OF THE
Theological Seminary,
PRINCETON, N. J.
Case, ^^Sr^S-rrr.. P'vi'
Shelf, I (0 1 ^. SecLi .
Boole,
No,
MJ-
Ufeful and Important ^^
ANSWERS
FREELY GIVEN,
T O
Ufeful and Important
QJJ E S T I O N S,
CONCERNING
JESUS the SON OF GOD,
Freely propos'd:
o R,
A Vindication of the (tQ t^tVAllnX
^Oll(l)fp of the Second Person
in theXrim'tp;
With ai Answer to
The learned R o e l, Dr. R i d g l e y,
Dr. Anderson, &^c.
Unto us a Son is given • and his Name Jhall
be called," the Mighty God, &'c If. ix. 6.
Thou art Christ the Son of the living God.
/ fay unto thee. Upon this Rock 1 will build my
Church: &c. Mat. xvi. \6 — 18.
I AND THE Father are ONE. Jo. x. •^o.
Search the Scriptures. Jo. y- S9'
Bf^D'AV IIT M I L L A R, aTm!
LONDON:
Printed for the Author, and fold byF. Hett, at the
Bi/'le and Crown in the Pou/i'jy and J. Ward, at the
King^s-Arms in Cornhill, 1751-
Price Four SbilHngs, ftitclied in blue Paper.
I THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY,
^ Princeton, N. J.
' From the Rev. W. B. SPRAGUE, D.D. Sept. 1839.
mri
y O" \
Jo^/i Winter^ Efq;
Of Dartmouth-Street^
Weftminfter ;
THESE
Useful and Important A.nswers^
I N
Vindication of that
Fundamental Article ^ The
Co*ecrenti'ai ^tiOnpofc^i?/^?;
Are mod humbly dedicated^
By his much obliged,
and mojl obedient Servant,
David Millar*
[iv]
THE
PREFACE.
^hought^ in a long Intro du^ion-i
to have given Jome Account^ of my
Concern in this Controverfy ;
how I came to undertake this
Work ; of a Conference / hadj
fever ail ears ago, with the learned
and worthy Author with whom
I have now to do ; why I have
con/idered what the learned Roel, Dr. Ridgley and
Dr. Anderfon have advanced againfi the proper, and
coeflfential Sonfhip of the fecond Perfon in the
Trinity ; and of the woful 'Tendency^ and unavoidable
Danger of Error : But the following Difcourfe is
fwohi to fuch a Bulk, that I can only, at -prefent, give
thefe few fhort Hinis.
The very firji Time I hear^d that thefe Ufeful and
Important Queftions were publifhed, 1 prefently faid
to the Minijiers who told it me. That, if the Lord
fpared me my Life, I would, with his AJJifiance,
anfwer them •, which I the rather then did, that I
might, if pojfible, prevent the other Difcourfe, con-
cerning the Pre-exiftence of Chrift's human Soul, i^c.
which, they told me, the Author had promifed: And
therefore, being, from the Conference 1 had with
him, &c. not wholly unprepared, 1 fet immediately
about it.
PREFACE. V
/ had fame Reafon to think, that my Refolution
foon came to his Ears ; and that it hajlen'd the Pub-
lication of the other : But, before it came from the
Prefs, I had provided Materials, formed my Plan,
and digefied my Method. And, refohing not to be
moved from it, I have not, to this Day, feen that
Difccurfe with my Eyes ; nor have I, thefe twenty
Tears, read fo much as one Line of Mr. Fleming's
Chriftology, from which, I hear and believe, our
ivortfjy Author has borrowed many of the -principal
things in his fecond Book.
My Anfwers were almofi ready, above three Tears
and a Half ago. — / had written them, as in a
Letter to himfelf ; and, from what had pad betwixt
us., taken the Liberty to explain, and confute, feveral
things of Moment, of which he has given us, in the
Book, 1 am now to anfwer, only fome remote Hints^
or fome very dark, or general and ambiguous Ex-
prejfwns ; not to fay feveral others, of which I cannot
here find one Syllable.
When I was ready for the Prefs, hearing of his ill
State of Health, &c. the very great Efteem 1 had for
him, and the Jincere Love I bore to him, gave me a
very fenfible Pain, left my Anfwer fhould difcompofe
or add any Uneafinefs to him, in that Condition —
In thefe Circumjlances, being in a Strait, whether to
publifh my Anfwers then, or delay them, at leafi, till
we might fee whether he fhould recover, I advifed with
feveral Miniflers and others, and with one of the
Deacons of the Church of which he was the Pajlor^
:'* And this, I per-
fuade myfelf, it will, with all judicious and impartial
Readers, do effedtually.
/ hear from fever al Hands, 1 am to have " more
" Queftions to anfwer^^ &cc. — / hope they do not
think, That fending me more Qiieftions, will be a
defending /i&^y"l^/;z^j, / have more than fuperabundantly
confuted : And may therefore, I humbly conceive,
expe^, they will anfwer me firfl. — However, If they
fend me any, I hope they will be to our prefent Pur-
pofe : And if, through the Grace of God, / can
anfwer them, 1 affure them that, with his Help, /
will; but, if I cannot, I fba II freely own, /cannot,
which is more, I verily think, than they will do, when
they cannot anfwer me.
Thd* I have not, at large and of Purpofe, con-
fidered and anfwer ed all our learned Authors Notions,
about Chrifl's pre-exiftent human Soul, / have not
wholly paft them all. — Some of them are of much
greater Moment, and confec^uently, of much more dan-
gerous
viil PREFACE.
gerous Confequence ; (fuch as, " That his human
" Soul is properly the Son of God, and therefore, That
*' he is not as God, properly, the Son of God ; &c^*)
and thefe, I hope, I have fuper abundantly confuted :
The others, I have almojl altogether waved. — If my
Friends think, that a more full and particular Con^
fideration of them is neceflary, I fhall, with the Help
c/God, he ready to gratify them \ being well fatisfied,
that what Mr. Fleming has faid, may, fo far as I can
underfiand him, be eafily and fully anfwered. — And
yet, I humbly conceive. That fingle Point, Whether
Chrift's human Soul exijied before his Conception ?
or rather, ever fince the Creation of Adam ? (for,
I cannot fee any Reafon for fuppofing, that it was
created before the World was,) may remain a Pro-
blematical Queftion : And that ferious Chrijlians
may be of different Minds about it, without much
Danger.
Should any think it worth their while to anfwer mey
Idefire no Quarter. Let them treat me with the fame
honeft Freedom, they deftre to be treated : — Let
them produce Scripture Texts, inflead of human
Authorities ; and good Reafons inflead of Suppo-
fitions : — Let them not beg the Queftion which they
Jhould prove, fliift any thing they fhould anfwer,
fly off when they fhould come up to the Point, or
wriggle and quibble when they have nothing to fay :
— And let them remember. That the Sub] eft is not only
Sacred, but vejy awful and of the lafi Importance ;
and therefore, treat it with all becoming Decency and
Sexioufnefs, and I am pleafed ; and fo far from being
uneafy, that I fid all heartily thank them. — If they
a5i this Part, the Queftion betwixt us, may be brought
to a ftiort Ifllie -, and then the Danger of erring
■ about ity may very eafdy he difcerned.
USEFUL
USEI^UL and IMPORTANT
ANSWERS
Freely given, to
USEFUL and IMPORTANT
QUESTIONS, &c.
Some Thoughts on the
INTRODUCTION.
TH E IntroduBion having feveral Things
in it NeWy and Strange, and which feem to
have been advanced as a Sort of Foun-
dation, for the following Swper-firuSlure ;
we Ihall not think it Labour lofi, to give the
Reader every Word of it, p. i — 5. with fome very
necelTary, but Ihort, Remarks upon the whole.
" 'Tis of fome Importance in the Dodrines of
" the Gofpel, andefpecially in the great Article of the
" blefled 'Trinity, to know the Meaning of the
" Name Son of God, which is fo often given to
" our Lord Jefus Chrifi in the New Teftament :
" for hereby we fhall be better able to underftand
" the chief Import and Defign of thofe Places of
" Scripture." — To all this, we heartily agree :
And add, ^Tis not only of fome, but of wry great
B Im-
Importance, m all the principal Do^rines of the Goi-
pel ; and efpecially that great, and mcji Fundamental,
Article of the moft Holy and Undivided Trinity ;
to know the true, i. e. the whole Meaning of the
Name Son of God, when given 'to the Lord
Jefus Chrift, in the Scriptures : Becaufe, without it,
we fhall hardly, if at all, be able to underftand the
fi^/i?/" Import and Defign, of any one, of all thole
Paffages wherein he is fo filled.
" But here I defire my Reader to obferve, that
" I am not enquiring into the higheft and mofb
*' fublime Senfe of which 'tis poffible that our
" Lord himfelf might have the Idea when he ufed
" that Word ;" * He cannot, it feems, deny.
That this Title may poffibly have a higher and
more fublime Senfe, then he intends to take it
in, nor that our Lord himfelf might poffibly have
that Idea, when he ufed it : And we fliall fee pre-
fently. That the Jews, as foon as they heard him
ufe it, or Words of the fame Signification, readily
took them in the higheft Senfe they could poffibly
bear ; whence, I conceive, 'tis undeniable that they
well knew that Senfe, that it was familiar to them,
and common amongft them, and the Senfe of that
Title then generally received. — " but what is the
" Senfe that Chrifi or the Apoftles and Writers of
" the New Teftament more diredlly defigned to
" convey to thofe who heard them;" Anf i.
Chrifi, undoubtedly, defigned to convey the true
Senfe of it, to his Hearers : For, furely, he did not
defign, to amufe them, nor puzzle them, and much
lefs to impofe upon them. — Wherefore 2. When
the Jews took it, in the higheft and moft fublime
Senfe, it could poffibly bear, Jo. v. 1 7. 1 8. if it was not
* JV. 5. The worthy Author, almoft everywhere, calls thefe
three Words, Son of God, the Name, or the Word, neither of
which are, I humbly conceive, proper. I therefore every
where call them, the or this Title.
the
f 3 ]
the true Senfe, He would, moft certainly have, one
Way or another, told them fo : And, if it was notthc
very Senle, " which he more diredly defigned to
" convey to them,'* He would furely, yea he
ought to, have reSiified this Miftake^ fet them right
in a Matter of fuch Moment^ and told them plainly
" the Senfe he more diredly defigned." And — 3.
The fame we fay of " the Apoftles, and Writers of
" the New Teftament." They would, they fliould,
have acquainted thofe, to whom they preachedj or
wrote, with the true Senfe of this I'itky which
they " more direftly defigned to convey to them,"
whether it was the higheft and moft fublime Senfe
it could have or not : And, if they perceived (as
they could not but perceive) them in Danger of
taking it, in a higher Senfe than they defigned tliey
fhould ; they ought, plainly and freely, to have
warned them of that Banger. " and in what Senfe
" the People generally did and could underftand
" this Name." Anf. The People, generally, fo far
as appears, both could, and did, underftand it in
a Senfe far, if I may not fay quite, different from
that which this Author gives it: And neither
did, nor could, upon his own Principles, under-
ftand it in his Senfe, as we fhall Hemonjirate by
and by.
" 'Tis evident from feveral Exprefllons of Chriji,
" that he well knew that his own Words fome-
" times carried in them a much nobler and fublimer
" Signification, than barely that which he defigned to
" convey to the yezvs, or even to his own Difciples
" at that Time :" Anf. One would not have ex-
pefted thefe ftrange, thefe unguarded Words, from
our worthy Author •, and much lefs, at the Begin-
ning, and with fo very much AITurance, as to fay,
" 'Tis evident." — However, How does he fupport
this evident Propofition, which has fo very harjh a
Sound .? Or, fince, 'tis plain, it is not felf-evident,
B 2 How
[4]
How does he, How can he, prove it ? Why, the
only Two, I do not know what to call them.
Proofs^ or Injiances, he gives of this, are both very
ynlucky for him : As, indeed, are moft by far of
all that follow. — " As when he fays to the JewSy
Before Abraham was I am.^ Jo. viii. 58." And yet,
whatever he deftgned, the Jews^ to whom he fpoke
them, prefently took them, as " carrying in them
" their moft noble and fiiblime Signification," and
the Words themfelves feem plainly, yea neceflarily,
to have led them to it. They are not, Before
Abraham ivasy I was: (which, had he not " i^j-^f^
" to have conveyed to them a much higher, if not
** an infinitely more fublime Idea^^ would have
been a clear, and very fufficient Anfwer to their
Obje(5lion, or Queftion, Ver. 57. 'Thou art not yet
fifty Tears old^ and hafi thou feen Abraham .?) But,
£)/co £i/At, I am^ i. e. Whether you believe or no,
I am, as I told you before, Jo. 5. 17. 18, the Son of
God, vAio does whatfoever he does, 8zc. and, as fuch,
have a neceffarily exijiing and unchangeable Being, as
God •, not the Father, but the Son, who was
always in Him, of Him, and with Him. Verfes 18.
29. 38. 42. 49, &c. That the Jews took them,
in this Senfe, or as implying it, is undeniable from
the very next Words, Ver. 59. Then took they up
Stones to caji at him, as a Blafphemer, for aflliming
to himfelf Eternity, Neceffary-Exijience, and Immu-
tability : Or fpeaking oi himfelf, in fuch Strains,
as no one, who is not, indeed, the one true God,
can, or fhould do. — " And fo when he fays to his
'* Difciples, Jo. xiv. jo. I am in the Father, and
" the Father in me, they could not know that glo-
♦' rious and fublime Relation of Chrift to the Father,
*^ and his intimate Onenefs with the Father, which
" he himfelf was perfeftly acquainted with." Anf. i.
Suppofing this, What then ? Will it, can it, follow,
•' that he did not deftgn to convey to the Difciples,"
(thQ
[ 5]
(the only Perfons prefent when he fald thofe Words,)
the Knowledge " of that glorious and fublime Re-
" lation, and his intimate Onenefs with the Father ;'*
which was the Thing to be proved ? — By no Means.
— The direft contrary feems rather manifeft. —
What need was there to talk to them in fuch Strains ;
or, what good End could it have anfwer'd ; if it
was not to inform them of what, upon this Sup-
pofition, they were ignorant^ and teach them what
was mofi: neceffary for them to know ? — But, 2.
How does it appear, " That they could not know
" thefe." *' The moft glorious and fublime Re-
*' lation of Chrifi to the Father" and as fuch, was.
That he was his own, proper, begotten, only begotten^
Son: And could they not know this, when they
had heard their ever bleffed Lord declare it, with
the greatell Solemnity-, and in the plained and
moft fignificant Words, openly proclam it, over
and over? Jo. iii. 16 18. ch. v. 17 -26. And
had themfelves alfo publickly profeit it, again and
again; Mat. xvi. 15 — 18. Jo. vi. 69, &c. and
that with the moil gracious Acceptance, and kindeft
Approbation, of their truely Divine Majter ? — And
could they not " know liis intimate Onenefs with
" the Father," when they had heard himfelf fo
ftrongly, fo emphatically, affert, Jo. x. 30. / and
the Father 'iv itr/Afv, are one Thing ; i. e. not one
Perfon -, for a Father and a Son are, moft certainly.
Two Perfons •, but, one EJfence, Subflance or Nature ?
Why, if they could not. It was not, becaufe he
did not " dejign to convey to them " the nobleft
" and fublimeft Signification of the Words :'*
Becaufe, i. This " intimate Onenefs'* is not
revealed any where in Scripture, more clearly,
expreQy, fully and ftrongly, than in this very Text ;
and in that, i Jo. v. 7. which feems, thus far,
plainly parallel to it: And confequently, if he
defigned to reveal to them this " intimate Onenefs,'*
any
[6]
any where in Scripture, one would think, it muft
have been in thefe. — 2. This Propofition, I and
the Father are one Thing, (t'v la/Afy) which muft
be farther explained and vindicated hereafter, if
we more carefully confider the Context, and re-
member the Occafion and other Circumftances, and
take a nearer View of the Words themfelves, hath,
I humbly conceive, but one Signification ; and can
admit no other, neither higher nor lower. — To
confirm this, 3. The Senies which the various
Seds of Ayititrinitarians^ would force upon it,
feem, to me, ungrammatical, ftrained, and very
contrary to all the Circumftances of the Paffage,
many other clear Texts, and to the emphatic
Words themfelves ; not to add, would hardly leave
them any tolerable Senfe at all. And therefore, 4.
The Jews^ readily, and very naturally, took them
in that^ which feems really their true^ yea their only
Senfe: And hence took up Stones again to ft one him^
Ver. 31. — They could not, it may be faid, " be fo
" perfedly acquainted with that Onenefs, as him-
" felf was." We acknowledge it : But, neither
could, nor can, the higheft Angels in Heaven, to
all Eternity. — Be it therefore ftill remembred,
N. B. I . That, how intimate foever this One-
nefs is, it is neither deftru^ive of, nor any way
inconjtftent with, the Diftin5iion of Perfons in the
Godhead : Or, the blefied Three are, notwithftand-
ing " this moft intimate Onenefs" Three true
diftin5i Perfons.
2. That the Father, and He only, always and
neceflarily, was^ is, and //// will be, the Father ;
and the Son, and he only, always and necejfarilyy
was, is, and ever will be, the Son. And,
3. That, tho' they are the one God, and there-
fore each of them the true God ; yet, as the Father
is not the Son, fo the Son is not the Father, or any
mere Attribute, or Perfe^ion, of the Father, as
our
[71
our learned Author feems to have hinted he is, in
many more Places than one.
What then fhall we fay to this odd, this ftrange
Aflertion, which is here laid down as a Pojlulatuniy
i. e. a Truth to which he may demand our AJfsnty
and which we mull gra7it to be true^ without any
the leaft Proofs or any Authority, but his own ? •—
Does it not, to fay the leall, appear very injurious
to our ever blefied Saviour ; and a heavy Impeach-
ment both of his JVifdcm and Goodnefs : That He,
who was anointed to preach the Gofpel to the Pcor^
Mat. xi. 5. and to Babes, Ver. ir,. Luke iv. 18. &c.
/. e. the unlearned, the ignorant, and Perfons of
weak Capacities, ^c. fhould fo frequently, and
familiarly, ufe Words and Expreflions, of the
higheft Moment, which he well knew " carried in
" them a much nobler and fublimer Signification,
" than barely that which he defigned to convey to
" them ;" and when he faw that many, if not all
of them, took them, contrary to his Intention, as
defigned to convey to them the fublimeft Significa-
tion they could pofTibly have, did not, plainly and
exprefly, inform them of their Error, and deliver
them, from the great Riik they run, by continuing
in it ? — What Caufe was there for fuch ExprefTions ?
What Good could they do? Would not other
Phrafes have done as well •, and fuited the Capacities
of his Hearers, and anfwered his own Chara^er,
much better ? — Thofe who teach Babes, or the
Young, the Ignorant and weak, &c. are wont to
fpeak to them in their own Way •, chufe the eafiefV,
and plainefl Words, fuch as they are befl acquainted
with, and can bell underftand ; and are fo far
from being fond of ExprefTions which are above
them, or like to be miflaken by them, that, if they
muft ufe any fuch, they are always careful, one
Way or another, in lefs or more, to make them fo
plain.
[8]
plain, and bring them fo low down to their Ca-
pacities, that their Scholars may not miftake them,
but receive them in that Senfe, which they diredtly
defign to convey to them ; and efpecially if their all
is at Stake : And, as foon as they perceive they
have miftaken them, they ftudioully endeavour to fet
them right \ and ceafe not, upon all proper Oc-
cafions, to keep them fo. — This was expedled
from the Meffiah, as is clear from the fecond
Article of the Woman of Samaria's Creed, When
the Mejfmh is come^ he will tell us all 'Things. Jo. iv.
25. — This, He who knew how to fpeak a Word in
Seafon to him that is weary^ If. 1. 4. could have
done mod fweetly, eafily, and effedually. — But,
upon this Suppofition, it feems he did not, yea,
would not ; even in Points of fuch vaft Importance !
Suffer me then to afk. Were there no other
Expreflions, in which he could have conveyed the
Senfe he intended ? Or, if there were not. Would
he not have plainly told them, fome way or other,
by fome Periphrajis, or Similitude^ &c. the Senfe in
which he would have them to take them, and fo pre-
vented their taking them in another ? — Or, if in
his Wifdom, he did not then think it proper, " to
" convey to them the Signification which he barely
" defigned," in exprefs and plain Terms, which
they could not miftake : Would he not, (fince he
knew they took thefe and other his own Words,
in a Senfe which he did not defign,) at leaft have
kindly told them fo •, and that the Senfe which they
put upon his Words, was not the Senfe he defigned
to convey to them ? — Or, was there, is there, any
Danger, in taking them in their " much nobler
*' and fublimer Signification ^ &c." But, This
Pojlulatum then, we cannot grant, hecauje of the
Fear of God. Neh. v. 15. 'Tis not only at beft,, a
mere begging the ^ejiion, but abfolutely falfe, as
is
[9] .
is plain from both the Infiances given. — Pojlulatumt
did I fay ? Why, it is really the principal B(^fts-t
upon which a great Part of the following Uifcourfe
is built. For, if this Title, Son of God, ever
" carries in it the higheft Senfe of which 'tis
" poiTible that our Lord himfelf might hav^ the
" Idea when he ufed that Word ," or, fignifies
a coejjential Son % as we fliall demonftrate it does ;
and as, in this very Text, it evidently do?s, if it ever
can do i It will be very hard to prove. That the
Idea of Coejfentiality is ever, can ever, be quite
dropt or excluded from it. But, if fo, his whole
Fabrick, which chiefly refts upon 'This^ which is
alfo the principal Thing he undertakes to prove,
viz. " That it never fignifies a coejfentid Son," mufb
needs fall with it. — And indeed. That Building
can never Hand fzire, or long, which ftands on fo
weak and fandy a Foundation.
*' My chief Bufinefs in this Difcourfe therefore is
" only to fhew what is the true Idea or Meaning of
" the Word Son of God, which our Saviour or the
" facred Writers defigned to convey to their Difci-
" pies, thro' all Ages and Nations by this Name.^*
Surely, if they intended to give " the Irue Idea or
" Meaning" of it, they would, once at lead, give
the whole of it : And therefore would, fom.e where
or other, give " the highelb and moft fublime Senfe"
of it. " And in which, 'tis poflible, their Hearers
*' could underftand them." Had our Author been
alive, I fhould have ufed a little more Freedom with
this. However, ab ejfe cd pojfe valet Co?ifequentia.
What aftually has been, or now is, was, or is, mofl
certainly, pofiible •, yea, more than poffible. — Well
then, Whenever the J^£^;j heard our Lord affume this
moft auguft Title, or call God his Father, in the
Manner, and with all the Circumflances, which he
did ; or fpeak of God, or Himfelf, in Terms equiva-
lent •, they togk it in the higheft Senfe pofiible, as
C imply-
t lO ]
implying, a making hhnfelf equal with God,
Joh. V. 17, 18. yea, a making Himself God j
Ch. X. 30, 33 : And confequently, that, if he was
indeed diSon, he was moft certainly aCo-ESSENTiAL
Son: Fherefore, itw^s very poJpI;k, thty could un-
deriland it in this Senfe. — The Catholic Church,
every where, and in all Ages, ever fince, have ac-
tually taken this to be the true Meaning o^ this Title:
And therefore it was very poffible, yea more than
poffible, they could. —Very few, if any one, till very
lately, even of thofe who concerning the Truth have
erred^ have been wholly of our Author's Mind, as
to the Signification of this Title : And we fhall
fliew,by and by, from his own Words, that it was ve-
ry hardly, if at ail, poffible, that any one, and much
lefs that the Generality of Chriftians, fhould ever put
his : enfe upon it ; yea, that he has, with his own
Hands yVi/hoWj and for ever demoHfhed his own Scheme.
" And in order to find this Senfe of it, let us con-
fider thofe Texts of Scripture wherein the Belief
of Chriji to be the Son of God, is made the great
Requifite in order to Salvation, and a neceffary
Ingredient of Chriftianity." Whether this was
he moft eafy, natural, and fure Way " to find this
Senfe j" and whether thofe Texts have any Thing
n them, v/hich leads to his Senfe, fliall be confider-
ed afterwards : But the confeffed Lnportance of know-
ng the true Senfe, ought to make us all very ferious
ndeed.— " For in thofe Places of Scripture, thefe
two Confiderations will offer themfclves ; ''i) That
the Scnic of thefe Words muft be pl^in, familiar,
and eajy to he underftood -, otherwife it could not
be made a neceffary Article, or a Fundamental of
the Chriftian Faith." This, and the next, require
a much longer Reply, than I have here Room for j and
much freer, than I am, at prefent, difpofed to give.
However, weanfwer, i. The Words, Son, own Son,
begotten Son^ only begotten Sen, are as plain, familiar,
and
f It ]
and eafy to he underjlcod^ as mofl -, yea, any Words*
which convey the fame Ideas ; or, as any which can
well be defired : And much more To, than any other
which can now pofilbly be chofen by us, to fignify
x\\t great Things ox Things^ meant by them. 2. The
Sens:, of them is as phiin, familiar, and ea^ to be un-
derjloodj in our prefent imperfe£f State, as Infinite
Wijdom thought fit it fliould be underftood by us :
Or, as it can be from fo many -plain^ familiar, and
■eafy 'Terms, ib often repeated, and illuftrated alfo from,
or by, the Circumftances of the Places where they are
found. And, 3. TIicSense we put upon thofe Terms,
is, as fhall be proved, much more plain, familiar,
and eafy to be underftood, than the Senfe he puts upon
them ; and upon many other Words in this his Dif-
courfe. — " It mud have alfo (2) fome apparent Con-
" nexion with, and Inf.uence into our Salvation^'' So
the Meaning, which we give it, manifeftly has. Yea, it
has a much greater, nearer, and more apparent Connec-
tion, &c. than his own. — Becaufe, ( 1 ) Had not
the fecond Perfon in the Trinity, and as fuch, been
coeffential, and confequently as fuch, equal with
God, He neither was, nor could have been, quali-
fied, for the Offices he executes as our Redeemer. (2)
JVe leave out no very " Important Part" of his
Senfe of this Title : But, he leaves out the mofl
*' important Part," by far, of ours, which is the
only true, Senfe, as we fliall fee prefently. " other-
" wife the Belief of it would not have been made
" fo grand a Requifite in order to be faved j" — I,
for my Part, fhall now freely, and fully, grant
this. " for it is fcarce to be imagined that the
'* bleiTed God would appoint any mere arbitrary
" and unoperative Speculations to be the Terms of
" enjoying his Favour." W hat ftrange Language,
is this ; and from fuch a Man ! However, we anf. i.
That the fecond Perfon, in the ever bleffed Trinity,
is the proper, the only begotten^ and therefore
C 2 CO'
[ 12 1
fcejfential, ^on of the Father is not a " mere Specu-
"• L tion," but a Matter cf Fa£l \ and of fo very
gnat Importance to be believed, 1 hat they, who deny
hm^ to be fuch a Son, deny the Father to be fucb
a Father: And, confequently, have Reafon to
confider, whether they do not deny both the Father
and the Son. i Jo. ii. 22. — 2. The Belief of his
being a cceJJ'ential Son, is fo far from being an
" arbitrary Speculation," That, upon the Suppofi-
tion h^ really is fo, it necejfariiy arifes from the
natural Relation, that is between the Two Divine
Perfons ; and muft be owned a fundamental Article
of the Faith once delivered to the Saints. — And, 3.
It is fo far from being an " urioperative Specula-
" tion," That the firm, and praftical, Belief,
That God fo loved the JForld, that he gave his only
begotten and therefore coeffential Son, another Self, Sec.
Jo. iii. 16. and that this only begotten Son laid down
his Life for us., &c. i Jo. 3. 16. Ch. 4, &c. will,
powerfully and effeilually, excite, and quicken,
and enflame us, to the moft humble and thankful
Acknowledgments, the moft fincere and univerfal
Obedience, &c. if the pradical Belief of any one
Truth polTibly can •, and, indeed, more, by far,
than any other. — " Now, both thefe Confidera-
" tions will give us fomiC AfTiftance toward our
" finding out the true Senfe of this Title." And
we ill all fee, alas ! before we have done, what
good Ufe our learned Author has made of this
AfTiftance.
*^ The Texts of Scripture, wherein a Belief
*' of Jejus to be the Son of God feems to be made
" the great neceffary Term of our Salvation, are
*' fuch as thefe. Jo. iii. 18. Jo. xx. 31. i Jo. v.
" 13. I Jo. iv. 15. I Jo. ii. 23. and Ads viii. 37.
" 38." I hope the Reader will confult thefe
Pafiages himfelf, read them attentively, and excufe
me from tranferibing them, according to my
JPromife ;
[ n ]
Promife : And I'll give him feveral more, the
more deeply to imprefs this moft weighty Truth.
See then, Jo. v. Verfes 17. 18. 23. 25 and 34.
Rom. viii. 32. Gal. iv. 4 — 7. and carefully ponder
thefe following. He that helieveth on the Son, hath
everlafiing Life : And he that helicveth not the Son^
Jhall not fee Life •, hut the Wrath of God abideth on
him. Jo. iii. 0,6. This is his Commandment, that
"jce fhould believe on the Name of his Son, dzc. i Jo. iii.
23. — God fent his only begotten Son into
the World, that we might live through him. Ch. iv. 9.
— - Who is he that overcometh the World, but he that
helieveth that Jefus is the Son of God. ch. v. 5.
He that helieveth on the Son of God, hath the
Witnefs in himfelf, &c. Ver. 10. — And this is the
Record, that God hath given to us eternal Life : And
this Life is in his Son. Ver. 11. He that hath
THE Son, hath Life : And he that hath not the
Son of God, hath not Life. Ver. 12. Even in his
Son Jefus Chrijl. This is the true God, and
Eternal Life. Ver. 21. — And this is Life
eternal, that they might know thee the only true
God, and Jefus Chrift whom thou hajl fent. Jo. xvii.
3. This laft Text, I have here quoted, only to
prove. That the Knowledge of Jefus Ckrifi, i. e.
his Perfon and Offices ; or what he was, became, did,
fuffered, purchafed for, promifes to and befiows upon
his People ; is as necejfary towards their obtaining
Eternal Life, as the Knowledge of God the Father ;
i. e. of what He does for, or gives unto them. And
this it does, if any Text well can : Becaufe, if it
is true, it is certainly, and as much. Eternal Life,
to know the One as to know the other ; i. e. to
know Jefus Chriji as to know the Father. Yea, we
are fure. That that no Man can either knozv the
Father, Matt. xi. 27. or come to the Father, but, by
or through him, ]o. xiv. 6. — Our Author there-
fore, with very great Reafon, goes on.
[ 14 ]
'' Nov/ if believing or net believing Chriji to be
" the Son cf Gcd has Salvation and Damnation an-
*' nexed to it by the facred Writers,'* Then the
Belief of it is fo abjdiitely necejfary to Salvation^ that
no one^ who hears the Gojpd, can have any Rcafon
to exped: Salvation without it. " then furcly 'tis
" of confiderable Importance to knov/ what this
" Name means," Yes, it is fo : Yea, it muft
needs be of the very greatefl Importance. '• that
" we may not include tco little in it, and by leaving
" out fome important Part, expofe ourfelves to that
*' Anathema ;" An awful Thought ! Damnation is
a terrible Anathema indeed ! Lord teach us thy 'Truths
and help us to love^ and keep^ and do it -, that we
may not come into that State of 'Torment. " nor in-
*' dude too much in it^ and fo be tempted to lay
*' our weaker Neighbcurs under the like Condem-
" nation for want of fufficient Knowledge." But,
this £ anger, when compared with the former, is
really very little, or rather none at all ; becaufe,
I. With refpeft to ourfelves, " fhould we include
*' too much in it,'* if that too much, is not falfe,
does not overthrow, or leave out, " fome impor-
" tant Part ;" lead us afide from fome other mo-
mentous and neceflary Truth ; occafion, involve us
in, or draw us to, fome confiderable Omiffioiis, or
Ccmmiffiom j we hope, we fhall not be, thereby, ex-
" pofcd to thax Anathema.'* — But, 2. " Our lay-
" ing our weak Neighbours under the like Condeni-
" nation," whether in our own fecret Thoughts only,
or in private Admonitions ; or joyning with others,
in any judicial ACt, as in the leifer or greater Ex-
communication, as they are called, (provided there
be good Reafon for our fo doing, and we proceed
with Caution and Deliberation, that Concern for
the Glory ot God, and that CcmpaJJion and Love to
our Brethren, which is required ;) is our Duty, and
may, probably, do them Good : Whereas, if we do
thefe.
thefe, or either of them, ignorantly, rafhly, ma-
liciouily, and much more if without ^2^/ C<;u''e •, it
is our Sin, but can do them little or no hurl, and
does not, at all, make them obnoxious to the
everlafiing Judgment of God. But, — 3. "i hey who
" expOje themf elves to Damnation" as oppofed to
eternal Salvation, do, by their own AU: and Leed -,
expofe themfelves to an endkfs Anathema. — And,
4. If their " want of fufiicient Knowledge" is
owing to their Careleflhefs, I'ride, Prejudice, or
any Fault of their own, it will neither much ex-
tenuate their Guilt, nor lefien their Punijhment.
" But bkfled be God, fince it is a Name of
" fuch Importance, he has not confined this Name
" precifely to one fmgle, narrow, abftrufe and dif-
" ficult Idea,*' i. e. To fignify precifely a coejfential
Son, and nothing more. — Granted : And what
then ? — Will it follow. That Coejfentiality is no
" importantPart of its Signification j or, not one o^
** thofe feveral Ideas afHxed to it in Scripture ?'*
By no Means. — Sometimes 'tis confined, precife-
ly, as we fliall fee, to the fmgle Idea of a coejfential
Son ', and, at other Times, it fignifies the complex
Perfon of the Mediator, who is God-man. — But, I
muft further anfwer, a proper Name, when given
to any one fmgle Perfon, denotes that individual
Perfon and him only : The Title of an Office, which
is peculiar to, or can be executed by, one only,
when afcribed to any particular Perfon, denotes
that individual Officer, and no other: Tho' the
Idea of an only begotten, and therefore, coejfential
Son, and as fuch, is confined precifely to one fingle
Perfon, exclufively of all others, it is neither fo very
" abftrufe, nor difficult an Idea :" And, in the Cafe
before us, the Idea we affix to this Name, is neither
fo abftrufe, nor difficult, as //^^/ which himfelf does,
as we fliall fee. " but has affijced it to feveral Ideas
" ia
[ i6 1
** in Scripture,'* This I have freely granted ; and
only add. That, whatever Ideas 'tis affixed to, it
always fignifies one and the fame Perfon only ; and
always includes his Divinity : Or, coejfential SonJJjip
is always the primary ^ and moji important of them.
" that fo if we receive it in the mofl important
*' Senfes, we may be fecured from the Scriptural
" Condemnation, tho' we fhould not happen to un-
*' derftand and rece've it in all the fublime Senfes
" which may be applied to it." — This is very ge-
neral, and ambiguous. — However, If 07te of thele
fublime Senfes, is the mod important of all, and the
Foundation alfo of moil or all the reft ; whoever
are fo far from receiving that into it, that they
always and abfolutely exclude it from it, have great
Reafon to look to themfelves : Not to add, they can
neither, as fome wou'd fay, underftand the moJi im-
portant Smfe of it ; no, nor fufficiently kftozv, nor
confequently receive^ and believe in, the ever blefled
Perfon, who is frequently fo called ; for a Reafon
obvious enough of itfelf
" Let it be noted alfo, that perhaps the various
" Imaginations and Reafonings of Men may have
*' affixed more Senfes to this Phrafe than Scripture
" has ever done :" A fad Truth ! Many Ages, fmce
Chrift's Afcenfion, bear Witnefs to it! We need
not go back to the antient Herefies condemned by
the firft four General Councils, &c. &c. fmce there
are feveral fuch Senfes now before us. — '• Yet,
" in order to give this Enquiry a fuller Confidera-
" tion," Hitherto, we have not, I think, had any
one Confideration of it at all. — " we will furvey the
*' feveral Senfes which have been ufually put upon
*' it ;" And yet, the fecond of thefe, " which he
" is very much inclined to believe, &c. p. lo." has
yery feldom, if ever, been heard of, till very lately.
— " And this fhall be the Jirfl Argument which I
" IhaU
[ '7 ]
*' Ihail life towards the Proof of the true Significa-
" tion of this Name in the New Teftament, i. e,
" by Way of a disjunftive Syllogifm, propofing
" feveral and excluding fome of them." — With
refped to this, one would have thought, i. That
the Title, The Son of God, confidered abftradedly ;
and efpecially when any of thefe Adnouns own, pro-
per, begotten, only begotten, are affixed, could have
no true Signification but one. i. That there was
hardly, if at all any Danger, of miftaking that Sig-
nification, when all Things fliouid be duly confider-
ed. And, 3. That it had, and has, the fame Sig-
nification in both Teftaments. But much more of
this laft Sentence, by and by.
Having thus briefly, but plainly, examined the
Introduriion^ proceed we now to the Difcourfe it-
felf.
D
Ufeful
[ i8]
Ufeful and Important
ANSWERS
Freely Given, To
Ufeful and Important
QJJ E S T I O N S
CONCERNING
JESUS the SON of GOD,
Freely propofed ;
Or, the CO-ESSENTIAL SON-
SHIP of the Second Person in
the TRINITY clearly proved, &c.
7
"^ H E IntroduElion thus animadverted on
and difpatched, we hope, to the full
Satisfa6tion of the impartial Reader, we
now proceed to confider the Work itfelf. And,
that he may, if poffible, have a true, clear, and
full Idea, of the worthy Author's Principles and
Befign^ we fhall firfc give him the Contents,
whence he may, perhaps, at leaft in fome good
Mea-
[ 19 ]
Meafure, learn what he would be at -, ana how far
he has departed from the Faith of the Catholic
Church, which is plainly, exprefsly, and fully
revealed in the Word of God., and indeed runs quite
through the New ^ejlament.
Thefe he has propofed, in eight ^ejiions, p. 8,9.
immediately after his Preface : And, tho' feveral
of them are fo worded as to be very equivo-
cal, and hard to be clearly underflood, you fhall
here have every Syllable of them in order, with a
diredl and plain, but brief Anfwer to every one of
them, fo far as I can underftand them •, each ot
which Anfwers Ihall be afterwards explained, illu-
ftrated, and confirmed, fo far as is neceflary to our
prefent Purpofe.
7^1)6 Contents.
" Queft. I. What is the true Meaning of the
" Name Son of God, as given to Chrift in the New
" Tejiament -, and ej-pe daily where the Belief of it
" is made necejfary to Salvation ,?" — To this, he re-
plies, " He has made it appear, that it does not,
" yea cannot, neceffarily imply his divine Nature^
&c. p. 6, 8, 6^., &c. &c.
Anf The true, the only Meaning of this Title,
the Son of God, when given, any where in the Scrip-
tures, to the fecond P erf on in the ever blefled 'Tri-
nity., and purely as fuch, is, that he is the own, be-
gotten, only begotten, and confequently, the coes-
SENTiAL Son of the Father -, or, in the Words of
the Nicene Creed, which has been always, and every
where, had in Reverence by the Catholic Churchy
*' God of God, very God of very God, be-
*' GOTTEN NOT MADE :" But, the triie Meaning
of it, when given to Christ, (the Word made
Flefh) in the New Teftament •, and " efpecially,
" where the Belief of it is made neceflary to Salva-
D 2 '' tion,'*
[ 20 1
" tlon," is, That the blefled Perfon, fo filled, was,
and is, the co-ejfential ocn of the Father, who, be-
ing anointed before the Foundation of the World to
be the Saviour of his People, was now manifefted in
the FleffD, having affuiried our Nature, that, in and
by it, he might execute all thofe Offices , which were
neceffary to our Salvation. — So that,
N. B. This 'Title does always, and every where,
even in the New Teilament, primarily, either pre-
fuppofe, imply, or denote, his Divine Nature : Nor
is, nor can, his co-effcntial Sonfbip be ever v/holly
dropt, or quite excluded from it.
" Quell. II. Did the Difcip'es of Chrifl certainly
" believe that Jefus was the true and eternal God
" during his Life-time, or not till after his Death
" andRefurre^ion?'''*—\^\^'K^^\^, if put into plain
Words, is, " Not certainly till after his Refurre^lion \*
which he alfo labours, with all his Might, to prove.
Anf. His Difciples never did, nor could, be-
lieve, that he was the Father : But, they mod firm-
ly believed, and oftener than once readily, publick-
ly, cordially, and mofl emphatically, profeffed.
That he was the Son of God •, and heard himfelf
frequently, and folemnly declare. That he was his
cvon, begotten, only begotten Son, and therefore, if
thefe Words have any proper Meaning, his co-effen-
tial Son : And confequently, they certainly might,
and 1 humbly conceive did, and could not but,
firmly believe, even " during his Life-time," That
he v/as equal with him, and, as fuch, true and
eternal God, as well as he ; or, with him the one true
God. — But,
N. B. Since the Difciples believed this, after his
Refurre5fion ; Are not we alfo to believe it now ?
" Qiicfl. III. Could the Son of God properly enter
into a Covenant with his Father before the Crea-
tion of the World, to do and fuffer what was ne-
ceffary to our Redemption, without having any
*-' human
ct
[ 2. ]
human Soul, which was tofuffer all?'* — He would
have us think, " He could not."
Anf. Why could he not ? If the fecpnd Per/on m
the ever blefled 'Trinity, who is called Ibmetimes the
Logos, but much more frequently the Son, or the
Son of God, was, as fuch, from all Eternity, a true
and proper Perlon, dijlinof from his Father, he
might (and we believe did) properly enough, enter
into a Covenant with him, before the Creation of any
Thing ; wherein he confented, and promifed, to
take upon him our Nature, and fo become our near
Kinfman, (Goel,) that he might have a Right, and
be put into a Capacity, to do and fufftr for us, i. e.
in our Name and Stead, all that was necefiary for
our Redemption. — yf// this, I fay, he might un-
dertake, as well before the Creation, as after it ; and
before he had a human Soul, as well, as when he
had one : Becatife, tho' he could not either aBually
do, or fuffer, all that was necefiary without one ;
yet, the to us incomprehenfihle Meafure of the GiftSy
and Graces, ot the Holy Spirit, which the Father
promifed him to pour out upon his human Soul,
when it fhould be created^ v/ould, as he could not
but know, moft fweetly and effedually prevail with
it to give, and moft certainly fecure, and continue^
its moft free and cordial Confent, both to do, and
fuffer, ALL that ftiould be required. — But before I
leave this Queftion, I muft obferve upon it thefe
four Things, out of many well worth the while.
(i) If it is properly propofed, his own Words
evidently imply. That God had a Son without, and
confequently before he had, a human Soul; which
manifeftly overthrows his own Caufe, and eftablifties
mine. — It ftiouid therefore have run thus. Could
the Logos properly enter into fuch a Covenant,
^cF—And then,
(2) I ftiould have aftc'd, if the Logos, as fuch,
was a true and diftindl Perfon, Why could he not ?
— Should
[ " ]
— Should It be faid, he was not a true Perfon :
I muft have replied. This is pure Sabellianifm^ &c.
(3) Whence does it appear, that his human Soul
was, (if I may not fay, could be,) a Contractor in the
Covenant of Redemption, as is necefl'arily infinuated
in this Queftion, ^c. • Permit me only to add,
(4) That, if we fhould, without all Reafon, fup-
pofe that it did exift from Eternity, and that it did
adtually enter into this Covenant with the Father, it
neither was, nor could be, the primary and prin-
cipal Undertaker : Becaufe, our learned Author of-
ten acknowledges, That it was abfolutely necelTary
our Redeemer fhould be both God and Man -, p. 44,
68, &c. and confequently, his Soul was not, of and
by itfelf, equal to the moft glorious Undertaking.
" Quell. IV. Is the Godhead of Chrift and the
•' Godhead of the Father one and the fame Godhead?^*
— His whole Reply, from ^. 130, to 141. to fay
the lead, favours too much of Sabellianifm.
Anf. Seeing there is, there can be, but one only
the living and true God j there is, there can be, but
€ne only Godhead, or Divine Nature : And confe-
quently, the Godhead, or Divine Nature, of the co-
effential Son and that of his Father is, and muft
needs be, one and the fame Godhead, fubfifting in
the Father as a proper Father, and in the Son as a
proper Son.
" Queft. V. Is there an intimate Union revealed
'* between our Lord Jefus Chrift and God the Fa-
" ther V — His Mind is. That, " by the intimate
" Union of the Man Chrifi Jefus with this one God-
** head or Divine Nature which is in the Father,
•* Chrift is the Lord Jehovah, &c. p. 144," &c.
— I ftiall leave it to thofe that can, to make Senfe
of this at their Leifure.
Anf. There is an intimate Union between them,
the mofi intimate poffible : And this moft intimate
Union, is very clearly, ftrongly, and moft em-
phati-
[23 ]
phatically, revealed. — If we confider him purely
as the Son of God, He and the Father, are, as we
have heard, Jo. x. 30. one Thing : If merely as
Man, the Holy Spirit was given unto him, rejis
upon him, and abides in him, in a Marnier and
Meafure inconceiveable to us ; and fo as he never did,
nor Ihall, in any other; If. xi. 2 — 5. Jo. iii. 34:
And, if as God-man, In him dwelleth all the
Fulness of the Godhead, Bodily. Col. ii. 9.
Ch. i. 19.
" Queft. VI. Is Chrift the exprefs Image of God the
*' Father in his Human Nature, or in the Divine." —
To which he replies direftly, and roundly, " In the
Human Nature, p. 153.
Anf I do not know but T may fay in both. —
Or rather, to be more particular, thus, Chrift is
the Brightnefs of the Father'' s Glory, and the moft
exprefs Image poffible of his Perjon, only in his
Divine Nature, i. e. as his only begotten Son : And,
in his Human Nature, i. e. merely as Man, He is,
I believe, more the exprefs Image of God, than any
other mere Creature, whether in Heaven or Earth,
ever was or fhall be.
" Qiieft. VII. Jre the Worfhip of God the Father
*' and of his Son Jefus Chrift confiftent with one
*' another''*' — I cannot tell how to give his Reply?
to this, in full, with any Freedom, without feeming
to expofe him.
Anf What fhould render them inconfiftent ?
We worfhip them both as the one God, tho* difiin^
Perfons : And as the Worfliip we pay to the
Father^ asfuch, is thehigheft r^/^/f-z;^ Worfhip, we can
give him ; fo the Vv orfhip we give to the Son, as
fuch, is the higheft we can pay him. — In other
Words, As it is the higheft Glory to the Father,
as fuch, that he has fuch a Son -, lb it is the higheft
Glory to the Son, that he had fuch a Father : And
as the Glory we pay the Father, as fuch, redounds,
in-
[Hi
infinitely, to the Honour of the Son ; fo the Glory
we afcribe to the Son^ and as fuch, refled:s infinite
Glory to the Father. — When we worfhip any
One of the blefled T'hree^ by Name, tho' we con-
jfider him as a dijlin^ Per/on^ we do not as a Being
diftind from the DEITY; or a P erf on divided^
or feparated^ from the other Two: But as having
the fame Divine Nature^ with all its Effential Per-
fedlions^ which tkey have. < — In fnort, we believe
the Unity of the Divine 'Nature is not fo fingularj
firait, or dofe^ as to exclude a Plurt^lity of real
Perfons in it : And that the Diflinflion of the
Perfons in it, is not fo wide^ fo greats or fo large^
as that a Divifion of that Nature is implied in, or
can be inferred from it. — Thus, to be fomewhat
more particular, we worfhip the Father^ as the
Father \ and the Son^ as the Son : The Father^ as
the firft in Order, and confequently in Operation^
who alfo, in the Covenant of Redemption, fuflains
the Majefiy and Glcry of the D E I T Y, demand-
ing, and accepting, a Satisfadion, &c. But his
cwn, proper Son, tho' coejfential with him, as having
condefcended to become our near Kinfman, and
a6t in a delegated Capacity, ^c. ^c. And then,
we confider his Divinity, or co- effential Sonfhip, as
the only Foundation of the religious Worfhip and
Adoration we pay him -, and his unparaileli'd Con-
defcenfton, with the glorious Fruits of it, as the
mod affedling, endearing, and conftraining Mo-
tives, to trull in, fear, honour, obey, and love
him, and delight ourfeives in him.
