in all, and all in one. These are notions which may well puzzle our reason in conceiving how they agree, but should not stagger our faith in asserting that they are true; upon which we should meditate, not with hope to comprehend, but with dispositions to admire, veiling our faces in the presence and prostrating our reason at the feet of wisdom far transcending us."

§ 7. No one ought to reject a doctrine which is plainly revealed in the Scriptures, under the pretence that it is incomprehensible. This is to wish to be wiser than God; for what he has revealed without explanation, he wills us to receive simply upon his word, without comprehending it. If there were any reasons for rejecting what is revealed because we do not understand it, we should, on this principle, renounce the doctrine of the creation of the world; for who can comprehend how something could be made out of nothing? Who can understand the union of soul and body? Yet who is there that can reason at all, but admits the existence of both? It is enough to know that God reveals any thing, how far soever it may be above our understanding, in order to admit of it as a truth.—we are bound to believe it, though it be incomprehensible by finite reason, yet there is something in it which is clear, viz. its discovery. Reason itself determines that there is more propriety in believing a revelation of God, although we cannot understand it, than in rejecting what is manifestly revealed, merely because it is incomprehensible. Reason embraces the truth without understanding the manner of it; it receives it, because it comprehends that it is a revelation. In this way we believe God; we trust his veracity, his infallibility, and his word, and rest solely on the authority of his testimony. Faith is not an empty sound. We do understand what we believe, when we understand that it is God who proposes the matter of our faith; and we understand that he proposes it, when the doctrine, how far soever it be above the reach of our weak conceptions, has no absurdity in it; nothing

unworthy of God; nothing contradictory, and nothing revolting against reason.

I shall, therefore, appeal to the law and the prophets, and proceed to show

That there is but one true and living God.

§ 8. God is one in essence without mixture or composition, and one exclusively without any other. The sun is one, but the same God could make many suns; God is so one in essence, that it is impossible there could be any other. This, however, does not exclude three distinct persons, as will be shown hereafter.

That God is one, is a fundamental truth in religion. It has the concurring suffrage of reason and revelation to support it. To say there is more than one God, is as great folly as to say there is no God. Ps. 14: 1. The just and proper idea of Deity is, that he is self-existent, independent, prior to all other beings, and the cause of them. Now, the exist ence of two or more such beings is no less repugnant to sound reason than it is to the sacred oracles. It implies a contradiction; and what implies a contradiction, or is in itself absurd, is irrational no less than anti-scriptural. Hence the wiser heathens acknowledged a Supreme Being. The inscription on the Athenian altar, "To the unknown God," Acts, 17: 28, carries in it an intimation that they had some faint notion of one supreme God superior to all other gods; but the Bible puts it beyond all reasonable controversy. The unity of God is taught in the Law, in the Prophets, and in the Book of Psalms, by Jesus Christ, and by his apostles, as is evident from the following passages: Exodus, 20: 3, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." Deut. 6: 4, " Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord." Deut. 32: 39, See now I, even I, am he, and there is no God with me." Isa. 43: 10, 11, "Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and d my servant whom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he; before me there was no God formed, reither shall there

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be after me. I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no Savior." Isa. 44: 6, Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his Redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God." Isa. 45: 6, That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me: I am the Lord, and there is none else." Ps. 86: 9, 10, All na tions whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name. For thou art great, and doest wondrous things; thou art God alone." Mark, 12:29, 32. And Jesus answered him, the first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. And the scribes said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth; for there is one God, and there is none other but he." 1 Cor. 8: 4-6, "We know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one. For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there bé gods many and lords many.) but to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him:"

Besides, dear Benjamin, you know that this truth is not denied by any of our people; for it is made the second article of their creed, which reads thus: "I believe with a perfect faith, that the Creator, blessed be his name, is only one in unity, to which there is no resemblance; and that he alone has been, is, and will be our God." Neither would I have dwelt so long on this part of the subject, were it not to convince my dear Benjamin that I believe but in one Jehovah, the true and living God, as I did before I embraced the Christian religion, although I now most sincerely believe That there is a plurality of persons in the self-same Jehovah, to which I shall now call your attention.

