DISSERTATION V. 851 and that he is sent by theSon." But the scripture never says, that the Spirit, as to his nature, proceeds from the Son ; no, nor properly from the Father, as to hisnature, though his missionis originally from the Father ; and, perhaps, it is in this sense that he is described in scripture as proceeding from the Father, because he is the divine efficient power of the Father, which is employed in all divine operations. The notion of the Spirit's procession, or derivation, as to his essence' and personality both from the Father and the Son, how current soever it has been, is not a plain and express scrip- tural doctrine, hut a human inference drawn from this doubtful argument, viz. " That if the Spirit be sent by the Son as to his commission in the economy, he must proceed front the Sonas to his nature, existence, or personality." But this, argument, if thoroughly examined, has no great force in it. The Greek churches were not influenced by it, for in elder and later days they havesupposed the Spirit to proceed from theFather only, though they confess he is sent by the Son as well as by the Father ; and this seems to comenearer to the plain and express language of scripture. The common explication of the eternal generation of the Son, and eternal procession of the Spirit from the Father and Son, which was authorized in the latin churches,was derived down to us from the popish schoolmen ; though it is now become a part of the established, or orthodox faith, in most of the protestant nations; because at the reformation they knew no better way to explain the doctrine of the sacredTrinity. They contented them- selves to say, it was incomprehensible, and thus forbid all further enquiries. But this scholastic, popish explication, of the manner of the derivation of the Son and Spirit from the Father is, per- haps, the most inconceivable, and indefensible part of all the common scheme ofthe Trinity which is called orthodox. I hearti- ly agree to several other parta of it, viz. "That God is one infinite and eternal spirit, or conscious being. That the divine essence is but one and the same, though distinguished into three sacred persons. That the Word and the Spirit are so distinct from the father and from each other in the godhead, as to lay a' just foundation for them to be represented as three persons." But their account of the generation and the' procession, that is, of the manner of thederivation of the Word and Spirit from the Father, seems to me, at present,to be a set of words of which I can attain no ideas, invented by subtle and metaphysical school- men to guard and fence, as far as possible, against the charge of inconsistency, and was never designed to convey a clear concep- tion to the mind of christians. Let us take a short survey what this scholastic notion is. The most approved writers represent it thus; that the ge-
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