" Queft. VIII. What is the Worfhip paid to cur
" hleffed Saviour Jefus Chrift, God''s exprefs Fmage ?"
— I fhall not here perplex the Reader with his ftrange
Reply, what is necelfary may come in hereafter.
Anf This is an odd Queftion, very hard to be
underflood, if at all intelligible : And his Reply^
or Explication, p. 165 — 170. is fo very general,
loofe.
, [25]
joofc, and unguarded, not to fay Very offcnfive
and dangerous, that I know not what to fay to it.
— I cannot remember I ever heard any fuch a
^lejiion before, and am apt to think that not one
in a Hundred, of all the Chriftians upon Earth,
ever did, any more than I. Does he mean, is
Chrifi to be worfhipped as God's Image ; which,
from his Manner of propofing it, p. 165. feems to
be the Senfe ? I then defire to have it explained.
— Is it, what kvfid or fort^ of Worfhip do we,
upon this Suppofiticn, give him ? in%. Is it
fupreme, or only inferior Woriliip ? Is it diredled
to the Creator^ or only to a Creature ? Is it abfolute,
or relative ? Is it intended to terminate upon him-
felf, the Image^ or to pafs through him to the
Father^ whofe Image he is ? Is it, that we are to
worfhip him purely as the Image of God, and not
as his Son : And that it is not himfelf we worfhip,
but the Father in him ? Or, v/hat does he mean ? —
Till we know, I am perfuaded this clear and
direct Anfwer to this Queftion, will fatisfy every
ferious, impartial Chriftian. Our bleffed Saviour
being the own^ begotten^ only begotten, and con-
fequently, the Natural and coejfejitial. Son of God,
He is, as fuch, the mofl exprefs Image poffible of
his Father ; and, when we worfhip this Son, and as
fuch, we honour him, according to his own exprefs
Words, Jo. V. 23. even as ive honour the Father :
But, becaufeHe, who being in the Form of God,
(as his Human Soul neither ever was, nor could be,>
and thought it not Robbery to be equal with God^
(as he muft have thought it, had he not been
really equal with him,) emptied himfelf, taking the
Form of a Servant, humbled himfelf and became
obedient unto Death, even the Death of the Crofs ;
for all which God alfo hath highly exalted him, (in
his whole complex Perfon,) a7id given him a Name
above every Name, Sec. Seeing, I fay, the Cafe is
E To,
[ 26 ]
fo, we heartily and thankfully confefs, "On'Kj^i©^
'I*)(r8f X^irocy uf ^o^a,-j QsH zD-a1^o\-, That the Lord Jefus
Chrijt is in the Glory of God the Father. Ph. ii. 6 — 1 1,
And therefore, with the Angels round about the
'Throne, the living Creatures^ and the Elders, we
fay, in as long a Doxology, as any we find in the
Bible, (and which is almoft the very fame with
that, which is afcribed unto ^«r G(J(^, Rev. vii. 12.)
Worthy is the Lamb that iv as slain, to receive
Pcwer, and Riches^ and Wifdcm, and Strength, and
Honour, and Glory, and Blejfmg : And, with every
Creature which is in Heaven, and on the Earth, and
muler the Earth, and in the Sea, we chearfully fay,
with the very fame Breath, and in the very fame
Words, Bkjjing, a?id Honour, and Glory, and
Power, be unto him that flit eih upon the Throne, and
unto THE Lamb, for ever a?idever. Rev. v. 12, 13.
Whence it feems evident, that our dear Redeemer,
in his whole complex Perfon, or. He who is the
Lamb, even the Lamb of God, has the very fame
IVorfhip with the Eat her. And this is Urongly, and
invincibly confirmed from, Ver, 6. where the Lamb,
as it had been Jlain.^ was feen flanding in the Midfi
of theEhrone, as partaking of the fame Glory, Dignity
and Authority, with Hi^n that fat on it : And his
,own mofl exprefs, folemn, and emphatic Words,
which put it out of all Doubt, Rev. iii. 21. even as
I alfo over came, and am fet down with my Father in
lis Throne. See and compare, Jo. xiv. 9. Ch. xvii.
ii. 5. Heb. i. 8 — 13. Rev. xlx. 16. 17. Ch. xxi.
Ver. 22. 23. Ch. xxii. i. and 3, &c. — Thus we
'have, I would fain hope, fully fatisfied all true
Chriftians, as to this Point.
He then concludes the Contents, with thefe Words
by themfelves, " To which is added an Effay of the
" true Importance of any human Schemes to explaiji
*' the facred Do^rine of the Trinity. — When the
". learned Author wrote " The Chriflian Do£lrine
. ■ . of
[ 27 ]
" cf the Trinity," — it was to be, " without the
" Aid or Incumbrance of //«;;z^« Schemes." p. i.
Happy had it been, had he kept to this his good
Refolution. But, fince then, we have a Scheme
made up of a Medley of the worfl human Schemes^
oddly blended together ! — However, this being
very little, if at all, to our prefent Purpofe, we
fhall only fay.
Scripture is, itfelf, the beft Explainei- of Scripture,
— Human Schemes feem not 'io proper for this
End, viz. to explain any Dodlrine of pure Revela-
tion., except there be fomething in Nature., level to
our Capacity, and well known to us, which fome
Way refembles, or may, in fome Meaftire, illuftrate,
the Thing revealed. This can hardly be expected,
or but very imperfectly, feintly, and confufedly,
in the Cafe of the adorable Myjlery of the Trinity,
which, as Divines are wont to fay, nee capit Ratio.,
nee dem'njirat Exemplum., i. e. which created Reafon can
neither fully comprehend., nor any Example or perfect
Analogy in, or from, inferior Beings., clearly il~
lujlrate. — There are, I know, fevtral figurative
ExpreflTions, both in the Old and New Teftament,
which have been commonly thought to caft fome
glimmering Light., on this great Do6lrine : But, i.
Even thefe, are but general •, and what Light they
give, is but very feint, and imperfed:, leaving it
ftill an unfearchahle Myjlery. And,- 2. Schemes
founded on Scripture Phrafes and Similitudes, are
more than merely human. — In fliort, all Human
Schemes hitherto invented, ** to explain this facred
" Dodlrine," have, in my Opinion, been fo far
from anfwering the Defign pretended, or defired,
that they have but the more perplexed, and
manifellly obfcured, debafed, or corrupted it ;
And, whatever Evil our Author's Scheme, (which
is not only Human, but a very Modern one too,)
has done, or jnay do j it never did, never will,
E 2 never
t 28 ]
never can, do any Good. — The Do^rine itfelf runs
through the Bibk, from the very Beginning to the
End of it : 'Tis fufRciently revealed, for the Faith,
Hope, and Love, yea for the Direction, Peace, and
Comfort, of all Penitent Believers : And may be
as eafily believed, as many other Matters of Fa5f
recorded in Scripture, ^o the haw then, and to
the 'Tejlimony, If. viii. 20. and let Human Schemes of
all Sorts, be for ever calhiered, by all who have
Wifdom, and Humility, enough to be contented
with the Bible, our only Rule.
The Reader will now, readily and clearly, per-
ceive, that the firft, of the former Eight Queftions,
is the principal One : And that the Anfwer to it,
whether true, or falfe, will naturally lead us to
reply to all the reft, and indeed draw all the reft
after it. — If this Title, the Son of God, ever
belongs, or is afcribed, to the fecond Perfon in the
Trinity, and purely as fuch-, or, if the fecond
Perfon, and as fuch, is indeed the proper, only
begotten, and therefore coeffential. Son of the Father ;
then it will, clearly, and undeniably, appear. That
he is, as fuch, as truly, and properly, a Perfon,
as the Father : — That he might therefore, very
properly, enter into a Covenant with him : — That
his Godhead, and the Godhead of the Father, is one
and the fame Godhead : — That there is the moft
intimate Union polTible between them : — That, as a
coeffential Son, he is the moft exprefs Image poflible,
of his Father'^ Perfon, ^c. &c. But, if this
Title does never belong to the Second Perfon, and
purely as fuch -, or, if the Second Perfon, as fuch,
is not, in Reality, a coeffential Son ; then, it will,
as undeniably, appear. That Chrifi, purely as the
Son, is not the true and eternal God : — That there-
fore, purely as fuch, he is a mere Creature :—
That, how intimate foever the Union between the
Father and the Sen is, it is but the Union of the
Father
[ 29]
Father, with a mere Creature : — That the Son, as •
fuch, cannot, poflibly, be fo exprefs an Image of
the Father's Perfon, as if he were a coejfential Son :
— That, as the Son, he is not to be honoured as the
Father : — Yea, That, purely as fuch, he cannot be,
at all, the Objeft of religious Worjhip, &c. — •
This being really the Cafe, the great Queftion,
which will determine all the reft, and upon
which they all depend, will be, if put into
plain EngliJIo, as our worthy Author's is not, run
thus.
Does this Title, the Son of God, ever denote
or fignify the fecond Perfon in the Trinity, and
purely as fuch : Or, is the fecond Perfon in the
Trinity, and purely as fuch, in Fa6t, the cwn^
begotten, only begotten, and confequently, coejfential
Son of God the Father ? — The Catholic Church, in
all Ages, have moft firmly, and fteddily, believed
he is : But our Author is of another Mind, and
appears moft zealous to draw others to his Opinion.
The Subje6b " if Salvation and Damnation are
" annexed to it," ^c. muft be confeft to be of the
laft Importance : And therefore, fince our all is at
Stake, we cannot be too attentive, ferious, and
inquifitive about this Matter. He himfelf, " has
" fpent many Tears of his Life in diligent Inquiries
" into the facred Do5lrines of the Gofpel, &c. Pref.
p. 3. And now, " takes the Freedom to fay, thefe
Papers are the ProduSi of that Part of Life, when
his Powers of Mind and Body were in full Vigcur^*
ibid. p. 4 And yet, a great many Things not only new
and flrange, uncouth and abftrufe, but befides, and
againft the Word of God, 6fr. and which were
little expedled from fuch a Man, are found all over
them.
" He has one Favour to beg of his Readers, and
" that is, that they would not examine any of thefe
'* Papers, by the mere Dilates of their own reafon-
" ing
[ 3° ]
*' ing Powers, ibid. p. 4. 5. O that he had taken
this wife, this neceflary. Admonition in writing
them. ^^ for the Suhje5i is a mere Matter of Divine
" Revelation •," It is fo : And confequently, we
can know nothing more of it, than what wc
learn from thence., vrvAnd the true, the fure, the
only, Way to know the true and full Meaning of
the U'^'ord of God, is, not to bring our own Dreams,
Fancies, and Wifhes, i^c. to it ; and then twift,
and torture it, to vouch for, fupport, and eftablifh
them : But, to take Things, as we find them in
Scripture ; examine every Word -, compare one
PafTage with another ; cafi down Imaginations (xo-
'yKTfxHg ReafoningsJ and every I'hing that exalt eth
it f elf againfi the Knowledge of God, &c. 2 Cor. x.
5. &c. and then fubmit all our own Condufions, to
his Authority. " nor that they would take the
'' Sentiments or Schemes of elder or later Writers,
" whether Schoolmen or Fathers, or Divines of
" any Party," A fhrewd Evidence, he well knew,
they were all againft himfelf ! *'/<7r a perfetl 'Tejl of
" '■I ruth and Orthodoxy in thefe f acred Subje^s.'*
I appeal to the impartial Reader, whether 1 have
not complyed with this good Counfel. — Tho' 1
have, and mod juftly, a very high Regard, for
the concurring Tellimony, Opinion, or Judgment,
of the bathers, and that of many of our modern
refor7nedY)W\m^ •, and particularly, thofe of the famous
and mofl venerable Synod of Dort, and Assem-
bly at Wejiminfier ; yet, I never did, and, by the
Grace of God, never fliall, take the Schemes of
any mere Man, or Men, " for a perteft Teft of
" Orthodoxy," in thefe or any religious Subjects. —
The Bible, The Bible, is the only Rule of
Protejiants. — And I can, for myfelf, call the
'moji Pligh to witnefs, whether, '* in all mere
" Matters of divine Revelation ;" or any Matters
which can be determined by it, my firfl", my chief,
my
[ 3' ]
my laft Refort Is not, What saith the Scrip-
ture ? And had this Author fpoken more accord-
ing to this Word^ If. viii. 20. and been lefs fway'd
by the Scheme of a very modern Writer, (who,
tho' an ingenious and learned Man, neither indeed
was, nor was ever thought to be, the bed of
Guides^) I am incHned to think, the World had
never feen " thefehis Papers." And hope, by that
Time I have done, to convince my Readers, they
had been at no great Lofs, if they had not.
They are not to expedl 1 Ihould follow him,
through almoft every Page, not to fay Sentence,
as fome tell me I have too much done with my
laft Antagonifts •, for this Reafon, among feveral
others : There are fo many Things in thefe Papers,
which were fo little expedled from this learned
Author, That were I to take this Method, except
I fhould tranfcribe every Word from the Beginning
to the End, thofe who have not read them through-
out, again and again, and very attentively too,
would be tempted to think, either that I had not
plainly quoted his Words, as they lye-, or, had
taken them by a wrong Handle -, or concealed
fome Paffages which would have qualified them,
if not fet them in another and in a better Light -, or
flyly palmed fome Conclufions upon him, which
are not really in his Premifes ; ^c. All which mean,
bafe Arts, 1 moft heartily abhor-, and, fliould
fcorn to ufe, did my Caufe need them : Bur,
blefled be God, it does not. — Withal, there are
not a few Particulars, which I could not anfwer,
with that necejfary Freedom, the Importance of them
requires, without being fuppofed to take Pleafure
in infulting his Memory, which is the fartheft of
all Things from my Thoughts, — That I may
therefore, as much as poflTible, without injuring the
Caufe of Truth, avoid all Sufpicion of any fuch
pitiful Shifts, I ihall wholly pafs by a great many
dubious
t ^2 ]
duhious^ and offenfive^ Paflages; and treat others,
which muft be animadverted on, with all faithful
Tendernefs : And,^ inftead of a diredb, and fevere
Confutation of many of his numerous Mijiakes, and
Errors ; or dwelling too long, or frequently, upon
them, as if I delighted in fuch ungrateful Work ;
I Ihall rather fet myfelf to prove^ illujirate^ and
vindicate, thofe Doctrines of the Gofpel, which, tho*
very dear to the Church of Chrifl in all Ages, he
hzs perverted, denied, or oppofed. Return eji Index
fui ^ obliqui. — If 'J'ruth is clearly propofed, fairly
proved, and fully vindicated -, the contrary Errors,
whoever patronifes them, or however fpecioufly
advanced, or plaufibly mainrained, will be eafily
difcerned and for ever dernolifhed. — This Way
alfo, I fhall have the defirable Opportunity of
refcuing, explaining, and illuftrating, a great
many Scripture Texts ; (to which he has given a
Sabellian, or Arian Turn !) an Excrcife, which I
have, for many Years, look'd upon, as the chief
Delight of my Life. — And, that this may be
done to the beft Advantage, and with the moll
convenient Brevity, we Ihall follow this Method,
viz. Shall
1. State the principal ^lejiion, or ^efiions,
between us, in the plaincfl and mod candid Manner,
that every one may, clearly, difcern what we are
difputing about, and may keep the true Points in
Controverfy ftill in his Eye.
2. Offer fome juji and weighty Prejudices againft
thofe novel Opinions, which this learned Author
has efpoufed, and labours, fo induflrioufly and
zealoufly, to maintain, recommend, and fpread.
3. Propofe feveral Preliminary Confiderations,
which may help us to fome clearer Ideas of the
principal Things in this Controverfy ; remove
feveral Difficulties attending them-, and lead us,
the more cafily and fully, to perceive, not only
the
[ 33 ]
the Truths we are contending for, but the Im-
portance of them.
4. Difcufs fome of his fuhordinate ^jejlions^ if
they may be fo called, and anfwer the mod plaufible
Things, he has, any where, brought in fupport of
his Notions^ againft the Faith once delivered to the
Saints.
5. Produce, and vindicate, a great many Serif-
lure Texts, which the Church ofChrift- in all Ages,
have pleaded, as fo many convincing Proofs of the
coejfential Scnjhip of the fecond -'erfon in the ever
blelfed Trinity : Or Proofs, That this Title, the
Son of God, fo frequently afcrib^d in Scripture to
our ever blefled Redeemer, does always, primarily
and dire6lly^ either prefuppofe, or denote, his Di-
vinity, or natural Relation to the Father, whofe ow7i^
only begotten Son he is ; and, That this Idea, is, every
where, implied in all the PaiTages, wherein he is fo
Itiled.
CHAP. I.
The principal Queflion, or QiieAions, Jlated^
in the plainefi and mofi candid Manner, that
the Reader may clearly fee what we ci*-e dip-
puling about, and have the true Points iri
CoJitroverJy Jlill in his Eye,
WHEN one engages in any Work, wherein
he, defignedlyand proferfedly, lets hiaifelf
to oppofe any commonly received Opinion, or Article
of Faith ; and cfpecially, if it be', in his ov/n Judg-
ment, " an Article of fuch Importance as to have
" Salvation or Damnation annexed to the believing,
" or not believing it j" he ought to be careful, in
F . the
r 34 ]
tfie firfi Place, to propofe " his llyeme,^* in the
cleareft Manner he can, That his Readers may
neither miftakc his Notions^ nor Intention in advancing
and fupporting them: — And the firft Thing an
honeji Refpondent Ihouid do, is to fiat e the ^efiionSy
fairly and clearly ; and then explain his Terms, de-
claring wherein, and how far, he and his Antago-
nift agrees, and in what Things, with what Views,
and how far, they differ. If either, and much
more if both, forget thefe, they may talk, or rather
wra'rigk, without End, and to very little Purpofe,
And hence it is, as well as from other Caufes, that
Controverjies of all Sorts, and particularly religious
ones, have fo little good Effect. — That this therefore
may be, I hope, prevented at prefent, we fhall
give our learned Author's Mind, in his own Words,
faithfully, without altering, adding, or abridging
them ; make fome Obfervations on them ♦, acquaint
the Reader wherein we differ ; and then, honeflly
and clearly, give the State of the ^efiions between
us, and efpecially the principal One.
Having, in the laft Sentence of his Introducflion
quoted above, promifed " to furvey the Senfes
*' which have been ufually put upon the Name Son
*' of God, — by Way of a disjunctive Syllogifm,
*' propofmg feveral and excluding fome of them ;'*
He begins his firft Seflion, in the very next Words,
p. 5. thus, " This Name, Son of God, hath been
** fuppofed to be given to our Lord Jefus Chrifi,
*^ upon fome or all thefe five Accounts," which he
there gives us, and muft be particularly confidered
afterwards. — Anf Upon One of them, it always has \
upon fome others, frequently -, and upon one, very
feldom, and but by very few. The fifth, which is
that which he, in thefe Papers, pleads for, we have,
p. 1 6. You fhall have every Word of it.
" V. The laft Senfe in which Chrifi is called
'* the Sgn of Qody is to fignify that glorious Perfon
ijjho
[35 ]
*' who was appointed to he the Mejfiah, the anointed
" Saviour who was derived from God, and did bear
*' fome very near and extraordinary Relation to God
*' above all other Perfons ; and therefore he is call-
" ed his Son, his own Son, his only begotten Son, his
«' beloved Son, And fince the feveral other Senfes
" cannot be admitted to be the precife Idea and
" common Meaning of the Name Son of God in
" the New Tellament, I take this to be the true
" Idea of it, as it is generally ufed in the New
" Tcflrament, and iefpecially in thofe Scriptures
" where the Belief or Profeffion of it is made ne-
" ceffary in Order to the Salvation of Men in the
" Writings of the Apoftles." He fhould have
added, and of the Evangelifis,
How orthodox now does all this appear! Had
he ftopt here, we could hardly have defired more.
Take this, in a Catholic Senfe, and I, for my Part,,
can heartily fubfcribe almoft every Word of it, but
one. Thus, " Chrift is called the Son cf God^" in
numberlefs Paflages ; and we mod ftedfaftly believe.
He is what he is called ; and that, in a moft pe-
culiar, even in the higheil, and moft, yea only,
proper ^^x\i^ '. — This Son of God was, and could
not but be, as fuch, a moft " glorious Perfon j"
Heb. i. ver. 2, 8, 10. and when he took on him our
Nature, He was, and is, ftill one Perfon only, and
a moft glorious one : — He, and he only, " was
*' appointed to be the Meffiah, the anointed Sa-
" viour " Prov. viii. 23. and he, and he only,
i. e. as the Son of God made Flefh, could a£lually
execute that moft glorious Office \ Rev. v. 3 — 6 :
— He " was derived from God" even the Father ;
for, he is his own, his only begotten, and therefore,
coeffentialSon: John iii. 16. and 1 8 : — He bears a very
*' near and extraordinary Relation to God-," for. He
and the Father, John. x. 30. are One : — •" Above
" all other Perfons ;'* Yes, (if we muft not except
F 2 the
[36]
the Holy Ghoft,) for, he is his only hegoi^en, \vho
always was^ and w, of him, and yet with him, and
in him. John i. ver. i, 2, 14. and i8» &c. — And
now, taking thefe Words as Chriftians, in all Ages,
would have taken them, and one can hardly fay any
Thing more found. — But alas ! this is not his
Senfe, tho' " he takes it to be the true Idea of this
" Nmne /" as is clear from the very next Para*
graph, which you fhall alfo have verbatim.
" It includes fome fpecial and glorious Relation
" to God-," p. 17. It does, it mull do, fo, if it
includes any Thing in it at all : Nor can any one
pofllbly doubt of it. — " but whether that Relation
*' belongs to his Flefh," i. e. if it be Senfe, to the
Body he affiimed. Strange Words indeed / The Son
of God himfelf took Part of the fame Flefh and Bloody
of which the Children were Partakers ; Heb. ii. 14.
and thereby, became cur near Kinfman : But, 1 ne-
ver heard it fiirmized, till now, that, by taking
our Flefh, he became more nearly related to God,
than he was before he took it. — " or his human
** Soul," which, he tells us, had " a glorious and
*' peculiar Derivalion from God the Father before the
*' Foundation of the World," p. 10, ^c. Of which
peculiar Derivation of his human Soul, the Scrip-
tures, fo far as I can find, are entirely filent. — " or
" his Divine Nature," a Claufe which our Author,
above all Men, fhould have clearly explained, for
a Reafon which will come up by and by. — " or to
** all thefe," And yet, if " this Relation belongs
" either to his Flefh, or to his Divine Nature, or
" to all thefe three,'^ his darling ISofirum, " That
*' his Human Soul is properly the Son of God, p. 150,
•' &c." is moft evidently demolifhed thereby. —
** is not fo diredlly determined by thofe Texts," Is
it not ? Why ; If thofe Texts, where our Lord is
lb frequently ftiled the own, the begotten, the only
^egotten Son ; and fuch as that, I and the Father.
" '■ ' ARB
[ 37 1
ARE ONE, 6?
r66 ]
(i.) We do not plead for, no nor pretend to,
Perfe5lion of Khozvled^e^ in this imperfe^ State,
wherein we now are : Nor, in particular. That
any Perfons, even the moft holy, fagacious, learn-
ed, and uffful, that ever were in the World, ever
had the full Knowledge of the Meaning of every
Word and Phraje in Scripture ; and much lefs, that
thty ever had, or could have, clear, diftinft, and
adequate. Ideas of the fiiblime Things themfelves,
which are figmfied by them, — The Royal Pjalmiji
himlelf, who had more Underjlandtng than all his
Teachers -y Pf. cxix. 99. yea, than the Ancients \
ver. 100. did not pretend to 2.ny fuch Perfe^ion \
and therefore, fervently prays, ver. 18. Open thou
mine Eyes^ that I jnay behold wondrous Things cut of
thy Law : — The Prophets were obliged, by Read-
ing, Meditation, and frequent, fervent Prayer, to
enquire and fear ch diligently, i Pet. i. 10 — 12. into
the Scope and Afeaning of their own Prophecies :
— And the Apoftle Paul, who had as profound and
comprehen/roe a Knowledge of the Scriptures, and the
great Things revealed in them, as any meer Maa
ever had, found Depths in them, v/hich he could
not fiuhom. Rom. xi. 33. — They all had the fulleji
Satisfa^ion, that they were under the infallible In-
fpiration of the Holy Qhofi ; or, were moved, (pipo[As\)oi,
barn up, by him; 2 Pet. i. 21. fo that they did
not, could not, err, when thus injiru^ed: And
knew as much, of what they delivered, by Word
or Writing, as was at that I'ime neceJTary, for them-
felves, and thofe to whom they were fent : But, a
perfect Knowledge, of many of the Myfieries they re •
vealed to others, they ne.ther had, nor could have -,
bccaufe, the Things were revealed to them but in
part, aBd they themfelves could only know them but in
part. I Cor. xiii. 9. Much lefs can we, or any others,
not fo infpired, now pretend to any fuch Attainments.
■^- So that, wc do not deny. That there are many
DiffMll'
[67l
Difficuliies in Scripture, which we do not throughly
underjiand-i 2 Pet. iii. ( 6. many Expreffwns or Phra-
fesy here and there, of the true Meaning of which
we are not fure ; many fingle IVords, which cannot
now be eafily tranjlated \ many Alliifwns^ which wc
hardly at all "know ; many different Readings of par-
ticular Texts ; and feveral, yea contrary, Expofttions
of the fame PafTages ; ^c. — And therefore, we
need not fcruple to grant, That the true and full
Senfe, of fome of thefe, has never been known,
fince the Death of the Apoftles : — That Interpreters
and Minifiers may have, for fome Ages, generally,
if not univerfally, mi [tinder ft 00 d [ever al of them: —
That fome of thefe Miftakes, through the Devices
of Satan, and the vile Defigns of his Emijfaries,
may have prevailed, and been almoft unanimoully
delivered to, and received by, the Churches of
Chrift, as fo many undoubted 'Truths : — And,
That they may, (efpecially, if we join with them
the inexhauftible Fund of unwritten Traditiofjs, from
whence the Popes have had always fome ready,
whenever they thought they wanted them) have
fadly affefted the Chriftian Faith^ and corrupted
the Worfhip of God, &c. — But yet,
(z) Thefe need not much difturb us, or be a
Jlumbling Block to us •, becaufe, molt of thofe Paf-
fages relate to the Hiftories, or Genealogies^ &c. we find
in the Bible •, or to the proper Names of Men, Ci-
ties or Countries -, or the Computations of Time ;
or the Names of Animals and Herbs ; (f$c. or
fome Cufioms of the Eaftern Nations, well known
to the Ifraelites, in thofe Days ; which very little
concern plain Chriftians : — Or, they occur only in
fome more obfcure Prophecies -, in Places where a
"Word, or two, are found, which we no where elfe
meet with, whence we might more furely learn their
true Meaning -, or in Paflages, which feem to have
no near Relation either to our Faith, or Practice,
K 2 which
[ 68 ]
which ferlous Perfons have not fo carefully enquired
into : — Or, what is obfcure, and hard to be under-
ftood, in one Place, is made plain and clear in
another; ^c We need not, I fay, then be
troubled, becaufe,
(3.) The Scriptures are, in all Things necejfary
to Salvation, in fome or more Places, fo clear and
perfpicuous^ that he that runs may read them^ and
may affuredly know the true Senje of them alfo.
One may not deny, no, nor doubt of this, with-
out Blafphemy againft their ever bleffed Author. —
If they are not fo clear, it muft be either, becaufe
God could not, or would not, make them fo : A
Sufpicion, which highly reproaches, either his Wif-
dom, or his Goodness I — The Ends, for which they
were given, even to be a Rule of Faith and Man-
Tiers, Pf xix. 7 — 10, &c. a Light and a Lamp,
Pf.cxix. 105. 2Pet. i. 19. i^c. ftrongly confirms this.
— A Rule, which cannot be perceived, is ufelefs :
And a Light, which can't ht feen, is 2iCoKtradi£iion,
— Hence it will follow,
(4.) That, when God was pleafed to reveal his
Mind and IVill, to his People, immediately, he did
it in JVords that they underftood ; or by Vijions,
Emblems and Signs, the Meaning of which they
knew ; or if they did not, at firft, clearly perceive
the Senfe of his Words, or Defign of thofe Vifions,
&c. he was careful to make them underjtand them.
This was, undoubtedly, the Cafe, when he gave
them Laws, made Promifes, or denounced Threat-
nings.' — And, when he fpoke of his own Being, Per-
fections, or J^ioJis; or mention'd any of his.
Names •, had he not, one Way or another, done
this, He had as good have kept his Mind to him-
felf: Becaufe, what he had /W to, or Jhewn them^
could anfwer no valuable End, or do them any
Good. — JVords not underftood are, to him that
hwrs them, were Sounds : And Emblems, or even^
Vifionsy
[ 69 ]
Vifwns^ of which we know not the true Meaning or
Intention, are full as likely to lead us into Mijlakes,
as into 1'rutb. — This was yet rather, I conceive,
more neceflary, when he employed Prophets to bring
his PFill to others : Becaufe, If they had not
known the Meaning of his JVords, or of the Emblems
they were to reprefent to them, ^c. fufficiently to
anfwer his End in fending them ; I cannot fee how
they could have remcmbred them, or delivered them
to thofe to whom they were fent, ^c. — Withal,
upon thisSuppofition, I cannot help thinking, That,
if the People had but fufpefted fo much, they
would have alledged that they came to ridicule^ ex-
pofe, banter or infult over them, and have treated
them accordingly. But, it feems, they had no
fuch Thought. — Need I add. That, when the moji
High faw it neceflary, he was often pleafed to ex-
plain the Vlfions and Emblems to them. Am. vii. i,
2, 3. Ch. viii. I, 2. Zech. i. 18 — 21. and Ch. iv.
5, 6. {£c, &€. and fometimes alfo the Fredi£lions
of future KventSy Dan. Ch.ii. iv, Ch. vii. 16 — 23,
Ck. viii. 19 — 29. Ch. ix. 22 — 27. and Ch. xi.
throughout, (^c. i^c. fo that, even under the Old
Difpenfation, which was but a Difpenfation of Dark-
nefs, the Church had Light fufficient to teach them
all that they were obliged to knozv, and believe ; and
Jhew them the right IVay they were to take, to
obtain everlajiing Life. — Shall I offer one Thing
farther,
(5. J That the true and full Import of 'Terms, and
Exprefjtons, which had been long ufed by the
People of God, and familiar among them, and all
Ranks of them, for many Ages, could not but be
well known among them ; at leaft to the moft in-
telligent and learned, the Expounders of the LaWy
and the Priefts, who were to have the Law of Truth
in their Mouths, and whofe Lips were to keep Know-
ledge. Mai. ii. 6, 7. — No reajonable Creature can
well
[ 'O ]
well doubt of this : But, if any fhould, let them
recoiled:, That they had Propbeis with them, for fe-
veral Ages, who were ahky and would be very
ready f to give tht m all the requiftte Information they
could •, and the Urim and Thummim alfo, which
would afford them, at all Times, infallible InJiru^ion\
and then, they cannot entertain the leait Demur
about this.
Having premifed thefe Things, the Weight of
this Prejudice will be very apparent, if we do but
well confider thefe few Thoughts, every one of
which will much confirm the reft.
1. The Chriftian Religion was nof like the Arts
and ScienceSy which are capable of various and
numberkfs Improi'ements., from Age to Age ; but
ferfe£ly (and therefore, not to be altered^) as foon
as the Canon of Scripture was complete. — Our
Lord himfelf knew all Things \ John xxi. 1 7, and
all that he had heard of his Father he made known
unto the Jpoftles\ Ch. xv. 15. to whom he alfo gave
the Spirit to teach them all Things. Ch. xiv. 26.
So that they could not but know, the true^ the
complete^ Senfe of a Title, they were fo frequently
to ufe.
2 . This Title, the Son of God, was well known,
as we fhall fee, in Old Teftament Times : Yea was,
as our Author confefifes, " univerfally known,'*
when our Lord himfelf was upon Earth. " The
*' Scribes, the Pharifees, the Priefts, and all the
" Jewsy fays he, talk'd with our Lord Jefus freely
" about the Mejiah under this Name and Title, as
" being the common Name of the Mefjlahy and
" perfectly well known amongft them," &c. p. 73.
But, if it was " perfe^ly well known" the true and
complete Senfe of it, muft, I conceive, have been
well known alfo : And, " if all the Jews knew it,'*
the Difciples and the ordinary Hearers of our Lord,
could not be Ignorant of it, — V\ hence I gather.
That
That this true and full Senfe would be continued, at
lealt, among tht? Dilciples •, who would coinmunkate
it to others, wherefoever they went : That it would
be well known among their immediate Succellors,
and frequent in their Sermons and Writings: — And
confequently, That it was next to impoflible, it
fhould ever be quite forgot ; and abfolutely impof-
fible, it fhould be foon forgotten, all over the World.
And yet,
3. Jntiquity, to the bed of my Remembrance,
never, any where, mentions his " compleat Idea of
*' Chrift's glorious pre-ex^Jient human Soul,'''* &c.
p. 10. and very feldom his other Notions ; nor are
they found, in the Writings of any Age, ever fince,
till very lately. — His Caveat, againft ^^ taking the
'* Sentiments or Schemes of elder or later Writers,
" whether Schoolmen or Fathers, or Divines of
*' any Party, for a perfe6l Teft of Truth and Ortho-
" doxy in thofe facred Subjefts," Pref. p. 5. feems
a tacit ConfefTion of this. But this, as we have
hinted, was next to an abfolute Impoflibility, if his
*' compleat Idea of this Name" had ever been
known in the firft Ages. — Need I add, I cannot re-
collect, that it, (if any other of his Fancies; was
ever once mention'd in the famous Coujicil o^ Nice,
or any of the other General Councils, whofe Decijions
are much fet by, and very juftly, among all the Pro-
tefiant Churches : Whence 'tis plain, it was either
not at all then known, or but very little regarded.
—Yea,
4. So far were the Ancients, who were elleem'd
Orthodox, from being of his Mind, in theje Notions,
that, as all the World know, they were unanimoufly,
zealoufly, and ftcadily, for the true and proper Gene-
ration, and co-effential Sonjhip, of the fecond Perfon in
the Trinity. This will hardly be denied : But, if it
fhould, the Nicene and Athanafian Creeds, fo well
known
[72 ]
known among us, put it out of all Doubt. — Be it
confidered further,
5. This Title, Son of God, does not occur once,
or a few Times only ; in one, or a few, obfcurc
Places only ; or without any Parallel, or equivalent
Exprefiions to explain, and confirm it : But a great
many Times, all over theNewTeftament; in a great
Number of Paffages, which are clear, and eafily un-
derftood ; and with many other Phrafes, which afcer-
tain the true, the full Senfe. — Had we met with it
only once, or twice j occafionally only, or by the
by •, in fome dark Prophecy, or fome figurative or
ambiguous ExprefTion ; there might have been fome
Pretence for hefitating, demurring, difputing : But,
when we meet with it, fo very frequently, on fo
many Occafions, and with fo m.any fignificant Jd-
nouns alfo, which fo certainly determine the Senfe,
if any Words can determine it •, and have, in the
Judgment of the Chriftian Church, adtually deter-
mined it, at leaft, from the coming of the Holy Ghofi
to this Day ; there was but very little Reafon, for all
this extraordinary Oppofition to it. — Once more,
6. The Senfe of this Title we plead for, has been
not only the general Senfe of the Church, in all Ages,
but always accounted the Rock on which it is built. —
And tho* the Gates of Hell, i. e. Satan and hisEmif-
faries, have been, according to our Lord's Predidlion,
Mat.xv'u 16 — 19. by all manner of Means, in-
ceflantly, and ever fmce, endeavouring to batter, or
undermine it, yet have they never, nor fhall they ever
prevail againji it. Learning and Criticifm, Quirk
and Quibble, and Sophiftry of all Sorts ; Yea, Ba-
nifhments, Imprifonments, Racks, Wheels, Gib-
bets, Axes, Fire, Faggots, and all Manner of Tor-
tures, have been often ufed, for this End, and
in many Places, but, blefled be God, all to no Pur-
fofe. The coeffmtial Sonfnp of Chrift, is ftill, and,
if
[ 73 ]
if he Is the Truth, ever will be One of the Founaa^
tions of the Chrijiian Faith I — Let thole other-
wife minded, confider thefe well, and they will eafi-
Jy fee, there is more in them, than they were aware
of.
II. Thefe Notions were not only^ fo far as ap-
pears, wholly unknown, when our SaviOur was up-
on Earth, but, by our Author's own Confeffion,
could hardly be known, even to any of the Apoftles
themfelves, but one only ; which, in my Opinion^
as I have hinted above, wholly and for ever, de-
molifhes his own Caufe and eftablifhes mine. — One
of the Reafons he gives, (even when he is telling us,
" he is very much inclined to believe, that the
*' Name, Son of God, vehtes to his human Soul, and
*' fignifies the glorious peculiar Derivation of it
'' from God the Father, &c. p. lo.) why he cannot
" think this precife Idea is the very Thing defigned
*' in thofe Texts, — wherein our Salvation is made
" to depend on the Belief of Chrift being the Son of
*' God ;" is this : — You Ihall have every Syllable
of the whole Paragraph.
" Tho* the Apoftles Paul and John, and per-
*' haps the reft of them, arrived at this compleat
" Idea of his glcrious fre-exiftent human Soul in due
" Time, yet it doth not appear evident that the
" Difciples had all attained fuch an Idea, fo foon
*' as they believed that he was the Son of God, in
*' a fufficient Manner for their attaining the Favour
" of God and a State of Salvation." p. lo, ii.
On which obferve, He dare hardly fay, That
any onetvtn of " the Apoftles, arrived at tjiis com-
" pleat Idea," at leaft for fome Time, but two
at moft : — ■ He puts a " perhaps upon the reft of
" them : — He mentions a " due Tmie ;" but nei-
ther tells us when that due I'ime was, nor whether .
the reft did then a<5lually arrive at it, when the
due Time came ; — Is plain " it doth not evidently
L " appear
[74]
*' appear they had all attained fuch an Idea fo foon
*' as they believed he was the Son of God^^ 8ic :
And talks of their " believing this, in a fufficient
*' Manner for their attaining the Favour of God :"
&c. But neither acquaints us what he undcrilands by
*' this fufficient Manner ;" nor when they " attain-
*' ed the Favour of God, and a State of Salvation."
— But, to anfwer all this more particularly, I muft
af]<,
I . Why the Apoflle Paul^ in the very firft
Place, who was no Difciple, yea knew nothing of
Chriji^ till long after his Jfcenfton ; if it was not.
That he verily thought irith himjelf^ that he ought to
do many Things contrary to his ISlame ? A6ts xxvi.
9 — 12. — Did he, could he, know the /r^f Mean-
ing of this Title^ before any other of the Twehe'^ — 2.
Why the Apoftle John^ more than Peter and James ;
yea, and the other EvangeJifts alfo, who all mention
this Title, with feveral Thoughts to eftablifh the
true Senfe of it.? — Did he fo much excel even
all thefe in Knowledge^ or other Abilities ? — Or, did
our Lord reveal any Thing to him, in his Life-Time,
which he did not to his other two Favourites ?
Yea, Is it not from the Apoftle John^ we have le-
veral of the cleareft, fulleft, and ftrongeft Proofs,
both of the Divinity^ and coejfential Sonjhip, of the fe-
cond Perfcn ^ and of his Unity ^ and Equality^ with the
Father ? — 3. Why did he fay, " and perhaps the
*' reft of them arrived at this compleat Idea in due
" Time r" Can there be any Doubt, That every
one of them arrived at it in due 'Time \ if it was in-
deed the true Idea fignified by this Title: Or " the
*' Scnfe which Chrift more direftly defigned to
*' convey to thofe that heard him ?" — Is not
himfelf very exprefs. All Things that I have heard
of my Father^ I have made known unto you P John xv.
i/^. And could they then be ignorant of it.''- — If
the Knowledge of ir, or his other Notions, was necef-
fary.
[75l
fary, either For their ccvn Inflruflion, Faith, Peace,
Comfort, Joy, or Salvation: Or, for the faithful
iLxecution of their Office ; Would not the Spirit of
Infpiration teach it them ? Or, Was there any
Thing in " this complete Idea, or indeed in any of
" his other Notions," fo very hard to be conceiv-
ed, retained, or conveyed to their Hearers, which
the Holy Ghiji could not make clear and plain, to
the weakeft of them all ? 4. When was " the due
*' Time," he fpeaks of? — Was it to come foon,
or not till feveral, yea many Ages after ? — Is it
, now paft, or not ?-— One would think. That, if it is
already paft, it arrived, if not before, yet when
the Day of Pentecoji was fully come ; A6ls ii. i — 4.
Or very foon after it : But, if that was the Time,
we may, I think, be fure. That every one of them
knew the true, the full Senfe of this Title ; and
*' that which Chrift more direftly defigned to con-
*' vey to his Church," long before the Apoftle
PW did. — Yea, furely, every one of them knew
all that was necefiary to the faithful and fucccfsful
Execution of their Office, foon after that remarkable
Event, through the whole Courfe of their Lives.
— 5. Did not Peter, in his own Name, and in the
Name of his Brethren, over and over, confefs that
their blefled Mafter was the Christ, the Son of
the living God? John vi. 6<^. Mat. xvi. 16 — 18.
And did neither himfelf, nor any one of them, but
"John, know the true, the /////Meaning of their own
ConfeJJion ! — 5. Did not our Lord kindly accept, and-
moft highly approve of this their Cojifejjwn \ adding,
Blcffed art thou Simon Barjona : For Flefh and Blood
hath not revealed tt unto thee, but my Father which
is in Heaven ? Mat. xvi. 1 7. And, did not the
Father then reveal to them " the Senfe of this Title,
" which he more diredtly defigned to convey to
*' them V Or, did neither of them, even then,
know what they believed? Or, Could our v/orthy
L 2 Audior,
t 76 1
Author, had he reflecled on this : Or, can any
other now, foberly think they did not ? — 7.
Whence Ihould any of them, at laft, have *' ar-
" rived at this complete Idea ?" or any other of
thefe Ideas ? — The Old Tejiament^ 1 humbly con-
ceive, is wholly y?/(?«/, as to thefe Matters : — There
is not a Syllable, that dropt from the Mouth of any
of their Contemporaries, which, fo far as I can find,
comes up to the Point :— And our blefied Lord, fo
far as we know, never fpake one Word " of theglo-
" rious peculiar Derivation of his Soul from God
** the Father before the Creation of the World.'*
He never gave any Hint, That " his human
*' Soul was properly the Son of God:'' — Yea, fo
far was he from infmuating any fuch Thing, That
when he afiiimes this Title, ihe Son of God, or fpeaks
of himfelf in equivalent Terms, he does it as a co-
ejfential Son, attributing to himfelf fuch Things, as
none but a con-fuhftanttal Son could, or durft have
done ; 13 c. as fhall be fully proved by and by. See
Johnv. 17 — 20. Ch. viii. 54 — 59. Ch. x. 29,30,
^c. — 8. Whence then does it appear, That any
one of them ever arrived at " this complete Idea"
of his, or ever entertained any other of his Nojirums ?
— 9. If anyone of them ever did, It was either
neceffary, upon one Account or other, in lefs or
more, that it jfhould then be made known by them
fo the Churches of Chrift, or it was not. If it was
not, then, in any Degree, neceffary ; I cannot but
believe, it was not, is not, now : And therefore,
humbly conceive, 1 hat, however our learned Au-
thor came by the Knowledge of thefe Notions, he
had as good have kept it to himfelf: Becaufe, if
it was no Way neceffary, the World can never be
the better for it, and had been full as wife, and as
well, without it. — 10. If it was, in any Degree or on
any Account, neceffary. Is it not fomewhat ftrange.
That they never made any of thefe J^otlons, exprefly
knowft
[77 1
known to the Church ? Or, if they did, any where
or any how, That we hear nothing of them in the
Bible, or any of the ancient Creeds, or the JVritings of
the Fathers, or in fome Tradition or other from the
firft Ages ; and but very httle of fome of them,
for many Ages after ; yea, till very lately ? — And,
II. Since he was very fenfible, he could not, up-
on his own Principles, make it evidently clear.
That they all ever " arrived at this complete Idea ;'*
it was very modeft, to exprefs himfelf with fo much
Caution, " and perhaps the reft of them," (i. e.
Peter, James, and eight or nine more of them !)
" arrived at this complete Idea in due Time !'*
However, he is pretty plain, " That the due Time'*
came at laft-, (no great Matter when!} that others
arrived at his complete Idea befides the Apoftles i
that " the excellent Mr. Fleming" was one of them;
and that fome of his Followers are fo very fond of
it, as to employ all their Talents, to diffafe the
Knowledge ot it far and near, left it fhould ever be
unhappily loft again ! — But, we Ihall referve half a
Dozen Queftions more relating to " this complete
*' Idea," till another Opportunity. — Upon the whole.
From thefe two jufi Prejudices, I conclude,
with almoiL the Evidence of a Demonjiration, That
Senfe of this Title, which he dare not pofitively fay
was known to any one of the Apoftles themfelves,
but two; and confequently, could very hardly, if
at all, be known to ordinary Chriftians, before the
Converfion of :^aiil the Perfecutor, at fooneft ; could
not be " the Senfe, which Chrift himfelf or the
" Apoftles and Writers of the New Teftament more
*' diredtly defigned to convey to thofe that heard
'' them :" But he dare not fay, '' that this hiscom-
*' plete Idea," was known to any of the Apoftles
themfelves, except two, before that Event -, &c, Er-
^0, It cannot be the Senfe diredly and defigned, 6f^.
III. We
[78]
III. We cannot think it at all fafe^ needlefsly to
depart from the Common Faith of Chriftians, in
all Ages ; efpecially, when we find it fo frequently,
cxprefsly, fully, and ftrongly, revealed in the Scrip-
tures. Why fhould we ? — How dare we ? —
Should it be faid, Thefe Words, coejfential Sonjhipy
no where occur in the Bible. We grant it. — But,
(i.) Thefe Words, own Son,, begotten Son,, 07ily be-
gotten Son, &c. are equivalent, and full as llrong :
Nor can any Words, more emphatic and clearly
for our Purpofe, be given or defired : Nor can they
have any proper Senfe at all, if they do not fig-
riiiy coejfential Sonjhip. — (2.) We do not, at leaft
need not, believe the coejfential Sonjhip of Chrifl^
merely becaufe of thefe Titles, as exprefs and fig-
nilicant as they are j but becaufe we find, That
this only begotten Son, and as fuch, is frequently
mentioned as having the Names, Titles, Perfe^ions^
Works and Worjhip, proper to the One true God,
clearly attributed to him •, as mufl be fhewn by and
by : And this, abfolutely and invincibly, confirms
the Catholic Dodtrine. — (3.) Are any of thofe No-
tions, he would court us to embrace, to be met
with, any where exprefsly in the Word of God?
