. When I wrote that little treatise, intitled, the Christian Doctrineof the Trinity, my design then was, only to give a plain and general account of what representations the scripture made. of the sacred Three. And as my chief purpose in that'book was to exhibit this doctrine to private christians in an easy view ; so I declared in the title, that I had endeavoured to do, this without the aid or incumbrance of any of those human schemes of explica- tion, which had been contrived to solve the difficulties attending that-doctrine. Yet it was no part of my intent utterly to renounce and abandon all those schemes, and methods of explication, which pious and learned amen had already given us, or which might hereafter befound outdo relieve these ditti-
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