§ 9. That there is a plurality in unity will appear from the language of Scripture.

The word Elohim, which we translate God, is plural,

131 and is used more than sixty times in the short history of the creation, and more than five hundred times more in the Pentateuch. Now, whilst I would freely acknowledge, that, if we had no other proofs in favor of a plurality, I should not lay much stress on this; yet I do not feel myself at liberty to pass it by unnoticed. Seeing that the Hebrew language is one of the most ancient, if not the original language of mankind, how came it to pass that the plural word should be the most common term used to signify the Deity? How came Moses, an inspired writer, to choose out this word, when another singular name (viz. Ail and Eloak, which he uses on other occasions) might have been employed to describe the creation of the world and the supreme God? Is it not extraordinary that he should use such a word, which at least was calculated to lead our brethren to a belief of a plurality, unless he himself knew and believed in a plurality in the unity of Jehovah ?

10. The word Elohim is frequently joined with a verb, participle, or adjective in the plural number, which leads to the same conclusion. For example, Gen. 1: 26, “Let us make man in our image, and in our likeness." R. Juda, in his comment on Sepher Yelzira, says, Who is it God did speak to in the creation? He spake to his word (Memra or Messiah.) If you would know of them who is the spirit of whom we read in Gen. 1: 2, "that he moved on the face of the waters," Moses Botril will inform you that it is the Holy Spirit. If you would learn of them who it was that God spake to in Gen. 1: 26, saying, "Let us make man," Moses Botril tells us that these words are directed to the wisdom of God. If you would know what spirit it is that is spoken of in Job, 28: 12, again Moses Botril will tell it is the Holy Spirit. If you would know to whom that is to be referred which we read of in Isa. 40: 14, R. A. Ben David will tell you to the three Sephiroth." It has been objected that God speaks here after the manner of kings, who, in their edicts, &c. use the plural number to express their do

minion, honor, and majesty. To this it may be answered, that the reason of their speaking in the plural is because their edicts, &c. are the effect of consultation with their ministers or privy council, but Jehovah takes no counsel with any of his creatures. Besides, this courtly way of speaking was not known in the days of Moses and to suppose that Moses alludes to a custom that would be in use in future, is as extravagant as the supposition of the German divine, who, in his comment on Gen. 2: 7, says the expression, "he breathed into his nostrils the breath of life," is not inelegantly by some observed that this is a metaphor drawn from glassmakers, who by their breath make their cups and glasses into their several forms. "That divine," says Bp. Kidder, "should have been sure that this art of blowing glasses had been as old as that expression of Moses, before he had commented on a metaphor which he fancies might be drawn from thence." Again, Gen. 3: 22, "Man is become as one of us :"* and again, 11 : 7, "Let us go down :" further, 1924, "Jehovah rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Jehovah out of heaven." Menassa Ben Israel "confesses this place too hard for him, unless by Jehovah who is on earth, you understand the angel Gabriel, who, as God's ambassador, bears the name of God." You perceive, dear brother, that he acknowledges two distinct persons each called Jehovah ; but he is mistaken in saying that the one was the angel Gabriel, and received the name Jehovah because he was God's ambassador; for I shall make it abundantly evident that this is an incommunicable name. Further, Gen. 20: 13, "God caused me to wander." Original Hithoo Othi Elohim, the verb is plural as well as the noun Elohim. Again, 35: 7, "God ap

*Or rather, "Behold the man Hayah was as one of us;" i. e. he was made in our image, and after our likeness; but he has sinned, and come short of his former glory; he has defaced this image; he is not like the man he was; and now, lest he put forth his hand, &c. Abarbinel in Michlol Yophi. Pagninus. Schmidt. Montanus.