"V^ here do we find the Words, " ChrijVs human
•' 5ca/?" — Where is it written, " That his pre-
'* exijient Soul is properly the Son of God -, or that
** the divine Nature always dwelt in it ?" p. 150.
Or, " That Chrifl is the exprefs Image of God, in
*' the human Nature ? p. 153." &c. &c. — Yea,
How can any of thefe be, any how, proved from
Scripture ? Withal, (4. ) Should we defert the Ca-
tholic Church and go over to his Opinions, We
fhould gain nothing by our fo doing: And he mud
be very fond of Change, who will change for
Changing's Sake. — We ihould not, I fay, gain
any I'hing by our forfaking our Principles ; Be-^
caufe, if we indeed continued to believe the Scrips
[79]
ture Do^rine of the Trinity, and the Per fond Union
of the Divine and Human Natures in Lhrifi, the
Difficulties attending thofe two fundamental Articles
of Chrifiianity, would be juft the fame they are, up-
on our Principles : And the like we may fay of
mod, if not every one, of his other Notions. — Or,
if he may feem, here and there, to give us fome
Light to help to remove fome inconfiderable Dif-
ficulty, we fhall foon find ourfelves plunged into
another, and a greater ! — This leads us naturally
on to another Prejudice. — We conceive,
IV. Not only. That it is not fafe to efpoufe his
Scheme ; but cannot help thinking, That it is dan-
gerous, ytd. very dangerous to do it: And his Ma-
nagement of his Caufe convinces us of this Danger.
We find him, in many Places, talking too like, if
not dire<5lly in the Strains of, the Arians, Sabellians,
Nejiorians, Eutychicns ; &c. ex-pounding many Paf-
fages of ^z Scriptu'i e, as thok Hereticks did, and
do ; and obliged to wreft them, with all his Might,
to fupport their Senfe. — For Example, thofe re*
markable Pafiages Pr
1 89 3
p. 6^. which may be thought to weaken the Evi-
dence of the other, and give " Occafion to fome
" to infult the Faith of Chrift, &c.'* ibid. I can
perceive no juft Caufe, for any fuch Sufpicion.
Why, or How, fhould (?^y ^r»y lyt one of them j their various Properties
pecvb
[99]
peculiar to each of them ; and their different, yea
Seemingly contrary. Anions, rcfulting from thofc
their Properties and Offices, &c. from thefe, I fay, he
would eafily demovfirate. That they are in facft three
DISTINCT Persons •, which is all he could poflibly
prove. — Here then, we have one Party dcmonftrat-
ing^ That they are three di[ii?i5f Perfons ; and the
other, That they haf:e every one of them the Jams
cne Divine EJJ'cnce, or Nature : Whence, 'tis un-
deniable. That there are three Perfons in the God-
head i or, three dijlin^ Perfons and one God. — Not
ONE only Divine Person, or Ferfonal Agent ^ but
Three : And not Three Divine Natures, or
Gods, but One only.
4. As falhionable as it is become, in this hack-
Jliding Age, to make a J eft of the Doctrine of the
Trinitv ; and to fpeak of it, in fuch a light and
impious Manner, as to fhew that the -profane Sneereri
have thrown away all Modefty and Shame, as well a$
Senfe: Yet, it is unto the Belief of this Doctrine,
we are baptized -, and hence all Parties, from the
Beginning, have thought themfelves bound, by theic
Profeffion, to acknowledge, That there is a 'Trinity^
in fome Senfe or other ; and to believe fome Parts,
at lead, of the true Doclrine \ if they would beat
the Chrifian Name. — Sahilius, the Pairipq/J:ans, and
feveral other Se^s, who Vv'ere much of their Mind -,
Arius, Eunordiis, and I do not know how many
more of them, with their Followers, v/ere all forced
to own fome Sort of a 'Trinity \ and found them-
felves very hard put to it, to believe the Bihl^t and
yet rejeft the true Scripture DoBrine, v/hich was in-
deed, all along, the Faith, of the Catholick Church.
Thofe who took the two Extremes^ invincibly prov-
ed, as we have heard, that Part o'i thtfruth, which
each of them held ; but quite confounded their
Antagonifts, and eafily baffled all the Arts which
they ufed to fupport their Errors. \\ hence we may
O 2 g^tl^r,
[ 100 1
gather, i. That all Parties have owned aTrimty:
That the Scriptures are full of it : That the Cbriftian
Religion is founded upon it : And that he is not a
Chridian, v.'ho denies this. — I think, I may add,
2. That he neither is, nor ought to be called, a
Chrijiian^ who, in his ordinary Converfation, can
even pride himfelf, in jeering^ or ridiculing^ &c.
either the Nnme or ihtThing commovly meant by them.
N.B, As the Proofs, That the very fame essential
Names, Titles, and Attrthiiies, and that the very
lame Works and Worjljip^ which fcem naturally and
necefiarily to fuppofe, denote, or require, Samenefs
of EJfence, are afcribcd, frequently in Scripture, tp
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghofl, mull: have
appeared to the Sabelliafis, very ftrong, and indeed
irrefiflable -, when, notwithftanding their Personal
'Names, Titles, andO^^fj, &c. which feem undeniably,
to fuppofe, denote, or require, different Perfcns, they
thought they even forced them to believe. That
thofe THREE Personal Titles, denote but one zWz-
vidual Fersou, under T.bree diflinft CharaLlers or
Relations : So, the Proofs of the real DiJlin5iion of
the three Perfons, notwithflanding thofe Essential
Names., Titles, PerfeElions, &c. which necefiarily
fuppofe, and require, the fame Essence orNATURE,
muft have appeared to the Arians, full as ftrong,
and undeniable, when they thought, they even cor/i-
pelled them to believe. That the Three Perfons have
no Communion at all, in the fame Effe7ice, but arc
really Three divided Beings, as feperate as infmit&
is from finite.
I might alfo have obferved, i. That, when the
Jews charged Chrift, nsjith making himfelf equal vnth
God, fohn v. i8. they did not accufe him with
Pclytheifn. —Yea, 2. That, when they charged him
cxprefsly, widi making himself God, Ch. x. 33.
they did not, durft not, alledge, That.he^ made him-
felf ANOTHER God J or was a Setter forth of a
STRANGE
[ '01 ]
i^T RANGE God, as the. Athenians did thtApoJilc^ bc»-
caufe he preached unto them Jesus. A^s xvil. iS,
J. Tho' the Apoftle Johfi, in the very firft Verfe
of his Gofpel, mentions one^ who was with God^ and
therefore dijiin£i from him who is fo called, and was
himfelf God, as well as he with zvhom he was ; add-
ing, ver. 3. as an undeniable Proof, that he was
indeed God, as well as the other. All Things zvers
made by him, and without him was not any Thing
made that was made: And confequently. That //i?
was not himself made : That he was before all Things^
that were made, and therefore is, in Scripture Stile^
Eternal: That he h'lmkli^ made all Things: fee Col. i.
16, 17. andHeb.'i. 10 — 12. And therefore, is Gc'JL
Ch. iii. 4. — Notwithftanding all this, I fay, the
Jews in thofe Days, did not, durft not, charge
either the Apoftle, or the Chrijlian Church, witfi
Polytheifm or Idolatry : Nor can I certainly fay, that
any of them, to this Day, have ventured to charge
thofe who believe the true Scripture Do^rim of the
Trinity, with thele horrible Crimes. — But thefe,
and fome others, will come up, in a more proper
Place, when I fliall urge them home to my Pur-
pofe ; and offer fome Confequences from them,
which our Adverfaries will never be able to
evade.
II. There is a Jtatural Order, both, o^ Working
and fuhftjling, among the r^o^ Holy, and undivided
Three. — Here we fhall prove, That there is fuch an
Order, and that it is natural.
I. There is an Oi'der of IVorking, or Operation^
among them, according to which, they all, in their
natural Order, concur to, Or in, all their iVorks.
without themfelves ; not only of Redemption and
Grace, but oS. Creation and common Frovidence. That
there is an Order, and that they all a6l according tOv
it, cannot, I think, be rationally doubted. — And
hence, tho' the very fame Works^ of all Sorts, are
attri-
I 102 ]
attributed to each 'of them, in many Paflages tif
Scripture^ yet it is, with fome Difference^ in fome
Refped:, or other : W hence we may gather, moft
evidently, both the Unity of Ejfence^ and the Di-
Jlin6iion and Order of the Per Jons in the Trinity,
.—Several of the Fathers, in the firft Ages, and ma-
ny of the moft ferious and judicious Divines ever
fince, and none more fo, than the very learned and
famous Dr. John Owen, have obferved, 1 hat, tho'
they all jointly concur to the Ynxy fameJVo7'k j (of Crea-
tion for Example,) yet each of them do it, accord-
ing to his own Perfonal Property : And htnce, the
Contrivance, or the Defigning Part, if I may fo fay,
is, in a peculiar Manner, attributed to ih^firfi Per-
fon, the Father ; the ProduEiion, making, or exe-
cutive Part, to the feco7id, the Son ;• and the fo-
lijhing, finiJJjing, and ■perfecting Part, to the third^
the Holy Ghost. — And fo it may be obferved
in, or of, all their Works, ad extra, as the Schools
fpeak, i, e. without themfclves. — And hence God, the
Father, is faid often to have created, or made all
things BY Christ, or the Son-, Eph. iii. 9. Col. i.
16. Heb. i. 2. i^c. and by his Spirit, to have
garnijhed the Heavens,. Job xxvi. 13. and to y^;?^
forth his Sphit to create, and renew the Face of
the Earth, Pf. civ, 30. VL xxxiii. 6. i^c. — And
yet, to, or of the Son, it is exprefsly faid, Thou
Lord in the Begimiin^ hafi laid the Poimdation of the
Earth ; and the Heavens are the Works of thine
Hands-, Heb. i. 8 — 12. fee John i. 3. Col. i.
16, 17. and we are told, in fo many Words, That
the Spirit of God moved upon the Pace of the Waters,
i. e. communicated a cherifliing> quickning Virtue
to them, Gen, i. 2. and Elihu is tuU to the Point,
^he Spii'it of God hath made me. Job xxxiii. 4. &c,
— Whence thefe Things are plain and undeniable,
(i.) That they all Three concur to the very fame
Works i and the;-efore are, as. we have obferved
above,
[ 103 ]
above, the Joini -Creator^ or Creators^ of all Things.
(2.) That the feccnd and third Perfons, are not the
infinrmental Cctifes of all '•Jhings^ as fome moft ridi-
culoudy and impiouOy fpeak, but the Joint- Efficient ^
or Efficients •, with the /;;//, each of them, im-
mediately in his own Perfon, applying himfelf to
the fame Work : And therefore, each of them,
without any diminifliing Circumilance, or any Par-
ticle, or VVord, to leflen, or fink the Idea, are
cxprefsly faid to have made fome of them at leaft,
as if each had been the foie Efficient. (3.) That
thcfe different Phrafes or ExprefTions, manifeftly
imply, or denote, fome Difference or Peculiarity, in
the Manner of their Operation. And hence, Tho'
the firft Perfon is faid to have created, or made, all
Things, BY the fecond, or third: Yet neither of
thefe is ever, or could ever have been, faid to have
done thofe Works, by the firjl. — (4.) 1 hat this
Difference, or Peculiarity, in the Manner of their
Operation, neceffarily and manifeftly fuppofes a
Dijlinoiion of Perfons. For, (5.) No imaginable
Reafon can be affigned, or indeed imagined, for
this Peculiarity, except what refults from their di-
flind; Perfonal Suhjijiences and Properties. Becaufe,
(6.) Should we fuppofe all the Three to be indeed
diftin6l Perfons % and yet, abfolutely and omnimo-
doufly, eq^ual, without any Sort of Natural Order
at all amongft them : Whence is it, that we fo
frequently hear of the /irjl Pcrfon's doing all thefe,
BY the fecond, or third, or both-, and not-ivVc- verfa?
Surely, the Fhrafeology denotes fome Sort of
Pre-eminence in the fir;}, and fome Sort of Subotdi-
nation in the other Two. But enough oi thefe higU
and myfterious Things at prefent, tho' many pret-
ty obvious Thoughts clearly to our Purpofe, may
poflibly be hereatter deduced, and urged, from
them.
(r,) From
[ 104 J
(2.) From this Orde?- of JVorking, among the
ever bicfied three, I cannot help thinking, we may
fsfely, yea afluredly, conclude. That rhere is an
Order o{ fiwjiaing among them alfo, according to
which, they may, they fhouid, at lealt, be called the
jirlty fecond^ or third ; and that this Order is natural ;
ajid confequently ntithr^r arofe from, nor is found-
ed upon, any Difpenfalion. Whence came,
■whence could come, the former Order without
this? — What Caufe, or Reafon can be conceived,
for fuch Expreflions, as making the Worlds by his
Son ; BY the Word of the Lord were the Heavens
made ; who created all Things by Jefus Chriji', &c.
which not only feem clearly to hint to us, but
ftrongly to imply fome Sort ©f Priority, Pre-
eminence, ox Precedency, in the/;;y? Perfon, and fome
Sort of Subordination in the fecond and third ? — In
thefe, there is no Room to ftiggeft the Oeconcmy of
Redemption, as the Reafon. — Becaufe, here was no
voluntary Humiliation, or Condefcenfwn in the Son,
or Spirit -, no, nor any Sort of Condefccnfion at all. —
Here was nothing, that feems beneath the Dignity
of Perfons co-eqiial with the Father -, or, any how,
V'/izvorthy of, or derogatory to, the Divine Nature.
—-But, this is not all -, The Manner in which each
cf thefe three applied themfelves to thofe Works,
and confequently, their Order in the Operation,
fcems manifeftly natural, and therefore necejfary :
Which, I conceive, will almofl force us to believe^
That there is an Order of fubfifting among them,
that is alfo natural, and confequently necejfary and
unalterable. This I hought, which 1 offer chiefly
Bg^nft Roel, brings us neai- to the t'rue Point in
Debate : For, if there is fuch an Ot'der of Working,
and confequently oi fubfifting, then xhtfirft Perfon
is naturally and neceffarily, the firft, and a6ls as
l^tjirft', and never could, in any Dtfpenfationwhat-
focver.
[ 105 ]
foever, or upon any fojjihle Suppo/ition^ afb as tha
j'econd^ or third \ or by any Commijfwn from either,
or both of them. — Now, if this Order is natural^
and confeqiiently the Manner of their Operation is
necejfary, thefe 1 hings will clearly follow, i. That
the biefled tbree^ are really three dijlin^ Perfonsi
2. That v/hatever is the ! cundation of it, there is
a natural, and therefore neceffary, DiJiin£fion be-
tween them, fo that neither of them is any of the
other ; nor could, nor can, the firji be, or aft as,
the fecond or thirds or any of thefe be, or aft as,
the frft. 3. 1 hat there is fome Sort of Priority^
or Pre-eminence, in the firft Perfon, and purely as
fuch, above the other two j and of the fecc?id, above
the third: But, a Priority of Order only, and not
of Existence \ and a Pre-eminence fully confiftent,
with the true and proper Coejfentiality of all the
three. No Father, among Men, ever exifted^ as
we Ihall fee, before his Son : And whatever Pre-^
eminence a Father, as fuch, has above, or over his
Son, as fuch -, yet, when he, the Son, grov/s up,
he is as properly a Man as his Father. Yea, and
often proves, in all other Refpefts, by far the
greateft and worthieft Perfon of the two. 4. If
thefe Things are fo, no other Account can be
given of this Lijiin^iion, either the Nature or Fonn^
dation of it •, yea, no other need be enquired after,
or defired, than what the Scriptures give us, vi-z.
That the firji Perfon is, as fuch, a proper Father^
who begot t\^ fecond: That the fecond, and as fuch,
is a proper Son, and was begotten of him ; and there-
fore, has the fame Nature and Perfections which he
has, as all proper Sons have : And, That the third
Perfon, who is fometimes called the Spirit ; fre-
quently {tiled the Spirit of God •, Rom. viii. 9.
I Cor. iii. 16. ^c. and elfewhere, the Spirit ofhisSon^
Gal. iv. 6. and of Chriji ', Rom. viii. 2. Ph. i. 19,
(^c, proceeds from them both -, John xiv. ver. i o.
[ io6 ]
17, and 23. Ch. xv. 26. Ch. xvi. 7, ^on of
" any other Thing or Perfon whofe ^ality and
" Likenefs he bears. So wicked Men are called the
" Sons oi Belial, &c. p. 17. 18." If this is fo, in
all thofe Cafes, and the like, the Word is ufed ve-
ry improperly : Becaufe, otherwife. Sons are the Sons
of Perfons, and not of Things. He then takes No-
tice, " That Adam, Angels, Saints, Magijhates
" are called the Sons of God;"" p. 18. for the fame,
or the like Realbns, that we have given : But, it
is undeniable, they are all fo only, in an improper
Scnfe.
He then adds, p. 19. " Now it is evident that
" our Lord Jefus Chrifi is the Son of God, in a
" Senfe fuperior to Men or Angels, for he is call-
*' ed God's own, Rom. viii. 32. his only begotten
" Son, John i. 14. 18." Why then, furely. He
is, as fuch, begotten and not made : Andtiiere-
fore, a coefj'ential Son ; if thefe Words have any
Senfe. — He goes on, He is called his Firji-born,
th&.
[ i2i i
^' the Image of the invijible God, the firfi horn of every
*' Creature : or that in all things he niufl have the
*' Pre-eminence. Col. i. 15, 16, 18. p. 19." Here it
is infinuated, That the Son of God, as fuch, is him-
felf, in reahty, one of the Creatures, tho' created be-
fore them all, and the chief of them ! Whereas, that
very Context, ftrongly, and invincibly proves.
That he is no Creature, but a coeffential Son, if any
Words can prove any Thing. — Becauie, By him
were all Things created that are in Heaven, and
that are in Earth, vijible and invijible, &c. All
Things were created by him, and for him : And he is
BEFORE ALL Things, and by him, or .n him, eu auTto
all -Things consist, ver. 16, 17. What more then
could be faid ? He is the Firil. Caufe, and Laft End,
of all Things : And therefore, as fuch, abfolutely
and in all Relpe<5ts, yea infinitely, above the Rank of
Creatures. — " Thefe fcriptural ExprtlTions plainly
*' imply both Derivation and Refemblance." What
then .? A proper Son, as fuch, is derived from his Father :
And the nearer the Refemblance, the more likely he
is to be an own, a coeffential Son. — Yet, in the very
very next Words,
" He craves Leave to infert one Caution," And
a ftrange one it is ! " Tho' 'tis fufficiently manifefl
*' from the New Teftament, and efpecially from
" Heb. i. that Chrifi is the Son of God in a Senfe far
*' fuperior to Angels, yet I am in Doubt whether the
*' Difciples at firft could have any fuch Idea of his
" Superiority to all Angels : Perhaps their Idea of
" the ''on of God arofe no higher at firft then to fup-
" pofe him fuperior to all their Prophets and Kings,
*' who were called Sons of God, tho' afterwards
" it grew up to an Idea fuperior to all the Angels of
" God." p. 19, 20. When " Doubts,'' " and Per-
*' haps's," and that againft all Probability, are brought
in to fupport a Caufe ; at the fame Time, that the
Author fhews us his extraordinary Zeal, he too evi-
R dently
[ J22 ]
dently makes It appear. That Arguments are very
fcarce, and other Proofs no where at Hand ! — More
particularly, i. ThtVxooh o'i t\\t SofiJJjtp of Chrijiy
Heb. i. are all from the Old Tejlament •, Pf. ii. 7. Pf.
Ixxxix. 26,27. P/ xcvii.7.P/. xlv.6j7.P/icii. 25 — 28.
moft, if not every one, of which were, by the ancient
JeiviJJjChuxch^ interpreted of the Mejjiah, — 2. Couid
the Difciples be ignorant. That the Second Pfalm,
(to take the firtl that offers) was a Prophecy of
Chrijt i or, That He whofe unh-crfal Dominion is there
fpoken of, and whom the Father calls hi^ begotten
Son, &c. v^d& fupericr to Angels'^. — 3. Was it pofii-
ble. That thofe, who had heard himfelf fo folemnly
declare, That he was the Son^ the only begotten Son of
God', John in. 16, &c. who was Cf'^udl ^w'vAi him,
and, to prove it, could fay, IVh/it Things fo ever the
Father doth, thefe alfo doth the Son likewife ; Ch. v.
17, 19, ^c. &c. who had heard the Baptifi's Dif-
courfes, Ch. i. 29 — 34. and Ch, iii. 27 — 36. as fe-
veral of them no doubt did, and foon after, made
that glorious Confffion^ Ch. vi. 69. Could they, I
liiy, have any Doubt " of his Superiority to all An-
" gels } " Why really, if they had, I fhail only fay
at prefent. They might, certainly, have known bet-
ter. — 4. How did they know " that the Prophets
" were ever called Sons of God ? " 1 o the beft of my
Remembrance, they were never fo called, till our
Lord himfelf honoured them fo far, i^c. — But, to
w^ave trifling, I mult afi^. What will follow from
this, fnoukl I grant, Hiat the Idea the Difciples had
of him, at firit, was fo very low? That this was
the true Idea : That it will lufficc, if we have now
the fame Idea ? &c. No, by no Means. The Idea,
we nciv enquire after, is that v/hich, at laft, they
arrived at. I (hall tlicrefore, once for all, defire the
Reader to remember,
I . That Doubts and Perhnps's, again ft all Proba-
jbility^ deferve no Regard. — 2. That Hints and Inft-
nuations
[ 123 ]
.nuations unfupported, and without Reafon, deferve
very little. — 3. That begging the ^.efiion^ through-
out, i. e. ajferting, or fuppofing^ what fhould have
been proved, is not reafoning or difputing^ but talk-
ing, at beft, and to very little Purpofe too. And
4. That I might have given twice twenty Inftanccs of
this Kind, more than I fhail, as every judicious,
attentive, and honeft Reader mufl obferve, whether
he will or no. — But,
That you may be yet more convinced. That our
Author has been, throughout, Tery general and am-
biguous, yea perplexed, in propofing the ^eftion,
and explaining the Terms, we fhall confider two or
three Paragraphs more.
The Ohjertion he puts into our Mouths, p. 36, is
this, " 'I he Word 'Son, among Men, properly fig-
** nifies one of the fame Nature with the Father ; and
" therefore Son of Cod, when 'tis applied to Cbrii?,
" muft fignify One of the l;tme Nature with God
" the Father," ^c. — Now, this is not only very
general, but really defeftive, if not plainly falfe.
Would he have given our Minds, it fliould have run
thus. One of the fame Nature with the Father, and of
him, from him, or fome Way or other commiinicatedby
him. But, his Anfwer to it, is yet much more fo !
" Aifw. I. The Word Son taken in its common
" Senfes and Ufes, among Men, may be applied to
" feveral Ideas," p. 36. So may almoft every Word.
*' viz. a Derivation from the Father,''^ Had he faid
of the fmne Nature, with all that is effential to it,
that had been xhtfrfl, and chief \dt^ of the Word,
when ufed properly : But, as it is, 'tis to fay the
leaft, very general and equivocal. The others are
all applied to it very improperly, to fay no worfe — •
" a Likenefs to, or Imitation of the Father, a Subordina-
*' tion, or fome Sort o^ inferior Relation to the Fa-
" ther," — At this Rate, I do not know but fome Sons-
may have Ten Thoufand Fathers I ""^ or a Being of
H 2 i^^
[ ^24 ]
* the fame Species^ Kind or Nature with the Fa-:
' ther^ and an individual Being dijiin^ from the Far
' ther.^"* -r If fo, there is not one Man upon the
Face of the whole Earth, who is not the Son of
every other Man in the World: Becaufe, There
is not one Man, this Day alive, who is not a " Be-
'' z;;^ of the fame Species^, Kind or Nature with, and
*' an individual Being dijlin^ from,'' z'yitrj other
Man ! — Surely there muft have been fome Rea-
fons, for this xVay of talking ! Let others guefs
them. — So much for this Paragraph, which you
have had verbatim^ as you fhall have the three fol-
lowing i the two firft of which come in as a Sort
of Explanation, or Confirmation, of that which we
have nov/ confidered.
" Now 'tis plain that when human Words and
" Similes^^ (and^ I conceive, we have no other)
" are ufed to reprefent Divine Things^"* (as they
frequently are,) " there is no Necefiity that thole
" Words fhould include all their original Ideas,
" nor indeed is it poffible :" Granted, at prefent.
*' 'Tis enough to fupport the Analogy, if but one
" or two of the fame Ideas are denoted by the Ufe
" of the fame Word." p. 36. — If the Words are
taken properly, the original and principal, or, if
you will, the effential Ideas denoted by thofe Words,
are never, can never, be quite dropt : But, if they
are taken improperly, one or more of the fe-
condary Ideas, according as the Scope and Circum-
ftances of the PafTage require, are, yea muft be fuf-
ncient. **. Why may we not then fuppofe that the
*' Name ^on of God, when applied to Chrijl, may
*' fignify his peculiar Derivation from the Father, as
*' to his Soul, or as to his Body, or his fub ordinate
*' Chara^er in his Miff on by the Father, or his being
*' appointed by the Father to be his Vicegerent in the
" Kingdom, or his Likenefs to the Father in his na-
*t turi Qualifications and Powers, or in his kingly
" Office,
[ >25 ]
^' Office, together with his being another individual
^* difiin^l from the Father? Why may not one or
" two of thefe Ideas, and much more all of them,
*' be fufRcient to account for the Ufe of this Name
'* Son ^f God, without making it neceflary that
*' the Word 'Sonjhip in this Place muft include a
" Samenefs of Nature?" p. 37. Here our Author
will allow. That this Name fignifies any Thing, or
every Thing, that it can fignify, but that which it
originally, and primarily, fignities, when ufed pro-
perly. — But we jQiall here give a dired and fhort
Anfwer, to every one of thefe Queftions.
I. We cannot grant it fignifies " the Peculiar Deri-
" vation of his Soul ;'' ■ i) Becaufe, the Scripture gwts
no Hint of qlyxj fuch Derivation. ( 2 ) No Man can tell
what he means, by this peculiar Derivation. And,
C^O All Things wei-e made by the Logos, as well as the
Father : And therefore, had he been the Son of God,
on the Account of this Derivation, he had been the
Son of the fecond Perfon as well as xhtfirfi, &c.— -
2. It docs not " fignify the peculiar Derivation of
" his Body :" Becaufe, had he had this Title, on
any fuch Account, he Ihould not have been called
the Son of the Father, but of the Holy Ghcfi ; as
we fhall fee. — 3. With refpcd to " his MiJJion hy
" the Father,"' Tho* an own Son, may accept of a
Commiffwn, from his Father *, and the only begotten
Son of God condefcended to accept of one from him :
Yet, no One was ever honoured with this Title,
Son, own Son, ^c. becaufe of any fuch a Com-
miffion : And the fame we may fay with refpe<5t to
his Vicegerency, or kingly Office. — 4. " The Like-
" nefs''"' of the coeffential Son of God, to his Father,
muft needs.be infinitely nearer, than the Likenefs of
any poffihle Creature : And " the natural Qualifica-
" tions and Powers" of fuch a Son, infinitely greater,
i£c. — To pais feveral others, 5. Tho' " one or
" two of thefe his Ideas might be, in fome Places,
« fuf-
[ 126 J
" fufficient for the Ufe of this Name Son of God •**
yet, (i) They could not be fufficient for this Title,
the own, the proper, the only begotten Son of
God. (2) They could never have been a fufficient
Foundation, for thofe glorious Things which our
Lord fpake of himfelf as a Son •, I and the Father
are one-, What Things . foever the Father doth,
thefe alfo doth the Son likewife, &c. And therefore,
I muft turn the Queflion upon him, when I have
confidered the next Paragraph.
'* Befides, it is evident that the Word Son of God
** is applied to Angels, Job i. 6. and to Men,
•' Phil. ii. 15. I John iii. i, 2. and even the
*' Term of begotten Son is applied to Men ; i John v.
" I. Yet neither Men nor Angels are of the fame
** Kind or Nature with God their Father, and in thefe
** Inftances 'tis impoffible that the Idea o^Samenefs, of
" Kind or Nature Ihould be included." — A grand
Difcovery ! And what then ? And therefore the own,
the only begotten Son, who is equal with the Fa-
ther, and ONE Thing with him, ^c. iSc. is not
a coeffential Son? Is not this — — •
•^ — But, becaufe the Subliance of what he offers
againft the proper Sonfhip of the/ftcwJPerfon, which
comes often up, and is frequently urged with all
his Might, tho' with fome Variety of Expreffion,
lies in this and the next Paragraph, which he calls
his fecond Anfwer, I lliall, I muft, confider them
very particularly, and with fome faithful Freedom.
— Let us then, obferve, in the general.
1. Here feem to be two, or three, Solecifms.
*' The Word Son of God is never applied to Angels,
or Men. — 2. Where this Title Son of God is given
to Chrijl, 'tis always, without any Exception, with
the Article, the, tiius, the Son of God; which is both
diftinftive, and very emphatic, evidently implying,
as we fhall fee. That he is not only the Son of God,
" in
[ 127 ]
" In a Senfe fuperior to Angels and Men •, p. lo.**
but in a quite different Senfe ; they^ improperly on-
ly, being his Creatures, he properly, and in the
fublmejl Senfe, being God equal with him. — 3. As
to the Text, i John v. 1 . where he will have it,
*' That the Term of begotten Son is applied to
" Men,'' 1 ho' we are not fo hard put to it, we fhall
only now give his own Anfwer to us, in another
Cafe, p. 45. " Neither is the Name Son of God
" there ufed, nor is God called his Father :" And
therefore " it is not to our prefent Purpofe."
But, 4. Tho* true Believers are faid to be begotten
of him. Yet that Title, the only begotten Son^ is fo
very refiri£live, as to exclude all others, from being
Sons, in the fame Senfe that he is, — Chrift alone
is Itiled God's ozva, or proper Son j yea, his only
begotten Son : And confequently, no other Perfbn
Divine, Angelical, or Human, is, or can be, (o
his Son as he. — Others, as we have heard, are call •
ed his Sons^ in a figurative and an improper Senfe,
by Creation, Ekulion, Regeneration, or Adoption:
But He only, in a proper, or if you will, statural
Senfe, by Generation. -— All others, fo called, are
Creatures^ his Creatures, who were made by him^
as well as by the Father : John i. 3. Col. i. 16, 17.
But He, as a Son, was begotten, and not
MADE.-— If then his human Soul be a Creature, it
cannot be, properly^ faid to be begotten : Becaufe,
creating is not begetting. " A peculiar Manner of
*' making or creating," be it ever fo peculiar, does
not alter its Nature ; 'tis ftill a making, or creating.
Majus & minus non variant Speciem. But, to be
more particular,
Obf. I. Tho' Angels are, in the plural Number,
in a Parabolical Speech, Job i. 6. and Ch. ii. i.
and in a Poetical Defcription, Ch. xxxviii. 7. anci
no where elfe, called the Sons of God : Yet no one
treated Angel, no not the higheft, is ever in the fin-
gular
( .28 )
gular Number, honoured with this Title ; no, nor
ought to be. — The Apoftie lays a mighty Strefs oh
this, and fo ihould we. For unto which of the Angels,
faid he, at any 'Time, ^hou art my Son. this Day have
I begotten thee ? Heb. i. 5. Whence 'tis plain. That
tho' Angels were ftiled the Sens of God, no particular
Angel was ever called a, the^ or his Son ; and much lefs
his own, his begotten :^on. They are not therefore,
begotten and not made, q'^ -properly Sons, as the only
BEGOTTEN SoN is, but, improperly and figuratively
only, fo called, as fome other Creatures alfo arc.
2. Tho' fome Men, and particularly the Rege-
nerate, 8zc. have been, in a Body, if J may fo fay,
called the Sofis of God, &c. Yet no one particular Man,
was ever, I think, in the Singular Number iz^wi;?*?^ with
this Title, the Son of God, if we except ^sdajn only,
the firft Man •, Luke in. 38. for which, two very
particular Reafons may be aiTigned, which never
could, nor can, be given in any other Cafe. — And,
as to that Exception, fince the Words, which was
the Son, are not in the Original, in all that Genea-
logy, but once, when fpoken of Chrijl himfelf, ver.
23. I do not know, whether they had not been
better omitted, by our learned Tranflators, quite
throughout, and the vvhole read, as in the Greek, thus.
And Jefus himfelf began to be about thirty I'ears of Age,
(being as was fuppofed) the Son (j/Jofeph, ^/Heli,
/. e. truly and properly, tho' with fome Latitude,
the Son of Heli, of Matthat, of Levi, and fo on
afcendingall the Way to, of Enos, ofSeth^ of Adam,
of God. — So that it was Christ, who is faid to have
been the Son of every one of thofe ; and confe-
quently, it v/as he himfell, and not Adam, who is
filled the Son of God. Or, to make it fomewhat
plainer, Christ was not only, in a proper Senfe,
tho' with fome Latitude, the Son of every one of
thofe from Ileli to Adam, but over and above all
thefe, and before thera all, he was alfo, the Son of
Gody
[ 129 1
God; and therefore, as truly and properly, the Son of
God, as Gcd, as the Son of either, or all the others,-
as Al^.n. — If this be allowed, no one is ever called, iri
Scripture, in the Singular Number, ihe Son of Godi
but himfelf: And then, in thefe Verfesj we have both
his Natures in his 07ie Perfon, and both h s Sonfloi-ps
alfo \ being, as God, the Son of God, and, as Man,'
the Son of Man. I need not contend about this, my
Caufe not needing it, tho' that Text, Mat. i. i . ^he
Book of the Generation of Jefus Chrijl, the Son of Da-
isid, the Son of Abraham, I think, feems to confirm
it. For there, 'tis Chriji, and not David, who is faid
to be the Son of Abraham : q. d. of Jefus Chriji;
who is not only the Son of David, but alfo the Son
of Abraham, in the fame Senfe^ and in the fame
Manner fo.
g. Tho' Magifirates are ojtce, collcflively, if I
may ufe the Expreffion, faid to be Children of the
mojt High, Pf. Ixxxvi. 6. as they are, in the very
fame Verfe, ftiled Gods ; and in both of them very im-
properly : Yet no one Magiftrate, Prince, or King^
is ever, in the Singular Number, diftinguifhed by
the glorious Title, Son of Godj and much lefs with
that, the Son of God.
4. Tho' Believers in Chrifl, are noc only called
the Sons of God ; but, as we have heard, faid to be
born, or begotten of hijn : Yet, no one of them, no
not tihe moft wife, holy, ufeful, or mod peculiarly
favoured, is ever dignified with this diftinguifhing
Title, Son of God, in the Singular Number. — FrorrX
all thefe.
5. I conceive there is in the Expreflion, " ChriJI li
" the Son of God, in a Senfe fuperior to Men or An-
" gels." p. 19. and in that, " the glorious peculiar
" Derivation of his human Soul from God," p. lo Sec.
leveral Ambiguities, or Fallacies, which our Author
ought to have guarded againfh, or removed^ by ex-
plaining his Terms, or, more accurately y?^/z«<^' the
S- QueftionSii
[ 130 ]
Queftions, E^c. which would not only have ^^^/»^i
theDifpute, but made it ea/y and pkafajit : — For, i,
Cbrift is a Term of Office, fuppofing, or implying
both Natures ; and his Condefcenfton and Humiliation
in them. 2. Tho' the Title, Son of God^ is fome-
times ufed, upon feveral Accounts, in a low and fi-
gurative Senfe : Yet thofe Titles, his own, and his only
begotten Son, &c. neither ever are, nor can be fo
ufed ; becaufe many other Things fpoken of him,
as fuch, do even compel us to believe he is a coejfen-
tial Son. 3. The Phrafe, " in a Senfe fuperior to
*' Angels or Men," is very equivocal. — Plain,
honeft Chriftians, might think this enough ; becaufe,
they hear of none fuperior to all the Angels, but
God only ; I mean the moft blelTed Three : Whereas,
our Author means one, who, tho' fuperior to Angels,
is but himfelf a Creature ; and therefore, infinitely in-
ferior to the Creator % and conlequently, let him be
ever fo high, is, as fuch, as dependant, and as anni-
hilahle, &c. as you or I, or the meaneft Infedl. — 4.
That Expreflion, " the glorious peculiar Derivation
of his Soul from God" is alfo very ambiguous, if it
has any Senfe at all ! — It could not be derived from
him, but either by a proper Generation, or Creation.
If by proper Generation, then is it coeffential with the
Father, as is evident to common Senfe. If by pro-
per Creation, then it was either made out of nothings
or out oi fome thing made before ; unlefs there was, as
the great Dr. Waterland has it, " an Eternal Suhfiance
*' not Divine," out of which, this Soul, which our
Author fays, " is properly the Son of God," was
made. — An eternal Suhitance, not divine, is a mon-
ftrous Contradidlion, implying many, yea number-
lels Abfurdities : And, it this hv.man Soul was made^
either out di nothing, or oi fomething made before,
'tis felf-evident, it is, in every Senfe, as much a Crea-
ture ; and therefore, as dependant for all that it is, or
has, or can do, and as annihilablsto-Q, z^c. as either you
or
[ i3« ]
or I. — 5. The Adnoun, " peculiar," tho' it may
feem to fignify fomething •, yet, it really here does
not : Or, if it does, it is fomething unconceivable^
and unintelligible. For, it either refpeds the Thing deri-
ved, or the Manner of the Derivation, or both. Let
any one chufe which he will, and then explain it, if
he can. — But, to pafs many fuch Things, I fhall
now, according to Promife, turn his Queftion, p.
37. upon himfelf, thus,— Suppofing, but not grant-
ing, " That one or two of thefe Ideas, and much
" more all of them, were fufficient to account for
*' the Ufe of the Name, the Son of God,'' when it
comes alone, and without any Adnoun, or other
Phrafe, to determine and heighten the Senfe : Why
is he ^o very zealous to make it not neceflary. That
thefe Titles, God*5 own, or proper Son, his only be-
gotten Son, who is, as fuch, equal with the Father,
does whatfoever Things he doth, and is one Thing, with
him, i£c. to make it not neceflary, I fay. That thefe
Titles " mufl: include 3. Sa7nenefs of Nature,'* or cO'
ejfential Sonjhip ? — Is it pofllble, they fhould indeed
include lefs .? Let us then go on to his next Reply,
which mufl be very particularly confidered.
" Anf. 2. The Word Son in the Language of
'' Men,'* p. 37. He means, if to his Purpofe,
when applied to the Sons of Men. " wherefoever
*' It mezins a. Sawenefs of Nature,'' As it moft cer-
tainly does, in all Places, and on all Occafions,
without Exception, when it is taken in its firfl:, its
ufual, its only proper and natural Senfe. " it always
" means t\\t fame fpecific Nature, or a Nature of the
*' fame Kind and species ," And it could mean no
other ; becaufe, the human Nature is a fpecific Na-
ture, /. e. a Nature that fubfifts in all the Indivi-
duals of the Species. " but it never means the
" fame individual Nature," No, nor cannot; be-
caufe our Nature is not an individual, i. e. indivi-
Jible Nature. ♦' for it always denotes a difiinSl, in*
S % " divi-
[ 132 ]
^' dividual Bebig.^^ And it always mull do fo ; bcr
caule every diftindt Perfon, which partakes c/, ox
in^ z/pecific 'Nature^ rnuft needs be a dijtiyict indi-
vidual Being. — " Theretore, in order to keep up
" this Part of the Idea of SonJIn-p^'' Vv hich we ne-
ver defigned, never pretended to keep up. " and
'' to maintain the Parallel in this Point," Which
neither can be done, nor does our Caufe require
it. " if we v/ill have the ^.cn of God ^o fignify
*' one of the ffime iSlature zvith the Father^^ As it
muft do, when taken properly^ efpecially if thofe
Words own., proper., only begotten., are joined to it ;
if they fignify any Thing at all. " it muft mean
5' one of the fame fpecific Nature, that is, a di-
" fiinoi individual Being of the fame Kind with the
" Father i" By no Means. The Divine Nature., in
the common Language of Philofophers as well as
Divines, is not a fpecific, but a moft fingular and
therefore indivijihle Nature: And theretore, the
Son is not a dijlindl individual Being of the fame
Kind, but a dif^in£l individual Person, in the,
fame Nature, with the Father. " and thus we
■" fliall be in danger of making two Gods." — /. e.
If we admjt Premiffes which we do not, fome Conclu-
fions would follow which we abhor. — However, the
jEnemies of the Do6trine of the 'Trinity have, in all
Ages, pretended X.0 terrify themfelves, and their de-'
luded Followers, vvith this Danger •, tho'. Would onq
think it! even the moft fubtle of thofe of them,
with whom we are acquainted, are neither afraid.^
nor aflmmed., to declare. That there are, to them,
TWO living and true Gods! When, bleffed be his
Name, the Catholic Church have retained the an-
tient Faith., That the three Perfons., into whofe
Name we are baptized, are the one only, the
living and true God. " But it is plain, that
V- in order to fupport the Analogy of the Name
\\ Son, we can never make the Word Son of God
"to
[ 133 ]
^^ to fignify one of the fame indhidtial Nature or
" EJfence^'' Why pray ? " becaufe it never figni-
" fics fo in the Language of Men ;" p. 38. Strange
indeed ! — Anf. i . 'Tis enough to us, that it al-
ways fignifies fo in the JVord of God. — But, 2. We
reply in his own Words not two Pages before,
" Now 'tis plain that when human JVords and ^imi-
" ks are ufed to reprefent Divine Things^ there is
** no Neceffity that thofe Words fhould include all
" their original Ideas, nor indeed is it poffible :
'' ^c. p. g6." We never include all their origi-
nal Ideas in neither ot the Terms, Father or Son,
when they denote the firll and fecond Perfons in the
trinity., which v/e do, when we ufe them, in com-
mon Converfation, to fignify a Father., or a Son
among Men. So far from it, that we know, That
the Di'vine EJfence is iajimle, and indivijibk : That
the Son of God is ftill in the Father^ and the Father
in him : That they concur in all their Works ad
extra, without thcmfelves, ^c. i^c. not one of
v/hich could ever be faid, of any one Father and
Son, among Men : But, we cannot help being
fully perfuaded, that the firft and principal, or, if
you Vv'ill, the leading Idea, viz. of Coeffentiality,
can never be excluded •, yea, that it mud be chiefly
included, efpecially, when the Adnouns own., proper,
only begotten, &c. (which he has never mentioned,
in any of thefe Paragraphs !) force us to include
them. 3. I fliall not tarry to tell you. That
.this, were it true., is a mere begging the ^ejlion ;
©r. That it is very confiifedly propofed, whether
with Defign, or no, I know not: But, muH: be fp
plain to fay. It is abfolutely falfe \ and to declare,
in Oppofition to it. That " the Word Son of God,
" ftriclly and properly taken, never fignifies, in
Scripture, any EJfence but the fame individual Effefke
which the Father has ; and to defy all the World to
give one Inltance to the contrary. -•- And 4. Had his
r '34 ]
Argument been fairly propofed, it fhould have run
thus, " The Word Son of God cannot fignify one
*' of the fame individual EJJence with bis Father ;
*' becaufe the Word Son of Man cannot fignify one
*' of the fame individual Effence with his Father :"
And then every one would have feen. That it is
no Argument. The ftrange Conclufion, he
draws from all thefe Metaphyjics^ is, " and there-
** fore there is no Neceffity that it fhould fignify
*' one of the fame Nature in any Senle when ap-
« plied to Chrift." p. 38. The Words, " in any
*' Senfe," need to be explained ; and, when they
are, I fhall make a proper Ufe of them. Till
then, let this fuffice, i. This is juft fuch arguing,
as if one fhould fay, one Title cannot fignify what
it naturally, and neceirarily7?^;^//?^j j becaufe, ano-
ther does not fignify what it cannot. Or thus, more
largely, — 2. Becaufe the Title, Son of Man, never
iignifies one of the fame individual Nature with his
Father, who never had an individual Nature to com-
municate to hitn •, thererefore, this Title the Son of
God, never fignifies one of the fame individual Na"
ture with his Father, who had no other Nature,
of his own, to communicate to his Son ! Where is
the Connexion ? Or, how can this follow from
that ? But, I have no Inclination to
There is a third ylnfwer, p- 38. which will lead
us on to more delightfii I Work, even to explain, and
vindicate, feveral very remarkable Texts, to which
he has given a Sabellian or Arian Turn : But, be-
caufe they will come in, very naturally, hereafter,
I fhall now pafs them, and go on, when I have ob-
ferved.
That, if any learned Perfon fhall think it worth
his while to read this, he will readily fee that I
might have given another, and much fuller Reply, to
our Author's Metaphyftcs, in this laft Paragraph.
5uti I think he will alio grant, that it is a fufficient
An-
1 135 1
Anfwer ad Hominem •, and as fuch only, did I give
it: What is deficient, will come up in another
Place. Advance we then, to the next Prelimi-
nary.
V. Tht firfi Perfon of the mod holy and undi-
vided Three, is, in the trueft, ftrideft, moft fub-
lime, and moft proper Stnk, a Father; and fo
called, with refped to the feco7td Perfon, who, as
fuch, and abftraded from all Confideration of his
human Nature or Mediatorial Offices, is, in the
trueft, ftrideft, moft fublime, and moft proper
Senfe, a Son, 2.ndi his Son. In ftiort, the /?:^ Per-
fon, as fuch, is as far as poflible, a proper Father -,
and the fecond, as fuch, as far as poffible a proper^
Son.
I need not tarry to prove. That the Terms,
Father, Son, begotten, &c. when ufed of the Jitji
and fecond Perfons in the Trinity, are taken from
their common Ufe among Men. — This is owned
by one of our greateft Adverfaries ; of this Mind,
I think, are they all ; and common Senfe evidently
confirms it fully *.
Nor, perhaps, is it worth while to fpend Time
in fhewing, That, tho' the Terms, Father and
Son, amongft Men, are often ufed properly, and
often improperly, and that in all Nations, and in
all Sorts of Wrirings, and in the Bible as well as
in common Converfation : Yet, if xhtfuhjeSl Mat-
ter, the Scope of the Difcourfe, or fome Circum'
fiances hinted or expreffed, do not fo fufficiently.
determine the true Senfe, as to remove all Ambi-
guity or Doubt ; the Addition of fuch Adnouns as
thefe, own, proper, begotten, only begotten, &c. does
fo precifely determine the Senfe, that the Terms arc-
to be taken properly ; That there can be no Room
* Extra Duhium eft, Voca Filji (ff Generationis defumptas
eft ex Ufu inter Hominei,. Roel. Differ. Thef. 3. p. 5.
left.
1 136 ]
left, for the leaft rational Delay, Demur, or Hefi-
tation, in the Cafe. For Example.
\V ere A and 5, two Friends, talking of Z) ;
and A fhould alk 5, Whence is this D ? Of what
Family is he } — And B fhould anfwer, W hy. He
is the ^on of C. Don't you know that ? Did you
never hear it before .'' I thought every Body had
known it. — And fhould they carry on the Gonver<'
fation thus,
A. I confefs I have heard it often, but can't
think it true : Or, if he is, 'tis only in a low, 01*
figurative Senfe.
