362 THE ARIAN INVITED TO ORTHODOX FAITH. been richly endowed with his gifts and graces, who had obtained but very imperfect and confused ideas of his abstracted nature. He has taught the holy penmen to write down his sacred titles and offices, as an enlightener, asanctifier, and a comforter, in more plain and express language, than his sublime essence, 'and meta- physical idea or nature. And while we depend on his divine all- sufficiency for these purposes, and seek to God the Father, and his Son Christ Jesus, for the communications of his blessed Spirit, wehave a divine promise that we shall not seek in vain. " Ifmen, whoare evil, know how to give good gifts to their chil- dren, how much more shall our heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him 1" Luke xi. 13. And this is the springof our light, and our hope, on this depends our present holiness and our eternalcomfort. limen. DISSERTATION VI. Of the Use of the Word Person in the Doctrine of the Trinity. SINCE the word person has been used in most ages of the Christian church, in setting forth the doctrine of the blessed Trinity, and hath been applied to those three sacred ideas, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, it becomes almost neces- sary When we write on this subject, to declare the sense of this word, as it isvariously applied in discoursing on this doctrine. The sense of the word person, in the common language of men, is one single, intelligent, voluntary agent, or a principle of action that has understanding and will ; so three men, or three angels, are properly called three distinct persons. Now since it has pleased God in his word, to represent to us the'Father, the Son, and the Spirit, under the characterof threesuch intelligent agents, they may be called . in human language three persons, according to this scriptural representation. Thedistinctive character of a person is the application of the personal pronouns I, Thou, He, to any thing ; and where- soever these are applied to any being, either simpleorcompound, that being is there exhibited in a personal manner, and may in that respect be called a person. Now, all the three pronouns, J thou, and he, being frequently applied in scripture 'to the Father and theSon, and the pronoun he to the blessed Spirit, we there- fore call them' three persons. I confess, I know of but two particular places in scripture where this word person is ever supposed to be used with refer- ence to this' doctrine. Que is in Heb. i. 3. where Çhrist is called " the express
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