PREFACE, 273 discòurage'me from the sincerepursuitof truth, nor provoke me to lay aside the exercise of christian candour and charity. I think the doctrine of the proper deity of the Son and Spirit is supported by some convincing arguments drawn from the word of God, though the manner of explication is attended with much difficulty. Surely those who havewell known the Arian and Socinian controversies, and have given them- selves leave to be acquainted with the force of argument on all sides, must acknowledge that it would be an invaluable happiness to the christian world, if any hypothesis of explaining the Trinity were current among us, which mighthave clear and distinct ideas affixed to it, that we might not be perpe- tually running to this refuge, " it is all mysterious and inconceivable, and thereforewe must not search into it." I should be very glad, if a man might be permitted to imitate the blessed work of angels I Pet. i. 12. and might desire tolooli into the glorious things of Christ, without being suspected of a profane curiosity, or a violation of the faith. It is myopinion, that a fair, easy and intelligible scheme of the Trinitarian doctrine, agreeable to holy scripture, would be the noblest and the securest guard against the Arian and Socinian errors, for then there would be no pretence to deny it. A late anonymous writer on the " Doctrine of the Trinity" assures us, that " there is a number of men who are prejudiced against, and do reject this weighty article, and many reject christianity in general on its account, because they are persuaded it is expressly impossible, or contradictory, and inconsistent with reason. Many men labour under so strong a prepossession that this mystery is impossible, that till they be cured of this prejudice, by a sensible demonstration of the possibility of that abstruse doctrine, in some sense manifestly consistent with reason as well as scripture, no other argu- ments can have any effectwith them, or be duly weighed by then:." This is one reason why I, ventured into these enquiries: and if this great article could be well adjusted and represented in such distinct ideasas would removeat appearance of inconsistency, it would also better support protes- tant writers in their triiimph over the inconsistent doctrines of popery, and particularly that of transubstantiation, without any fear of a retortion of the same charge uponourselves. I know the papists retort this charge without reason or justice ; but it must he confessed also, that it would be a happiness if we could cut off all shadows or pretences of occasion from those who seek this occasion against us. Far be it from me to boast, that I have exhibited 'sucha hypothesis here! I know there are some difficultieswhich attend my explication of things. All that I can say is, that I have made a humble essay toward it, and bow far I havesucceeded herein, must be left to the impartial judgment of those who will take the pains to read it, and honestly compare it with the word of God. As for the conviction, or silencing of all manner of opponents, I make no pretence to it. It is avery justobservation of the learned Doctor Waterland, in his preface to his sermons on the Deity of Christ,, " that in such sublime subjects as these, and in such controversies as depend on the interpretations of dead writings, the objectorhas much theeasier part, as itis always easier to puzzle than to clear any thing ; to darken and perplex than to set things in a good light; and to start difficulties than to solve them." Yet that I may not leave these dissertations utterly defenceless, I would attempt, in this place, to obviate a few exceptions that may be raised, though the reasons and of them cannot be well understood till the discourses them- selves have been perused. Objection I. Perhaps it may he charged upon me, that I have not, in These dissertations, exactly confined myself, in every punctilio, to the sanie sentiments, which I had published seine years aso, with relation to the Doc- trine of the Trinity: And particùlarly, that though I continue to maintain the supreme deity of the Sou and Spirit, yet, that! have expressed the doe- VOL. QI. S
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