B. I aflure you, he is his Son^ his own Son.
A. Son ! I know he is " a-kin" to C, a very-
near Relation, a great Favourite of his, highly e-
fteemed and beloved by him, and very like him,
&'c. But I cannot believe that ever C had an own or
proper Son.
B. Cannot ! Why can you not ? — Depend up-
on it, he is his own Son, as much as you are your
own Father'' s Son.
A. What ! his own Son, fay you, as much as I
am my own Father"* s Son ? It cannot be.
B. Be fatisfied he is his own, his proper Son, for
he begat him.
A. I know there are many v/ho, upon various
Accounts, are called his Sons, to whom he afts the
Part of a Father •, for, he is a mofl generous Per-
fon, and has many Relations, &c. But, he can't be
his own Son.
' B. I protefl he is his own Son; for he hegat
him : Yea, he has no other proper Son^ D is the
only begotten,
A. You may fay what you will, I will not be-
lieve you. It cannot be. I fay it cannot be.
B. It cannot be ! — Why, the Thing tells itfelf.
D is the very Figure ot C, and as like him as he
can look i he has his Tery Complexion, Features,
Shape^
[ '37 ]
Shape, Temper, ^c. it you but faw them together,
you could not doubt of it.
J. I will not believe it -, fhould C and D both
rell me lb. Say what you will, I will not believe it.
B. Say what I will ! Why, C has piUiJhed it often,
and in the mod open Manner. He calls him his Son,
bis own Son ; declares he is his begotten, his only begot-
ten ; fpeaks of him as his Darling, his. Soul's Delight,
hh Right Hand, &c. and, in fhort, has acknowledged
him Heir of all. — Yea, D himfelf has publickly,
avowedly, and exprefly, proclaimed ; ay, and pro-
ved all this, and more ! Is it now poffible to exprefs
any Thing more literally, clearly, fully, and
ftrongly ?
What would the World think of 5, if he fhould zf-
fert all this, fo emphatically, without good Reafon ?
What mud B think of J, if, after all this, he Iliould
make any Hefitation in the Cafe ? — He muft think,
either that J took him to be the greateft 1 rifler, De-
ceiver, or Liar, (s'c. or, that he was the hardeft to
be perfuaded of all the Men he had ever i(ttn. — But,
if B was a Man of Probity, and eftabliflied Reputa-
tion and Honour, he could hardly forbear refenting
his Carriage, as the greateft Affront which could be
put upon him. — How highly muft C, the Father,
think himfelf injured .'' He that could fay fuch
Things to, or of, one whom he indeed did not be-
lieve to be his oivn Son, muft be both Knave and
Fool, if not fomething worfe. — But, if Z) himfelf
had, publickly and privately, on all proper Occa-
fions, avowed, in exprefs Words, that he was the
o-ivn, the begotten, the cnly begotten Son ot C, i^c.
I fliall leave it to the Reader to fay, how much his
own lionour would be concerned : And what
Thoughts he muft have of A. — And yet, in the
})relent Cafe, every Thing is more fully and ftrongly
to our Purpofe. ;
The FATiiER, by-thePr(?/)y&c'/i of old, proclaim-
T td.
[ 138 1
cd, Chrijl to be his Son, his begotten Son ; Pf. ii. 7,
and 12. Pf. Ixxxix. 26 — 37. If. ix. 6, 7. Ch. xlii.
I — 8, ^c. and immediately, in his own Perfon,
again and again, declared, by a Voice from Heaven,
That he was bis beloved Son, in whom he was pleafed.
Mat. iii. 17. Ch. xvii. 5. John xii. 23 — 30. and
confirmed all, by the Works which he gave him to do,
to which our Lord alfo often appealed. John v. 36,
37. Ch. X. 25. — The Baptiji, who was a fort of a
middle Perfon between both Teflaments, witneffed
the fame Thing. John i. 34. comp. with Ch. iii.
31 — ^36. The Son himfelf, frequently publijhed
this great Truth •, and that in the cleareft Manner,
it could be done. He often, with a mighty Em-
phafis, ftiles himfelf the Son, the own, the begotten,
the only begotten Son of God, &c. John'vx.. 35. Ch.
iii. 16 — 18. Ch. V. 17, 19, ^c. ^c. He com-
monly fpeaks to, and of, the firfi Perfon as a Father,
and his Father j and, in fuch Words, and with fuch
Familiarity, as fuch a Son might be fuppofed to do
to, and of, fuch a Father. — He in many Places de-
clares. That he was with him before the World began ;
That he came from him, and yet was ftill in and with
him, £s?f. John iii. 13. Ch. vi. 38, and 62. Ch. viii.
42, i^c. and That the Father loved him, and would
glorify him, as his Son, John xvii. ver. i, 5, i^c. —
Yea, he avows, and proves too. That he was fo his
Son, as to be equal with him j John v. 17- — 26.
That he, and the Father, are One •, Johnx. 30.
That he was in the Father, and the Father in him ;
Ch. xiv. 10, II. and, in one Word, died to fea I all
thefc Truths with his Blood, as we fhall fee. And
the Jpojiles, efpecially the beloved Difciple, wherever
they went, inculcated this great, this fundamental
Truths (which they could not but do, as often as
they baptized zxvj uncircumci fed Converts to the Faith)
proclaiming him to be the Son, the only begotten of
the Father, &"c. John i, 14, and iZ,-^ the Son of his
LovBi
[ 139 1
hove, hy whom, and for whom, all Things were crea-
ted, znd by whom all Things conjiji ', Col. i. 13 — 17.
•— the Son, who is owned by the Father, to be God,
Heb. i. 3. and to have laid the Foundations of the
Earth, &c.ver. i o. yea, and who is always the fame, &c.
ver. 12, i^c. And that, before his Incarnation^ he was
in the Form of God, and thought it no Robbery to
he equal with him, &c. Ph. ii. 6 — 11, &c. &C. —
All which help to explain his own Words, he that
hsLthfeenme, hath Jeen the Father. Johnxiv. 8. Not,
becaufe he was the Father j (an Expreffion to which
feveral of our Author's approach too near) for, *tis
certain, there is a perfonal Dijiin^ion between the
Father and the Son : But, to ufe one of Milton'%
Phrafes, q. d. He that hath feen me, hath feen a Son^
" IN WHOM ALL HIS FaTHER SHINES j" and
therefore, molt certainly, a coejfential Son.
And now, What more was necefiary ? What more
could be faid, to demon/irate this great Truth, that
the Terms, Father and Son, when ufed of the firfi
and fecond Perfon in the Trinity, are taken in the
trueft, ftrideft, mod fublime, and moft proj)er Senfe
poflibie ? — If the Terms themfelves, are not thought
fufficient ; yet, furely, the Adnouns, own, proper,
begotten, only begotten, &c. joined to them, may
well be thought more than fufficient, to put the Mat-
ter out of all Doubt : But, when we remember.
That the Son is, as fuch, equal with the Father>
ONE with him, God, who laid the Foundation of the
Earth, &:c. by, and for whom all Things were cre-
ated, &c. thefe are more than enough, to put Un'
belief itfelf to the Blufh. And fo they would, v/ere
not Pride, fome ftrong, long contraded. Prejudices,
&c. in the Way. — Can any Words prove any Thing,
if thefe and the like, (fo often repeated, and with
fb many concurring Circumjlances to ftrengthen
them) do not prove this ? ' — Let me afk them again.
What would they have had the Holy Ghoji to have
T 2 faid.
[ HO ]
faid, " precifely to determine, wherein the pectiliar
" Relation of the Son, as fuch, to the Father^ as
" fuch, confifts." — Let them tell us, if they can. — -If
they can, I am pretty fure they will ; tho' they may
keep their Countenances, fay , but pretend
fomething or other as a Reafon for their not
doing it. — It they cannot, as I am fure they cannot,
the leafl we can expeft is. That, if they will not he-
lieve, they will be fiknt, and 'keep their Notions to
themfelves. — But, ht(:2^^(txh& fuller Proof of this
great Point, is to be the Siibjed of the laft Chapter,
we fhall wave it, at prefent ; and fhall, while we are
upon this Propofition, do thefe tivo Things at large,
where they come fo naturally in.
I. We fhall confider all the OhjeSlions offered
againft the proper Ufe of thefe Terms, in this Contro-
verfy, i. e. in other Words, againft the coeffential
SonpDip of the fecond Perfon -, and anfwer them fully.
II. Shall, after our learned Author, carefully
*' furvey all the five feveral Senfes, which have been
" put upon this Title, Son of God\^ and more efpe-
cially, when the foremention'd Adnouns are joined
to it.
I. We fhall confider ^// the 0(^>^/£';^% which are
produced, and urged, againft the coeffential Sonfhip
of the fecond Perfon : Or, againft taking the Terms,
Father and Son, in this Controverfy, in their truefr,
ftricleft, and \T\d^ proper 'SitWie, as they are ufed to
denote the Relation of an own Father to an own Son,
or, vice verfa, of an own Son to an o-zvn Father,
among Men •, as far as the Divine and Human Na-
tures are analogous, or may be compared, and will
permit us to carry the Ideas.
The plain, honeft, ferious Chriftian, after what
has been offered from Scripture, in the moft com-
mon, eafy, and familiar Expreffions, which are rea-
dily and well underftood, may be, perhaps, difpo-
fed to iiflv, What" need is there for tliis ? — Can fuch
a Truth
[ 141 ]
'a truth be more plainly, diredly, or emphatically,
expreft ? In what Words can it be done ? — Thole
who will not be llitisficd, with fuch a Number of
PafTages, and fuch a Variety of the cleared, eafieft,
and ftrongefl Phrafes, each mutually illullrating the
other, and all directly to the Furpofe, will hardly
be fatisiied with any Proofs : And the Men, who
can think, by Quirk, or Quibble, ^c. to evade
thefe ; or to wrejt^ and torture^ them to mean what
they never do, in any other Cafe, or to mean juft
nothing; may, iuW ?i^ii-^[\\y, glofs azuay xht Senfe'oi
any V\ ords, or give them nnyJurn^ how ridiculous
focver, xhc'w Caufe requires. But, bccaufe the
Senfe, we put upon thefe Terms, is vehemently op-
pofed ; a great many I'hings are objefted to it ; fla-
grant Abfurdities charged upon it ; and our worthy
Author is, fo very pofitive in the Cafe ; it may not
be Labour lojf^ to confider, and anfwer, every One
■ ot them. — And, That this may be done, the more
eafily, clearly, and to the greateft Advantage -, We
fliall firft offer fome Thoughts upon the true, ftrift,
and proper Ufe of thefe Terms, among Men •, and
then propofe, and remove, the Objedions.
Wc have before obferved. That, when thefe
Terms, Father and Sony &c. are taken in their true,
ftricff, and only/To^cT Senfe, He is a /vz/ivr, as both
Philofophers and Divines have been wont to fpeak,
who, by Natural Generation^ communicates the fame
Nature^ which he himfelf has, with all that is ejfcn-
tial to it, to another •, who is, upon that Account,
called his Son : And, He is a Son^ to whom the
fame Nature, which the Father has, ^c. is, that
Way, communicated. — Whence 'tis evident. That,
in the Relation between a proper Father, and a pro-
per Son, CoESSENTiALiTY Is the firft, the leading,
the principal Idea : He being no proper Father^
who has not the fame Nature, &c. with his Son ; nor
he a proper Son, who has not the famt Nature, Bcc.
with
[ 142 ]
with his Father, and vice verfa. — In this Latitude,
were the Terms of old ufed, when applied to the
jirji and fecond Perfon in the Trinity : And happy
had it been, if the Importunity and rafl) Boldnefs of
the Enemies of the Divinity of the Son, had not, as
they thought, obliged them, (the Fathers, I mean,
and other Divines ever fince,) to try to explain and
illuftrate, not only the Thing itfelf, but the Manner
of it. But, fince the Oppofers of the coejfential Son-
Jhip of the fecond Perfon in the Trinity, have, fo ve-
hemently urged many Conclufions drawn from the
Nature and Manner of human Generation, againft
this Article of the Chrijiian Fcilh, fomething muft
be faid upon that Head, to remove all their Ob-
jections.
After the Revival of Learning, in the Weftern
Parts of Europe, and the prodigious Progrefs it
made, everywhere, in the two laft Centuries, efpe-
cially, fince Natural Philofophy became the darling
Study of many great, and noble Perfons, of very
diftinguiflied Abilities, who, in that their favourite
Study, had many extraordinary Advantages above
the Antients ; (chiefly from the amazing Difcove-
ries of feveral famous Chymijis, and the Providential
Invention of the Micro/cope,) the Nature and Man-
ner of the Generation of Animals, came, of
Courfe, to be more narrowly enquired into. — This
Enquiry they had hardly begun, when the palpable
Abfurdities, attending what was then called equivo-
cal or fpontaneous Generation, appeared fo very evi-
dent, that moft of the celebrated Inquirers foon re-
folved to expofe that ridiculous Notion, which had
too much prevailed for many Ages. And this they
eafiiy, and quickly, did •, and with fuch Succefs,
that it was, in a little while, every where, given
up and run down -, and is now, I think, univerfally
exploded. — Having rid themfelves of this, when
the Nature and Manner^ of regular and proper, or,
as
[ 143]
as it was then called in the Schools, univocal Gene-
ration, fell under their clofer and deeper Refearcbes;
they quickly perceived, that all the former Hypo-
thefes, to account for, or illuftrate, thefe Things,
were either fo precarious and ill-grounded j fo dark
and unconceivable, as well as inexplicable -, fo con-
trary to Experience, as well as common Senfe \ or,
fo evidently above, or contrary to, all the known^
or imaginable Laws of Matter and Motion ; that,
after many, and various ElTays to prop, or amend,
they were even forced to abandon them abfolutely.
— In this Cafe, feveral great Men were ready to
propofe each his own Fancy, few of which gained
either very much, or long Credit, till that very in-
genious and polite Philofopher, the famous Mr.
Perrault, gave it as his Judgment, That " God
" created all the Animals, at firft ; not only the firft
*' of every Kind, or Sort, but all, and every one
** of the Individuals :*' So that every Individual,
that was to be afterward produced, by natural or
ordinary Generation, i. e. the femina, or Jiamina, or
Seeds of them, were adlually all made, or formed^
and inclofed in the firft Male of the Species : And
that they were afterward to be brought forth to
view, in his own appointed Time, according to Laws
of his own ejiablijhing, as we fee they daily are.
— Of this Mind, with many others, was that great
and learned Philofopher and Phyftcian, my famous
Country -Man, Dr. Pit cairn, who carried this
Thought very high indeed, as is undeniable from
thofe Words of his, when fpeaking of the Stone m
the Kidney, which need not now be tranflated: *
And this is now the prevailing Opinion, I may call
it Doctrine, and generally entertained by the moft
• Vel etiam, in Adami Tejiihus, Animalcula ijios Homines ex-
hihitura Calculo renum aliqualiter nafcente laborahant ; &c.
Pitcar. Elem. Med. p. Z07.
learn«
[ H4 1
learned V tho', with fome Difference, in explaining
fome Things in it.
That mofb excellent Philofopher, the Author of
the Religion of Nature delineatedy tho* he feems not
to think, That the Animalcula of every Species were,
from the Beginning, enclofed in the firji of their
refpedlive SortSy p. 89. is yet pofitive, " That the
*' Body (of Man for Example) cannot be formed
*' by the Parents, — For, fays he, all the vital and
" ejential Pans of it mufl be one co-eval Syi^em,
*' and formed at once in the firft Article of the
*' nafcent Animalculum -, — And fince an organized
" Body, which requires to be thns ftmultaneoujly
*' mad#,(faniion'd as it were at one Stroke) cannot be
*'. the Etfed: of any natural and gradual Procefs, I
" cannot but conclude, .that there were Animalcula
" of every Tribe originally formed by the Almighty
*' Parent, to be the Seed of all /z//«rf Generations of
" Animals. — And it is certain, that the Analogy of
" Nature in other Inftances, and microfcopical Ob-
" fervations do abet what I have faidT?^^?;/^/)'."
I might quote many Things, . from the moft
learned Dr. Nieuzventy-t^ that religious Philofopher.,
who is exprefs, " That our Parents are nothing elfe
but unknowing^ and confequently no true., bur,
at the moil, inftrumental Caufes only of our
Exiftence. — That none of them all, were ever
capable of knowing, or frying, whether it fliould
be a Male or Female, a deformed or well-Jhaped
Child, that was to be produced, &c. i^c." . I
might, I fay, quote many Things from this great
Man, and many others, to the fame Purpofe : But,
I have no Mind to make any needlejs Oflentation
of Learning ; and therefore, fhall only obferve,
I . Tho' I dare not undertake, to account for all
the Difficulties, in this Notion or Scheme ; or, to
anfwer al! that may be objefted againft it : Yet, I
am
[ HS]
am pretty fure. It can never be proved hnpojfihk ;
as, I humbly conceive, all the other Hypothefes, I
have heard and can now remember, eafily may be.
• — And therefore, 2. 'Tis, to lay as little as can
well be faid, egregioufly the mo^ probable Accovmt
of thefe Matters ; and attended with the lead by
far, and feweft Difficulties. — o,. The Scripture
Phrafeology feems to favour it : Or, at leaft, there
are feveral Expreflions, or Hints, in ScripturCy
which feem to me to look direftly this Way. — For
Example, thefe Exprefiions, to name no more, in
WHOM, £(p' ;J, ALL HAVE SINNED, Rom. V. 12. As
IN Adam all die, i Cor. xv. 21. Levi paid
Tythes IN Abraham^ for he was yet in the Loins of
his Father^ &c. Heb. vii. 9, 10. and many others,
lofe Nothing of their Beauty, or Emphafis, if this-
Opinion is admitted for Truth. Lofe, did I fay ?
No. According to this Hypothefis, the literal Senfe
of each ot them is irue^ and proper^ and firong :
Whereas, according to any other, it may, perhaps,
be queftioned, by fome, whether it be either ? But,
4. Whether it be true or no, fince it is, and muft
be, I think, allowed poJ//ble, 'tis fufficient for my
Purpofe at prefent. — If we cannot, from Scripture,
prove, yea unanfiverably prove, the coejfential Son-
Jhip of the fecond Perfon in the Trinity, and as
fuch ; I, for my Part, fliall give it up ; for I
mortally hate all Jljameful Evajion and pitiful Shuf-
fling : — But, if we do, it will be in vain to talk of
the Abfurdity or Impofftbility of it, when we can
fhew a poffible Way, how all Difficulties may be re-
moved. — For, tho' that Way fliould prove not to
be indeed the right one, 'tis plain, there muft be
fome other, fufficient in the Nature of Things, to
remove them ; tho', perhaps, it may remain ftill
unknown to all Mankind.
This Opinion now wholly removes many Things,
which are gbjeded againft the coejfential SonJJjip of
U thQ
[146 1
the fecond Perfon, by our Author ; or the proper
Ufe of the Terms, Son and Generation, &c. by
Roely Thef. 1 7. and his Followers. Remove
them, did I lay ? Why, this Account of human
Ge7ieration leaves no Room for moft, if for any one,
of the Objedlions. • — If this is admitted, 'tis plain.
No Father exifis before his Son -, No Father is the
true and efficient Caufe of his Son, i. e. forms or
makes his Body -, or his Soul, &c. ^c. and confe-
quently, many of the Difficulties pretended, and
urged, againft us, vanifh "without an Anfwer. — ■
Yea, 'twill be ridiculous, hereafter fo much as to
mention them ; as we Ihall (hew, when I have put
the Reader in Mind of what needs no Proof, That
our Author's, and his Brethren's, principal Argu-
ments are drawn from the Nature and Manner of
human Generation ; or, " the Meaning of the Word
** Son in the Language of Men," &c. as is clear
from the many Hints already given. — Suffer me
only to repeat his principal Objedlion, or Reafon
againft our Senfe, p. 38. which I have given al-
ready verbatim -, and lliall now do again, with a
clearer and fuller Anfwer, to Ihew how many Falla-
cies are in it, ^c — The Reader will excule me,
Becaufe, if this falls, all his Sophifms fall with it.
" But it is plain, that in order to fupport the
*' Analogy of the Name Son" which we never
pretended, nor does our Caufe require it. — How-
ever, be it ftill remember'd. That the principal Idea
denoted by the Word Son, when taken properly, is
Coeffentiallity with his Father. " we can never make,
** the Word Son of God to fignify one of the fame
" Individual Nature or Ejfence,'* Why ? If it does
not fignify one that has the very fame Effence v/ith
the Father, it does not, it cannot, fignify any Ef*
fence at all, as is evident to common Senfe.'— But,
why can we not make it to fignify one of the fame
individual Nature ? " becaufe it never ftgnines fo
" in
«c
[ H7 1
in the Language of Men." Anf. i. This Title,
she Son of God^ never, any where, fignifies One of
any other Nature, in any Language. But,
2. Here are more Fallacies than one, or two.
** (i) 'Tis the Name Son,'' in one Line, but " the
*' Word So7i of God, m the next j which, 'tis
*' felf-evident, are not the fame, (i) Himfelf
has given an Inflance, where the Word S<}'4y or
Sons, when ufed improperly, do not fignity a
T erf on, no nor any living I'hing ! " Sparks are
•*' called the Sons of the burning Coal ; p. 17." bur
the Title, the Son of God, always and every where,
without Exception, fignifies a Perjon, and fo does
the Word, Son of Man, &c. — 3. This Expreflion,
" in the Language of Men," feems to have been
lludied, on Purpofe, to . If it has any true,
and pertinent Senfe, in this Place, it mull be this,
*' Wherefoever it fignifies a Son of Man.'* And
then, his Argurrent, in plain Englifh, is this. The
Title, th£ Son of God, cannot fignify one of the
Jame individual Nature with his Father, becaufe, the
Title, the Son of Man never fignifies fo ! i. e. As I
have given it above, there is no Necefiity, that This
Title, the Son of God, fhould fignify what it cannot
but fignify-, becaufe this Title, the Son of Man nt-
ver fignifies what it cannot ! Is not this now, a
goodly Argument ? " and therefore, there is no
'* Necefllty that it fiiould fignify one of the fame
'* Nature in any Senfe when applied to Chrifl:.'*
ibid. Here are feveral more Fallacies. What does he
mean by " in any Senfe ?" i^c. — Where is the
Connection .'' — Or, How does this follow from the
other ^. I earneftly defire to know. Mean while I
rather reafon thus, and have no Fear of being con-
futed. I. The Word, " Son of Man'' whether
taken properly and ftri6tly, or more largely and
figuratively, always fignifies one of the fame Nature
with his Father : And therefore, the Title, Son of
U 2 Cod,
[ h8 ]
God^ efpecially when the Ad nouns own, only begot-
ten, Sec. {which necejfarily limit and determine the
Signification, that it mujt be taken, in the mofi jiriEf^
and proper Senfe) are adjoyned, mull always fignify
€ne of the fame Nature with God the lather. — 2.
. This Title, The Son of God, is never applied to any
but him, who could fay, I and the Father are one,
&c. &c. And therefore, there is an abfolute Ne-
ceffity, that it Ihould alway fignify a cosjfrntial Son.
—•3. Our Lord's Human Soul, how great foever,
was never in the Form of God -, &c. Pliil. ii. 6.
was never called God, by the Father -, did never,
could never, lay the Foundation of the Earth •, &c.
Heb. i. 3, 10. nor could it ever be faid of it.
That BY it were allThings created that are in Heaven,
tzQ. All Things were created by it and for it. And
it is before all Things, and by it all Things conjift.
Col. i. 13 — 17: &c. &c. But, all thefe Things
are clearly, and ftrongly, affirmed of the Son, God's
cnly begotten Son ; &:c. Whence I draw thefe Con-
clufions among others, and fhall, through his
Grace, be bound to make them good, (i.) That
k is not his human Soul, that is called the own, the
cnly begotten Son of God. — And (2.) That He, who
is called the own, the only begotten. Son of God is, as
fuch, mofl certainly a co-ejjential Son. — I fhall add,
4. Every own, proper Son is coeffential with his Fa-
ther, whether the Effence they have is individual or
fpecific, or in "what Senfe" foever that Word is
ufed. But,
Becaufe the learned Roel has, very clearly, given
ns all the Objeftions againft this proper Sonfhip, to-
gether and in a very fmall Compafs, T)iff. i. p. 25.
we fhall here, for once, fairly propofe them in his
own Words, of which you fhall have every Syllable \
and anfwer every one of them, in Order, and, I
jiope, to the Reader's full SatisfaUion^
a
If,
[ 149 ]
*' If, fays he, we compare the Ideas of IrueD^i'*"
" TY and Generation properly fo called, it will
'* appear that they cannot both agree to one and the
*' fame Thing or Perfon ;" To pafs the Fallacies
here. What follows ? " and therefore. That a Di-
*' vine Perfon cannot be faid to be properly begotten."
How does he prove this ? Or, What Rcafons has
he for it ? " In Generation J'roperly so call-
" ED," /, e. In the Generation of all Animals., and par-
ticularly o^ Men, " we have obferved, i. Produc-
*' tion, and confequently a Tranfition from Non-
'' exijlence to Being.'' Anf Thefe Words are very
general, and ambiguous : But, take them in what
Senfe he would, or could, they are manifeftly, and
abfolutely falfe. Fathers among Men, were never
faid, or thought, to be Creators : Nor, inhuman
or any proper Generation., is there '' a Tranlitus a
non ejfe ad ejfe.'' — Nor can a greater Abfurdity be
conceived, if thefe Words are taken ftridlly, than
to fay there is. — 2. " That the Begetter, among
" Men, is prior to, i. e. exifts before, or, is older
*' than the Begotten." Anf. (i.) Not at all : They
were both created at the fame Time. Yea, all the
Individuals of every Species were created, whdn the
frji of the Species was. — (2.) The Terms, Be-
getter, and Begotten, being Relatives, neither of
them could fubfift without the other. There can
be no Father without a Son : Nor before he has a
Son. The Father, indeed, is firft brought forth in*
to View : But, the Son exifled, in Animalculo vel
Semine, as foon as he. — ■ " 3. In him that begets ah
*' fMive Poit'er of begetting, and in him that is be-
*' gotten a pnjjive Power to be begotten." — If he
means, by an aSlive Power of begetting, a Power to
produce out of Nothing-, or, to give Exiftence to
what does not exift, according to his firft Obferva-
tion; we anf. (i.) 'No Father, zmong Men, ever
had J or poflibly can have, any fuch Power. — And,
to
[ 15° ]
Co apply this to the Point in Hand, (2.) In the E-
ternal Generation of the Son of God, the Father did
not produce any Thing out of Nothing : But, to
fpeak after our Fathers, " communicated his own Ef-
** fence to him" — And, (3.) If we transfer the I-
deas of human Generation, according to Mr. Per-
rault*s Opinion, to the Generation of the fecond Per-
jbn in the Trinity, then the aUive Power of the Fa-
ther to he^et the Son, was only a Power to fend him
forth, on any Occafion ; to fend forth, I fay, his
always coexijlent Son : And the a^ive Power of the
Son, for there could be no proper Paffion in the
Cafe, was his Power to go, or adual going forth.
And (4.) That Exprefiion, often quoted to prove
his Eternal Generation, whofe Goings forth have-
been from Old, from the Days of Eternity, Mic. v. 2.
ieems to hint to us, (as feveral of the Fathers many
Ages after, feem, to me, to have thought,) That
there were feveral of thefe Goings forth, or Genera-
iions. — "4. In both of them, {viz. the Father and
*' Sen among Men) fome Change.'' No other
Change but this, the Animalcule, which exifted, as
fuch, before Generation, is brought forth into ano»
ther Bed, or Neft if you will, more convenient for
yiugmentation. — " 5. In the Begetter, the voluntary
«' J^ of begetting." And, What then ? — 6. " Ma-
*' teriam ^ femen ex quo gignat." This, as it is
here expreft, feems neither clear nor true. How-
ever, his Materia iff Semen is, or are, no other
than the little Fcetus, or Embryo, perfeftly formed
already *, and which was, in all Probability, adually
formed, and, perhaps, enlivened with, and in, the
firft Man : Or, according to that Hypothefts of the
moft ingenious, and learned. Author of the Religion
pf Nature delineated, which, he fays, " had been
" long his,'* p. 90. viz. the little Animalcule, which
" being already formed from the Beginning, and pre-
" ferved in fome opportune Place, is taken in by
" the
t '50
'' the Father, fome convenient Time before Procrc-
" ation,'*- — -p. 89. which may be thought to re-
move, or take off much of the Force of, fome Ob«
jedions, which feem to bear very hard upon Mr.
Perrauli*s Opinion. " 7. In the Ad of begetting the
" Beginning and End.'* And, What then ? " 8. In
** the Son Dependence upon the Father^ as the Caufe
*' of his Exiftence." The Word, Dependence., is
very ambiguous, and fo is the Expreflion, " the
*' Caufe of his Exiftence.'* However, the Father
is, as we have heard, at moll, but an Inftrument in
the Hand of God^ or of Providence, to bring forth
the little Animalcule, into a Situation, where it may
have more Room, and proper Nourifhment aifo^
for its Growth, ^c. — True indeed it is. That whea
we are born, we are, for a great while, the moft help-
lefs and miferable of all Creatures, &c. (the humbhng
Effects of Original Sin) and under numberlefs Obli-
gations to our Parents for the Care they take of us,
^c. — But, when Cliildren grow up, they are able
to do for themfelves ; and fometimes, tho*, alas I
not fo often as they fhould, requite their Parents j
and their Parents come to depend upon them. —
Thefe now are all the Ideas of Generation he men-
tions ! How juft they are, and how little they help
him, Ihall be left to others.
A^. B. While his Hand was in, he would not,
one would think, have forgotten the very IFife
Reafon which the moft polite, learned, and pious
Muhammed, or, as we commonly call him, Mahomet^
(which was alfo greedily lickt up by a Son, I mean
a Difciple, of his, a Perfon of much the fame Spirit^
if not Size for Abilities, the unhappy antichriftian
Socinus !) gave to prove. That God had not, yea
could not have, a proper Son, viz. Becaufe he had
not a Wife. And, I am apt to think he would not,
had he not clearly perceived. That it was fo ridicu-
lous, as to have moved Laughter, or Pity, or
Contempt,
1 152 1
Contempt, rather than done himfelf any Honour,
or his Caufe any Service. But, leaft it Ihould be
objefted to us, we anf. — i. TYitfirJi Perfon is, in
numberlefs Paflages of Scripture, ftiled xht Father oi
the fecond Perfon -, yea, is called his own, or proper
Father, and exprefsly faid to have begotten him ;
And, which is more, in fo many Words, Pf. ii. 7.
tells himfelf, that he had begotten him : And the
Son as often ftiled the Son -, the own, or proper Son
of God, and calls himfelf the begotten Son, yea, the
only begotten of the Father, &c. Now, They muft cer-
tainly know : And we cannot think, that either of
them would tell us a Lie ; or that they would con-
fpire to do it, and fo impof^ upon us, ^c. — 2.
Tho' the Father had no ^ife, he might, to fpeak
with the Ancients, communicate the Divine EJfence and
Perfe5!ions to another \ who, upon that Account,
would be his Son, his proper, his begotten Son. — Or, 3.
According to the more probable, and now more
current. Opinion of natural Generation, might fend
forth the fecond Perfon, who had been always, and
neceffarily, with him as a Son : And the fecond might
go forth from him, upon any Occafion mutually
agreed upon between them, and fo be manifejled to
be indeed a difiin^f Perfon from him, and properly
a Son. — Upon either, or both, of thefe Accounts,
fuppofing either, or both of them to be true, might
the Father, tho' he had no Wife, be, and be ftiled,
his -proper Father, and the Son, tho', as fuch, he
had no Mother, be, and be called, a, the, or his^
proper Son. — Let us then go on to *' his Ideas of
** true Deity,'* which cannot, he lays, confift widi
*' the Ideas of Generation properly fo called." You
fhall have every Word of them in Latin, in the
Margin, tho' I fhall not, for Perfpicuity's fake, tie
myfelf to a literal T^ranflation. * " But, fays he, in
» /«Deitatk vero exiftentiam necejarlam (f etcrnam, cum
^Ua pugnat.
the
f '53 1
" the Deity we have obkrved- ExiJIence necejfary
** and eternal y p. 25. So have all the World. But,
if the Exijience of the Deity is necejj'ary and eternalj
" it quite excludes the Idea of proper Generation.^*
Yes : his mifiaken Ideas, but not the true Ideas of
it. But how does he fupport this? " * i. If the
" Deity is necejfarily exijient and eternal, it always;
" Was," True. ** and could never begin to be"
Who fays the Deity ever did, or could, begin to
be. We abhor fuch ftupid Blafphemy. — But, the
Son, we fay, was begotten. — We do Co, and what
then ? Therefore, he began to be F I deny the Con-
fequence. He was always, and neceflarily, a proper^
and therefore, a coejjential Son ; as the Father was
always, and necelTarily, a proper, and coejfcntial Fa-
ther, -j- " 2. The Deity cannot be pojlerior to, or
'* younger than another ?" The Reader will eafily per-
ceive the Fallacies, in this "VV'ay of talking, which
I am afliamed to trouble him with. NA'e lliall
therefore propofe this, more plainly, thus, " In the
'* Deity, there can be no Per Jon pojierior to, or
*' younger than, another." Who fays there is .'' —
As the Son never began to be, he could have none
before him, or be pqfterior to any other. X 3- The
" De%ty cannot produce its like or equal" Who
fays it does, or can ? The Deity does not, cannot,
in any Senfe, produce another Deity. The Notion
is pregnant with numberlefs odious, monftrous.
Contradictions. The very Suppofition is an abfo-
lute ImpoffibiHty. But, from this Principle, " the
'* Deity cannot produce its like, i. e. another Dsity^
" or Divine l^ature,'* to infer, That therefore,
the Father could not have a coejfential Son, or could
not beget the Son, is not only a mere Shuffle founded
uppn his own Miftakes, and a poor begging the
* T. A'j.v cjfr, y incipere effe. f 2. Jlio pofteriorem
cfff X 3 • Pi'oo'uan (ui ftmile pojfe.
[ 154- ]
^tejlion alfo, but a plain, avowed Contradi£lion to
numberlefsPaflagesof the/^F(?r/iofG^^. " || 4. The
*' Deity is immutable^ but Generatioji fuppofes, or
*' implies, that it is changed.^* Wherein? The
Father and Son both, are, neceflarily, the fame
that they were from Eternity. ; And, the go-
ings forth of the Son^ were rather Manifejiations
of his Son/hip, than the Foundation of it : Or,
if there was any Thing in it, which might be
called a Change^ it was purely relative -, at moft, no
Way inconfiftent wdth the Unchangeablenefs of God.
" * 5. In proper Generation, there is a Produ5lion by
*' a voluntary A51 : But, the Deity cannot ht produced
" by any fuchyf^." No, nor by any Ad. Who-
ever dreamt it could ? — Here, and in the third,
the ambiguous Words, produce and be produced^
• muft do the Bufinefs ? But, " the Communication of
*' the Divine Effence to the Son, as our Fathers ufed
to fpeak, was not a Produ^ion of any new Thing,
that did not exijl before ; i. e. was not a Creation :
And, according to the new Opinion, the Genera-
tion of the Son was only the fending him forth, &c.
as we have juft now hinted. " •f 6. Proper Gene-
** ration fuppofes Matter, both in the Begetter and
" Begotten : But, the Deity is immaterial and fpiri-
** tual.''^ And what then ^ Bccaufe, in Human Ge-
neration, there muft be Matter-, and the Body of
the Son mufl be corporeal, as well as his Father* s :
Mufl: the Son of him, who is a moji pure Spirit, be
material alfo .'' — He is, in the mofl proper Senfe,
a Son, who has the fame Effence or "Nature his Father
has, and of him, what Nature foever that be. X 7.
" In proper Generation, as there is a voluntary Ad:,
** fo muft there needs be a Beginning and Ending of it,
" confidered both ^t^z'w/)' and ^^w/y .'"* Anf i. We
H 4. Mutari. * 5. Voluntario ASlu product. f 6. Ex
materia generare aut generari. ^ 7- hi'tium aut Terminus
Zenerationis tt^i-va aut pa£i--vs made,
or CREATED, OF HER SuESTANCE; (as the Body
of the frji Woman was made of the Rib which God had
taken from Adam : Gen. ii, 22.) not one of which,
could ever have been faid of any other Mother, or
Son. — Her Love to him therefore, muft have been,
naturally, by many Degrees, more intenfe and fer-
vent ; and her motherly Care of him, and Sympathy
with, or for him, egregloufly more affe^ionate and
tender, than in any other Cafe : Forafmuch, as her
Relation to him, was exceedingly nearer, and her
Intereft in him, fo much more natural and, above
Parallel, endearing. — And, on the other Hand, the
merely natural hove, which, in other Children, is,
naturally, divided between the Parents, being, in
him, center'cl in her alone, his purely natural filial
Love to her, muft have been, naturally, above Com-
parifon, more firong and flaming ; and his Care of.
Pity for, and Affection towards her, fuperlatively
more conflant and a£iive. — So that, as the Ties of
Nature between them, were clofer, their purely na-
tural Endearments muft needs have, upon that Ac-
count,
[ 174 1
count, had there been no other, much more exqui-
Jite ; and confequently, their merely natural Hap*
pinefs^ in t\\€ir Jingular Relation to each other, egre-
gioufly more exalted^ and delicate. — Here then
was a Son, in the trueft, ftrifteft, higheft, and I
doubt not to hy, the mofc proper Sen^^, tho' feveral
of the Ideas implied, in what v/e commonly call na-
tural -Ge^ieraticn, could have no Room in his. Here
we have Samenefs of Nature, the Com?numcation of
the fame Ndiure from the Mother to the Son, or, if
you will, hxs Pr/dcipation o^ the fame Nature, &c.
which are the firft and chief Ideas in natural Genera-
tion ', and therefore, was the Mother, I conceive, in
a more proper Senfe, his Mother, and he, in a more
proper Senfe, her Son. -— In fine, 'tis becaufe of the
Difference we find, betwixt the Ideas of this, and
other Generations, that we conclude, 1 hat Ci^r//? was in
the trueft, ftri6teft, higheft, and confequently, in
the moft proper Senfe, a Son. To confirm this,
fomewhat at leaft,
iV". B. One of the Names of the Son that was given^
and the Child horn to us. If ix. 6. is Wonderful !
May we not then think. That it was with Refped
to, or upon the Account of, this miraculous Concep-
tion, as well as fome other Things, that he had this
Name or Title? — May we not then, with Reverence,
fay. That he is wonderful as God, i. e. the coeffential
Son of God •, and wonderful alfo as Man, the Seed of
the Woman, and made of her ! Wonderful as the Son
of a Woman, without a Man ; and wonderful as the
Son of God, without a Wife I — May we not venture
to fay. That his fingular Relation to his Mother^ as
her Son, is the very hkeft, comes neareft to, and
does beft refemble, his Relation to God, as his Son,
of any Thing in Nature : And that, confequently »
he is his coeffential Son ? — However, Chrifl is indeed
a Wonder of Wonders ! — Wonderful in his complex
Perfon, Natures, Offices, Relations, States !
Wonder-
[ >75 ]
Wonderful as Man^ in his Conception, Birth, Life,
Dodrine, Miracles, Death, Refurredion , &c I
Altogether Wonderful ! — But
5. "When pleading for the coeffential Sonfhip of the
fecond Perfon, or, in RoeFs own Words, Thef. x.
I'hat the Sen, the fecond Perfon of the moji holy 'Tri-
nity, was from Eternity begotten of the Father ; and
Thef XX. That the mcji Orthodox Senfe of the
Words, Son and Generation, is, that they emphati-
cally fignify. That the fecond Perfon hath the fame
Effence and Nature with thejirfi, and did from Eter-
nity coexiji with him : < — When, pleading, I fay,
for this, (and I plead for no more, when I
plead for the coeffential Sonfhip of the fecond
Perfon!) I could not well avoid faying. That
he is, in the mofb proper Senfe, the Son of
the Father ; becaufe, I conceive, the Phrafe, co-
effential Sonfhip^ does really, and neceiTarily, imply
it. Nor can I help believing, that every Body v/ill
fay with me, 1 hat a coeffential Son, is, in the mofl:
proper Senfe, a Son. — No ; will this learned Man
and his Followers fay, that cannot be. " Between
" Generation properly fo called," and the Generation
of the fecond Perfon, there remains no Likenefs, " no
" not the lead." — But, fay I, their Ideas " of
*' Generation properly fo called," /. e. of human
Generation, are all falfe. Let them reftify thefe,
and then apply them to the Sonfaip of the fecond
Perfon, and they will fee, as I have hinted above,
that, in all the principal Ideas, they very well agree,
as far as the Ideas we have of an infinite, and mofb
pure Spirit, will permit us to carry them. — In fine.
We are apt to think. That the Reafons, why the
moji High, in his infinite JVifdoin and Goodnefs, has
chofen to call the firfi and fecond Perfons in the Tri-
nity, by the Names of Father and Son, is to fignify
to us, — I. That thz Relation of the /r/? Perfon to the
fecgnd, is the neareftto, and is bell refembled by the
E.d(itiQn
[ 176 ]
Relation of an own Father, to an own Son, among
- Men, of any Relation in Nature, except, that be-
tween the Virgin and her Son, purely as fueh. — 2.
Becaufe the Father is as properly^ a Father, and the
Son as proferly a Son, as they can be. And confe-
quently, — 3 .Thefe Words both could and would excite
in us, the moft familiar, eafy, and clear Ideas of this
Matter, which he faw necejfary for us, and thought
meet to excite in us ; or that we were capable of, in
this prefent State. — And I cannot help being per-
fuaded, — 4. That, if any Thing in the World, within
our Reach, or of which we have any Knowledge,
could have given us more dijtin5f and adequate Ideas
of the Generation of tht fecond Perfon, or the Manner
of it, fo as to have ftrengthned our Faith and Hope
in our dear Redeemer, and enfiamed our Love to or
Delight in him. Our moft gracious God and Saviour
would have kindly indulged us with it. — This then
he thought fufEcient : Let us therefore, be content
with it, and thankful for it, and careful to improve
it, and make the beft Ufe of it ; without daring to
enquire PFhy, or How, or break through unto the
Lord to gaze, Ex. xix. 21 . left we perifh. — Can wcy
by [earching, find out God ? Can we find out the Al-
mighty unto Perfection ? Job xi. 7.
Before, I conclude this, I mud remove fome Ob-
jections, which J I am well aware, will be made to
me, which indeed require an Anfwer, and will be of
Ufe throughout all that follows.
Obj. I. Tho' I feem, and with much Zeal too,
to oppofe the learned Roel •, yet, by adopting Per-
rault^s Opinion of the Generation of Animals, i. e.
*' of Generation /^rfiip^r/y fo called," I do, inEffedt,
fall in with him ; and believe (not that the Son of
God was, in a proper Senfe, begotten of the Father ,
but) that he coexifted with him from all Eternity ; and
therefore, is unoriginal ed, and, av-JOeo? i. e. God of
him-
[ ^77 ]
•himfelf-) as well as he ; and confequently, is not, In
a proper Senfe, his Son.
Anf. I. Tho' I am much inclined to believe P^r-
raull's Notion, of the Generation of Animals^ to be
true i and to apply his Ideas^ to the Generation of
the Son of God : I fhall not contend fo earneftly for
my fo doing, till I hear how ferious and judicious
Chriftians relifh it. Nor lliall I, till then, ever fay any
Thing more, againft the old Account of the Genera-
tion of the Son., but that it gives Occafion to many
feemingly ftrong, hui vt^dWy needlefs ObjeSJions % and
does not fo well agree, with the true Ideas of human
Generation. — 2. V/hen Mr. Perrault's Ideas of Ge-
neration properly fo called, are applied to the Genera-
tion of the Son^ they are much, if not exactly the
fame, as we have heard, with what Reel calls the
moft orthodox Senfe of the V' ords, Son and Genera-
tion. Thef. 20. — 3. Had Mr. Roel heard of Fer-
rW/'s Notion, and confidtr'd it well, it would, I
conceive, have removed all his Difficulties •, and fa-
ved him the Trouble, of making fuch a needlefs Stir
in the World. — 4. Had he embraced it, he needed
not have gone near fo far from the common Faith., as
he has done : Yea, needed not, in any one Thing,
but in the Change of a very few Expreffions,
which are founded, I conceive, upon palpable Mi-
flakes \ and therefore, deferved to be cafhiefd ; efpe-
cially, when it may be done without any Danger,
and a very probable Profpedl of feveral defireable
Advantages. — 5. His not doing it, has led him to
many Things, which feem of much greater Moment,
than he was av/are of. Such as, — i. To deny.
That there is any ^Natural Order.^ among the bleffed
Three^ either of Subjifiing., or JVorking ! — 2. To af-
firm, That whatever Order there is among them, is
purely CEconomical -^ and therefore, voluntary and
arbitrary ! — 3. To rob the frfl Perfon of all the Pre
rogatives of a Father, and purely as fuch ; by grant-
A a ing.
[ 178 ]
ing, That he^ who is now called the /ry^ Perfon, or
the Father^ might have been called .the fecond^ or
the Son ; and confequently, might have been ap-
pointedy and fent^ to be incarnate.^ and become obedient
unto Death ! &c. all which, to me, appear Jjock-
ing^ contrary to the whole Scripture^ and v^^hat turns
all Things upfide down / — 4. To give the Son^ and
as fuch, an ommmodous Equality with the Father^ and
as fuch ; which is abfolutely inconfiftent, with all the
Ideas of Father and Son^ whether ufed properly or
improperly, and directly contrary to his lo 7'hefts,
" That the Son, the fecond Perfon, was begotten of
" the Father from Eternity."^ &c. &c. So that, I
anfwer diredly to the Objedion, — 5.
Tho' I incline to apply Mr. Perrault^s Ideas of the
Generation of Men, to the Generation of the Son of
God, the fecond Perfon in the Trinity : Yet, I do not
agree with Mr. Roel, in any one Thing now con-
troverted, if it is not to doubt of, or to deny, the
Propriety and Truth of the old Account of the Ge-
neration of the Son, which, as all own, is founded on
the old Ideas of the Generation of Animals, and
which are now, generally, thought to be falfe.
— And This is the only Thing, wherein I differ
from the common Language of the Catholic Church.
►— I fay common Language •, becaufe, I do not differ,
in one Hair's breadth, from the common Faith. For,
I. I firmly believe. That there are Three di-
Jiin5i Perfons in the moft holy and undivided Trinity,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghofi. — 2 . That
there is a naturah and therefore, necejfary and unal-
terable. Order among them, both of Subjijting and
Working. — 3. That xhtf;fi Perfon could never have
been called, noraftedas, xht fecond ; and vice verfa.
' — 4. That the frji Perfon is properly, a Father ;
and the fecond properly, a Son. — 5. 1 referve all
that Preeminence and Precedency that is natural to a
Father -, and, in a Word, all the Prerogatives of a
Fa-
[ ^79 ]
Father^ and purely as fuch, to the firji Perfon :
And hence, He might, very naturally ^ chufe, ap-
point, and commifTion, his only Son to be the Media-
tor, &c. — And, 6. I beheve there is fome Sort oi a
natural Subordination in the Son ; or. That the Son, a3
fuch, is fome Way naturally fiih ordinate to the Father^
as fuch : And therefore. That there was a Becoming'
nefs in it, that he fhould be deputed to be the Media-
tor, &c. and not the Father. — All this I leave with
the jiudicious, ferious, impartial Chriftian, who, I am
fare, will acquit me of all affeded, unneceflary, or
hazardous Innovation.
Obj. 2. You have talk'd fo very exprefsly, and
emphatically, of three diftincl, and proper, coexijtent
Persons, that you mud furely, for aught we can
conceive, make them, or believe them to be. Three
di;iinEl Spirits, or Minds, which is neither more
nor lefs, rhan pure Tritheism. — To this 1 an-
fwer diredly,
Anf. "What I. have laid is no more Triiheifm,
than the DoSlrine of the Catholic Church, from the
Beginning, \s, Tritheifm. — For, i. However they
fx/);ry}Vthemfelves, they muft have believed them to
be three dijiin£t proper Perfons ; becaufe, they all be-
lieved a REAL Trinity : And, That the Father did
really, fome Way or other, l^eget the Son -, and that the
Son was really, fome Way or other, begotten : That
the Father was not the Son, nor the Son the Father,
&c. — 2. However they ^;v/)r^y}'J themfelves, they
muft, they did, believe them to have been, frc7n all
Eternity, coexijient Perfons : Becaufe, they be-
lieved. That the Father was always a Father ;
never without the Son, or aAoj/o? \ &;c. &c. and
that the Son never began to be ; or, was without a
Beginning, and always a Son, &c. &c. But, if the
Father was always a Father, and the Son always a
Son ', They muft have, as fuch, coexijledfrcrn all Eter-
nity . — 3. They all believed, that the blefled Three
A a 2 did
[ i8o ]
didallfubfiftin one Divine Nature ; or, were coejfential %
and that the Father and Son are one Thing, ^c.
and therefore, are the one only^ the living and true
God : But, if they are the one only God, they cannot
poffibly be 'Three Gods. — 4. Our Saviour is exprefs,
Gcd z'j A Spirit, John iv. 24. not two or three Spi-
rits : And, /and the Father are one Tni-biG, Ch.
X. 30. &'c. not twoThings: And we read, innumberlefs
Pafiages of Scripture, of Jehovah, and Jehovah,
2.nd Jehovah, hut ntver of Three Jehovah^s: And of
God, and God, and God, but never of Three Gods. —
We therefore beHeve, 5. That tho' each of them is Je-
hovah, they are all the one Jehovah -, and though
every one of them is God, they are ^//, but the one
God. — Thus God, who knows heji, and cannot lie,
has plainly and exprefsly revealed himfelf, all over
his Word : And thus we mod firmly believe, ac-
cording to our Baptiymd Covenant ; and, by receiv-
ing his Tejlimony, have Jet to our Seal, againft ail
the blafphemous Antitrinitarians in the World, that
God is true. Je. iv. 33.
Let it then luffice, in a Word, once for all, to
fay. That it is ejfential, and therefore abfolutely ne-
cejfary, to the Divine Nature, to fubfift in three di-
Jiintl Perfons: And, that it necejfarily, tho* not without
their Wills, fubfifts in the/r/?Perfon, as a Father •, in
the fecond, as a Son -, and in the third, as proceeding
from them Both. Or, if you will. That there are
three diflinSf, and necejj'arily exijiing SubJiJiences, or
Perfons, in the Godhead, a ^ro^tx Father, a proper
Son, and a Third which properly proceedeth from
them Both.
Thus far have I now ventured, contrary to my
Cuftom, in thefe myjierious and adorable Things !
And now, O Lord, to thee do I look. Thou knoweji
how fear Jul I am, at all Times, to fay any Thing, on
fuch Subje3ls, without, bejides, or beyond, thy
Word ; and to wander from the Footsteps of the
Flock ;
[ j8. j
Flock : In every 'Thing I have /aid amifs, O Lord
forgive, and prevent its doing any Hurt, to any of
of thy People ; and hlefs any Thing that may conduce
to the Injiru^lion, Excitation, Ejtablifhment, or Re-
covery, of thofe, who truly fear and love thee, ac-
cording to the mofl earneji Defire of thy poor and moft
unworthy Servant, for the Sake of thine only begot-
ten, the Son of thy Love, and our only Redeemer
and Advocate. Amen,
II. We iliaii now " furvey the feveral Senfes,
" (which our worthy Author alledges, p. 5.) have
" been ufually put upon this Phrafe Son of God ;'*
And that, in Confequence of an Endeavour, " to
" find the true Idea or Meaning of it in thofe Texts
" wherein the Behef of Chrifb to be the Son of God
*' i>^ made the great Requifite in Order to Salvation,
" and a neceffary Ingredient of Chriftianity." p. 2.
This is an awful Thought indeed ! enough to make
us all look about us.
Of thefe Texts, he has given us fix celebrated
ones, p. 3. and 4. which are all, I conceive, clear,
full, and home to the Purpofe. John iii. 18. Ch. xx.
31. I John V. 13. Ch. iv. 15. Ch. ii. 23. and A£ls
viii. 37. — Thefe we have mentioned already, p. 12.
and added to them about twice as many, p- 13. the
more to confirm a Point of fuch vaft Importance.
His firft Argument propofed " by Way of a
*' disjunftive Syllogifm," begins thus, p. 5. " This
" Name, Son of God, hath been fuppofed to be
" given to our Lord Jefus Chriji upon fome or all
" of thefe five Accounts, (i.) Becaufe of an Eter-
" nal and Unconceivable Generation by the Perfon
*' of the Father in the Samenefs of the Divine Ef-
" fence. (2.) Becaufe of the glorious Derivation of
" his human Soul from God before the Creation of
" the World. (3.) Becaufe of his Incarnation or
" coming into this World by an extraordinary Con-
!* ception, and Birth of a Virgin without an earthly
Fa-
[ ,82 ]
*- Father, by the immediate Operation of God,
*' (4.) Becaufe of his Refurredion from the Dead,
*' and high Exaltation. (5.) In order to point out
" that glorious Perfon who had in general fome
" fublime and finguiar Relation to God, and who
" alfo was to fuftain the Charadler and Oifice of the
*' Mejfiah^ the Saviour of the World."
Here, let the impartial Reader diligently confider,
and carefully remember, thefe few Things.
I. The Ambiguity often hinted above. The Que-
fljon is not, whether this Title, the Son ofGod^ may
be, and is actually, given in Scripture, to the
Word made Flesh, in his whole complex Perfon ;
or, to the Mejfiah^ and as fuch \ which no one of
us ever once doubted : — But, V/hether it does not
originally^ and efpecially if Jtri^ly taken, denote
the fecond Perfon in the moji holy Trinity, and
purely, as fuch ; or, Whether the y^^oW Perfon, and
purely as fuch, is not indeed the coejjential Son of
the Father \ and might not have had this ^itle,
from all Eternity, antecedently to, or abflraftin
from, all Confideration of his Mediatorial Under
takings or Office ; which he ftrenuoufly denies, and
we ftedfaflly affirm .?
2. That if he had invincibly proved, That Chrifi^
the Mediator between God and Man^ may be, or is
adually, called the Son of God, upon all thefe four
laft; Accounts, which is, I think, impoffible to be done ;
yet it could never have fully ferved his Purpofe, or
oppofed the Catholic Doctrine of the Son/hip of our
Redeemer, except he had alfo proved. That the fe-
cond Perfon in the 'irinity, and purely as fuch, isr
not, and therefore cannot be called, the coeffential
Son of the Father •, which he has but very feebly at-
tempted, and can never, indeed, be done.
3. Many great and eminent Men, who have mofl
zealoufly, ftrenuoufly, and fuccefsfully, contended
for the coeffential Sonfhip of the fecond Perfon in the
&
[ i83 ]
trinity ^ have granted, yea and pleaded. That
Chrift /j-, or may he called, the Son of God, upon
four of thefe/w Accounts. — I fhall name but two,
and thofe two of the greatefl: Lights and Orna-
ments, the Church of England ever had ; (and ihe
has had a great many,) even that univerfal Scholar,
who was indeed a Sort of a Prodigy in Learning,
the famous Dr. Ifaac Barrow, and the moft wor-
thy, and judicious, Bifhop Pearfon. The former,
enquiring into " the Grounds and Refpecls upon
" which this Relation of our Saviour to God is
" built, or the Reafons why he is called the Son of
" God ; tells us there are feveral exprelTed or im-
" plied in Scripture. * i. Chrift is called the Son of
*' God, in Regard to his temporal Generation, as
" being in a Manner extraordinary conceived in the
" BleJfedP^irgin by the Holy Ghofi, Luke i. 35. Gal.
" iv. 4. — 2. Chrift alfo may be termed the Son of
'' God in Regard to his Refurreclion by Divine Effi-
" cacy ; that being a Kind o^ Generation, or Intro-
" duftion into another State of Life immortal.
" Luke XX. 35, 36. AHs xiii. 32, 33. — Others,
" fays he, are upon this Ground called the Sons of
" God: — How much more then may he .'' — 3,
" Chrift is capable of this Title by reafon of that
" high Office, in which by God's fpecial Defignation
" he was inftated. — • If ordinary Princes and Judges
^'- have been called the Children of the mofi High :
" Pf. Ixxxii. 6. — With how much greater Truth
'■'■ and Reafon may he be called his Son ? John x. '^^,
" — 4. Whereas God hath conftituted our Saviour
" Heir of all 'Things, given him to be Head above all
" Things to the Church, put all Things under his
" Feet, given him Power over all Things to the
** Church, — exalted him to, or at, his Right Handy
" — and committed all Judgment to him ; well may
* Barro^vh Expof. of the Creed, Serm. 21, Jo. i. 14,
« he
[ >84 ]
" he in that Refpe6t be entitled the Son of God ; as
" thereby holding the Rank and Privilege fuitable
*' to fuch a Relation : He being the chief of the
" Family, and next in Order to the great Pater^
" familias of Heaven and Earth. In thefe Re-
*' fpedls is our Saviour properly, or may be fully
" denominated the Son of God, with fome Peculiarity
" and Excellency beyond others : But his being
*' with fuch Emphajis called God^s only begotten Son,
" (denoting an Exclufion of all others from this Re-
*' lation upon the fame Kind of Ground) doth fure-
*' ly import a more excellent Ground thereof, than
" any of thefe mentioned,'* ^c. Thus far this great
Man, with his ufual Sagacity, Judgment, and vaft
Compafs of Thought. On which I obf i . His
Modefty. " Chrift is called the Son of God, may be
" termed, is capable of this Title, and well may he be
*' thus entitled :" His Modefty, I fay, in not affirming
without what appeared to him fufficient Proof,
And, tho' I humbly conceive, that Chrift is never
adlually fo called, upon any of thefe Accounts, yet
I can readily agree with him. That he may be fo
termed, is capable of this Title, ^c. — 2. Among
all thefe Senfes, there is not a Syllable of our worthy
Author's fecond Account, viz. " That this Title
*' fignifies the glorious peculiar Derivation of his hu-
*' man Soul from God the Father, p. 10" Whence I ga*
ther. That there was no fuch Fancy known in his
Time ; or, that he thought it groundlefs j and there-
fore, not worth any Notice. — 3. That none of
thefe, nor altogether, were in his Judgment, incon-
fiftent with the coeffential Sonfhip of Chrift.
Of much the fame Mind is the other great Man,
who gives us the fame Reafons, tho' not in the fame
Order, and, I think, with more Pofitivenefs. i.
" It cannot be denied that Chrifi is the Son of God,
'* for that Reafon, becaufe he was by the Spirit of
*' God born of the Virgin i Luke i. 35. — 2. 'Tis
" un-
[ »85 ]
" undoubtedly true, That he being defigned to Co
" high an Office, (as that of the M:ffiah,) he mud
*' by Vertue thereof be acknowledged the Son of
*' God, Jo. X. 34 — ^6. — 3. He muft be ac-
*' knowledged the Son of God, becaufe he is raifed
" by God out of the Earth unto immortal Life*
" Luke XX. 36. Rom. i. 4. — 4. Chriji is, after his
" Refurredion, made adually Heir of all Things in
" his Father's Houfe, from whence he alfo
" hath the Title of the Son of God. — But befides
*« thefe four, fays he, we mud find yet a more peculiar
*' Ground of our Saviour's Filiation, totally diftin£t
'* from any which belongs unto the reft of the Sons
" of God ; that he may be clearly and fully ac-
" knowledged the only begotten Son." * — From
thefe, the fame Obfervations offer themfelves, as
from the former. — Suffer me only to add. That,
if, by rhefe Expreffions, " he muft be acknow-
" ledged becaufe, or by Vertue thereof," he means^
That they are irrefiftible Declarations, or Evidences^
that He, who had affumed our Nature, was, from
Eternity, the Son of God^ we are agreed.
I need not give any more Quotations, to lliew
their Opinions : Nor will there be any Occafion for
Citations, from the Writings of the Protefiant Dif-
fenters, not a few of whom have granted the fame.
Nor will it be neceffary, after the Hints given* to
acquaint the Reader, how ready I fhould be to es-
cufe thefe lejfer Mijiakes, in Perfons of fo very great
Eminence, and real Worth : But, becaufe, as I hum-
bly conceive, they are Mifiakes, I fhall take the Li-
berty, with all due Deference, to give my Reafons^
why I think them fo, and, at the lame Time, pro-
pofe what I take to be the Truth. — The firft of
thefe will come naturally in, when I confider " the
* Pear/on' &Exf of. of the CreeJ, Art. 2. p. 105, 106.
B b " five
[ i86 ]
" five various Accounts, upon which this Name ihe
*' Son of God,'\\2Xk\ been luppofed, according to our
" Author, to be given to Chrift : " The laft we
fhalL offer in the Words of the learned Pi^ete^ a
Man who had a very dear Head, and jolid Judgment.*'
" Chrifr, fays he, is not called the Son of God^
" either becaufe of his Conception of or b)\ the Ho-
" ly Spirit^ or becaufe of his Ordination to the Me-
" diatorial Office^ or his Reftirre£iion from the Deady
*' or becaufe of his Exaltation to the Right Hand of
" the Father. — Thefe are not the Reafons, for
■ *' which he is called the Son of God^ tho' from them
" we may gather that He is the Son of God, whence
" the Apoftle tells us, Rom. i 4. That he was
*' DECLARED/0 ^f the Son of God with Power by his
" Refiirre^ion from the Dead. ^^
This willj I hope, be clear, if we remember,
I, That the Jecond Perfon as fuch, as has been and
fhall be, by and by, farther proved, is a coeffential,
or natural., and confequently, an eternal Son. — 2.
It fo, he was the Son of God., and therefore might
have been fo called, not only abftracfting from all thefe,
but, in the Order of Nature, even before he could
be deftgyied for the Mediatorial Office : — But it is
not likely. That o?ie who is, and is acknowledged to
be, the Son of God by Generation ; or his own, pro-
per, or peculiar ^on ; fliould be called his Son, on any
of thefe, or any lozver Accounts. — 3. He is, for
the fame Reafons., and upon the fame Grounds, called
the Son of God, that he is called his only begotten Son :
But he could not be called his only begotten Son, upon
any of ihtftfour A.ccounts. Er, — He could not be
* Non igitiir Chriftus dicititr^iWm, aut propter ejus Conceptio-
nem ex Spiritu fan>^lo, aut propter ejus Ordinaiioiiem ad Munus
Medip.tonum, aut ejus Sufcitationem a Mortuis, aut Exaltationem
firf" Dextram Patris. — U^ non funt Rationes, propter quas didus
eji Filius Dei, etji ex illis Chriflum fuljfe Filium Dei colligere
pcjjumus, &c. Rom. i. 4.. Piil. Theol. Chrift, Lib. 2. Cap. \y.
called.
[ 187]
called, I %, his only hegotteyi Son, on any of thefe
Accounts : Becaule, it the Word, begotten, is
taken in a proper Senfe, 'tis evident, he is a coejfen •
tial ^^on •, which, at once, demolifhes our Author's
.whole Scheme : If, in an improper or figurative
Senfe, all true Believers are, in that Senfe, faid to
be horn of God, and begotten of God \ and then 'tis
as evident. He is not, the only begotten. — 4. All
thofe Texts which prove the Son, as fuch, to be
God, (as thofe evidently do, Jo. x. 30. Heb. i. e Logos, which fupplied the Place of Chrifl's
human Soul, is as " near a-kin to God," (a Phrafe
of our Author's,) if the ExprefTion is, in any Senfe*
tolerable, as any Thing, which is not God, can be.
— They afcribe all the great and glorious Things to
it, which our Author has done to this human Soul :
And I cannot fee, how either of them can well add
any more, that is conceivable by us ; if they, the
Ariayis, do not add true and proper Divinity to the
Logos, and he, to Chrijl^s human Soul. — Briefly, the
Arians, I think, will not fcruple to grant, That the
fup' a- angelical Sprit, which fupplied the Place of
Chrifl's human Soul, is, in fome near and extraordi-
nary Manner, toufefomeother fufpicious ExprefTions
of our worthy Author, " united to God, and has God-
" head, in fome fpecial Way, in or with it, ^£-." — •
How far then does this "Notion, with all he has faid
concerning it, differ from Arianifm ? I do not fay ic
does not at all differ ; becaufe he fpeaks fometimes
of the Logos and this human Soul, as two diftindfc
Perfons : But, it had been better, had he kept far-
ther from it. However, "That I fhall, at this Time,
leave to others. I only wifh, it had been fomewhat
more confiflent with what he has faid of //&,? Deity
of the fccond Perfon, in his Chrijiian Doctrine of
the Trinity.
'' III. I fay therefore, in the fhird Place, that this
" Title, Son of God, is given to Chrift, fometimes
*' upon the Account of his Incarnation and miracu-
" lous Birth. Luke i. 31, 32. Thou fh alt bring forth
" a Son, — he fhall be called the Son of the Highefi*
" vcr. o^c^. The Holy Ghofi fmll come upon thee, —
" Therefore alfo that Holy Thing that ft2 all be born of thee
" fhall be called the Son of God." — p. 11. This
alfo with the next Paragraph, has been confidered al-
ready, p. 48, 49. y^c. I now only add, i. Thisyc;?;^-
times is only, at mofl, this once. 2. It does
not come up to the Point in Queflion, as we Jliall
C G ies
[ 194 1
fee prefently -, and himfelf owns, a very few Lines
after. " Th^s cannot be ths chief Meaning of this
" Name, — For furely the Belief that the Man
*' Chrijl Jefus was begotten of God and horn of a Vir-
*' gin without an earthly Father ijoas not made the
** Term of Salvation •, — doth not feem to have any
" fuch fpecial Connection with our Salvation ;
" doiibtlefs many a poor Creature might become a
" true Believer in Chrifl when he was upon Earth,
" by the Sight of his Miracles, and hearing his
" Dodrine, without the Knowledge of the -parti-
*' cular Circumjiances of his Incarnation or Birth ;
" and many were converted by the Apoftles, with-
" out any Notice of it, for we fcarce find
** any Mention of it in their Preaching or Writings."
p. 12, and 13.
Anf I. " The Man Chrifi Jefus^^ is never, in
Scripture, faid to have hztn begotten of God. — 2.
He, who was " born of the Virgin^'' was not only
Man^ but God-Man; and his Mother was there-
fore, really, ^iorUo^^ Dei-para^ the Mother of him
who is God. Acls xx. 28. Rom. ix. 5. i Tim. iii.
16, 6ff. — 3. If Chrifb was born of a Virgin, it was
certainly, " without an earthly Father."^ — 4. Thofe
Prophecies, The Seed of the Woman fhall bruife the
Serpent^ s Head., Gen. iii. 15. and that. If vii. 14.
Behold, a Virgin fJjall conceive, and bear a Son, and
fhall call his ISlame Immanuel, were Prophecies of
fuch Moment, fo very emphatic, fo generally
known among the Jews and believing Profelytes,
and fo univerfally underftood of the Mefjiah ; that I
can hardly help thinking, that the more conftderate
and intelligent, at leaft, who really believed him to
be the Chrifi, knew alio, very well, that he was to
be, and was a<5lually, born of a Virgin. — And
therefore, 5. If the hare Nefcience of this Doftrine,
which is really a Fundamental ; (becaufe, had
he not been conceived by the Holy Chof}, " without
an
[ «95 ]
an earthly Father,^^ He could not have been holy^
harmlefsy undefJed, and feperate from Sinners^ Heb.
vii. 26. abfolutely without BlemijJd^ and tvith-
o'dt Spot ; nor could that which was born of
the Virgin have been, ra olyiov, that holy
Thing ; nor could his bleffed Body have been
called, as I humbly conceive it is, thine holy
One ; Ads ii. 27.) If, I fay, the hare Nefcience of
this, may be thought not fo very criminal : Surely,
a Difbelief of it, and wilful Oppcfition to it, muft
have been inexcufahle \ and therefore, very dangerous.
— But, 6. 1 cannot fee, how any of the believing
Gentiles^ could have been baptized into his Name^
without fome Knozvledge of this. — And 7. There
feems not to have been fo much need of freqtient
mentioning a Thing, fo very well known •, and, at
that Time, not only, no where, contradi5led^ but
mod cordially and unanimoufly believed, without any
Hefitation : Not to add. That the Apoftles, no
Doubt, mentioned it, wherever they faw it neceffary.
In fine, — 8. Tho' we fiiould allow, that *' his Imar'
*' nation and miraculous Birth" were Ground fuffi-
cient for giving Chrift this Title, the Son of God -,
they could never have been fufficient for calling him,
the own^ or proper, or the only begotten Sen. For,
fays Dr. Barrow, " the firfi Adam did alfo imme-
" diately receive his Being from the Power and In-
** fpiration of God •, (God formed his Body and
" breathed his Soul into it j) Ifaac, Sarapfcn, John
" the Baptifi had alfo a Generation extraordinary
*' and miraculous •, and Sarah herfelf received
" Strength to conceive Seed-., Heb. xi. 11. which
" Produdtions do not fo greatly differ from the
" Produftion of Chrift as Man." &c. ibid. p. 232.
And Bp. Pearfon, " Surely the framing Chrifi out
" of a Woman cannot fo far tranfcend the making
" Adam out of the Earth, as to caufe fo great a Di-
** ftance as we muft believe between the firft and
*' fecond Jdam 5 or to place him in that Singular
C c 2 " Emi-
[ '96 ]
" Eminence which muft be attributed to the only he-
*' gotten, p, 107." — So that granting what we need
not, cannot do, yet the fecond Perfon in the 'Trinity
may be, and moft certainly is, the coejfcntial Son of
the Father. And therefore we m.ight go on, But,
Becaufe Chrift's miraculous Conception and Birth
are, according to the Socinians, thofe moft maHcious
Enemies of his Dii'inity, as well as of his Crofs, the
chief y if not the only Reafon, why this Title, the Son
of God, is afcribed to him, we muft confider this
Matter more particularly, tho' very briefiy. Let
the Reader then obferve,
I. That THE Logos was, in the Beginning, with
God ; and was God. That all Things were
-made by him, and that without him was not any
Thiyig made that was made -, are the very firft Words
of the Gofpel according to John, a Writer noted for
a nohle Simplicity of Stile, above all the Writers in
the World. — If they are true, 'tis undeniable,
That Nothing that was made, was made without him :
That therefore, he was the Maker of all Things :
And confequently, That himfelf, as fuch, was not
made : That therefore, he not only exifted before any
Thing was made ; but, ,by confequence, That he
was, from Eternity, a neceffarily exijting Perfon : And
therefore, God over all, as he is exprefsly ftiled,
Rom. ix. 5. — This Divine Perfon, the Logos, was
made Flejh, Jo. i. 14. and his Difciples beheld his
Glory, the Glory as of the only begotten of the Father -,
ver. 18. and confequently, the Logos and the only be-
gotten are the fame Perfon ; or, thefe two Titles fig-
nify the very fame Thing. — But this is not all. It was
the Father''s dear Son, the Son of his Love, i. e. the
only begotten, by whom all Things were created that
pre in Heaven, and that are in Earth, vifible and in-
'vifible, whether they be Ihrones or Dominions, &c. Col.
i. 13 and 16. Yea, it is added, in the cleareft, and
moft emphatic. Words that could be ufed. All
Things were created by him and f or him. And he is
BSFOR^
[ 197 1
BEFORE ALL Tkings, and by him all Things
CONSIST, ver. i6, 17. Whence 'tis as clear, as Words
can pofiibly make it, That the Son, as fucii, was
before all Things : That he is the first Cause and
LAST End of all Things : And Thar, as all Things^
from the higheft created Spirit^ to the moft inconli-
derable Particle oS. Matter^ were, at firft, made hy
him •, fo are they, to this Day, _/^tji;/V and govern'' d by
him. -r- And, if this is not enough, the Fathers
own exprefs and moil emphatic Words to, and of
him, are more than fufficient, one would think, to
ronfound all the Oppofition o'i Hell. But unto the
Son, he, the Father, vcr. ^. faith. Thy Throne,
O God, is for ever and ever ; &c. Heb. i. 8. — And,
Thou Lord in the Begiyining, hafi laid the Founda-
tion of the F^arth -, which, by the by, was not the
lead Part of the Work -, and the Heavens, the high-
eft as well as the loweft of them, are the fVorks of
thine Hands: Theyffjall-perijh, but thou remainest,
&c. ver. 10 — 12. — From all which, thefe Things
invincibly follow, if the Father himfelf did not ex-
aggerate prodigiouHy ! That the Son, as fuch, ?V
God; and therefore, a coeffential Son : That, as
fuch, he has a Throne, an everlajiing Throyie : And,
That he was not an Inftrument in the Creation of all
Things, as the Arians, as ridiculoufly as blafphe-
moufly, fpeak ; but, in the ftrideft Senfc, the Au
thor. Efficient Cauje, ^nd Maker, of them all.— -He
himfelf kid the Foundation of the Earth ! The Hea-
vens, ^//of thern, are the Works of his Hand] — Here
are no Prepofttions, forhis Enemies to qui bble about.-—
Here is no Room to wriggle about the Nezv Creatic},\
which they dare not fay Jhall perifj ! — What, more
plain, exprefs, or emphatic. Words are, any where
in Scripture, ufed to declare, That the Father hiin-
felf is the Creator of all Things .? Yea, What more
clear, and ftrong Words, and full home to the
Point, (efpecially if we take in with them that Con-
text,
[ 198 ]
text, CoL i. 13 — 17. and Jo. 1. 3, &c.) could have
been ufed to prove, That ibe Son was, in the trueft
Senfe, the Creator, the Jirji Caufe and lajt End, of
all Things that were made? I may defy them all to an-
fwer any of thefe Queftions ? And therefore, N. B.
from thefe, I draw thefe invincible Conclufions. i.
Againft our worthy Author, That the Son, as Son,
is God ; and therefore. That he is a coejfential Son :
That it is the fecond Perfon, who is, and is called
the Son : And, That thefe Things could never be
faid of Chriji's human Soul -, and confequently. That
it is not properly the Son of God, and cannot, with
Truth, be fo called. — And, 2. That the odious, and
accurfed Do6trine of Socinus, who fhamelefsly de •
nied. That our ever bleffed Saviour, had any Ex~
ijience, (but in the Decree, as you, and I, and all
Men had,) before his Conception in the Womh of the
Virgin, is, (i.) \n itfelf, a mere palpable Z)^/im;w.
And (2.) In him. One of the moft open, and avow-
ed. Contradictions to the whole Word of God, which
he -pretended to believe, that ever entred into the
Heart of Man, — And (3.) In many of his Follow-
ers, 'tis not at all Itrange, That, in this, they have,
long ago deferted him, and are really afhamed of
him. — May not I then afk, 4. "What Regard they owe
to this Man's Authority, in other Things ? And,
"Whether they have not great Reafon, to doubt every
One of his Nojlrums ? Sec. — But,
2. If Chrift indeed made all Things, he, moft cer-
tainly, exijied before his Conception -, againft the odi-
ous Blafphemy of Socinus : And, if he was, really,
the Son of God, before he laid the Foundation of the
Earth ; he was, moft evidently, a coeternal, coejfen-
tial, and coequal Son, againft the Abomination of
Arius. — 'Por, if he was then his Son, he did not
(eafe to be his Son, when he was manifejled in the
Flejh : Nor did, nor could, his infinite Condefcenfion
to become M^in^ change his pre-exijfent Nature ; or
make
[ 199 ]
make him lefs the Son of God., than he was. — The
Fathers exprefs Words to., and of him, put this out
of all poffible Doubt. 'They Jhall perijh., but thou re-
mainejl : Heb. i. i [. and ver. 12. own Words,
p. 15. " except this Title depend upr^n it " v/hich
he there owns it docs not. — However, " 'tis cer-
" tain, fays he, p. 14. that the Name Son of God,
" cannot direftly and chiefly fignity his Refur-
" re&ion and future Exaltation in all thofe Places
" of the Gofpels, v/here the Belief of it is made the
" Term of Salvation." And, 'tis certain, fay I,
that it never did, nor can, either " diredlly and
" chiefly," or any other Way, " fignify his Refur-
" region, &c." in any of thofe Places, or any
v/here elfe. — Four or five Reafons, he gives for
this.
" (i.) Becaufe he is very often called the Son of
" God, long before his Death, Refurre6lion, &c'^
p. 14. True ; Fie is fo •, and his own, begotten,
only begotten Son alio : And he moll certainly was, what
he was called. — (2.} " The Jews were required to
*' believe him to be the Son of God long before his
" Death and Refurreclion. ^c. p. ic,'' No doubt,
they were required to believe all that zvas written
Dd of
[ 202 ]
ef him : And all that the Baptiji, or himfelf, had
taught concerning him. " Nor did Chrift himfelf
" in plain Language openly and publickly preach
*' his own Death and Refurreflion to the Mul-
*' titudes." ibid. — This feems not fo confident with
the former Sentence -, and is, I conceive, itfelf a
Miftake. See Jo. ii, 19 — 22. Ch. iii. 14 — 16.
Ch. vi. 51 — p,6. Ch. vii. \<^ and 33. Ch. viii. 28.
Ch. X. ver. 11 — 18. Ch. xii. 23 — 0^6., &c. —
*' (3.) The Apoftles themfelves, who were true
" Believers in the Son of God did not know that he
*' was to die and rife again, dsV." p. 15. An afto-
nilliing Truth ! which yet undeniably proves, " That
*' this Title the Son of God in thofe Texts does not
" depend upon his Refurre^ion and ExakfJion." &:c.
ibid. — " (4.) 'Tis abundantly evident from Scrip-
" ture that he was the Son of God, before he died
" or rofe again, becaufe he was only proclaimed or
*' declared to he his Son by his Refurreftion and Ex-
*' altation : 7 he Apoftle Paul explains it thus,
" Rom. i. 4." p. 1 5. Very right ! And this An-
fwer will ferve, for a full Reply to all thofe Texts,
which he produces to prove. That Chrijl has this
Title " given him, on Account of his Conception,
" Birth, Office, Refurre5fion, high Exaltation, or
*' being appointed Heir of all.^'' — The fecond Perfon
in the I'rinity was, as fuch, the Son of God, his only
begotten Son : And therefore, when he took upon him
cur Nature, he was only, by thefe, manifejled, de-
clared, proved, and prociat'rned, to he what he alvvays
was. ■ — His Sonfhip was not founded, or did not de-
pend, upon any, or all of thefe: But they are the
undeniable Proofs, according to the Scriptures, That
He, who had, by this miraculous Conception and
Birth, become Man, and, (after his offering himfelf
a meritorious Sacrifice for Sin,) rofe again from the
Dead, &c. was the coeffential Son of God, who. had,
from Eternity, undertaken, and in the Ftdnefs of
Time.
[ 203 1
I'ime^ was made Flejh, That he might, by hein^
made a Curfe for his People^ redeem them from the
Curfe of the Law. Gal. iii. 13. In a Word, this
Title does " not diredlly or chiefly fignify any one,
**' or all, of thefe : " Nor was it, at firft, given
him, becaufe of them : But, he was fo fbiled, be-
caufe he was indeed the coeffential Son of God ; and
all, and every one, of thefe were fo many con-
vincing Sigjis., or lindeniable Confirmations, of what
he called himfelf ; even that he was, notwithftanding
his unparalleled Humiliation, the only begotten of the
Father ; and, in particular, his Refurreclion and Ex-
altation were fuch.
I. His Resurrection, which is afcribed, (i.)
Sometimes to the Father, A^s y\. 24 and 52,
i^c. becaufe, in the CEconomy of Grace, He fuf-
tains the Majefiy of the Deity, and vindicates the
Glory and Honour of it ; and is therefore to be con-
lidered, as exatJing and accepting the '^atisfaBion gi-
ven by our Surety ; and thereupon, releafing and
dif charging him, when he had, to the full, anfwered
all Demands upon him. — (2.) Sometimes to the
Son himfelf, Jo. ii. 19 — 22. Ch. x. 18, ^c. be-
caufe, whatever he undertook, he was to do of him-
felf, and by his own Power •, and whatever he pur^
chafed, was to be the Purchafe of his ozv?i infinitely
meritorious Obedience even unto the Death of the Crojs :
— And -becaufe, by \\\s Refurreclion, he was, in an
efpecial Manner, to difplay and confirm his Divi-
nity, &c. &c. — And, (3.) Sometimes to the Holy
Ghost, Rom. iii. i i. i Pet. ii. 18, &c. not only,
becaufe all the bleffed Three concur in every Work,
as we have heard, without themfelves, or relating
to the Creatures ; but, becaufe the Holy Ghofi was gi-
ven to Chrift, as the Head of the Church, (though,
not by Meafure, Jo. iii. 34..) that, hy him, Chrift,
as Man, might cafi out Devils, Mat. xii. 28. and
confequencly, might do all his wonderful IVorks;
D d 2 and
[ 204 ]
and to teach, and alTure Believers, That he, who
could, and did, raife up the Head, could, and
would alfo, raife up the Members I — Now, in, and
h)\ his RejurreSiion from the Dead, T'he Three that
hear V/itne[s in Heaven did, in the moft glorious
Manner, dechre and proclaim his coejfential ScnJIoip.
— The Father had, as we have heard, attefted it
by the Prophets, and feveral Times, immediately,
by a Voice fror,i Heaven : But, in raifing him again
from the Dead, he did it, in a yet more public and
I'jtcontej table Manner. — The Son had often afcribed
this Hofwiir to himfelf, proclaiming himlc^lf the Son,
the only begotten of the Father ; and avowing him felt
to be fo his Son, as that he doth ivhatfcever Thing
the Father dcth, Jo. v. ij — 19. and that he is one with
him, Jo. X. 30, &c. But, \\\s Refurre£iion was the
higheft poffibls Proof, that he could poffibly give,
or that could pofTibly be given, that he really was
fo ; and that he raifed himself alfo, as he faid he
could, and would. — And the Holy Gkost would
never, by raifing him again, have fet his Seal to a
TJe, to convince the World, That all that Chrift
had faid was Truth •, and confequently, that he was
fo the Scn^ as to be One with him, ckc. had he not
indeed been fo. — For, his R^urre^fion put the
Truth of all that he had ever taught, promijed, threat-
ned, or faid, out of all Doubt.
2. 'Has Exaltation to univerfal Boniinion, was ano-
ther invincible Evidence or his coeffejttial Sonftjip ;
and that, mianyWays. — i. As it, unexceptionabiy,
confirmed his Veracity, who fO oittn foretold his own
Rcfurrcilion and Advancement to it ; and, even then,
when he could fay, I am a Worm, and no Man, Pf. xxii.
6. and ver. 27 — 31, Isc. --- 2. As it was a moll
glorious recognizing his natural Right as an cimi Son^
yea an only begotten ; after he had fo emptied himfelf,
as to be^me obedient unto Death ; when it was very
liard to believe. That the greateft Sufferer that ever
was.
[ 205 ]
was, was even then, when ajfaulted by all the Poiv-
ers of Darknefs ! infuUed and, moft fpitefully and
cruelly, abujed, by all Sorts of Men upon the Earth !
deftrted, yea, and bruifed by the Father ! was, I fay,
indeed, his only begotten Son. — 3. As it fo con-
fpicuoufly manifefied his Salifications for that Do-
minion. For, furely, the moft High would not have
exalted any one fo far, as to give him all Power in
Heaven and on Earthy Mat. xxviii. 18. i£c. who had
not Wijdoni and Prudence., Patience and Goodnefs^
&:c. to fit him for fuch fuferlative Honour ; which
no mere Creature^ how great and glorious foever,
ever had or could have. — 4. As it is therefore, a vi-
fible and continued Demonftration., That he was a
Divine Perfon, and equal with God., and confe-
quently, a coejfential Son ; no one^ who was not
equal with him, being capable of fuch Authority.^
Power and Glory. — Whence I gather. That as
this does not originally fignify, fo neither is Chrifb
called, the Son of God., on the Account " of his Ex-
*' altation to univerjal DomiJiion :'''' But, That /i?/j
Dominion adually prefuppofes his coejfential Sonjhip.,
neceffarily requiring Divine Perfe5iions in him who
can execute it. — I fhould conclude this, but that I
cannot pafs thefe Words, That " Chrift's Exal-
" tation to univerfd Dominion is by the peculiar
" Favour and Power of God." A flrange Ex-
preflion !
I fhall not aflv feveral Things, which might be afk'd :
But, taking it for granted, that there is little need
of Favour., except where there is no other good and
lawful Claim ; I muft obferve, i . We have already
put it out of all Doubt, if God's own exprefs
Words can put any Thing out of all Doubt, That
the Son, as the Son., is God ; and, as fuch, has
a Throne: Heb. i. 8. That, in the Beginning., he laid
the Foundation of the Earth ; and that the Heavens
are the Works of his Hands : ver. lo. That all Things
in
[ 206 ]
in Heaven^ and in Earthy were created by him and
FOR him: Col. i. 13 and 16. And, That he is be-
fore ALL Things, and that by him all Things
CONSIST, ver. 17, i£^c. <^c. — 'Tis therefore unde-
niable, That " the univerfal Dominion" over them
ally is his, by Nature •, by ail Right •, and therefore,
necelfnrily : For, fureJy, he hath the fupreme Do-
minion over all the Works of his Hands. — And
therefore, 'tis certain, 'tis infallibly true, That, as
the Son, he has not this Dominion, by " the peculiar
*' Favour oF God." — 2. The Exaltation of the Son^
when made Man^ or of the Mediator^ and as fuch,
was not by mere Fcvour^ it at ali by Favour. For,
Whatever there was, in his Exaltation to this Do-
minicn^ more than his natural., and therefore unalte-
rable Right, was neceflary to anfwer the glorious
Ends of his Mediation ; and, for that Reafon,
was prcmijed him, in the Covenant of Redemption.^
If. lii. 12 — 14. Ch. liii. 9 — 12. &c. &c. upon
Condition of his bearing the Iniquities of his People,
and making his Sotd an Offering for Sin., &c. —
When therefore, he liad to the utmoft, fulfilled all
his Engagements, and by his own Power., he had a
Claim and Right., in Equity and Juftice too, a dear
bought iv/^/j/ .' to all that was promifed him. —
But this is not all, for, 3. By his Obedience unto the
Death of the Crofs^ he, in the il deleft Senfe, me-
rited his Exaltation, in all the Steps of it ; fo that
it became to him, in his whole complex Perfon, in
Striftnefs, a jufi Reward, and no more. He
merited his Reftirre^i on, Heb. xii. 13 — 20. &'c. —
Mis Exaltation to the higheft Authority, Dominion, and
Power ^ Phil. ii. 6 — 1 1, if^c. — His htmg glorified with
the Father, with the Glory he had with him, before
the JVorld was, Jo. xvii. 4, 5. — \\\s fitting down
with the Father en his Throne, Rev. iii. 21. i^c. —
and His being ordained of God to be the Judge of the
^dck and the Dead, Ads x. 38 — 43. Jo. v, 27,
^c.
[ 207 1
&c. And therefore, to talk " of his Exaltation by
" Favour^'' be it ever fo peculiar^ feems to me to
detract prodigiouQy from his Merit ! Yea, the more
peculiar the Favour was, the Merit will, perhaps,
be thought the lefs. — But now, 4. Had Chrilt's
human houl been properly the Son of God, even fup-
pofing it to bt as great as it could poffibly be, 'tis
felf-evident, (i.) That it was never, could never
be, called God^ by the Father. (2.) That it never
laid the Foundation of the Earth, &c. ^3.) That all
Things were not created "^y it, and for it. (4.) That
BY it all Things do not consist. And, (5.) 'Tis
capable of the cleareft Proof, That it could never,
by all it could poffibly do., have, in the flrideft fu-
ftice, merited its own Kefurre^ion and Exaltation to
this Dominion., and much lefs the Refurre£lion and
Glorification of all Believers : And confqucntly, thele
Scripture PafTages could never, with Truth, have
been fpoken of it, as fuch. — To conclude this, 5.
Tho' Chrift was raifed from the Dead, by " the
" Power of God," in the Senfe, and for the Reafons,
already hinted ; yet, As no Man could take his Life
from him, without, or againft, his own mofi free
and generous Confent, which was the principal Thing
required of, and accepted in, the Offerer of a Sacrifice :
And, as he had Power to lay it dozvn of himfelf i. e,
as his own ^^^ iknd Deed -^ (for,, fo much, his own
moft obfervable Words, dxx' lyJ tI^y.^a acoT-^ aV
ifj-avTH, moft emphatically declare,) fo he had Power,
to take it up again. Jo. x. 17, 18. — But, fuch a
Power being equivalent to a creatirig, i. e. an infi-
nite Power, his human Soul, which was its felf but
a Creature, neither ever had, nor pofTibly could have:
And confcqucntly, 'tis Demonftration, That it ne*
ver was, never could be, dignified with this moft
glorious Title, the only begotten Son of God, be-
caufe, or upon the Account, of any fuch Power,
without
[ 208 ]
without which he neither was, nor could have been,
" exalted to univerfal Dominion."
" V. The laft Senfe in which Chrift is called the
" Son of God^ is to ^\g\-\\{y th.?iX. glorious Perfon who
" was appointed to be the Meffiah^ the anointed Sa-
*' viotir who was derived from God, and did bear
" fome very near and extraordinary Relation to God
" above all other Perfons -, and therefore he is called
" his Son, his ozvn Son, his only begotten Son, his be-
" loved Son. — And this he takes to be the true I-
" dea of it, as it is generally ufed in the New Tef-
" tament, and efpecially in thofe Scriptures where
" the Belief and Profeffion of it is made neceffary to
" the Salvation of Men." p. i6.
This we had before, and confidered it very par-
ticularly, and half a Dozen Paragraphs more, where-
in he tries to explain, and prove it. p. 34 — 49.
Nothing then, is here neceffary, but to offer a few
Obfervations, defiring the Reader to keep them
conflantly, in his Mind, throughout. And
1. Since the Relation of a Father to a Son is the
nearefi of all natural Relations, I refer it to every
one to fay. Whether he would not have thought.
That One, who bears fo very near and extra-
ordinary a Relation to God," as to be " near a-kin
" to him,"^ p. 26. and called, God's own, his be-
gotten, yea only begotten Son, was not indeed a coef-
jential Son ? Or, whether any but a coeffential Son,
could have been fo called, with either Truth or Pro-
priety? But,
2. Since he fays, " he has made it appear. That
" the Name, So7i of God, cannot necelTarily imply
" his Divine Nature \ &c. p. S'^" ^c. and is ex-
prefs, " That this is his prefent Theme, to prove
" that this Name, in the New 'Tejiamcnt, does not
" generally (if ever) fignify his divine Nature ; &c.
" p. 45 " &V. and therefore, every where denies,
" that Chrift is a coeffential Son,'' yea, feems to
plead.
[ 209 ]
plead. That " God has not^ yea cannot have, a coef-
" fential Son : " p. 36 — 38. & paj/im. And fince
he is plain, " The pre-exiftent Soul of Chrift in
" whom the Divine Nature or Godhead always
" dwelt, is properly x.\\q Son of Gcd^ derived from
" the Father betore all Worlds, as his only begotten
*' Son\ p. 150, i^c." — Since, I fay, he is, in all
thefe, plain and clear, Thele Things will undeniably
follow. — That, in his Opinion, this Title, Son of
God, is never the Title of the fecond Perfon in the
'Trinity^ and as fuch : — That it does not, yea cannot,
neceflarily imply Chrift's Divine Nature : — That
therefore, our Author does not imply his Divine
Nature in it : — That confequently, when he gives
Chrift that Name, he means only his pre-exillcnt
Soul, or that Soul incarnate : — That that Soul was
a glorious Perfon, before all Worlds : — That it was
appointed to be the Mejfiah, or Saviour of Men :
That it was to have a Body prepared for it, for the
full Execution of that extraordinary Office : — And,
That when it was united to that Body, it was ftill, or
that Soul and Body now united, became, a glorious
Perfon. — But, 3. ChrijV s human Soul, how glorious
foever it is, was never a Perfon ; neither before its
Union with his Body, nor after it : — And much lefs
was his Body, (or in our Author's Words, his FlefJo,)
ever a Perfon, tho' he will have it, " That it was
" formed or begotten by the Father, in fo peculiar a
" Manner, as no other JVIan ever was." p. 12. For,
If cither, or both, of thefe ever were, or now
are, a Perfon; fince 'tis granted by our Author,
that the fecond Perfon in the 'Trinity, who, as fuch,
is unchangeable, was united to this Perfon, it will
evidently and necelfarily follow, either. That one of
thefe Perfons did, upon this Union, ceafe to be a
Perfon ; or, That they were, one Way or another,
in or by it, confounded or blended together into one
Perfon: Or, That there are two Perfons in the
E e Mejfw.h ;
[ 210 ]
MeJJiah ; and therefore, two Chrifl's : Or, That
neither of thefe Perfons either were, are, or could
be, the Chrijl. One of thefe, *tis plain, muft fgl-
low.
As for the firft, Nothing, fome think, can be
more abfurd than to imagine. That a true, or
proper Perfon.^ continuing to exift^ fhould ever ceafe
to be a Perfcn : Becaufe, if it ceafes to be a Perfon,
it not only ceafes to be what it was ; but, in their O-
pinion, ceafes to be. — The fecond. That thefe Two
Perfons, and confequently, their 'Two Natures, were,
in, by, or upon, this Vrnon, fome Way or other,
confounded or blended together, into one Perfon ; is
either the very Herefy of Eutyches, (condemned in
the famous General Council of Chalcedon, the moft
numerous anJi one of the moft confiderable, the
Chrifiian Church ever fawj or very much fo j and is
pregnant \N\th. nwrnh^xX fs Abfurdities; contrary to th^
whole Scripture; Luke xxii. 42. Jo. i. 14 -— 18.
Rom. i. 3.4. Phil. ii. 6, 7. Heb. ix. 14, i^c. and
really ever/ive of our Salvation. — The third. That
there are Two Perfons in Chrift, and confequently,
two Chrijls, IS the very Herefy of old imputed to iV^-
ftorius, and condemned by the third General Coun-
cil ; is contrary to the whole Scripture •, If ix. 6, 7,
Adts XX. 28. Rom. iii. 4. Ch. ix. 5. Gal. iv. 4.
t^c. and deflru5iive alfo of our Salvation. — The 4.
That neither of thefe is, was, or could be, the
Chriji ; as is plain from this. That the Chrijl was to
be God-Man ; This alfo, I fay, is direftly contrary
to the whole Scripture, and abfolutely everfive of
our Religion. — One, or other, of thefe muft fol-
low from this Nojlrum. His Difciples may chufc
which : For it is hard to fay which, of the laft three,
is the moft ridiculous and ruinous. — But to go on,
2. As Chrift's human Soul was never a Perfon,
neither before, nor after, its Union with his Body ;
'tis felf- evident, it could never " be appointed to be
'* the Mejfmhf the anointed Saviour ;" Becaufe, no-
thing,
[211 ]
thing, that is not a Per/on^ can be o^JgenLy-JX^-AR
a ftrid: Senfe, do any 'Thing at all •, and much lefs,
execute any Office ; and yet much lefs, fuch an Of-
fice ! — I may, I conceive, add 3. If it was not a
Perfon, it could neither, with any Truth, or P7'-o-
priety, be called a Son, an own Son, &c. — 4. Sup-
pofing his human Soul, had been a Perfon, it could ne-
ver have been *' appointed to be the Mejfiah:^^ Becaufe,
how glorious foever it was, it was never capable, nor
could be made capable, of that Dignity, as being no
Way, Par Negotio, equal to the Tafk, as our Au-
thor himfelf has owned. — 5. How nearly foever
this Soul was related to the Father, the fecond and
third Perfons in the Trinity, were, in an infinite Man-
ner, more nearly related to him. — In Hne, 6. It
was the fecond Perfon in the Trinity, and not his hu-
man Soul, that agreed, in the Covenant oi Redemp-
tion, to become our Surety and Saviour -, and for
that Purpofe, to become our near Kinfman, &c. For,
The Son that was given to be the Saviour, was to
be called the Mihty God, If. ix. 6. as his human
Soul could never be : — 'Twas the Logos ^ who was
made Flejh, Jo. i. 14. and who is called the only be-
gotten Son, &c. ver. 18. and not a Creature : • ■
'Twas God, i. e. the Son, as is evident, who was
manifefted in the Flejh, i Tim. iii. 16. and not
Chrift's human Soul : — 'Twas God, (0 Qsog, with an
Article,) /. e. the Son of God, who pur chafed the
Church with his own, proper Blood, Afts xx. 2 8. and
no created Perfon : i^c. i^c. — 'Twas, I fay, the
fecond Perfon in the Trinity, who is acknowledged,
(Chriji. Do£i. of the Trinity, Prop. 14. ^ pajfim)
to be true God, tho' a ^\^\x\^ per fonal Agent, or di'
jlinSf Perfon from the Father, who undertook to re-
deem his People. — Well then. If he is true God, he
is from Eternity fo : — If a dii^mdi perfonal Agent, he
needed nothing " to ftrengthen his Perfonality,''
to ufe an Expreflion, tho' almoft unintelligible, well
E e a knowR
[ 212 ]
known to our Author : — This Divine Perfon, is, as
ilich, in many PaiTages, ftiled the Son, the own Son,
&c. of God : — 'Tis as the Son cf God, that he is,
and is called, God •, this being the Title, whereby
lie is diftinguilhed from God the Father: — Ever fince
he emptied himfelf, and took upon him the Form of a
Servant, &c. He is both God and Man, in one
Person, as the Scrtptures now quoted, and many
Others, put out all Doubt : — And this ever-blefled
Perfon, God-Man, is commonly known by the Ti-
tle, Christ, or the Christ : And hence, 'tis
plain, That, when v/e fpeak of theChriJi, we mean
that glorious Perfon, who is God-Man, the Mejfiah.
From all which, I here offer thefe Demonflrations,
againft our Author's principal Nofirums.
This Title, the Son of God, fays he, " fignifies
*' that glorious Perfon who was appointed to be the
Meffiah : — Chrift's human Soul, and as fuch, fay I,
neither ever was, now is, nor ever fhall be, a Perfon :
— Therefore, this Title, the Son of God, neither ever
did, does, nor fliall, fignify Chrift's human Soul,
and as fuch. ^ E. D. Or, if you will, Chrift's
human Soul, as fuch, is not properly, the Son of
God.
This Title, The Son of God, fays he, fignifies
that glorious Perfon, ivho was appointed to be the
Mejfiah : — The feco?id Perfon in the Trinity,- fay I,
and he only, and as fuch, was that glorious Perfon
who was appointed to be thcMeJfah : — I herefore, the
fecond Perfon in the Trinity, and he only, and as
fuch, is, ftriftly fpeaking, the Son of God ; or, 'tis
he only, who is honoured with this Title. ^ £. D.
This Title, The Son of God, fignifies, fays he,
that glorious Perfon who zvas appointed to be the Mef-
fiah : — That glorious Perfon, fay I, when appointed
to be the Mejfah, had the Divine Nature, and no
other Nature, but the Divine : — Therefore, if this
Title pre-fuppofes, implies, or fignifies any Nature ;
[ 213 ]
it always, every where, and neceffarily, " even in
" the New Teftament," pre-luppofes, impHes, or
fignifies, the Divine Nature. Q^ E. D.
When this glorious Perfcn emptied himfelf., and
took upon him the Form of a Servant^ &c. he did
not, could not, ceafe to be the Son of God : And
therefore, this Title neither did, nor could, lofe its
ftri(5l, primary, and only proper Signification : And
by Confequence, This Title, every where, pre-fup-
pofes, implies, or fignifies, his Divine Nature, or
coejfential Son/hip. Q^ E. D.
Several more might be offered, but thefe may
fijffice at prefent, fince fome others muft come up in
another Place. ' — Were our worthy Author alive, I
ihould freely alledge what, as I oftener than once
hinted to him, I fuppofed was, at Bottom, his main
Defign, which can never fucceed, without the
Art of reconciling a great Bundle of manifeft Con-
tradictions, to fay no worfe. But,
Having thus difpatched thefe four Senfes of this
Title, we return to his firfi, which we have p. 6.
" The firjt of thefe Senfes is patronized by many
" Writers," Yes, by the whole Body of the Ca-
tholic Church, from the Beginning to this Day !
tho' "he is perfuaded this can never be the Senfe of
" this Name in thofe feveral Texts before cited ! '*
ibid. *' viz. That an eternal unconceivable Generation
" of the Perfon of the Son by the Perfon of the Father
" in the Samenefs of the Divine EJfence, confubjiantial,
*' coequal and coeternal with the Father.^ is included
" in the Name Son of God." p. 6.
Had our worthy Author pleafed, he might have
exprefs'd our Minds briefly, in the Words of the
Nicene Creed, which are familiar^ and clearly give
our Senfe, vix. That the Son., even the fecond Per-
fon, ** is God of God, very God of very God, be-
" gotten, not made, being c/One Substance with
" the Father, &c." or in thofe ExprefTions, " He
" is his ctmial, and coeffmtial Son,'" which are com-
mon
[ 214 ]
mon and eafily underflood ; But this Definition,
Defcription^ or I do not know what to call it, (to
the beft of my Remembrance, having never read,
or heard, it before,) is fo very Scholajiic^ as to
be hardly intelligible ! — However, to avoid tri-
fling, feeing what, I fuppofe, he means by it, has
been the Faith of the Chriftian Church, in all Ages :
Let us try to bring it down, to the Capacity of the
weak and unlearned.^ in thefe few Proportions. —
One^ viz. thtfirfi, of the blefled Three ^ is, in many
PalTages of Scripture^ called a Father ^ a proper Fa-
ther •, and faid to have begotten another, who is, as
often, ftiled a Son, his own or proper, yea only be-
gotten Son : They are therefore, both of them Per-
fons ; and the firji a proper Father, and the fecond,
a proper Son. If the Son^-was begotten, or was a
Son, before the Foundation of the World, &c. as we are
fure he was •, Col. i. 13 — 17. Heb. i. 8 — 12. &c.
then was this Generation, in Scripture Language,
" eternal,^'' or from Everlajling. — If the Manner of
this Generation, is infinitely above us, and but very
generally revealed, as we know it is -, Pro. xxx. 4.
If. ix. 6, ^c. then is it to us, almoft " unconceivable.^*
— It the Father begat, and the Son was begotten, as we
are fure from many PalTages •, Pf. ii. 7. Jo. i. 1 8.
bcc. then was " this a Generation of the Perfon of
" the Son, by the Perfon of the Father.''^ — If the Di-
vine 'Nature is immenfe ; and if the Father is in the
Son, and the Son in him, as Chrift aflures us, Jo. x.
38. Ch. xiv. 10, II, &c. then is this " Generation
" in the Samenefs of the Divine Effence.''* — If the
Father is a proper Father, and the Son a proper Son,
as we have fuper- abundantly proved -, then it is felf-
evident, That the Father and Son are coejfential ; or,
that " this Generation is confubjtantial." — If " this
" Generation was confubfiantial -, " or, if the Son
have the fame Nature with the Father, he is " co^
*' equal with him," as to his Effence : Becaufe, as
the Divine Effence is indiviftble, lb the Divine Per-
Je^ions
[ 215 ]
feElions go with it, and can neither be feperated, nor
divided, from it nor themfelves. — If the Father was
never aXoyoq^ or without a Son ; and if the Son ne-
ver began to be, or always was a Son ; then it is un-
deniable. That *' this Generation was coeternal.''* —
All this now may be eafily ajfented to, as a Matter of
Fa£i, not only by the unlearned^ but by thole of
very ordinary Capacities. And all this, I humbly
conceive, I underfiand \ and fo may they, fufficiently
for their Diretlion, in all the Ad:s of Faith, JVorJhip,
Obedience, and Love, which we owe to the Eternal
Father, and to his coeternal, and confequently, coef-
fential Son. And this is enough, for us to know,
of this adorable Msftery, in our prefent State.
All we plead, in the Controverfy before us, is
only. That the fecond Perfon is indeed, and as fuch,
WHAT he is fo often in Scripture, faid to be, even
the own, the only begotten Son of the Father ; and.
That the human Soul of our dear Redeemer, is not,
properly, the Son of God, nor is ever fo called. — The
former of thefe, tho' very frequently revealed in the
Bible, and as exprefsly, clearly, and fully too, as
any Thing can well be, he very confidently denies ;
but the lanter, tho' no where revealed, fo far as I can
find, he pofitively ajferts : And, to introduce and
confirm this, it was, as I am apt to think, that he
fo refolutely, rejefts and oppofes that. Scholajlic
Niceties, in this Cafe, I defire to have nothing to do
with.- — 'That Things are fo, as all alledge ; or,
that the Matter of FaSl is fo ; the Scriptures have
made undeniable ; for he that believeth not God hath
MADE HIM A LiAR, bccaufe he believeth not theKE'^
CORD that God gave of his Son. i John v. lo. The
Modus, or the How, we acknowledge is above us ;
and, being but generally revealed, cannot be compre-
hended by us : Yea, cannot be comprehended by any,
but themfelves Two, and Him who fearches all Things,
yea, the dee^ Things of Qod, i Cor. ii. lo. — When
Do^riMs
[ 2i6 ]
Do^irines are only revealed in general, in Part, or
darkly, general^ imperfe^^ or obfcure Ideas, are fuf-
ficient : And no other are required of us, or expelled
from us. — There always were, and will be, yea,
muft be, manifold Imperfe£iions and great IndifiinSt -
nefs, in all our Ideas of Things fo fublime and ab-
Jirufe ; and efpecially of that unfearchable, incom-
prehenfible Being we call God, his EJfence, Per-
fe^fions. Decrees, and the ever-blefled Perfons in the
Godhead, &c. were x\\tRev elation of them, inconceivably,
more particular, clear, and full, than it is. — Let
us not, however, deny or reje5l what we know, be-
caufe we cannot know f?// Things : Or, doubt 5'/jzj^« HARD Saying, Who can hear it?
Jo. vi. 60. — 3. What then is this difficult 1'efi?
Is it, That the Jirfi Perfon is an own^ or proper Fa-
ther, who begat the Son -, and, that the Son is an oijun^
■ov proper Son j yea, his only begotten; and therefore,
" confubjlantial, coequal, a.ndcoeternal with the Fa-
« therr' Why! Beit ever fo difficult, Chrift did,
again and again, as we have heard, affiert and pro-
■claim it, in exprefs Terms, or in Words fully equi-
valent ; and that, in the ftrongeft Manner : — The
'Difciples, over and ovei:, profefs'd it ; Jo. vi. 69.
Mat. xvi. 1 6. yea, and were fare of it : — Martha
knew and believed it, Jo, xi. 27. and fo did Natha-
nael, Ch. i. 49 : — And the Apoftles, every where,
preached It, Rora. viii. 32. Gd. iv. 4. Heb. i. 8 — 12.
Ch. iii. 3 — 6, ^c : —Yea, this, as we ihall fee, was
tlie DoMrine of the Prophets-, and was alfo, gene-
rally, believed and acknowledged by the J^roj-, both
before his coming into the World, and when he was
in it, as our Author feems fully to own ; p. 73,
74, ^c : '— And has been, as all^^the World know,
the conftant Faith of the Catholic Church, every
where, and in all Ages, ever fince. — So that, " 'This
" was not fuch a difficult Teft,'^ but that it was
*' put upon the young Difciples, ^c. p. 6." and
the " poor and the ignorant, the labouring Men and
*' the Children ; " p. 7. and was received, without
any Demur, by all tru€ Believers ; and openly pro-
fefs''d 3.K0, by them all, without any Hefitation. ■
I myfclf have often heard fuch People publickly pro-
fefs. That the fecond Perfon was the eternal Son of
God, his only begotten, &c. and that he became Man^
by taking to hi?nfelf a true Body and a reafonahle Soul,
&c. and talk much more like mr Lord and his Jpo-
F f 2 Jiles,
[ 220 ]
ftles, than the great and the learned. — And, till of
late, this Do6trine was, with much Diligence and
Zeal, injlilkd into the tender Minds of all the Chil-
dren of Protejlant Diffenters. — And, 4. Was this
Do^rine, of the coejjential Sonjhip of the fecond Per-
fon, yea, or the Manner of it, more unconceivable,
than Ibme, if not every One, of the Attributes of
God^ which the very Light of Nature teaches, and
confirms ? — Or, the Do^rine of the Creation of the
World, and all Things in it, vifible and inviftble, &c. ^
out of Nothing, which Reafon even forceth us to ad-
mit ? — Or, the Refurre^ion of the Body, without
the Belief of which, no Man can with Truth be, or
be called, a Chrijiian? i Cor. xv. 12 — 22. and ver.
42 — 44. ^c. — Yea, I think I may add, or many
of the Miracles recorded both in the Old and New
^efiament, which every one, who profefles to believe
his Bible, will blufh to fay he doubts of ? I, for my
Part, as firmly believe. That thofe Miracles were
wrought, where, v/hen, by whofe immediate Agency,
or by whofe Miniflry, we are told they were, as it I
had been prefent, and feen them with my Eyes.
And, as to fome of them, I do not know, but, I
have almoft as clear and diftin5l Ideas of them, as if
I had feen them, and had had alfo Opportunity and
Leifure to have confidered, and examined, them
with the greateft Care. — And, I may, I think,
well venture to fay. That, when any one of the Ene-
mies of the coeJfe?ilial Son/hip of Chrift, Ihall give me
clear, diftin6t, dire6t, and fatisfying Anfwers, to
fill the Queftions which have, or may be, afk'd ;
(for Example, concerning the very firfl in the Old
Teftament, even Mofes's Rod being turned into a Ser-
pent, &c. Ex. iv. I — 4. and the very firfl in the
Nezv, viz. Chrifl's turning IVater into tVine ; Jo. ii.
I — 1 1.) I may then promife, to give them clear,
^iflind, dired, and fatisfying Anfwers, to all they
fiiall afk me, concerning the coejfential Sonfhip of
the
[ 221 ]
the fecond Perfon ; not to add the Dodrine of the
Trinity alfo ! Thefe great and Fmidamental
Do^rines, of our Religion^ (if they are indeed fwo,
and not rather one only,) are revealed in Scripture,
as Matters of Fa 51 ; and profejfedy in Baptifm^ as ab-
folutely necejfary to be believed •, arui as being alfo of
the very laft Importance^ for regulating the whole of
our Worjhip and Pra5lice : And not, as he alledges,
as " mere arbitrary and unoperative Speculations ;'*
p. 3. which are therefore, of very little or no Mo-
ment ; and which may be, in his Opinion, enter-
tained, or rejefted, with very little, or not very
much, either Profit or Danger! And therefore,
i;hey ought to be believed^ profejfed, and maintained,
at leaft, as readily, and firmly, and conllancly, as
the Truth of the Miracles ; which are recorded, not
as Problems to be lightly talk'd over, canvafs'd, and
bandyed about, on every Occafion -, ^c. but, as plain,
and unqtfejlionable, Hijlories of thofe Works of Won-
der ', and the highcft pofTible Proofs alfo, of the Di~
vineCommiJfton of every one of thofe by whom they v/erc
wrought. — Blefled be his Name, I never found any
Difficulty^ in believing what God faid. — Having all
the Affurance^ which intrinfic and extrinjic Evidence
can give me. That, All Scripture is given by Infpi-
ration of God^ 2 Tim. iii. 16. 2 Pet. i. 21, i^c. I
can as readily, as ftedfaftly, and with as much Ra-
tional Security too, be perfuaded of the Truth, of the
Things therein revealed ; (tho' 1 do not pretend to
anfwer every Thing, which may be propofcd con-
cerning them •,) as I can be of the Things 1 now fee,
or that I am now writing. — Bleffedare they that have
NOT SEEN, and yet have believed. Jo. xx. 29.
" 2. Nor indeed is this eternal Generation and
** confubjlantial SonfJoip clearly enough revealed in
" Scripture for us to m2kt it a fundamental Article
** in any Age, and to damn all who do not receive
^* it." p. 6. Anf. I . Thofe very Words, and in this Or-
der, are not indeed, any where, literally, found in
Strip-
[ 222 ]
S€rifture : But the Thing we mean by them -, or
the proper^ and therefore, ccejfmtial SonJIjip of the
y^^theAVay Ex-
preffion ! " which is fupreme and independent, and
*' can do all Things of itfelf, and by its own Will."
p. 40, 41. — Anf. But, it founds very like the
Language of the fecond Perfon^ who voluntarily con-
defc ended to receive a Commljfion from the Father ; and
who humbled himfelf alfo, egregioufly, I think I
may fay infinitely^ in the Execution of it : Yea, and
could not poffibly have done this Will, had he not
indeed been a ccejfential Son.
" Jo. xiv. 28. My Father is greater than I. 'Tis
" hardly to be fuppofed that Chrift here intended to
" fpeak of his Divine Nature." And it could be
no News to the Difciples, nor any other Perfons
upon the Face of the Earth, to tell them. That God the
Father was greater., yea infrntely greater., than his
human Nature I '* The eternal God is the greatejt of
*' Beings, and can acknowledge no greater than
" himfelf." But, the eternal Son has an eternal
Father., who has all the natural Prerogatives of a
Father ; and therefore is, as fuch, or fo far, and in
this Senfe, greater than he. Withal, tho' Chrift
might not here, " intend to fpeak diredly of his
*' Divine Nature," as indeed he did not -, this Title,
the Son., might " neceffarily imply it:" And, if taken
in its mod eminent Senfe, certainly does fo. — But,
our Author feems to have quite miftaken the Scope of
this FafTage : For, our Lord does not here, I humbly
conceive, fpeak direi^^tly of any of his Natures., but ot
his
t 269 1
his Ejiate of Humiliation as Mediator, and chiefly as
Man, &c.
" Jo. xiv. gi. y^5 the Father gave 7776 Commandment,
" even fo I do. This dees not feem to be the Lan-
*' giiage of fupreme Godliead, which recei'. es no
" Commandfiient from another." p. 41. It does
not indeed fecm to be, nor is it, the Language of
the Father,' the firfi Perfon in the Godhead, who
neither ever did, nor will, nor can, " receive 'om-
" mandments from another:" But it is, plainly,
the proper Language of the Son, the fecond Perfon,
wdio humbled himjelf, or co'iukc ended to accept of an
Office under him ; and, by Confequcnce, to receive
Commandment from him. Aiter all, " Language
" of Godhead, and ot fuprem.e Godhead," and
feveral other fuch ftrange and uncouth Phrafes, arc
far from being proper : But, too clearly, con-
ceal fome Thing under them.
*' Jo. xvii. 5. Father, glorify m.e with thy Self,
" with the Glory which I had with thee before the World
" was. Surely Chrifl as God does not offer up
" Prayers to- the Father," p. 41. This and the
Three following Paragraphs you fhall have verbatim,
the fubje6l Matter con -in'd in them requiring a
direct, and Ytry ftiU^^V^y- Anfw. i. And fureiy,
fay I, the Son of God, i. e. the fecond Perfon, 7iow
made Flefh, might offer up Prayers : Or rather, if you
will, might claim, and infifi upon, the Performance
of the Promifes made to him. -- For, thefe Words
are not fo much, if at ail, a proper Prayer, i. e. a
Deiire of, or Supplication for, fomething out of }nere
Favour ; and which therefore might be granted, or
denied, according to mere Pleajure, without any
Injuflice : But, a proper Claim of what was now due
to him, (not only by Promife ; but) in the firi^efi
Juflice. "q. d. fays that moil judicious and accurate
" Annotator, Mr. Clark, upon the Place, NojV I
*' have done my Work pay me my \\ ages for it,
" PhiL
[ 270 ]
" Phil. ii. 8, 9."— 2. It was adlually the fecond
Perfon who made this Clai'm : Becaufe, Chrift had
no other real Exijlence^ before the Foundation of the
World, but as the fecond Perfon, or in his Divine
Nature : At leaft, the Catholic Church have gene-
rally thought he had no other •, and the Scriptures^
io far as I have obferved, do, no where, ajirm he
had. — But, 3. No one, who was not a coeffential Son^
could, or durft, have cfired up that Prayer, which
is indeed a Sa^nplar of his Inter cejjion in Heaven, as
our Advocate with the Father, i Jo. ii. 2. Yea,
4. It would have been dired: Blafphemy in any One,
but the fecond Perfon, in any A61 of TVorfAp, to
life fuch Words ofhimfelf, as thofe, vers. 2, 3, 10,
20, 22, 24. if I may not fay, to ufe any one Verfe
in the whole Chapter. " and much lefs could
*' he pray for a Glory, which his Divine Naaire
*' once had, of Vv^hich he feems diverted at prefent.
*' All this is hardly confiftent with fupreme Deity
" belonging to his Sonfhip,"'' This new, and almoft
unintelligible Exprefiion wants fadly to be explained !
However, if it is confiftent, tho' hardly, all may be
ftill well. " i. e. either to be diverted of his Glory,
or to pray for the Reftoration of it." p. 41. Anf.
— i.Tht ejfential Glory of the Divine Nature is abfo-
lutely, and in itfelf, alzuays the fame. 2. The
effential Glory of each, of the //jrt'^Perfons, and purely as
fuch, is alfo, abfolutely, and in itfelf, always the
fame, and can neither be laid afide, nor interrupted ;
Nor can any one of thcnl divert himfelf, or be
diverted, of it, any more than of his Godhead.
But, 3. The fecond Perfon, v/ho purely as fuch,
was in the Form of God, (as his human Soul, never
was,) and thought it not Robbery to be eqtjal with
God, (as his human Soul muft have thought it j and
as the fecond Perfon muft needs have alfo thought it,
had it not been ftriclly true •,) The fecond^zxfovi, I fay
V)ho v^as in the Form of God, might, and did, vo-
lur\-
[ 271 ]
voluntarily fuffer his Glory to be vailed from us r
Or might, and did, to ufc our Author's Words, fo
far diveft himfelf of it, as to empty himfclf, as the
Apoftle expreift'S it, fjid take upon him the Form of
a Servant^ and be found in Fajhion as a Man, (nei-
ther of which, I conceive, his human Soul could do,
or, with Truth, be faid to have done,) and humble
himfelf, (not only to be a Man of Sorrows, and ac-
quainted wiih Grief, &c. but) to become obedient un-
to Death, even the Death of the Crofs ! Phil. ii. 6 — 8.
[Be it here, by the way, remembred,That the Humilia-
tion of the higheft polTible Creature, was juft nothing
to tht Humiliation oitht coeffentialSon of God: — That
the Obedience of no mere Creature to his Creator, could
be, with any Emphafis, called an humbling of himfelf :
— And, That the Obedience of no created Perfon^ could
be, in the ftri^teil Senfe, meritorious; and much lefs
Satisfactory, for any other Perfon •, and yet much lefs,
for all the Redeemed. &c.] And, 4. The Word made
Flcjlo, or the coeffential Son of God in our Nature,
might be reviled, abufed, &c. &c. put under an ///
Name, &c. yea., and be condemned iisd. Alalefaolor, a
Deceiver, &c. or aBlafphemer, for calling himfelf the Son
of God ; and when fuifering for our dins, be made a
Curse for us \ Gal. iii. 13. yea, and be forfaken of
his God I Mat. xxvii. 46. &V. Might, did I fay ?
Why, it was really fo. The Word made Flcfio adually
fuffere.i all the fe : For, it was One who is called God,
and with the Article too, zvho pur chafed the Church
with his OWN' Blood : Ads xx. 28. And the Son of the
Father's Love, through zvhofeBLodwe have Redemption,
was He by whom, and for whom, all Things wei'e
created, bcc. Col. i. 12 — 17. i John iii. 16. — And
who, that had feen him in the Garden, in an A-
gony, or on the Crofs ; and had heard him cry. My
God, my God, why haft thou forfaken me ! could have
then thought. That he was indeed, the only begotten of
the Father? Plow hard was this, xhen to he believed?
Verily,
f 272 ]
Verily, Flejh and Blood could never have revealed it
to any Man. Mat. xvi. ver. 17. — And, 5. Why
might he not then have prayed, or injijled upon it,
Tiiat the Father would glorify him, according to his
Promile, (i.) By wiping off all thofe Reproaches,
^c. — (2.) Juftifyitig him in all that he had laid of
himfelf, Cfff. — (3.) Giving the higheft poffible
Proof, that he was indeed his only begotten Son, &c.
by raifing him from the Dead; (4.} And con-
ferring upon him all that additional Glory, which
was promifed him as God-Man, fuch as the Afcenfton
of his human Nature into Heaven ? i^c, ^c. — This
being, in my Opinion, the chief Text which Mr.
Fleming, as I remember, produced for his principal
Nofirums, I have been fo particular in confidering it ;
and fliall therefore illuftrate it alfo, by a common Si-
mile. When we fpeak of an Eclipfe of t]\f Sun,
everyone now knows, that theExprelTion is improper.
It is not the Sun that is then darkned, (as the Moon
really is when flie is in an Eclipfe,) but qwt Earth.
The Light of the Sun is not then, abfolutely and in
itfelf, in the lead diminifhed : But the Moon, by
coming between it and us, hides it from us, that we
cannot fee it •, and hence proceeds the Darknefs.
^ — 'Twas juil fo, in the Cafe before us. The Glory of
the Son ofGcd, theyt-<:<7;?(^Perfon, and as fuch, was, ab-
folutely, and in itfelf, always the fa^ne : But, when
he came to talernacle among us, the Veil of his Flefh
and the unconceivable Depth of his Flumiliatian, in,
or under it, did fo very much intercept the Rays of
his Glciy, That it was not eafy, yea, without Divine
Revelation and the Concurrence of his Grace alfo,
hardly pcffible, for them, who fav/ him in the Days
of his llefh, ftedflUtly to behold his Divine Glory, or,
clearly, fee that he was indeed, the coeffential Son of
God.
" Jo. XX. 17. Chrift fays, 1 afcend to my Father
find your Father ^^ Yes, -n-^o? roy ■k&M^oc. [xa ^ TTajifa.
uiw,uv, to the Father of me ajid the Father of you -,
and
f ^71 ]
tnd not rli Tirctrifix ^'juuv, our Father, as he has taught
us to fay ; plainly hinting a Diftindion j and. That
the Foundation of this his Relatio'/i to the Father was
quite different, from tht Foundation oi theirs to him.
And, indeed. Generation and Adoption are wholly
different, yea, and inconfiffent. " and to my God
" and your God.** Where the fame Manner of Ex-
preffion, the God ov u^, &c. is ufed •, tho' for ano-
ther Reafon. " So 2 Cor. xi. 31. and i Pet. \. g.,
" the Father is called //^^ God andFath.r of our Lord
JefusChrijir—Kx\{. Godt\itFather is, ( i.) adiially the
OWN Father di Chrifl, as God, /. e. of the fecond
Perfon : As he is his own Son, by a proper Generation.
(2.) He is, or may be called, the Fa i her of Chrijf,
as A4an -, becaufe he created him : But then, it is
only in an improper Senfe, that he is his Father. And,
(3.) He is, I think, or may be called, his Father,
but improperly alfo, as Mediator \ becaufe he concurred
in, and to, the pergonal Union of the tivo Isa'iires in
him ; and appointed and called him to thr.t Office,
And he is the God of Chrift, (i.) As Man-,
becaufe he not only created his human Nature, but
chofe it to that moft peculiar Honour, to which any
created 'J^hing was ever advanced, viz. to be perfonally
united to the only btgotten Son of God. — (2.) I do not
know but I may fay, As the fecond Perfon in the
Trinity, tho' not purely or merely as fuch ; but as
he had voluntarily condefcended to accept of a Com-
miffion from him, and a6l as his Deputy, in Con-
fequence o\. a Covenant between them. And, (3.)
As the Word made Flcfo, or the Mediator -, for as
much as he had engaged to do every Thiiig for his
Glory, exped;ing his Concurrence, and a full Reward
ac laff. " Now the Father cannot properly be ths
" God of the Deity of Chrijl,'' Another very odd
Expreffion ! And what then .^ Becaufe he is not,
properly, the God of the Deity of Chrijl : May not
he be the ozvn, proper lather of his ov;n^ only he •
N n gotten
[ 274 1
gotten Son? " i. e. his Creator, his abfolute Go-
" vernor, and his Objeft of V/orfhip, which is the
" proper Senfe of my God in all other Scriptures.'*
This, 1 humbly conceive, is a Mtfiake. The Ex-
preflion, 7ny GolU every where in Scripture, di-
redlly and primarily denotes a Covenant Relation^ be-
tween God and him that, ufes it : But, in a Covenant,
there are mutual Promifes, and, if I may fo fay, mu-
tual Obligations on both Sides. — And hence, when
God declares his Covenant Relation to any People^ or
Perfon^ he always calls himfelf, or promifes ro be,
thei}' God : And, when they, or any of them, plead
fuch a Relation, or the Promifes made to them in the
Covenant, they flile him iheir God, or cur God ; and
each of them for himfelf, my God. Thus did
our Lord himfelf. If. xlix. 4, 5. Mic. v. 4. Mat,
xxvii. 46. &c. ■ Whence it is plain, That thofe
Expreffions, in thefe Texts, refer to the eternal
'Tranfa^io'tts, that were between the Father and his
Son, relating to cur Redemption. — " Nor is there
" any fufficient Real on then why we fhould conftrue
*' the Words my Father, as relating to the Deity of
" Chrift, fince the Words my God cannot be fo con-
" flrued : And fince both thefe Titles feem fo inti-
*' mately connefted and referring to one and the
" fame Subject." p. 42. Anf i. The Texts do not
fay. That the Father is properly the God of the Deity
of Chrifl : And therefore, it may be fufficient, if we
can fhew, as we have done, That he is, in any
Senfe, his God ; and much more, in fo many Senfes,
tho' improperly only. 2. Tho' thefe Titles are fo
intimately conneded, as to reter to one and the fame
Perfon, they neither refer to ihe fame Nature in that
Perjon ; nor, precifely, to the fame Relation that is
between the Father snd the Son. — But feeing, 'tis
plain, there is nothing in thefe Texts that can do him
any Service, we go on,
" Mark
[ 275 ]
" Mark xiii. 32. Of thai Day and Hour knowetb
" no Many no not the Angels which are in Heaven^
" neither the Son, but the Father."'' p. 42. This
being the Pafiage, which the Arians and all other
Enemies of the Divinity of Chrifty and the Doftrine
of the Trinity y have, in all Ages, had perpetually in
their Mouths ; and of which they are inceffantly
boafling, as abfolutely unanfwerable •, we Ihall the
more carefully examine it. — Their Argument is
this. The true God knew the Day of Judgment y
i. e. the Day and Hour when it fliall be : Chrift,
when he fpake thefe Words, knew not^ as he tells us
himfelf, of that Day and Hour : Therefore, he was
not then, and confequently, is not now. The true
God. Or, thus fliorter, The Son knew not the Day
of Judgment : And therefore was not, could not be,
God. — One would not have expecfted our learned
Author among them : But, fince it is otherwife,
we ihall firfb confider every Syllable he has faid ; and
then, offer fome other Thoughts, upon it.
" I confefs it may be fliid in that Paragraph he is
*' called the Son of Man, ver. 26." He is fo -, and
no where in all that Chapter, nor indeed, but twice
or thrice, in that whole Gofpel, the Son of God, tho'
he, a great many Times, in it, ftiles himfelf the Son
of Man. " yet it muft be granted that the more na-
*' tural Senfe of the Words is. Of that Hour knoivetb
" not the Son of God, but only God the Father."* — ■
Why i if it muft, it muft! -— But, Whence docs this
appear ^ Has he any Thing, any Word, to fupport
this muft ? No : Not fo much as one Syllable ! Only
it would fuit his Purpofe ; and therefore, he roundly
aflerts it : And confequently, it muft be granted !
But, tho* an Angel from Heaven fhould fay it. Gal.
i. 8. we Hiould not, durft not, grant it. " but only
" God the Father F" And now. Will any of his Ad-
mirers, upon fecond Thoughts, affert This ^
The fecond Perfon in the Trinity ^ and as fuch, is not
N n 2 Cod
[ 276 ]
God the Father : And yet he grants, within four
Lints, as we fhali fee prefentiy, (if his Words have
any Senfe^ and are true \) tliat he did knew it! —
^ he Holy Siirit, the /^/r^Perfon, is not God the Fa-
ther : And, did not he^ who fearcheth all 'Ihings,
yea, the deep 'Things of God, j Cor. ii. 10. know the
Day oi Judgment? Could not, did not, he^whoknoweth
the Things of God, as the Spirit of Man which is in him
knoweth the Things of a Man, ver. 1 1 . know the Day
of Judgment ? — " This Text does fo plainly
" Ihew Chriffs Ignorance of the Day of Judgment
" as he is the Son,"- — He fhould have here added, " of
" G(?:ijied in the Form of God, &c. /. e.
not only in the Nature, but in all the Glory of God,
he could not pofllbly be exalted any higher. -— 4.
S'his Glory is abfolutely inferrable from the EJfence :
And therefore, it was as abfolutely impoflible it
fliould be ever taken from him, laid afide, or inter-
rupted.
r 291 ]
rjpted, ^c. as it was that his feature, or hk Sonfiip^
fhould be taken from him, &c. — 5. The (Economical
Kingdom was not given to him, purely as the/^fWPer-
fon, fcr the only begotten ; but, as having ccndejcended
to become the Redeemer, and for that Purpofe, to
become our near Kinfmqn : And therefore, becaufe
he could not fully execute that Office, but in, and by,
our Nature j nor be aBually invejied with, or inau-
gurate to it, till he had redeemed his People zvith his
Blood ; therefore, I fay, he is not commonly thought
to have entred upon his Kingdom, in the highefb and
moft proper Senfe, or commenced his Reign, til! his
RefurreSion or Afcenfion. — 6. When he Jhall have
given up the Kingdom to God even the Father, as the
coeffiential Son, and as fuch, fhall be no Lofer, upon
the whole, by or for his amazing Humiliation, but
fhall receive all the Glory promis'd him in his v/hole
<:omplex Perfon, as Mediator : So fhall he, as fuch,
be, to all Eternity, the Means of the bleffed Union
between God and his People ; and fliall reign alfo, for
ever and ever, as the Head of his Church, tho' not
in that Way, that Difpenjatory IVay if I may fo call
it, which he now does. — Surely, the Union be-
tween him and them, fhall never be diifolved : Be-
caufe, as the Church, can never be without a Head, tht
Head can never be without a Body, Eph. i. 22, 23,
^c. — Surely, when the Marriage of the Lamb is
confummated, no Divorce fliall ever follow : But they
fhall continue in that State to all Eternity. If. Hv. 5
— 10. Hof ii. 19. Jo. xii. 26. Ch. xiv. 23. Ch.
xvii. 24. I 'Thef. iv. 17. As he is the Light of
his People, in this World ; the Lamb is the Light of
the New Jerufalem above. Rev. xxi. 2, 3. As
he is their Life, and quickens whom he will, here, fo,
V. 21. and continues to be their Life, while they are
here ; Col. iii. 4. fo. Because he lives, they fhall
LIVE alfo, hereafter, forever, Jo. xiv. 19. &c. &;c.
And, 7. To wave many other, even neceffary Things,
P p 2 the
[ 292 ]
the Difficulty arifing from this Paflage may, I hope»
be enough, or to Satisfaftion, clearly anfwered thus,
Tho' the Redeemer, and as fuch, is often fpoken of
as God's Sef'vant, and confequently, fome Way, in
SuhjeSfion to him. If. xlii. i. Ch. Hii. ii. and ac-
cordingly, did all he did for his Glory •, Jo. viii. 28,
29. Ch. 10. 37, 38. i^c. Yet, to anfwer, all the
Ends of his Office, All Power is git'en to him in Hea-
ven and in Earth, Mat. xxviii. 18. {s?f. and confe-
quently, hd fits at Helm managing all Affairs in the
World, according to his own good Pleafure -, &c.
all Things in his Church are, in a very particular
'M.^nnei' tranfa^ed in h\s I'iame ; &c. he is all,
AND IN ALL, unto his People; and does, in his
own Perfon, fo eminently exercife the Authority and
Dominion of God, (as if the father had refigned the
Sovereignty to him) efptcially fmce he judgeth no
Mail, but hath committed all Judgment to the Son ;
John V. 22. i^c. as if he were, indeed, no Way,
or upon no Account, fubje^l to him •, at leaft, not
vifibly, and manifeftly fo. — Well then, fmce thefe
are fo. When all Things, at the End of the World,
fhall be fuhdued unto him -, &c. When he has fentenced
the Wicked to Everlafting Punijhment, and received
tht Righteous into Life Eternal -, Mat. xxv. 46. &c. and.
When all the Ends of this Difpenfation, fhall be fully
anfwered : Then fliall he deliver up the Kingdom, pre-
fenting all thofe that were given to him perfect and
without Spot, &c. Eph. v. 26, 27, and refign that
Dominion alfo over all Things, which was given him
chiefly for their Sakes •, and fo put an End to the
prefent external Difpenfation of the Kingdom, by the
IVord, Sacraments, and other Means of Grace :
And then fhall the Son, i. e. the Mediator, alfo him-
felf, who has fo long aded as having the Sovereign
Power, he fuhje^ unto \i\m. ysVo gave him that Do-
minion, by refigning, as it were, his Commiffion, and
manifefting himfdf evidently to be, as he had always
been.
[ 293 ]
been, tho' not fo vifibly and clearly, a Suhjlitute or
Deputy: That God, ejfentially confidered, /. e. the
whole 'Trinity, may be all in all, as Cbrijl now is -,
Col. iii. II. and xhtprefcntCEconomy, by a Vicegerent^
and all the external Means, whereby Chrijl now coni-
municateth himfelf to his People, may for ever
Our learned Author begins the next
Paragraph thus,
" This Text will not prove that Chrifi is not
" God, p. 44. No, blefled be his Name, nor any
other. — " for he is fo by perfonal Union to the
" Divine Nature," I earneftly defire to know the
Senfe of this : Having fome Reafon to queftion,
whether any Chrijlian ever heard fuch Words before.
— " he is God manifejied in the Hejh" He is fo.
Eternal Glory be to him who took upon him the Seed of
Abraham I But, it was the fecond Perfon only, and
no other, who was fo manifejted. - — " he is God and
" Man in one complex Perfon." He is fo, or he
could never have been our Redeemer : However, the
blejfed Three, are not one Perfon. " But, in
" moil or all thefe Scriptures," which we have con-
fidered, " it is manifeft, that the Character of
" Chrift as a Son is fet far below the Father, not
" only in Order or in Office, but in Knowledge,
" Power, Sovereignty, Self-fufficiency and Au-
" thority, &c." Anf. Chrift is not here called the
Son of God : — Nor is this Title, the Son, ufed
in feveral of thefe Places in the higheft Senfe, in
which this Title, the Son of God is : — As the Son of
Man, he is infinitely inferior to the Father in all
thefe : As Mediator, he condefcended to be a
Delegate, to receive a Commilfion, and confequently
Commands from him ; i^c. i^c. I am glad, how-
ever, to hear, " That Chrift, (as God the Son) or
" in his Words, in his Dizine Nature, is equal to
" the Father in Power and Glory" ibid. Becaufe
then
t 294 J
then, he is not the Father^ but a proper Son really
diftindt from him. But,
While my Hand is in, I mull retort the Difficulty,
(not only upon our worthy Author, who refolutely
denies the coejfen.ial Sofj/bip of Chrifi, or that he is
God OF God ; but) upon our y^rians and Socinians^
who obftinately oppofe his true and proper Divinity ;
and afk, What Anfwer they, or any of them, can
give to this Difficulty ? Our Author will have it.
That Chrift's human Soul, which he grants is a mere
Creature, " is properly the Son of God: — Th.t Arians
dream, That the Logos is not God ; and therefore,
muil be a Creature t—AnA the Socinians will have it.
That Chrijl when on Earth, was a mere Man, tho*
Unce, Rifum tenealis, made a God ! Well then ? Was
not this human Soul, the Logos, and this Man, always
finite Beings, omnimodoufly dependent upon God?
&c. — Was it poffible, that either of them could
be in the Form of God ; or have the Divine Names,
and 'Titles, &c. attributed to them ? < Could
either of them poffibly be capable, of all Power in
Heaven and Earth, &c. Or be all and in all to
Believers ? &c. Were not they all naturally,
and therefore neceffarily, every Way, in every Senfe,
anci always, fubje^ to the Father ? — Could there
poffibly be any Doubt of this, by any Man in his
Senfes ? &c. Could any poffible Diffenfation
alter the Nature of Things ? Or, Can a Creature
poffiibly ceafe to be a Creature ? Or, to be always,
and omnimodoufly, fubje^ to his Creator F — What then
is, what can be, the Meaning of thefe Words,
Thsn fhall the Son alfo himfelf be fubje^l, &c ? —
When I ffiall hear a fatisfaftory Reply to thefe
Queftions, I have leveral more ready.
Thus have we confidered thefe Texts, and, I
hope, explained, and vindicated them, to the Satis-
fadionof the /^n(?//j Reader. Wehaveffiewn, That,
ia
[ 295 ]
in fome of them, this Title, the Son, denotes the
human Nature of Chrijl only ; that, in others, he
is fpoken of as the Mediator^ but with a particular
Regard to his human Nature ; and in others, with
a more particular Refpeft to him, as God the Son^
who had undertaken to be Redeemer. And mufl
fay it again. That if the ferious Chriftian remem-
bers, That Chrijl^ as God, is the Son of God -, and
as Man, the Son of Man ; and that the Mediator^
as fuch, or in his complex Perfon, is often called
the Son of Gody or " the Son abfolutely," i. e. if
it be Senfe, and true alfo, without any Adnoun
or other Word joined to it : And confequently.
That when he is called " the Son abfolutely ;" this
Title may either refer to him purely as the Son of
God, or purely as the Son of Man, or as the Me-
diator, as the Scope or Circum (lances of the Paffagcs
dired: and require : If, I fay, he remember thefe,
he needs not be much moved, with any Thing
which can be urged from thefe, or any the like,
were there ever fo many of them. Go we on
then to.
CHAP. IV.
So7ne Confiderations upon his Subordinate
Questions, with proper Anfwers to the
mofi plaufible Things offered in fiipport of his
Notions : Or, An Anfwer to that ^^/o/?. Did
the Difciples of Gljriji fully believe that he
was the true God dimng his Life-time^ or not
till after his Death ajid RefurreBion ? p. 70.
A
Direft and plain, but brief Anfwer, we have
given, in general, to this ^^efiion ; p. 20.
and
[ 296 ]
and have, and fliall, by and by, more clearly and fully,
prove it to the Convi^ion of all, who will be fatisfied
with the Word of God, and the Tejimony of the Three
PFitmJfes in Heaven, for a Proof : But, " in order
" to folve this Qiieftion," our learned Author
" makes thefe five following^ Enquiries ; p. 70."
every one of which, with all his Anfwers to them,
with his Befign in propofing them, we fhall confider,
very briefly, if worth the while, as they come in our
Way.
" SECT. I. The Jews old Opinion concerning
the Mejfiah.
*' I . What 'Notion had the Jews in general con-
cerning thiir Mefiiah ?" p. 71.
His Defign in this Se£iion, as appears from his
^e ft ions and Anfwers, p. 72 — y6. and the Con-
clufion of it, " In fhort their Notions of this Matter
" were fo very confufed, fo uncertain, fo incon-
" fiftent, fo various, that they cannot be reduced
*' to any certain or fettled Scheme of Sentiments.
*' p. 76." is obliquely to deprive us, oi zny AJpijlance,
from the Principles of the ancient Jewifl:) Church, in
fupport di the coeffential ^cnfJoip cf the Meffah?
He cannot deny. That " the Old Teftament fur-
" nifhed them with fufficient Prophecies concerning
" his divine and human Nature, his fpiritual King-
" dom, his Sufferings, his Death and Refurredlion,
" ^c. p. 71." He might have faid. That many of
thofe Prophecies were fo plain, full, and minute,
that they lookt rather like exaSl Uiftories of Matter
of Fa^, than Predi£iions. " yet fo wretchedly blind-
" ed were they with the corrupt Glofies of their
" Teachers and with their own foolifh Prejudices,"
(which they alfo learned from their Teachers, thofe blind
Guides who caufed them to err -,) " that they did agree
" in no Notion concerning him more univerfally,
" than that he was to be a temporal Prince, that he
" was never to fuffer, nor to die, &c. ibid.''^ Grant-
ing this, What then ? — ^ Tho' they had fo far
turned
[ 297 1
turned afide from the Truths as to have perverted, or
forgotten, their Creed ; The Old Tejiament, efpccially
as explained and illuftrated by the New, ftrongly
fupports the Doftrine of the Trinity, and the
coejf:ntial Sonjljjp o^ Qhn^: And therefore, through
the Grace of God, v/e Hiall neither fuffer thofe
Proofs to be wrejied from us ; nor put our Eyes,
againft fo clear a Light, becaufe the degenerate Jews
fhut theirs. But I mull obferve, That here, as in
many other Cafes, he is very general and ambiguous,
which may lead plain ferious Chri/lians into great
Miftakes ! For, his firft Words,
" The Jews old Opinion," one would think, was
their Opinion, in their old and beft Times ; or if not
fo old as the Patriarchs, or Mofes, or David, or the
prophetic Ages after the Revolt of the Ten Tribes ;
yet at loweft, of Ezra, Neheniiah, and the Men
of the great Synagogue : Whereas, he feems to mean
their Opinion, when our Lord was upon the Earth !
— Ahraham fawChrifs Bay ; Jo. viii. c^6. and knew
that he was the true God ; (not the firfi Perfon, but
the Second',) for, when he appeared to him,G&n. xviii. i.
he heard him -call himfelf, Jehovah •, ver. 13, 14.
and he alfo in his Interceffion, called him Jehovah,
ver. 30, and the Judge of all the Earth -, ver. 25.
and knew, I conceive, as well as Mofes. That he was
Jehovah, who rained upon Sodom and upon Gojporrah
Brimftone and Fire from Jehovah out of Heaven.
Ch. xix. 24. So that, tho' he well knew. That
Jehovah is one ; or, that there is but oneJehovah;
he knew there were two, v/ho were fo called : Or, he
knew Jehovah and Jehovah, but not two Jehovahs.
— Jacob knew, that the Man who wreflled with him,
ivas God ; Gen. xxxii. 24 and 30. (who is called by
the Prophet, God, Hof. xii. 3. the Angel, vcr. 4,
and the Lord God of Hefts, &c. ver. 5.) and even
when under the Spirit of Prophecy, worfhipped him
as the Angel which redeemed him from all Evil.
Q^q Gen.
I 298 ]
Gen. xhm. i6, &c. — And hence, when we re-
member, that he appeared to them, in a bodily
Shape, as a Man, as a Prelude to his Incarnation,
we may learn what was the Faith of the Church,
concerning the promifed Redeemer, in their Days. —
Should it be laid, That this was Cbrijl's pre-exijlent
human Soul, which appeared, i^c. and not the
feccnd Perfon. We Anf. i. This is gratis di^um,
faid without any Proof, or any Appearance of any.
■ — 2. Tho', in thofe Days, and for many Ages
after, we find he was oi'ten called an Angel, the Angel
of the herd, the Angel of his Face, or Prefence, i^c. yet
we find no Mention, no not the leaft, of his human
Soul. — 3. The Patriarchs fpoke often to him, and
of him, and ivorfhipped him as God, the God of his
People, Jehovah, &c. without any Apprehenfion, fo
far as appears, of any fuch human Soul. - — 4. Him-
felf often aflumed the Names, and Titles, accepted the
Worjhip and did the Works, &c. of the One true God ;
but gave no Hint of his having then, any human
Soul. — And, 5. To the beft of my Knowledge,
There remains 7to "Tradition, of any Sort, That the
Jewijh Church, from the Beginning, if I may not
fay, to this Moment, ever heard of, and much
lefs entertained, the Opinion of his pre-enjient
human Soul, &c. Yea, 6. We fhall fhew, by and
by. That Mofes, David, Solomon, Ifaiah, and the
Prophets, knew his coeffential Sonjhip ; and therefore,
reafonably prefume. That this was the common
^aith of the J ws, in the feveral Ages wherein
they lived. — And, 7. 1 cannot think it poffible. That,
in the Days of Ezra and Nehemiah, when the
Canon of the Old Teflament was clofed and fealed up ;
and when they had three, if not more. Prophets
alive, to explain Things to the?n -, the Jews in gene-
ral, fliould not ha^e fome right Notions of the
Perfon, Natures, and Offices, of the promifed Saviour,
and his fpiritual Kingdom : Or be ignorant. That he
was
[ 299 ]
was firft to be humbled^ and then exalted \ or to
fuffer, die, rife again. Sec. &c.— See, bsfides the many-
Texts quoted above, Hag. ii. 9. Zecb. ii. lo — 13.
Ch. iii. 8, 9. Ch. vi. 12, 13. Ch. ix. 9. Ch.xi. 12,
13. Ch. xii. 10. Ch. xiii. ver. i and 7. Ch. xiv. 4.
Mai. iii. I. Ch. iv. 2, &c. They did indeed,
foon, alas ! too foon, degenerate -, and, had I Time,
I might give fome Hints, when, by what Means,
and by what Steps, &c. Things grew worfe and
worfe, till they came to that aimoft defperate State,
in which they were, when Chrift was in the World ;
when, (excepting that their Love to Idolatry had
been check'd, or cured, in and by their Captivity in
Babylon,) they were, generally, more corrupt, both
in Faith and Manners, than ever they were, at any
Time before. — And, I have fomctimes thought,
when confidering the firft and fecond Chapters of
Ijuke, that there was a remarkable Change for the
worfe, very vifible among thofe in the Tribe of
Judah, between the Time of our Saviour'' s Birth y
and his Baptifm. — But, to pafs many fuch Re-
marks as thefe at prefent, I Ihall only afk, What
could be expedled from thofe, who fo fhamefully
glofs'd away, the Senfe of the moral Law ; but, that
they would alfo fadly corrupt the Faith ? — And,
What Regard can we owe to the Opinion of fuch
People ? &c. &c.
I might alfo alk, what he means by " the Jews
" in general ?" &c. 'Tis enough for us, if the wifeji
and bejl of them, wherever they were, had a right
Opinion concerning the Mejp^ah, &c. Should
the Queftion be put. What Notions have the Church
Party, or the Protejtant Dijfenters, in general, con-
cerning Predejlination, Grace, the Trinity, &c ? Or,
How far they differ from their Old Opinions ? &c.
'twould not be eafy to give a juft and direft
Reply. However, to his own Query, he
anfwers,
Q^q 2 I. They
[ 300 ]
I. They generally believed he fhould be a Man
•* of their own Nation, of the Tribe of Judahy of
" the Seed of David, &c. p. 72." I do not think
there was a native 7^'tc, in the whole World, who
retained the Profefiion of the Jewijh Religion, that
did not believe all thefe. — And, as for the Exception
he makes, from Jo. vii. 27. in the next Paragraph,
it proceeded, in my Opinion, rather trom willful
Perverfenefs, &c. than Ignorance.
" 2. They believed that he had an Exijlence before
" he came into the World ',"'' p. 73. This they muft
have believed ; becaufe he could not come into the
World, before, or till, he had an E>:iflence. —
for, the Prophet fpeaks of him as " <3 Ruler in
" Ifrael, whofe Goings forth have been from of Old,
'* from everlaffing." Mic. v. 2. — Whether " this
" Opinion was univerfal," ibid, or not, one would
think. That whoever thought thefe Words were
fpoken of the MeJJiah, muft have believed him to
have exifted from Eternity : And confequently, if
then the Son of God, a coejfential Son. But,
the Jews, in thofe Days, had never heard of any
" pre-exijlent human Soul of his:" Or, if they
had, thefe Words could never have been fpoken
of it.
•^.* 3. They believed that he had feme glorious
" and eminent Relation to God.^' p. y^. Tt was not
poiTible, That any one who believed the Old Tefia-
ment, could have any the leaft Doubt of this. " This
" appears from the Name of Honour that the
" Mefjiah was univerfally known by amongft them,
*■* viz. ^he Son of God, ibid." This we had before,
and anfwered it alfo; p. 70, &c. andfhall only now add,
Jf " all the Jews talkt with him under this Name,.
" as being the common Name of the Mejfiah, and
** perfectly well known amongft them." ibid, then
fiirely they knew the Meaning of it : Or our Lord
would have fet them right. Well then, what
higher.
[ 301 1
higher, or more glorious, perfonal Title could pof-
fibly have been given him ? — If he is the Sen, the
own Son of God, &c. and, as fuch, equal with Gody
which was their Senfe, and the only natural and
proper Senfe, of that Title ; then is he God the Son;
And we can give him no higher Title, it we do
not call him God the Father. But furely, our
learned Author would have been greatly offended,
to have heard any One call the Meffiah, God the
Father ! I might have added. That it is undeniable.
That the Jews did not ufe this litle, the Son, " as a
" Name of Office -," or not chiefly, and only fo -,
but, as a Name of Nature, as it always is, in every
other Cafe.
" 4. The Prophets in the Old Teftament fre-
" quently intimate the Divinity of Chriji •,^' t^, 74.
They do fo : And, I'll add, they do it clearly, and
ftrongly ; yea, and as a Son too. Pf. ii. 7 — 12.
Pro. XXX. 4. If. ix. 6. Ch. xl. 10 — 12, &c. What
follows about Dr. Allix^s and Mr. Fleming's Account
of the Memra, &c. is out of my Way at prefent. I
have read them both, ^c. *' But what
'* doubtful Hints or plain Evidences there might be,,
" that Chrifi was to be the true God, yet the Jews
•' in Chriji's Time did not generally believe it."
p. 75. Anf. I. Suppofing this. What will follow ?
That it was not, clearly and fully, revealed in the
Old Teflament -, or known, and believed, by their
Fathers.? By no Mears. 2. The Jews could
not but know. That the Word, Elohim, which
■we commonly tranflate God, is plural : — That
there were feveral, to whom this Name, and the
other Titles of the Mofi High God, and his Perfections
alfo, are afcribed in Scripture : That, how
intimately foever united they arc, and how infepa-
rably foever they a6t, in all their Works relating to
the Creatures, they are fpoken of, as diftind per-
fonaUgents: — That there is not only a Dijiin^ion^
but
[ 302 ]
but an Order among them: --- That ofte of them is
fometimes filled the begotten Son of another j who is,
therefore, his own, his natural Father : -^ And that
this Son was he, who" had undertaken, and was
anointed, to be the Mejfiah ; as we have, and fhall,
farther prove, i£c. — 3. What much confirms me
in thefe two laft Thoughts is, that the Opinion^
That God moft high, had <^ Son^ an own Son, who
was to be horn of a Virgin, become Man, and the
Governor, if not alfo the Redeemer of the World, ^c.
was then difperfed far and wide, and well known to
many of the Heathens. I need not mention the
Sibylline Oracles, nor offer any other Proofs of this,
but the famous fourth Eclogue of Virgil, which was
written near the Time of our Lord's Birth, and is
now known to every School-Boy ; and particularly
that glorious Line, fo much, fo juftly admired,
Cara Deumfoholes, Magnum Jovis Incrementum !
Which, I conceive, very clearly and ftrongly ex-
preffes the Idea of a proper and coejjential Son -, and
was, however he came by it, moft certainly taken
from Ifaiah, or fome other of the Prophets, or fome
JewiJJj Tradition. — I, for my own Part, have been
long perfuaded, from many Paflages of the JSneid,
as well as of that Eclogue, that Virgil was no ftranger
to the Septuagint, (a Tranflation of the Ofd T^efiament
into Greek,) not unknown to many learned Heathens
long before that Poet was born. But, fays
our Author,
" Surely if the Pharifees had but embraced this
" Opinion, they could never have been at a Lofs
*' to have anfwered our Lord's Queftion, Mat, xxii.
" 43—46. If Chrjji be David's Son, how doth he
" in Spirit call him Lord ? it was plain by their
" Silence and Confufion, that they did not believe
" his Godhead, p. 75. Anf. i. Whence did our
Author learn this ? 'Tis plain, indeed, that they
gave
[ 3^3 1
gave him no Anfwer : But, the Text fpeaks nothing
of their Confufton. — 2. 'Tis certain they believed.
That God had a Son^ who was equal with him^ Jo. v.
18. and who was God, Ch. x. 33. and that they
charged Chrift, with giving out himfe{f to be that
Son. — Or, 3. If they did not know, that the Mejfiah
was to be God, Jehovah, &c. and therefore, the true
God, they mud either have been very ignorant indeed,
or almoft incurably objiinate : Becaufe, all this is fo
frequently, fully, and emphatically, revealed all over
the Old Tejiament. Gen. xviii. 1 3, 25, &c. Numb. xxi.
5—9. compared with i Cor. x. 9. Pf. xcvi through-
out, &c. If. ix. 6. Ch. xxxv. 4-- 6. Ch xl. 9--- 11.
&:c. Jer. xxiii. 6, &c. Hof. i. 7. Ch. xii. 3—5, i^c.
Zech. xi. 13, ^c Mai. iii. 1—4. — 4. We can other-
wife, much better, account for their Silence. And, to
pafs their Pride, Enmity againft him, i^c. 7 hey
knew very well, That our Lord, by all his Far -.hies,
Mirccks^ &c. defigned to prove himfelf to be the
Meffiah \ tho' he had never., for the Reafons above
given, exprefsly fo called himfelf : — They remem-
bred the Dilemma he brought them into, by a
^efiion he afkt them, but a little before : Mat. xxi.
24 — '7- — They perceived, that, if they fhould
deny that ChriJlyNzs, the Son of God, and as fuch, the true
God, they had the Scriptures, the Judgment of their
Anceftors, and their own Sentiments alfo, all diredly
againft them ; and if they fhould confefs him to be
the true God, he would then turn it upon them, and
fay. How could they then, iov Jhame, dream of his
temporal Kingdom, &c ^ And therefore, feeing they
were refolved to hold faft that vile, that ridiculous
Opinion ; and knowing that, which Way foever they
replied, he would be too many for them ; they
wifely thought, it would be beft for them to hold
their Peace. — But, 5. I muft retort this, upon our
learned Author, thus. Had they known, any Thing
" of Chrifl's glorious fre-emftent human Soul, i^c'*
they
[ 304 ]
tliey might have readily, and without any Confufion,
anfwered him, and perhaps have kept their fcandalous
Prejudice too ! Tho' Chrifl is David's Sen, " ac-
*' cording to (his ficjhly Original^ or) the Influence of
*' the Flejh into his Birth, p. 50." (if thcfe Words
are really intelligible!) Yet, his " pie-exiftent hu-
" man Soul is a fupr a- angelical Spirit, &c." and
therefore, is He, upon that Account, his Lord alfo.
I humbly conceive, I may add, — 6. Had this been
the Cafe, they would have openly derided him for his
ftlly Queftion. — But, we wave feveral others, and
proceed to,
" SECT. II. JVhat Ideas did Chrift give his
" DiJci-pUs of himjelfV p. ']G — 83.
" Anf. I . He takes particular Pains upon many Oc-
*' cafions to fhew that he was fent from God, or re-
*' ceived Commiffion from Heaven to teach the Doc-
*' trines which he taught, and perform thofe glo-
*' rious Miracles which he wrought, to confirm
*' both his Do6trine and Commiffion : And then
'' refers to John v. vi. viii. &c."— -He did fo : And
his Works infallibly proved both thefe -, tho', in the
Chapters referred to, hisDifcourfes wereVc^therJpologies
for himfelf, or Anfwers to and Reafonings with the
Pharifees, the Sanhedrim, and the murmuring cavil-
ling Capernaites, than Inflrudlions to his Difciples.
" 2. He proves by mofl infallible Evidences,
*' that he was the Meffiah, the Saviour of Mankind:^*
He did fo : Tho' this could not have been done, as
we have fhewn, without declaring and proving.
That he was the coejfential Son of God, and, as fuch,
equal with him. See what we have offered to
this Purpofe. p. 3 6, '^y, i^c.
" 3. He often takes Occafion to declare, that he
*' had a Being before he came into this World. Jo. iii.
« 13. Ch. V. 38. and 51. tsff." p. ^^. Yes: But,
(i.) He never, fo far as I know, fpoke one Word
of hii pre-exijfent human Soul ', which, lam inclin'd
to
1 305 ]
to think, he would have done, once at leafl, had he
had any. (2.) He is very fokmn, in declaring him-
felf the only begotten Son of God, whom he fent into the
World \ and that he that believeth on him^ the Son,
and as fuch, is not condemned, &c. Jo. iii. 1 6 — 1 8. &c.
But, to believe on him, or in his Name, is an Adl of
religious WorJIjip : Whence I conclude, he is a coef-
fential Son, and as fuch, the true God. (3.) In fome
of the I'exts quoted, Our Author has, upon his own
Principles, much over done it ; and, in others, as
much under done it. Chrilt's human Soul was
not " the living Bread, which came down from Hea-
ven ; &c." Jo. vi. 51. — He that was fent, " not on-
*' ly came down from Heaven, but came forth from the
" Father; Ch. xvi. 28." and could fay. Trap axirH iiyki,
I am FROM, or of him, viz. as a Son. Ch. vii. 29.
^c. ^c.
" 4. He afTumes to himfelf the Chara5ler of the
** Son of God, in a more eminent and fuperior
" Way than Men or Angels are his Sons ; for he
*' calls himfelf the o'dy begotten Son of God. Jo. iii.
" 16. i8. p. 73." Anf (i.)TheTitle, theSonofGod,
is not properly, if at all, a Chara£ier, but a Title of
Nature. (2.) In every Senfe, in which the Word^
Son, is ufed, except its only proper Senfe, to denote
the natural Relation of one that is begotten, to him
that begat him, there are many who have been called
the Sons of God : But, Chrijl is an only begotten Son :
Whence I conclude, as above. That he is a Son, in
a quite different Senfe from all others •, or, in the
only proper Senfe, i. e. a coejfe7itial Son. (3.) He
not only affumed this Title to liimfeli', but accepted it
often from others. — And therefore, to pafs feveral
Things, (4.) What more would he have had our
Lord to have faid ? Yea, What more could he have
faid, to prove his coeffential SonJIoip, than lie has faid,
*' Johnv. 19 — 23." which I have, and mull yet
farther confider ? — He owns " thefc cannot be fup-
R r pofed
t 3o6 1
*' pofed to be fpoken of any mere Greature," Right; "
" And therefore — they give fome Intimations of his
" Union with Godhead^ &c." p. 79. — This Jufpi-
cious Language needs Exphcation. Is, or was, this
a perfonal Union ? ■ If it was. Which of the Per-
fons does he mean ? — ■■ — If it was not a perfonal U-
nion, and with a particular Perfon, What was this
Union with Godhead ? &c. &c. — No other Name is
here mention'd, hut the Son of God, or the Son-, and
therefore, if thefe Words are true, they mull be true
of him, as the Son : Not chiefly, not merely, if at
all, as the Son of Man •, and therefore, as the Son of
God : And confequently, " the meer Name, the Son
" of God, in thefe Pallages, gives," with his good
Leave, " fome Intimations of his Divinity." ibid.
And, I may add, having proved it, every where elfe
in Scripture, from the Beginning to the End.
" 5. Fie fometimes takes Opportunity to acquaint
*' them with his moji iniimateUnion or Onenefs with the
*' Father, &c. p -79." He does fo : And does it as
clearly, and ftrongly, as it is ever done ; or as it
could be done, in a Confiftency with the Difiin^ion of
the^wo e-ver-bkffedPerfons.—'-'' For when he fays, John
*' X; 29. My Father, who gave-me my Sheep, is greater
" than all ;" Yes : He is abfolutely, yea, infinitely
greater than all, who would endeavour to pluck them
out of his Hands. — " yet he adds in the next Verfe,
" / and my Father are one : " Yes : Thefe Two Per-
fons, the Father and the Son, are "v, Unum, One
,Thing. — One Thing, as having the fame EJfence ;
and therefore, One in Cojfent, Will, and Power ^
who will mo^ perfectly concur, and agree, in preferving
the Sheep : And confequently. Whatever Prerogative,
or Greatnefs, tht Father as fuch has, which the Son,
as ilich has not, it is purtly relative and perfonal,
.and fully confiftent with iheir Coeffentiality . •
*' w])ich I think arc Int:imations of a fuperior and
" inftiior Nature, and that tiiQ Divine Nature of
the
[ 3^7 ]
'* the Father was in him.'* p. ^(). — Which Words
give thefe Intimations ? Not, furely, the Words,
Father and Son : Not the Order in which
they are placed, I and my Father: — Not the
Predicate of this Propofition, Fv, one Thing :
What then ? — Why, either thefe, j . " The Father
is greater than all." Anf. No furely : For the Words,
Father and Son^ intimate their having the fame Na-
ture, and not a " fiiperior and inferior Nature •, " and
the Words, 'Iv iipped him, was Religious and Divine Worjhip :
Or elfe, that our Lord would have admonifhed, and
directed her, as he did the young Ruler ^ Luke xviii,
19. inftead of giving her fo very ample a Commen-
dation. And the Grant of her Requefi, Be it unto
thee, even as thou wilt, *' founds fo God-like, and
" imitates divine Language fo much, that it might
*' have led," and confidering her Sagacity, Humi-
lity, Importunity, and Conftancy, I conceive, could
not but, yea, did adually, lead " her onward
** to the Belief of his Deity," fliould we fuppofe
her to have been, even to that Minute, utterly igno-
yant of it.
The Cafe of the poor blind Man, John ix. is ra-
ther more clear. He was not ib much as enquiring
after Chrifi ; or minding him, in the leaft ; fo tar was
he from expecting, that heeither could, or would, open
the Eyes of one that was horn blind I ver. 30— -32. But,^
cur Lord, y^w him, as he was pajfm^by, ver i. and
without being aflct, or, fo far as appears, fpeaking
one Word to him, Jpat on the Ground, having no.
Water at hand, made Clay, ■ anointed his Eyes,
ordering him, for the ^'n^j/of his Faith, what
to do ; ver. 6, 7. and then went his Way, before
his.
[ 325 ]
his Patient was fo happy, as to fee the extraordinary
Perfon^ who had not only opened his Eyes, but done
it by fuch Means as were more hkely to clofe, or
keep them fhut, than to open them ; and on the
Sabbath-Bay too, againfl the then received fuper-
ftitious Interpretation of the Law of the Sabbath ! —
All the Account, he could afterwards give of his
wonderful Phyjician, was, that he W9S a Man called
Jefus, that he made Clay, and anointed his Eyes, &c.
ver. 1 1 . Whence he very rationally, and juftly, con-
cluded him to be a Prophet; ver. 17, and that he
was not a Sinner, as they faljly and malicioujly al-
ledged, but a Favourite of Heaven arid of God ;
i^c. and, as a fure Proof of it, had done to him,
what had never been dontfince the World began, ver.
30 — • 33. — As the open, judicious, and brave yf-
pology, for his glorious BenefaSior, (for which they,
in their mad Zeal, excommwnicated him, ver. 34.)
Ihews him to have been a fenjible, grateful, well-dif-
pofed Man ; Our Lord, when he had found hiniy
(that he might further inflru5f him concerning him-
felf, and confirm him in it. That he was indeed,
7rap« ©£», OF God, or from him, viz. by Eternal
Generation ;) faid unto him, Doft thou believe on
THE Son of God ? ver. '^r^. A Queftion which ne-
ceflarily pre-fuppofes, and implies, his true and pro-
per Divinity. 7r»r£uficufs
r 337 1
txcufe them ; his Tendernefs to them, upon all Oc
cafions ; ^c. might, at laft, fo much embolden them,
as to tranrgrefs the Rules of Good Manners. — Fa-
miliarity, fays the Old Proverb, is apt to breed Con-
tempt. ' — 3. Even good^ and wife Men, fometimes
forget themfelves -, ffeak before they thinks and
what does not become them; And many unworthy
Things may drop from their Mouths, not only
without any /// D^ign, but, perhaps, with a good
One. — 4. 'Tis plain the Difciples themfelves were,
in all thefe Inftances, much to blame. They con-
fidered not^ &'c. Mark vi. 52. Perceive ye not yet,
neither underfland, &c. faid their blefled Mailer ?
Ch.viii. 1 7—2 1 . Whence 'tis plain, they ought to have
known better, and might have known better ! Have
ye your Hearts yet hardened, ■n-ETroopujijAvYiVt callous or
brawny, i. e. ftupid, and ififenfible, fo as nothing
will make any deep and lafling Impreffion upon them ?
— He is there fpeaking of the Miracles of the
Loaves, which could not poffibly have been wrought,
but by one who is the true God. — He, who could
multiply five fmall Loaves, fo as to fill five Thoufand
Men, &c. could make a\sfoRLD 1 And indeed, all
Things were made by him. Jo. i. 3. So that,
if they did not beJieve Z/:'^ Deity of Chrifi, it was
not for want of Evidence f For, their Eyes faw, and
their Ears heard! ver. 18. And therefore, he fharp-
ly rebukes themi ver. 21. Thefe Paffages then,
are fo far from ferving our Author's Purpofe, in
the leaft, that they quite overthrow it ! — 5. As to
Peter's Cafe, we know his Temper, his Forward-
nefs, &c. nor was this the only Time when he fpake,
not knowing what he faid. — But, it will be urged,
" We cannot fuppofe he would give fuch a Rebuke
" to his God." p. 97. And therefore, 'tis plain,
" he difbelieved his Maflefs Godhead'' Anf Tho'
honefi Peter faid v/hat he faid, out of a Sort of Love
to him j yet, it was very ill, and very ill faid.
X X There
■ [ 338 ]
There was a great deal of Arrogance, Ignorance^
carnal Wifdom^ &c. &:c. in it : And therefore, our
Lord gave him the fevereft Reproofs he ever gave to
any. -— But it will not follow, that he did not firmly
hdk-ie-y that Chriji was the ccejfential Son of the
Father J and as fuch, the true God., ov equal with him.
For, (i) He had, again and again, folemnly, and
deliherately frofcjfed the contrary : Whereas, thefe
Words were fpoken hajlily, and without Conftdera-
tion\ as his Denial of Chriji afterwards was. ■
(2) The holiefi mere Man that ever lived, did not
always fpeak to., or of, the mojl High, according to
his I'aith in him: Such is our prefent Imperfection I
— It is one Thing to have a fixed, yea, habitual.
Belief of the Being and PerfeMions of God\, and
quite another, to think, fpcak, or a5f, at all Times,
according to Principle. — Where is he to be found,
v/ho ahjays behaves, as in the Prefence, and under
the Eye, of the Omnifcient ? — How often did the
Children of Ifrael, the Body of that Nation, (who
had the Pillar of Cloud, in which the Lord went hejore
them ; who v/ere fed and cloathed by Miracle, &c.
and who could not pofTibly, one would think, doubt
either of his Prefence with them, or his Power, Sec.)
call them both in Queftion ? — And, 3. To give an
Inftance to confront all thefe. When God had told
Mofes, (who knew as much, and, I conceive, a
great deal 7nore, of God, than Peter did of Chrifi ;
who had feen all his Meanders in Egypt, and at the
Red Sea, &c. &'c.) That he would give Fleflo to his
People in the Wildernefs ; and Mofes faid, fhall the
Flocks and the Herds befiain for them, or fhall all the
Jbifto of the Sea be gathered together, &c. Numb. xi. 19.
• — 22. 'tis plain from God\ Anfwer to him, {Is the
J^ord^s Hand waxed fhcrt?) That Mofes, even the
renowned Mofes, by whom the Law was given, and
by whom God faved them, &'c. 'Tis plain, I fay,
that he doubted the Prornife, and fpake very in-
decently
t 339 ]
decently and unlike himfelf: And that, tho' God
was gracioufly pleafed to pafs it by, yet he kindly
r-e proved him for it^ 'Thou Jhdt fee now whether my
tVord fhall come to pafs unto thee^ or not. ver. 22.
fee alfo, Ch. xx. 7—12. — But now. Did ever any-
one think, That " thefe were Indications of his Dif-
" belief of the Deitf^ of him that promifed ? i^c.
I think not. They were, 'tis true, plain Evidences
of the Imperfection of Grace ^ and of the Remains of
Unbelief, ^c. even in Mofes ; as the Examples, we
are confidering, are of the ImperfeCfions and Weak-
nefs, ^c. of the Difciples : And that is all. No
mere Man ever yet behaved, in all Cafes, as he ought
and might ; no, nor never will in this World.
" I might add alfo, that tho' the Virgin Mary
" under the Influence of Rapture and Infpiration,
" exprefles herfelf thus, Luke i. 47. My cpirit hath
*' rejoyced in God my Saviour ^''■^.<^^. Then, furely ! ihe
knew, I. That fhe was und.tr Infpiration.
2. That Chrijl was really her God and Saviour. And
therefore, — 3. If ever fhe forgot this, or futFered
the Impreffions to languifh, or wear off, it was her
great Imperfeuion., and her Fault. " yet if fhe had
'" firmly believed her Son to be her God, fhe would
" not have chid him fo feverely when he was twelve
■" Years Old, Luke 2. 48. Son, why hajl thou dealt
" thus with us ? p 97." — Anf. I can perceive no
chiding at all, in thefe Words : Nor any Thing, but
what was becoming, and exceedingly tender and
affectionate. She and Jofeph had fought him Jor-
rowing : — And had they known were he was -, or
had he told her, he had Bufmefs at the Temple, ^c.
and mufl tarry fome Time -, they had been eafy.
And, I verily believe, he would have told her, or
gone with her, had he not been under fome llid-
den and fpecial Influence of the Holy Ghofl.- -With-
ail, his Mother might firmly believe him to be God
X X 2 mafii'
[ 340 ]
manifejied in the Flejh -, and yet could not bisC
remember, that he was made of a Woman •, and con-
fequently, was true Man ; and that fhe was his
Mother, who was therefore to take Care of him :
And yet might not know, that it was proper for
himy as fuch, and at his Age, to tarry behind, with-
out acquainting her with it. -— He had never done
any fuch Thing before ; and therefore, feeing he
had not told her, that he would, or muft, tarry, fhe
might, fhe ought, in Duty as a Mother, to enquire
what had kept him behind. — And his Anfwer,
How is it that ye fought me ? IVijl ye not, (^c.
(q. d. fays Mr. Clark, Having had fuch Notice
feveral Times, Who, and What I am, you might
have learnt from thence that I have another Father
to ferve and obey) which has more of a Rebuke in
it, than her ^eftion, makes it pretty plain, She was
to blame j and that he would remind her. That, the'
he was her Son according to the Flefh^ he was from
Eternity the coeffential Son of God, and mufl there-
fore mind his Bufinefs : And, that he came to do his
Will, and not theirs.
" 4. If they had thought Chrifi was the trm
'*' God, they would never have tried to entertain his
" Curiofity , by fhewing him how magnificent the
*' Buildings of the temple were. Mat. xxiv. i." p. 97.
98. I am inclined to think, it was not to entertain
his Curiofity, which might have been often fo enter-
tained before •, but to move his Pity, (by trying, if
they could thus prevail with him, to revoke, or at
leaft fufpend, that dreadful Doom, Ch. xxiii. ^6 —
38.) that they fhewed him the Bui Mings of the J^emple :
And, iffo, this was raxhcr sin Indication oi their Be-
lief, than Difhelief, oi his Deity! —If I am heremifta-
ken, this Adion of the Difciples was only ano-
ther Inftance of their Incogi fancy, or JVeaknefSy
t' 5- His
[ 34« ]
" 5. His Hint from Jo. xvi. 30. p. 98." I have
already confidered, and turned it againft himfelf. —
. In the next Page, he tells us, " Thefe Things will
" give Occafion to three or four Queftions." — They
all lie out of my Way, at prefent, but the firfl :
And therefore, (fince they are of the fame Kind with
moft of the reft, would require a very long Anfwer,
and feveral Remarks which I am not now difpofed to
make, i^c.) I Ihall wholly wave them.
*' i^uejt. Did the Difciples believe him then to he a
*' mere common Man ? p. 99." A ftrange Queftion,
and yet amhiguoujly worded ! — Mofes, Solomon^ and I-
faiah, &c. were mere, but, 1 think, not common
Men. Even the wretched Socinians, thofe malicious
Enemies of his Divinity and Crofs, who dream he
was a mere Man, do not, I fuppofe, degrade him fo
far, as to think he was a common Man I Even they
will hardly fcruple to agree to every Thing he has of-
fered, p. 100. except the Pre-exijfence of his human
Soul. — — It was almoft impoflible, that any one
fhould take him for a Common Man. None of the
JewsdXdy Mat. xvi. 14.. no not his Enemies, Jo-vu.
46. — But, — I need fay no more. — Procead
we then to
CHAP.
[ 342 ]
CHAP. V.
Plain and clear Proofs, of the Coessential
SoNSHiP, of the Second Person of the ever-
bleff'ed trinity : Or, That this Title, The
Son of God, fo frequently afcribed to the Se-
con d Person, or to Christ as God, does, di-
re Bly and primarily, denote /'/j Deity, or
natural Kelation to the Father, whofe Son,
whofe ONLY begotten Son he is,
THIS being the principal Thing, which will,
of itfelf, determine the Controvcrfies between us,
we fhall be the more careful in advancing, and illu-
Ilrating, the Tejlimonies we produce •, and removing
whatever may be offered to weaken them. And,
tho' our learned Author feems to limit the ^ejlion,
p. I. " to the true Meaning of the Name Son of
" God, given to Chrift in the New Tejlament" (as
Dr. Clarke, in a Cafe nearly parallel, very unfairly,
if not did!) We fhall enquire into i\it true
Me-anifig of it, in both Tefbaments : And that, for
thefe Reafons. — i. The fecond Vtr{on is, in the Old.
Teftament, fometimes ftiied, the Son, the Son of God,
his begotten Son^ &c. as well as in the New. ■ — 2.
The Scriptures of the Old Teftament were given by
Infpiration of God, 1 Tim. iii. 15, 16, i^c. and Ho-
ly Men of God fpake, and wrote, in them, as they
were moved by the Holy Ghoji, 1 Pet. i. 21. ^c. as
well as in the New. — 3. The Faith of the Church of
God, was, as to the Subjiance of it, and in all Effen^
tints, the fame of Old as now. A^s xv. 8 — i r . Eph.
iv. 4 — 7. 2 Ccr. iv. 13. Rom. iii. 30. ^c. — 4. The
New Teftament explains the Old Teftament, as the
Old confirms the New: And indeed, each of them
do much illvfirate the other. • — 5. Our hord and his
Apo-
[ 343 ]
Apojiles, on all Occafions, appealed to MofeSy and
the Prophets^ for all that they delivered : Nor did
they preach any other Do Brine, or teach any other
Commandments, than thofe had done before them, or
faid Jhould come. Mat. iv. 4-- 10. Ch. xv. 3 — 9.
Ch. xxii. 29 — 46. L^//^^ xxiv. 25 — 27. and
ver. 44 — 47. y*?. iii. 14 — 18. Ch. v. 45 — 47.
Ch. vi. 45. Ch. vii. 23. ABs ii. 16 — 36. Ch. ix.
22. Ch. xiii. 32 — 41. Ch. xv. 14 — 18. Ch. xvii.
2, 3. Ch. xxvi. 22, 23, &c. ^c. 6. The Old
Teftament is as much a Part oi our Rule, as the New.
Whatfoever Things were written afore Time, were
written for our Learning, ^c. Rom. iv. 23, 24.
Ch. XV. 4. ^<:. — Yea, 7. T'i'^ ly^r^ able to make even
Timothy wise unto Salvation, ^;?ii the Man of
God Perfect, throughly furnifhed unto all good
Works. 2 Tim. iii. 15 — 17. Luke xvi. 29 — 31. — ■
In fine, 8. The Church itfelf, and the Faith of Be-
lievers, are built upon the Foundation, not only of
//'^Apostles, but of /i?^ Prophets. Eph.'xx. 10.
Begin we then, with our Proofs from the Prophets,
and then we lliall proceed to thofe from the Apofiles,
and our bleffed Lord himfelf -, that, out of the Mouth
of thofe two Clouds of Witneffes, and of Him who is
the Kui.Yi, the faithful and true Witness,
Rev, iii. 14. the important Truths, we are contending
for, may be ejtablijhed. And, becaufe Mofes, that
great Prophet, both fpake and wrote of him ; ^ea,
and all the Prophets from Samuel, and thofe that fol-
low after, as many as have fpoken, have likewife fore-
told of thefe Days, &c. A^s. iii. 20 — 24. Ch. x.
43. i. e. both who he was that Jhould come, and what
he came to be, to do, to fuffer, to pur chafe, to pro-
mife, and to beftow upon his People, we ihall beo-in
with Mofes, and then offer a few Things from feveral
of the reft, as we meet with them in our Bibles.
I acknowledge the Terms, Father and So7i, as
afcribed to the hirfl and Second Perfons in the Trinity.,
are
[ 344 ]
are not, any where, found in the Writings of Mofes :
And therefore, it may be fuggefled. That no Tefti-
monies deduced from them, can come home to the
Point in Hand. But, tho' thefe very Words, thus
appHed, do not, any where, occur in them, yet,
there are not a few Things, to be met with in them,
which are very much to Our Purpofe. For, i.
In them we find the Dodlrine of the Trinity, i. e. of
^hree, which are plainly dijlinguijhed, by diftin<5t
.Pergonal Thames, Chara^lers and Anions ; to whom the
ejfential Names, titles, and PerfeSlions of, as well as the
fame Works and Worjhip, which are proper to, the One
only true Godj are frequently, and clearly afcribed :
But if fo, each of them is the one true God ; and is
always fpoken of as fuch, even when adling in a ^-
%^/fi Capacity. Gen. 'in. ver. 8. 9. 13, 14 — 24.
Ch. xi. 5 — 9. Ch. xii. 7, 8. Ch. xvii. i — 22. Ch.
xviii. I. 13. 25. i^c. &€. — 2. We no where, in them,
have any the leaft Hint, fo far as I can perceive, of
a created fupra-angelieal Spmz, or a. pre-exi/lent human
Soul, to which any of thofe Divine Names, Titles,
or Perfeflions, i^c. are, or could be, attributed.
To be more particular.
I . We read in the Books of Mofes, of a Plurality
of Perfons in the Deity. j^nd God faid. Let
US make Man, Gen. i. 26. Behold the Man is become
as one c/US, Ch. iii. 22. Let US go down. &c. Ch. xi.
7.— 2. There we find the plural Word, Elohim^
to denote a Plurality of Perfons, in numberlefs
Places, joined to a Verb fingular, implying the
Unity of the Godhead: And, fometimes we
meet with it joined with a Verb in the plural Num-
ber, more clearly, and emphatically, to point out
the Plurality of Suhjifiences, in the One Divine
Fffence. Thus, Gen. xx. 13. When God caufed me to
wander, hithhhu othe Elohim, literally, they theyf/-
mighties, err are facer ent, did caufe me to wander.
So alfo, Ch. XXXV. 7. becaufe there Cod ap-
peared
r 345 1
peared unto him, Niglu Elohim, (literally the AU
•power fuls, revelavijfent, had revealed to him. ^c.
This will appear more plain, from the Pafilige re-
ferred to, Ch. xxviii. 12, 13. where, if the Ladder
Jacob faw in his Dream, reprefented the fecond Per-
fon, as Mediator, fee John i. 51^ the Lord God
whofiood above it, moft certainly was the Firji Per-
fon : And fo, here were Two Almighty Perfons re-
vealed unto him. In a Word, in M?/f/s\Vritings,
we frequently hear, i. Of One, who, in fome pe^
culiar Manner, or Senfe, is called Jehovah, the
Lord God, God Almighty, the God of /ihraham^
Ifaac, and Jacob, &c. who is never laid to be fent^
or imployed on any Mejfage ; and who is never faid to
have appeared in, or under, or with, any vifible
Shape, Form, or Similitude whatfoever. 2.
Of One who is, every Vv'hcre, called by thofe very
Names, and diftinguifiied by thofe very Titles \ and
who alfo exprefsly fliles himfelf. El Shaddai, God
Almighty, or God All-Jujjicient, Gen xvii. i. Ch.
XXXV. II. the God of Bethel, xxxi. 13. the God of
Abraham, and Ifaac, &c. Ex. iii. ver. 6. ^c. yea,
affumes that moft auguft and incommunicable Title,
that Name of Effence, Jehovah : And Jehovah,
Ch. vi. 2, 3. and vep. 6 — 8. ^c. (^c. Who alfo
did the JVorks of_ and accepted the Worfhip due, and
referved, to the One true God only. Gen. vi. 13. and
17. Ch. xvii. throughout. Ch. xviii. 23 — o^^- ^^*
xix. 24. Ch. xxviii. 16 — 22. Ch. xxxv. i — 15.
l^c. ^Sc. who yet, is fometimes called an Angel,
the Angel, of the Lord, and of his Prefence or Face ;
and who appeared often to the Patriarchs, in, or un-
der, fome viftble Symbol, and ufually in a hitman
Shape, and adled as one fent by the other, ^c. Gen.
xxii. 15. Ch. xlviii. 16. Ex. xxxiii. 14, 15. Gen.
xvii. I. 3. 22. Ch. xxxii. 24 — 30. Ch. xxxv. 7.
and 13. Qc. £ffr.— And, 3. If One called the Spirit,
and the Spirit of God, who moved upon the Face of the
Y y Waters,
[ 346 ]
Waters^ Gen. i. 2. fir ove with the old World, Ch,
vi. 3. wasinjojeph^ Ch. xli. 38. re/ied upon the Rl-
ders, Numb, ii, 26 came upon Balaam, Ch. xxiv. 2.
(and is, in my humble Opinion, in his own Perfon,
exprefsly called G(?hinImport of the Phrafes : Yea, 'Twou'd be diredl Blaf-
phemy, &c. to apply feveral of them to any, but him-
felf. — Tht Father, in this Verfe, calls him his Son,
declares he had begotten him, and fpeaks of him with
the utmoft Complacency. — He promifes him a widely
extended Dominion, if not an univerfal Monarchy,
ver. 8. irrefiftible Power, and fure Conqueft, ver. 9.
fo that, if even Kings would be wife, they would
ferve him with Fear, even in the midft of all their
Glory, ver. 10. And, If he ijs not lliled Jehovah,
ver. 1 1, as feems to me undeniable-, yet it cannot be
doubted, he is propofcd as the Obje^ of Worlliip,
even of his People's Allegiance, Obedience, and
*Trufl, i. c. in New Teflament Language, Faith.
ver. 12. Therefore he is the Lord their God, Mat. iv.
JO. and is exprefsly fo called, by the Angel. Luke i.
Z z 16.
[ 354 ]
i6. — This is the more remarkable, becaufe Jeho-
vah only is the Objedl of religious Truji; If. xxvi.
4. thofe only who truJl in him are blejfed -, Jer. xvii.
7. but curfed is the Man^ that trufteth in Man, ver.
5. i. e. as 1 take it, in any Creature whatfoever,
fhould we even grant it, (if there indeed be any
fuch,) to be z. fupr a- angelical one. — To be yet more
particular. The Pfalmift, having in Vifton, or by the
Spirit of Prophecy, a clear Profpeft of the outragious
Oppofition, that would be made to the fetting up
the Kingdom of the Mejfiah, begins with a trium-
phant Defiance to all his Enemies j ver. i — 3. reads
their Doom ; ver. 4, 5. introduces the Father as
proclaiming, that he had [et up his King in fpite of
them all \ ver. 6. and the Son declaring his own full
JJfurance of this, from what the Father had faid to
him, according to the Agreement between them, in the
Covenant of Redemption, ver. 7. So that the
Words are the Words of God the Son, and the
Pfalmift fpeaks them in his Name. • • The Word,
Hhock, as commonly, and frequently, fignifies a
Statute, Ordinance, or Law, as, (if not much more
fo, than) a Decree, or Refolution, i. e. fomething deter-
mined, and done, and paft already, as a Decree or
Purpofe of ^orntihing future. The Phrafe is not,
'Thou SHALT he my Son, or I will make thee
my Son, as it Ihould have been, " if Chrid was to
*' become a Son by the Decree-,'''' but, '^hou aPs.t my
Son: And therefore, he was fo, and muft have been
fo, before the Decree could be told him by the Fa-
ther. But, If he was then a Son, he was then alfo
a begotten Son ; for furely, he was not as a Son, be-
gotten after he v/as a Son, unlefs, as a Son, he was
twi:e begotten: And confequently, this Decree was
not a Purpofe, or Promife, to make him what he was
not ; but, in the moft evident, public, and glorious
Manner, to declare what he always wcs, and had
continued to be, nqtwithftanding, and during, his
deepefl
[ 355 1
deepeft Humiliation ; and that the Father would give
unconteflable Proofs of it. — So that, the Verfe may
be thus paraphrafed, I, the Meffiah, will declare
THE Decree, i.e. will reveal and pubHfh the P«r-
pofe of the jirji Perfon concerning me ; or rather,
his Agreement with, and Promife to me, when I
undertook to fave his People from their Sins^ and for
that End, condefcended to become iVf<3W, and humble
myfelf even to die upon the Crofs-, and under the Curfe ;
THE Lord, xhtFather., hath said unto me, for
my Encouragement and Support under all I am, as
Man^ to go through ; Thou art my Sun, as thou
always wajl ; tho' it will not be eafily believed, when
thy Glory fhall be fo very much, aim oft totally,
eclipfed ; THIS Day, the Day of thine Incarnation,
and more efpecially of thy Refurre^ion^ and Jfcenjion
to nvf Right Hand; have I begotten thee,
declared and made it appear before all the World,
that thou indeed art, what thou didft, or flialt, fo
often declare, even my own, proper^ only begotten Son ;
And, as fuch, the Lord God, in whom thy People
Ihall truji. ver. 1 2. — But, before he leaves thefeWords,
" He adds, 5. This Text is cited in Heb. i. 5.
" where it is joined with God's Promife in future
" T'xmts to be a Father to Ghrifi-, 1 will be to him a
" Father, and he fldall be to me a Son ; which does
" not fignify Eternal Generation." p. 48. What if
it does not ? — Does it fignify any Thing inconfiftent
with it ? — -Is it unufual, or impertinent, among
Men, for an own Father, to promife, with much
Pleafure, to be a Father to a worthy obedient Son ?
In fuch Cafes, there is a ftrong Emphafts m the Ex-
prefilon. I will be . more fo than ever : Whatever
others are to me, I'll delight to call him my Son : I
fhall think it an Honour, yea my greatell Happinefs,
that I have fuch a Son. — The Promife here referred
to is that, 2 Sam. vii. 1 4. (which the Pfalmift alfo
feems to have in his Eye, Pf. Ixxxix. 26, 27. and
Z z 2 we
[ 3S6 ]
we may add, Pf. Ixxii. 17. in the Margin, Be Jhall
he as a Son to continue his Fathers Name for ever ;)
in all which, Solomon is originally meant, as is, I
conceive, too evident to be denied •, and Chrijly only
more remotely : Nor is he, in thofe Places, conli-
dered purely, or principally, as God^ or the feco7id
Perfon, but as Mediator, God-Man-, and that
with a peculiar Refpecl to his human Nature, his be-
ing the Son of David. — This Promife then, I fay,
primarily refpefted Solomon., who was not tJ:^n horn,
ver. 12. He was to huild theHoufe for God., ver. 13.
which his good Father's Heart, was fet upon doing,
ver. 2, 3. 'Tis fuppofed he »zz^Z'/, and would, commit
Iniquity-, ver. 14. But God affures David, that hisMercy
Jhould not depart away from him, as he took it from
Saul. ver. 15. Now, none of thefe can be underfbood
of Chrifl, or of any but Solomon. But, Chriji
was undoubtedly meant, in the Claufe referr'd to ♦,
becaufe, " the Apollle applies it to him." He was
fo. — And the Words are ^prefs, " he fhall he to
*' me a Son." Yes. But they are not exprefs, that
he was not his Son, from Eternity ; or, that he was,
long after that Prophecy, to hegin to be his Son -, and
much lefs, that the formal Reafon, of his being, or
being called, the Son of God, was his being promi-
fed to David, as his Succeffor in his Kingdom ; &c. —
The plain Meaning then is, when the promifed Seed,
who Pall proceed out of thy Bowels, is come, not-
withilanding the external Meannefs of his Appear-
ance, I WILL, (by my Prefence, and Spirit with
him ; the Signs, Wonders, and Miracles, I will do
hy him ; mine infinite Love to him, and Complacency
in him ; and my full Acceptance of him, and my
People for his Sake •, &c.) manifeft, and declare,
before all. That I am his own proper Father, and he
my only begotten, the Son of my Love. He Jhall huild
an Houfe for my Natne., even his Church -, and 1 will
eftaUifh
[ 357 1
eftahlijh the throne of his Kingdom for ever. See Lule
»• 32, 33-
The fame Anfwer will ferve, for the other two
Paflages. David himfelf was, perhaps, primarily
intended, in Pf. Ixxxix. and Solomon, in Pf. Ixxii.
Several Things in both of them, do not fo naturally,
diredlly, and literally, refer to Chrifl, as to them :
But, feveral of them, muft be applied to him ; be-
caufe, they do not appear, at all, or in any Senfe,
true of them. But, in both. He is prophefied of as
the Mejftah, that was to come ; and principally, with
Regard to his human Nature : His Divinity being
only implied, or taken for granted ; it being well
known. That it was the Son of God, who was tO
come into the World, and that he was David's Lord,
before he was to be David's Son. Pf ex. i. — To
proceed. Our Author is at great Pains to weaken
our next Argument alfo, from
" Prov. viii. 24, 25. where Wifdom fays. Before
*' the Hills, was I brought forth, &c. which whole
*' Chapter is generally interpreted concerning the
" divine Nature of Chrift. p. 45." — It has been,
now is, and ever will be, generally interpreted of
him ; nor can it, with all the torturing in the
World, without making pure Nonfenfe of a very
great Part of it, be interpreted of any other: But,
I never heard of any One, who interpreted it, mere-
ly, wholly, or folely, of him as the Son of God, or
of his ^zi;/»^ Nature. — No -, Chrift who is the Speaker,
here fpeaks of his divine Nature, and of his Office
too : Of himfelf as, from Eternity, the Son of God,
but rejoicing in the Profped of his becoming alfo,
in Time, the Son of Man.
" Anf I. He neither here affirms nor denies,
" that the Divine Nature of Chrijt, has any Sort or
*' Manner of Derivation from the Father.** ibid.
And yet, one of his chief Defigns, throughout, is
to alled^e, or prove, that it has not ; And, if it has,
his
[ 358 ]
his darling Nojirum is not only manifeftly/^^, but
mod dangerous. " But that the Name Son of God^
" in the New Tejiajnent, does not generally (if ever)
" fignify his divine Nature ; this, fays he, is my
" prefent Theme : " To which we again reply, i. If
it ever does, 'twill be hard to give a good Reafon,
why it fhould not generally, yea always, do. 2. If
it fignify this, in the Old Tejlameni, 'twill he a ftrange
Attempt, to prove that it does not this alfo, at leaft
fometimes, in the New. " And therefore the Al-
*' legation of this Text out of Proverbs is not to our
" prefent Purpofe." It was always a Piece of Pru-
dence, to let thofe Things alone, which could not be
meddled with, without Hazard. But, we be-
lieve the whole Word ot God is our Rule: And there-
fore, think it our Duty, to fearch it diligently, and
weigh every Syllable of it carefully, that we may ga-
ther his Mind in it, from the whole. " nor is the
" NamiC Son of God there ufed, nor is God called
*' his Father.'^ ibid. But, if there are feveral Phrafes
there, fully equivalent, and which ftrongly confirm
the Truth, we conceive it is much to our prefent
Purpofe : Tho', by the Way, the very fame Thing,
may be objefted to not a few of his own Texts.
If I have not given you every Word of this Para-
graph you fhall have every Syllable of the next.
" Anf. 2. I dare not deny this Chapter to relate to
" Chrifi;" 'lis hard to think, that an honeflMon,
can deny it. " Yet it does not follow, that
" it refers only to his divine Nature, as I fhall fhew
" immediately." p. 45. Nor do I know any one,
who ever faid it did. • " And it mufl be ac-
*' knowledged, that it is very hard to prove, that
*' this 8th of Proierhs does certainly, denote the Per-
*' fon of Christ, p. 46." I am fo far from ac-
knowledging this, that, I humbly conceive, itisea-
fily capable, of the mofl certain Proof Pray, what
does it denote in, or of Chrift, if it does not fup-
pofe.
[ 359 ]
pofe, or principally denote, his Per/on ? " Athana-
" fius himfelf fometimes explains it another Way."
And if, upon fecond Thoughts, he altered his Mind,
and then gave the true Senfe -, all is well. " Bi-
" fhop Patrick, that noble Commentator, will fcarce
" allow of it ;" And not a few others, as noble
Commentators as he, admit it moft readily, and
upon the cleared Evidence, and with all their Hearts.
" and many others have been of the Opinion,
" that Solomon means only Wi[dom as a Principle of
" Contrivance and Counfel, whether human or di-
" vine ;" Strange Words ! But, who thofe many
others are: Or, What could induce rhem to dreamy
that Wtfdom, i. e. the Speaker of, or in, thefe Pafiages,
is only a Principle of Contrivance and Counfel ; and
much more to add, " whether /6«»2^;z or divine;'* is
fo far above me, that I muft leave them to thofe ma-
ny others. — " or at moit, the ideal World in the
" Mind of God, tho' he ufes fuch Sort of perfonal
*' Charailers in his Defcription of this V/ijdom, m
" \ki^ Hebrew Xd^om" Stranger ftill ! That this /-
deal World Ihould be fo perfonified ! and be intro-
duced, as calling to Sinners, teaching, exhorting,
promifing, threatning, proclaiming what it was,
declaring what it did, &c. ^c! — Would one have
expefted thefe, from our worthy Author ^ — If the
Socinian Notion, (that, by tVifdom here, we are to
underftand that PerfetUon, or Attribute, of God, fo
called ; or, as fome ex prefs themfelves, that ^ality^
ox Virtue, &c.) be here intended : I would only alk,
1. Why ihould this Perfe^ion be fo perfonified, and
glorioufly celebrated, rather than his Power and
Goodnefs, which were as confpicuoufly difplayed, in
the Works of Creation and Redemption, as this ? —
2. Could any one poflibly doubt, that the Wifdom
of God, was always with him, as well as his other
Attributes? — 3. Upon this Suppofition, What
Senfe can thefe Phrafes have, Iwasfetup, ver. 23.
I was
[ 36o ]
I was brought forth, ver. 24, 25. I was there, ver.
27. then was I by him, as one brought up with him,
— rejoycing always before him ? ver. 30. I moll ear-
neftly defire to know, if any one can tell me. — 4.
Might not thefe have been faid of, or by, the other
Perfections now named, with as much Truth, Pro-
priety, and Emphafis too, as of this F — I am hear-
tily forry, I am obliged to make fuch Remarks.
*' 'Tis granted that many of the Ancients ex-
" plained it of Chriji," Yes; by far the greateft
Number, and thofe too of the greateft Weight and
Authority. " but fome of the Fathers fuppofed it
'* to mean the Holy Spirit ;" And fome of the Mo-
derns, we fee, fuppofe Things full as abfurd. " and
" all Men know they were but very poor Expofitors,
'* who dealt much in Allegory, and in ftraining of
" plain Texts to their Purpofes," &c. p. 46. And
yet, I do not know, if any one Inftance, of gr offer
firaining a plain Text, to ferve any of their Purpofes,
can be produced, out of any of their Writings, than
this we are now examining ! But, if the Ancients
were " but very poor Expofitors," we have, at leaft.
Nineteen in Twenty, if not Ninety- nine in a Hun-
dred, and thofe the moft learned too, through all
the middle Ages, and of the Moderns alfo, all witnef-
ftng to the coeffential Sonjhip of the fecond Perfon ! —
I cannot conceive the Reafon of this Gird upon the
Ancients, if it was not, becaufe " ail Men know"
they were, and are, clearly, fully and ftrongly,
againft himfelf : And thereiore, leaft any ftiould be
moved or fwayed, by their venerable Names, they
are branded, as " but very poor Expofitors ! " But,
had any of them, who were not ftigmatized as Here-
tics^ patronized any of thefe New-fangled Notions, I
doubt not we fhould have heard of this " excellent
" Father," and the other " excellent Father!" I
Ihall only add, I pretend to fo much Acquaintance
with the Ancients, as to wifti that- the fame Good
Senfe,
[36i 1
Senfe, Serioufnefs, Piety, and Zeal for the Truth,
appeared, as generally, in the common Run of the
Writings of our Day, as in theirs. He has not yet
done.
" Anf. 3. Supposing the Divine ^/^/i/*?/;? inP/-<7L'. viii.
" primarily to fignify the Idea of theDivine Counfels
" and Decrees about Creation and Redemption,"
ibid. i.e. Suppofmg, wbdt cannot he fuppo fed ! Who
can fuppofe, that an Lka Ihould be reprefented as a
Perfon, calling, promifmg, &oc. as fet up, or anoint ed,
ver. 23. ^c. zsrejoycing, z.nd hd^ving Delight ? ver.
30, 31. ^c. p. 46. — " it may be properly faid, This
" Wifdom (\. e. this Idea !) was begotten, and brought
" forth before the Creation," May it fo ^ Did any
one before this, ever hear of the begetting an Idea ;
or of an Ideals being begotten ? If any one ever did •,
if he confiders what he is faying, I cannot think, he
will alledge that the ExpreiTion is proper. " and
" all thisSyfhem of divine Counfels (i. e. this Idea)
" being depofited with the pre-exiftent Soul " of
*' Chrijl ', {in whom are all the Treafures of Wifdom
" and Knowledge,)''' — That all the Treafures of Wifdom
and Knowledge are in Chrijl, as God, or as his Son,
I as furely believe, as I do that they are in the Fa-
ther: But, fuppofing that ]\\s human Soul tx\?itd be-
fore the Creation,, yet, i. I mud, with all Humi-
lity, queftion, whether it was capable of receiving, or
containing, all this Syftem, i. e. this Depofitum. But,
2. Should we grant its Capacity, 'tis plain that
all this Syftem, was not, in fad", depofited with it •,
becaufe, our Author declares that, " as the Son of God,
*' He knew not the Day of Judgment " p. 42. The
Strength of this Argument reils upon thefe two,
(i.) That the Day of Judgment Wcisfxed in this Sy-
ftem, and was a Part of it -, which, I verily fuppofe,
none will deny. And, (2.) That fuch a fupra-aitgeli-
^^/ Spirit, as was capable of receiving this Depofitum^
could never forget, and totally too, fuch a remark-
A a a able
[ 362 ]
able Part of it ♦, which, I really think, no one will
affirm. — " this human Soul of Chriji^ thus veiled
" with divine Ideas," what ? and is this proper too!
— " may be included in Solomon's Idea of Wifdom?*
p. 47. /. e. in his Idea of this Idea ! But, What does
he mean by Solomon's Idea ? The Words are Chrift^s
own Words.- His, and his only. — This glorious
Account of his Perfon, Generation^ Chara6lers, and
Works, he gives himfelf, who bed cou'd do it ;
and only borrowed Solomon's Pen : For, Solomon,
with all his Wifdom, could never talk in thefe Strains,
or write this Chapter. But, What if this human
Soul were included in this Idea? Will it therefore
follow, That *' many Things, in this Chapter, do not
" feem much more naturally to refer to his God-
*' head," which was the Objection he was to re-
move ? p. 45. By no Means. — Thus have I given
you thefe four Paragraphs, almofb Word for Word,
and have confidered them fo largely, chiefly to fliew
what very hard Shifts even learned Men are put to,
in Defence of their own private Opinions, when once
they have wandered from the Truth : And how un-
willing, yea how backward, they are to give up their
Nojirums, as long as they can have any Thing to fay
for them, be it ever fo weak, or even perfedly ridi-
diculous !
In his next Words, he gives us a Suppojition, and
from thence, infers a Probability •, which, tho* very
far from being well-fupported, we might grant,
without any great Detriment to our prefent Caufe.
And therefore, we fhall now pnfs them, and proceed
to confider this glorious Chapter, which, for thefe
many Years, I could hardly ever read, without
thinking I was reading a Chapter in the Gofpel ac-
cording to John. And here, we fhall ihew, —
I. That it is a proper Perfon^ who fpeaks quite
Throughout. 2. That he is a Divine Perfon,
even one of the ever-blefled Three. 3. That, as
fuch.
[ 363 ]
fuch, he is a Son, the Son of God. And yet,
— 4. That he fpeaks, in moft of the Verfes, as the
Messiah, our Saviour. This I fay, we fhall do,
when we have only obferved thefe few Things.
That the firfl: eighteen Verfes of Jo. i. will give
great Light, for the underflanding of this Chapter :
That the Divine Speaker does, at leaft from
ver. 4. of this Chap, quite throughout, ad: the Pro-
phet, and Teacher, of his Church ; thereby {hewing,
that he was indeed the Logos, the Word ; and per-
haps, upon this Account, (as well as his being the
Omni FIG Word, as Milton calls him, by whom the
Father made all Things, that were made,) well de-
ferved that glorious Title : — That (confidering the
well-known Occafion, and the Time of the writing of
John\ Gofpel,) when the Holy Ghoft filled him fo
emphatically, the Word, he probably intended to
point us to this Chapter ; and thofe Paflages in par-
ticular, where he is filled Wifdom, or fpeaks of him-
felf as the greatefl Teacher, even the Light of the
World (here the learned will call to mind the Xoyo:;
hiix^sTog and 7r^o(pofiwq of the Ancients) and the
joint Maker of the World : — And That, perhaps,
the firfl three or four Verfes of this Chap, are a glo-
rious Preface fpoken by Solomon, to awaken Atten-
tion, and introduce this fublimely Divine Speech,
with a fuitable Solemnity.
I. That he is a Perfon, who here fpeaks, from
ver. 4. to the Clofe, will appear very evident, from
thefe Confiderations. • (i.) Jll the Pronowis,
Perfonal and Pojfejfive, which any Perfon, fpeaking
of himfelf, ever ufed, or could ufe, viz. /, me,
my, mine, are here found, in many Places, and with
the gvt2i\.Q^ Emphnfis. I. ver. 4. 17. 20. 23.
^c. me, ver. 15. 16. 17. 18. ^c. my. ver. 6. 7.
8. 19. 31. 32. ^c. mine. ver. 14. (2.) The
Divine Speaker inflances, in a great Variety of his
own perfonal Anions, which are alio very beautifully
A a a 2 and
[ 364 1
and {Irongly expreft. Icall^ ver. 4. Iwiltfpeaky
ver. 6. riove, ver. 17. 7 lead, 20. i r^?«/^, / will
fill, ver. 21. /^y^j there, 27. /w^J hy him, — re-
joycing always before him, 30. rejoycing in the habitable
Parts of his Earthy and my Delights were with the Sons
of Men. 3 1 . &:c. ( 3.) A great Number of Per-
final Chara5lers, are alfo afcribed to him. He is
The ever-blelkd Teacher and Exhort er ; ver. 4. — 6.
i^c. The Truth', 7. 8. The Counfellor; 14. The
King of Kings \ 15. 16. &c. He is the Captain, or
Leader ot his People, ver. 20. And is very exprefs,
I was fit tip, or anointed. Viz. to an Office. 23. 1
was brought forth -, i. e. begotten, or born, as a
Son. ver. 24. 25. Jzvasthere, 27. I was by him, 30.
not as an idle, or unconcerned Spe6tator, but Joint
IForker with him ; for, he made all things by me.
John i. 3. Heb. i. 2. / was daily his Delight ; 31.
the Father's Darling, as his only begotten. — In fine.
He may be finned againjt, and hated, to the utter
Definition of thofe that do hate him, ver. '^6. and
loved, and found, to the everlafting Happinefs of all
his own People, ver. 17. and 35. /. e. He is the
Life, x.'n.tbavicur, of his People, Sind the Judge of all
the Earth, &c. ver. 2 i . 34 0,6.- — If all thefe now, do
not prove, that the Speaker is really a diJlinB proper
Perfon, 'tis abfolutely impoflible to prove any Thing
by Words.
2. That he is a Diiine Perfon-, and one, even the
fecond, of the blefl^ed Ihree. If the former be
well fupported, and fhould Our learned Author de-
mur to this, it is eafy to evince it, beyond all modeft
Contradidion, from his perfonal Chara^ers juft na-
med. The great Prophet of his Church, is the
Truth, John xiv. 6. the Faithful Witnefs, Rev. i. 5.
and the God A'ME'n, or God of Truth, If. Ixv. 16.
^c. all which agree well with, vers. 6, 7, 8.
He fpeaks in the Language of One who is the true
God, ver. 14. Counfel is mine, and found Wifdom, I
am
1 365 1
am Underfianding, I have Strength. See If. ix. 6. CL
xlv. 24. John i. 4 — 9. 'Tis only by One,
who is God, that Kings reign, &c. ver. i^. 16, — •
None but a Divine Perfon could promife, what we
have, ver. 17 — 19. or, that he would caufe thofe
that love him to inherit Substance, i^c. ver. 21. —
It was the feco7td Perfon, who was fet up, or anointed,
conftituted, ordained, from Everlafiing, &c. ver.
23. before the Creation of the World j /'. e, in Scrip-
ture Language, from Eternity : He and no other.
«— — It was he, ky whom all Things were made, ver.
24 — 29. comp. withC^/. i. 16, 17. i^c. therefore. He
was w/ made, but neceffarily exijling ; and confequently.
Eternal. • This was not the firjl Perfon, bur
one who was with him : But, there was none with
him, before all Things, except his Son and Spirit. —
Briefly, in his Favour is Life -, in his Wrath is Death ;
and confequently. He is God over all. S5^ 3^' Rom.
ix. 5.
3. That this Divine Perfon was, and is, as fuch, a
Son, THE Son of God, his begotten, his only begot-
ten. This being the very Hinge of the Con-
troverfy, we fhall put it out of all Doubt ; which
will be eafily done, if it be remembred, ■
That there is not, in the Verfes to be quoted, the
leaft Hint, that the Speaker was then a Complex
Perfon, or had then two Natures : ■ That ther^
is not a Syllable, in this Chapter, beneath, unworthy
of, or anyhow unbecoming, xht fecond ?tx^on, when
he had undertaken our Redemption: That
there are many Things in it, which could not be faid
of any polTible Creature, be it ever fo high : ■
And, That it would be Blafphemy, to afcribe feveral
of them, to any other, but one of the ever-blcffed
Three. — The Paflages I now pitch upon, are thefe
glorious ones, which come full home to the Point 5
are too clear and plain to be denied ; and too dired
and ftrong to be evaded, or glofled away. ---7/^^
Lord
[ .366 ]
IjOKd pojfejfed me, ver. 22. I was brought forth, ver.
24. and again, ver. 25. I was there^ ver. 27. Then
was I by him, as one brought up with him ; , / was
daily his Delight, rejoycing always before him.
ver. 30. 31.
1. The Lord possessed me in the Beginning of his
Way, before his Works of. Old. The Objedion taken,
from the Septuagint, is well known •, and has been,
a great many Times, unanfwerably anfwered. — The
plain Chriftian hath nothing to do with it. — The
Hebrew Verity is clearly, and fully, for us. — The
Lord, the Father, poffeffed me, not as a Creature, or One
of another Nature ; and therefore, 2& a Son, and co-
effential with him, as is plain from the next Verfes.
— He poffeffedme, that is. In the Beginning I was, not
began to be : 1 was with God, a diftindt Perfon from
him, and yet exifting, or fubfifting in him -, John \.
1. — He pojfejfed me, for I was always, and am in his
Bofom r ver. 18. — I am his only begotten ; ver. 14.
but fo, that I am flill not only with him, but in him •,
and He with, and in me. John x. 38. Ch. xiv. 10
and 1 1. — 'So that, this Phrafe clearly fuppofes, and
implies, the i^TrfpTp^wp^crK of the Ancients ; agrees
well, with the modern Notion of Generation, for-
merly mentioned •, and accounts for the feveral gO'
in^s forth oi' the Son, frequently mentioned by fome
of the Fathers.
2. / was BROUGHT FORTH ; ver. 24. and the
fame Words are repeated, ver. 25. Brought forth as
a Son: And therefore, I am a Son. — Thefe Expref-
fions, can bear no other Senfe : Nor will the Em-
phafis of them permit, or leave Room for, any E-
vafion. — The Verbs, Jalad, Pf. ii. 7. gignere, to
h^get, and hhul, parturire, to bring forth, in thefe
Verfes, are both emphatic. This latter does more
properly denote the Ad, or Part, of the Mother,
in Child-bearing : And, flri£lly, fignifies to bring
forth with Labour, Pain, and Sorrow. And were
they
[ 367 1
they then chofen^ by the [econd Perfon himfelf, (for
]ie is the Speaker in both Places,) in vain, and with-
out Caufe ? Was one of them repeted, fo foon, and
in fuch a Manner, without any Emphafis ? And mull
they all pafs, for little or nothing ! Or would, or
could, fuch ftrong Phrafes, have been pitcht upon,
either with any Propriety^ or even Truth ; only to
intimate his being " created^ in a peculiar Manner ? "
Words, by the by, of which no Man can form any
Idea ! But, both thefe will receive yet more Ligbt
and Force too, from what follows.
3. J was there, ver. 27. and, I was by him^ ver. 30.
I was brought forth, fays he, before the Moun-
tains, and BEFORE the Hills ; ver. 25. i^c. in other
Words, before the Creation, ;. e. according to the
Stile of Scripture, from Eternity. / was there ;
When ? when he prepared the Hea'vens, when he fet a
Compafs upon the Face of the Deep. &c. &c. ver.
27 — 29. i.e. when he, if I may fo fay, delineated,
or drew the firft Draught of them, and all along till
they were all glorioully finifhed. — Well, but was
he there, only as an idle, unconcerned Spectator?
No. Had this been the Cafe, 'twould neither have
been fo much worth his while, to have entertained
us, with fuch a |X)mpous Account of little or no-
thing •, nor ours to have fo much regarded it.- --Well
then. How was he employed ? Why, In working
with the Father.— All Things were made by him, &c.
John i. 3. Him, the Son, and as zSon too ; at lead,
if the Apoftle may be credited : For, By his dear
Son WERE ALL Things CREATED, that are in Hea-
ven, and that are in Earth, — yea, and for kim
alfo. Col. i. 13 and 16. — Withal, if this is not fuper-
abundant Proof, the Father himfelf is yet more ex-
prefs, and ftrong to our Purpofe. Thou Lord in the
Beginning haft laid the Foundation of the Earth, &c.
Heb.'x. 8—10. Will any one Man now fay, " That this
'* Name Son of God cannot neceflarily imply his Di-
*' vine
1 368 ]
•* vine Nature.*' — Should it be fuggefted. That even
in thefe Places, it " denotes the MeJJiahy* and as
fuch. Anf. I. Granting this, 'tis clear, it will not,
it cannot, help our learned Author : Becaufe, it is
undeniable, " His Divine Nature is here neceflarily
'* implied." 2. *Tis evident. That, though the
Perfon fpoken of, is the Mediator ; and, in mofl of
the Verfes of that Chapter, is mentioned as the Media-
tor \ yet is he, as fuch, God-Man : And, 'tis cer-
tain he is confidered, ver. 10. as the Creator j and
therefore, as God, and not as the Mediator ; becaufe,
1. None of the Divine Works afcribed to him, in that
Verfe, by the Father himfelf, were Mediatorial
A^s^ or any Part of the Mediatorial Fundion. — Nor,
2. Was his human Nature confidered at all, in that
Verfe, or but very remotely : For, it was not his hu-
man Soul, by which all things were created ; nor did
it lay the Foundation of the Earth, &c. &c.
It was the Son, whom the Father himfelf thus ad-
dreffes. Thy Throne, O God, ver. 8. — and, Thou Lord
in the Beginning haft laid the Foundation of the Earth,
&c. ver. 10. —'Tht Son therefore, and purely as
fuch, is, not only, in a ftrid and proper Senfe, a
Perfon, but He who did all thefe Things : And con-
fequently, as fuch, he is God, the true God ; who,
being infinitely perfe6t, could do them all. — But, as
a Son, he is not the firfi but the fecond Perfon :
And confequently. It is the fecond PcrCon m the
Trinity, and not Chrift's human Soul, who is ftiled,
and is, the Son of God. Q^ E. D.
N. B. Here is one Text, and a very remarkable
one too as any in the Bible, in which Chrifl is, I
conceive, fpoken to as a Son, where the Title is not,
cannot be, a Title of Office, but of Nature : Or,
where he is confidered, as the great Creator of all
Things, or purely as the coeffential Son of God, and
not as the Mediator between God and Man.
Then
[369] ^
Thefi was I by him. Halo, juxta, apu^-, as a
diftind Pcrfon from God the Father ; — as on a
BROUGHT UP with him, amon, nutritius, alum-
nus, as om begotten of him, and brought forth by
him, ver. 25. and cheriped, nurfed, as it were, and
brought up with him, as dear to him as' his ov/n
Son •, / was daily, continually, and forever,
HIS Delight, as an oyily begotten Son', re-
JOYCING ALWAYS, withoUt CCafing ; BrFORK
HIM, as a wife and loving Son, before a Father,
Ver, 30. Thefe Words are fpoken after the
Manner of Men, and fiiited to our Capacities, that
we might have the clearer, and more lively. No*
tions of the Divine Things contained in them : And,
confidering who was the Speaker, have in them the
Force of a Thoufand Arguments. — How familiar^
how full, how firong, are thefe Expreflions ! How
apt to raife our Ideas to the very highefl ? How
fublirne, yet how becoming, how like, fuch a Son !
How worthy of fuch a Father I Were the fecond
Perfon, indeed a coeffential Son, Is it poffible he could
aft more in Chara6ter : Or, talk in a Strain, more
proper, or congruous to that neareft, and moil
lliblime Relation ? Were the j^r/? Perfon, in Reality,
a coeffential Father, Is it poffible, his own Son could
reprefent the Heart of fuch a Father, to an only
begotten, in a more emphatical Stile : Unlefs it were
in unfpeakahle Words, if I may allude to 2 Cor. xii.
4. which it is not pofible for a Man either to utter ^
or underftand ?— Upon this Suppofition, every Word
has its natural, genuine, and full Senfe and Force \ and
the ■■ Two Divine Perfons are, molt beautifully de-
fcribed, as ading in Chara6ler, the Father as the
Father, the Son as the Son ; and that, in F,x-
prcffions the fweeteft, deareft, moft lively, and yet
to us intelligible ! But, upon any other, the Se?tfe
is infinitely funk, the Beauty is loft, and the incon-
ceivable Emphajis does almoft totally vanifh.
B b b Such
[ 370 1
Such Language is fo natural^ from an own, a proper
Son, and every Way fo eafy, fo familiar, that we
might reafonably exped it : But, from a Creature,
even the higheft poffible, they feem quite to lofe,
not only their Propriety and Beauty, but both their
Senfe and Truth. — Need I add, What would our
Author have had a coejfential Son to have faid ?
What could he have faid, more clearly, fully, and
ftrongly, to our Purpofe ? To conclude this.
This Verfe moft fweetly reprefents to us, not only
the inconceivable Satisfa£iion^ the Father and Son
had, in their Counfels, concerning the Creatures,
and, in particular, the Work of Redemption : But
chiefly their moft near and intimate, their moft
conftant, familiar, and fweet Converje together ; the
infinite Complacency they had, and have, in each
other ; yea, and the unconceiveable Delight, which
all the Perfons of the ever bleffed 'J'rinity have in
themfelves, and one another -, wherein, by the Way,
confiits much of the Hclpine^s of the Divine Nature,
< — Much^ did 1 fay ? Yea, if the Exprcffion may
be allowed, irfinitely the greater Part of it : For all
the Pkafure, dr/iflacency, and Sc2tisfc.5iion, (I dare
not call it Haptinefs I) which the ever blefied Per-
fons in the Deity can have, in the whole Creation,
feems in Ileality, juft nothing to this. — But, becaufe
none but themfelves can comprehend the full Mean-
ing of thefe Verfes, we fhall leave them, to the
moft ferious Conf deration of the pious Reader :
And only fay. That, if we have not put this Pro-
pofition, beyond all reafonable Doubt, we may
well defpair, of ever proving any Thing, by any
Words.
4. That the Son fpeaks of himfelf, tho' not I con-
ceive quite throughout, as the Mess i a h, our
Saviour. — This our worthy Author, would have
readily admitted. Every Verfe almoft, of this
Chapter, which is all over Gofpel, renders it unde-
niable.
[ 37M
liable. — He here afls the Prophet, inftrufbing, cal-
ling, counfelling, exhorting and perfuading his People
to come to, hear, and love him, promifing Life to
thofe that find him, ver. '^c, and threatning Death
to all who hate him ; for fo he interprets, or con-
ftru6ts finning againfi, or not hearing him. ver. 36!
But, thofe moll amazingly kind and loving
Words muft not be omitted, rejoycing in the ha-
bitable Parts of his Earth, as if thefe had been his
chiefefl Joy ! and my Delights were with the Sons of
Men ! ver. 3 1 . • When he was daily the Father's
Delight^ no Doubt, the Father was alfo his : But,
how aftonifliing is this ! Not only my Delight, as if
this was the principal : But, mv Delight? were, as
if all of them had been, with the Sons of Men only ! —
Oh thou eternal, and only begotten, coeffential Son of
God, what was it in the Sons of Men, all of whom
thou fawtft lying wallowing in Sin! guilty, polluted^
inflaved! Weak, Rom. v. 6. Sinners, ver. 8. Enemies,
ver. 10. yea, Enmity, Ch. viii. 7. — What, Oh! What
was it in them, which could be thy Delights / — What
Communion could Light have with Darknefs ? Or,
Purity with Filthinefs ? Or, What was it thou
waft to do with them, for them, or to them .?
—Thine own Words, /delight to do thy Will, O
God. Pf. xl. 8. are the beft Anfwer. But, What
was this Will? Why ; That, having undertaken to
redeem his People /rcw the Curfe of the Law, Gal. iii.
I :^, &c. he might, in the Fulnefs of Time, take unto
himfelf a true Body and a reafonable Soul ; that fo,
he might have a Life to give a Ranfom for them.
Mat. XX, 28. and thereby put away Sin, by the
Sacrifice of himfelf, which // was not poffible the
Blood of Bulls and Goats fhould do -, Heb. ix. 26.
Ch. X. 4 — 14. and, in the glorious IlTue of all,
hring many Sons to Glory ! Ch. ii. i c. Praife
and blefs him, O Heavens and Earth. — O all ye
his ^higels and People, Exalt him, Sing of him,
B b b 2 Re-
[ 372 1
Rejoyce in him. 1 have dwelt fo long, upon
this celebrated Gofpel -Chapter^ (tho' confidering
the glorious Suhje^f^ 'tis but little, very little, I can
fay upon it,) becaufe, I humbly conceive, the Ar-
guments from it are fo irrefragable, that I could
venture our whole Caufe upon it alone: — But, I
ihall be briefer on the following
Prov. XXX. 4. What is his Name, and what is
his Son's Name, if thou canfi teU'f In which, thefe
Things appear to me invincibly clear. Here are
two diftind, true^ and prcper Perfons : — One of
them is the Son of the other ; and therefore, the
other is his Father : They are Divine Ferfons,
even Two of the Holy and Undivided Ihree-^
becaufe. Divine A6lions, Charaders, and Works,
are afcribed to them: — None, but One who is
Go^y could gather the Wind in his Fifts •, bind the
Waters j If. xl. 12, or efiaUijh all the Ends of the
Earth : • • And, all thefe are attributed, not only
to the Father, but to the Son, as we have juft now
heard. — 'Tis plain. That they who do thefe Things,
have been akvnys co-exifient, and are alfo infinite, in
Wifdorn, and in Power, &c. Whatever then
may be meant by Name % whether the Nature and
Offence, or Authority, or any Perfe^ion or Perfections,
of thefe Divine Perfons -, or, whether if by the Nameoi
the Father, we are to underftand his P erf on, and fo of
the Name of the Sen -, 'tis evident, the Name of
the Son is, as fecret, unknown, and incomprehenfihle,
as that of the Father : And therefore, the Queftion,
or Challenge, runs thus. What is his {the Father^s)
Name, and what is his Son's Name, if thou canfi tell ?
' — They are plainly put upon a Level, as to this ;
and are tqually, unfearchable, unconceiveahle, and
pafi find'ng out : And confequently, thefe ever blef-
fed i'tifons are emdly God; becaufe, the Name,
(whatever be meant by the Word,^ of no Being, or
Perfo'n^ who is not Gcd, can be fo fecret, ineffable,
and
[ 373 ]
*nd infinitely above us, as the Name of One who is.
— If then, by Name is meant Nature, Perfe£fionsy
or Authority ; thefe, in themjelves, are the fame ;
and they are equally, in both Perfons, oply in the
One as a Father, and in the other as a Son : But, If
by his Name, is denoted the Perfon of the Father,
or his perfonal Property, and the Relation refultino-
from it, viz. Paternity, as the Schools fpeak ; and
by the Son's Name, his Perfon, or perfonal Property,
and the Relation arifing from it, viz. Filiation : Yet
ftill, the Name of the Son is as unfearchaUe and
incomprehenfihle, as that of the Father \ and there-
fore. He is God equal with him.
N. B. Here then is another Text, where the
fecond Fcri^on is Riled Son, his Son, ■ i. Without
any RefpeSl to our Redemption.-- And thevdore, it
feems undeniable. That the Terms Son, and the
Meffiah, or Redeemer, are not of the very fame Sig-
nification : That this Title is not founded on his
moft kind Undertaking, but Antecedent to it : •
That he was, and is, his Son, and might have been
fo called, independently of, and abftrafted from,
his Meffiahfdip : And therefore, it is a Title of Nature,
and not of (jffice. 2. Hence 'tis clear. That his
human Soul, even as fully qualified for our Redemp-
tion, is not here meant by his Son : Becaufe, the{e
Works, or Effects, viz. to gather the Wind in his
Fifis, to bind up the Waters in a Garment, and to
eflablifJj all the Ends of the Earth, require infinite
Wifdom and Power, in t'neir Caufe, which are nor,
fo much as fuppofed to be, in this his Soul: And
confrquently. That it is the /^r(?W Perfon, He only,
and as fuch, who is, and is here filled, his oon.
Withal, 3. 'Tis felf evident, th3.t tht EJence, Ex-
ifience. Perfections, &c. of this his human Soul, be
they ever fo extraordinary, or far above us, are not
fo incomprehenfihle, as thofe of God the Father : Or,
that the Nm^e of it, might poffibly be told by thofe,
who
[ 374 ]
who could not, poflibly, tell what is the Name of
the other. — — I do not remember, that any One
of our Adverfaries, ever medled with this Text !
The Reader fhall be left to guefs the Reafon.
If. ix. 6. For unto us a Child is born^ unto us a
Son is given^ and the Government Jhall he upojt his
Shoulder: And his Name jhall he called^ Wonder fuU
Councellor^ The Mighty God, 'The everlajiing
Father, The Prince of Peace. — Here, a great many
Things offer themfelves, at lirft View, which are
clearly and fully for us •, and, in my Opinion, do
indifputably determine the Caule in our Favour.
In Reality, fo many Woj'ds, were it necefiary to ex-
patiate, fo many Arguments. — One glorious and
ever bleffed Perfon, is the Subjed of this Verfe :
. — He is a complex Perfon, having, in him, the
Divine, and the Human Nature : — He was to be
lorn, and born of a Virgin, Ch. vii. 14. and there-
fore, was, as her Child, or as made of a IVoman,
TRUE Man : — PI is Na?ne was to he called, i. e.
he fhould be really, and alfo declared and acknow-
ledged to be, The Mighty God ; and therefore,
was, and is, the true God : — And confequently,
He is, indeed, God-man. This Perfon,
tho' named. The everlafiing Father, or The Father
of Eternity, was not the Firit in the Trinity, as is
felf-evident -, for, thefirjl never was in any Senfe, be-
gotten or born ; and never was to be called a Son,
or a Child : — No one ever dreamt that this was the
Third Perfon ; for the very fime Reafons, and many
others : — And therefore. He was the Second.
This Son, even after he was to become a Child born,
or made Flejh, was to be called, i. e. to be pro-
claimed,- and publickly own'd, to be what he always
was. El Gibbor, The mighty God : Not a new, an
inferior, z-made, ^puifneyGod, (Idefire theReader to
pardon the Nonfenie,) but the ftrong, the powerful,
the mighiy, and therefore, the true God. --■ I fay
always
[ 375 1
always was ; becaufe, if this Title had not always
belong'd to him, it could never have belong'd to
him : Or, he had never really been the mighty God,
had he not been necejfarily, and eternally fo. — • This
Child's Body\ purely as fuch, never was, never could
be. The mighty God; nor, with any Propriety or
Truths be fo ftiled. — His Human Soul, notwith-
ftanding its enlarged Capacity and all its peculiar
Privileges, never was, and confequently, never
could be called, the mighty God. It remains
therefore. That this glorious, This incommunicable
Titkj is due to Chrifl as God the Son, even the
fecond, of the ever blefied Three ; for, it is un-
deniable, it is here afcribed to the Son given to us :
i\nd therefore. This ever bleffed Son is, as fuch,
truly, and properly, The mighty God : And con-
fequently, A COESSENTIAL SoN. Q^E. D.
'Tis needlefs to enlarge any farther on this Text,
at prefent : And therefore, I fliall only remove an
Obje6tion or two out of the Way. i. The Divine
Perfon, who is the Subjedl of this Paflage, is the
Mediate?', and is here defcribed, as fuch. Anf.
Suppofing this -, the Mediator is both true God and
true Man. — As God, he is the Son of God-, and
as fuch, here faid to be a Son given to us : As Man^
he is the Son of Man ; and, as fuch, here faid to be
a Child born to us. — 2. The Mediator "■' has true
*' Godhead, in him, and upon that Account, he is
* '- the true God ; tho' he is not fo, as he is the Son
*' of God.'' Anf The Mediator is Godman, in
whom dwelleth all the Fulne'^s u/^i'd' Godhead,
which is indivifible, bodily : Col. ii. 9. But, the
ExpreiTion, " has true Godhead in him, or belong-
*' ing to him," is, to fay the leaft, hardly, if at all,
intelligible. — Is the fecond Perfon, in the Trinity, as
fuch, truely a dijiin^ Perfon from the frjl ! Was
it be, and as fuch, who undertook to be the
Me-
_ [ ,'!76 1
Mediator? And, is not he, as fuch, here called
a Son given ? If fo, we are agreed. — If not. Our
Author mufl not have taken it ill to have been told.
That an Jrian might fay all this, if not much
more !
Dan, iii. 25. And the Form of the fourth is like
THE SomofGod. Towhich our Author objefts, p.19.
'* The Son of God who was with the three Children
" in the fiery Furnace, Dan. iii. 25. is fo called, to
" fignify a glorious and excellent Being, that had
*' fomething Divine or Godlike in him •," To pafs
this, which needs much to be explained, I afk,
"Why ? " for this is rhe Exprefiion of Nebuchad-
*' nezzar, who is not fuppofed to know any Thing
" of Chrijl or the MeJ/iah." Anf. Nebuchadnezzar
calls this Divine Perfon, whom he here ftiles the
Sen of God, his Angel \ vcr. 28, — How then, or
whence, fhould we fuppofe, he knew any Thing of
the Exiftence Osgood Angels ? Or, of one eminent One,
who, in the moft emphatic or peculiar Manner,
was his Angel? And, That the Son of God, was,
or ill ou Id be called, his Angel? or vice v erf a ? Sec.
The only fatisfying Account can be given is, that
he knew thefe, fome Way or other, by Revelation -,
and very probably, by his Converfation with
Daniel and his Fellows. — That King was, con-
feffedly, a great Genius ; a Man of Parts, well ac-
quainted with Men and Things : And fuch are
ufually inquijitive. — Daniel and his Companions had
been long about the Court •, were not only very
intimate with him, but in great Credit and Con-
fidence •, and much trufted, and employed, by
him. — Nothing then, is more likely, than that he
would, (efpecially after that glorious Confefjion of the
infinite Excellency of the God of Daniel, above all
other Gods, Ch. ii. 47.) either out of Curiofity, or
for Injlru5lion, or both, enquire farther about his
God i IVho^ and TFhat, he was ? How to be wor-
fhipped ?
f Z17 ]
fliipped ? And in what Manner, or by what Means,
he made himjelf, and his Mind, known unto them ?
&c. — Or, that Daniel and his Friends would lay
hold of fome favourable Opportunities, to inform
him of their Faith, concerning the true God j how
he came to be their God, in Covenant -, what great
Things he had, in all Ages, done for their Nation,
^c. and would yet, in his own Time and Way, do
for them, and their Pofterity -, ^c. and that it was
He, who, for their Sins, had caji them cut of their
Land, &c. &c : And, in particular, to give him fome
Account of their Religion and Laws, which, as he
well knew, were full as ftngular, as they were
famous, &c. — On thefe Occafions, they would be
naturally led to acquaint him, with his proper, and
incommunicable Name : That, tho' this Name was
peculiar to the one true God, yet it was afcribed to
more than One : That one of thefe had often ap-
peared, to their Ance'lors in human Shape, and
with or in a vifible Glory ; &c. which infallibly af-
fured them, that he was the true God : That it was
he, who brought them out of Egypt, and went
hfore them, through the Wildernefs, hy Day in a
Pillar of Cloud, to lead them the Way -, and hy Night
in a Pillar of Fire, to give them Light ; Ex. xiii.
21, ^c. &c. and that he was, by Way of Eminence,
ftiled the Angel of Jehovah ; &c : And that, in after
Ages, he was revealed to them, by the Title of
a Son, an own Son, a begotten Son, who had alfo
promifed, that when they fhould zvalk through the
Inre, they fhould not be burnt •, 7ieither fhould the
Flame kindle upon them -, If. xliii. 2. the which Pro-
mife, the King and that numerous Aflembly had
lately, with their own Eyes, feen literally, and to a
Tittle, fulfilled, l^c. If thefe, or either of
them, (which are fo very likely, that we can hard-
ly doubt of them •,) be granted, we clearly fee, how
Nebuchadnezzar came to talk fo exadlly, in the
C c c Lan-
[ 378]
Language of Scripture : — And his very Words, the
Form^ Afpeft, Countenance, or Appearance, of
the fourth is^ not is the Form of, but is like the hon
of God ; fcerns even to force this Senfe upon us.
q. d. His Form exadly anfwers to the Accounts I
have heard of his former Appearances. — Or, If
we iliould fuppofe, as the Thing itfelf fpeaks, that he
was now under fome extraordinary Influence of the
Spirit of Illumination^ as he feems afterwards to have
been, Ch. iv. 34 — 37 under fan^Iifying Influences ;
this will make the whole Matter yet clearer.
However, One or both of thefe mull have been
the Cafe •, becaufe, it is hardly pofiible any other
Way, to account for the King's Words. — How
could he know, that God had 3. Son! an only Son?
That this Scn^ was kis Angel? That he could reftrain
the Power of the Fire, fo as to preferve his Ser-
vants in it, v/ithout the lead Hurt^ infomuch, that
there was not f.n Flair of their Heads Jinged ? &c. ver.
25, 27. Yea, how could he, or any Man, haveufed any
fuch Expreflions ? To fay, he fpake in the Language
of the Heathens, (whofe Gods were fancied to have
Sons, and Daughters too, fome more, fome fewer,
and more or lefs eminent, or beloved,) is not true:
For then, he would have mentioned which of their
Gods, and which Son, &c. — And to fay what our
worthy Author has done in the Words quoted, is to
fay juft nothing But
Mic. V. 2. Whofe Goings forth have been from Oldy
from the Bays ' of Eternity. This Text is, upon
feveral Accounts, very obfervable ; and fo has been
reputed, in all Ages. — That xhtMeffiah is the Sub-
jedl of it, is not, cannot, be denied. — That the
twofold Generation of his Perfon, as both God and
Man, is here very particularly revealed, has been
the conftant Faith of the Catholic Church, from
the Beginning. Here is plainly, a Generation, or
Generations, from Eternity, and another in Time:
Or,
[ Z79 1
Or, at leaft, goings forlh from Eternity, which
cannot agree to his human Soul, and can be true of
no other but the feccnd Per/on, as. fuch ; and another in
Time, cul of Bethlehem. Jhall he come forth \ &c.
which can be applied to none, buc the Child born of
the Virgin^ and as fuch. This was the principal
Text, that led fome of the Fathers to talk of leveral
Generations of the fee end Perfon, as fuch. — And,
I cannot help adding, It is evidently more agree-
able to Mr. Perraulth Notion of Generation, ^c.
than to the old one. — But, I (hall not detain the
Reader any longer upon this : Nor take any Notice,
at prefent, of feveral Parages, which feem ftrongly
to fupport our Dodrine, tho' the Terms, Father
and Son, are not found in them. What I have
offered is more than fufRcicnt for our Purpofe, viz,
to prove, That the Title, 'The Son of God, as
afcribed to him ijoho "mias to come, was well known in
Old Teftament Times : That it is a Title of Na-
ture, and not of Ofice : That it primarily, and
always, fuppofcs or denotes a coeffential i'on : ■
That this Son, and purely as fuch, is the fecond
Perfon in the Trinity ; tho' fometimes, this Title
may defign the complex Perfon of the Redeemer,
in the Execution or his Office : — And, in one
Word, That it neceffarilj, and therefore every where,
fuppofes, or implies his true Godhead. Q^ E. D !
N. B. From thefe Things, I humbly conceive,
we may be fully fatisfied, i. Whence it was, that
this Title was lb common and univerfally known,
among the Jews, when our Saviour was upon
Earth, as this learned Author has acknowledged ;
and that, as the moft glorious and niolt diftinguilli •
ing Title of the Mejfiah. 2. That the Meaning
of it, as afcribed to the promifed Saviour, is exadly
the fame in the New Teftament, that it was in the
Old. If he was a confuhflantial Son then, he is moll
certainly fo ftill. And, — 3. That hence it was
C c c 2 that
t 38o 3
that the Jews^ in our Lord's Days, knew fo well,
and fo readily, that God had a Son, who was
equal with him ; and therefore, was a diftin^i Perfon
from, tho' of the fame EJfence with, him. Knew
this, I fay, fo readily, that (when they heard him
ftile himfelf the So7i of God, or call God his Father,
in fuch a peculiar Manner as he did, and no other
could,) they, without any Hefitation, charge him
with making himfelf equal with him. Proceed we
then to our Proofs, from the New Tellament,
which are many, various, clear, and itrong, and
which come full home to the Point.
Plain Proofs oj the co essential Sonship ofth^
SECOND Perfon in /i?^ Trinity, as fuch,
drawn from the New Teflament only, and
chiefly from Chrifi^s own Words.
To produce, explain, and vindicate, all the Paf-
fages, in the New Teftament, wherein Chrift, the
Mediator, or the fecond Perfon in the Holy and un-
divided 'trinity, and as fuch, is called the Son of God,
would fwell this Difcourfe to a large Volume ; and
is really at prefent, I hope, needlefs : We fliall there-
fore, now, confine ourfelves to the Gofpels, and
illuftrate the Argument with all Brevity, waving a
great Number of other Texts, which are no lefs
plain and llrong for our Purpofe, till, if we are
encouraged, another Work fhall be publifhed, in
which, with the Divine Afliftance, I intend to
prove, and confirm, the true and proper Divinity of
Chrift, from his Mediatorial Offices of Prophet,
Priest, and King, ofhisChurch.
That the Argument may be the clearer, we fhall
rano;e our Proofs into thefe five ClafTes ; viz. Thofe
where he is called the Son of God, without any other
Word annexed : — Thofe in which, the Father
bears I'eftimony to him, as his beloved Son : "
Thofe wherein the Adnouns, ow7t, proper, begotten,
or
I 38i ]
cr only begotten^ are joined to the Word Son : — Thofe
in which the two Titles, the Chriji, and the Son of
God, come together : — And Thofe in which he is
charged with Blafphemy, in making himfelf equal
with God, only for faying, My Father worketh
hitherto, and I work ; or, making himfelf God, for
much the fame Reafon ; and for vindicating his
own Words, with which they were highly pro-
voked.
We fhall not need to produce every one of the
Texts, under each of thele ; but fhall content our-
felves with feme few of the Principal, defiring the
Reader to obferve. That every new Clafs will the
more clearly iiluftrate, and llrongly confirm, all the
former, and add not a little Light to thofe that
follow ' — Begin we then with,
I. Thofe Texts, where Chriji is called, the Son
of God, without any other Word added to it.
iV. B. We mufb not forget thefe moft remark-
able Things, before we go any farther, — i . When
the Angel came to foretell the Birth of John, the
Fore-runner of our Lord, he does not call our Lord,
THE Christ, or the King of the Jews : No,
nor fpeak of him as a Man, or as any Creature -, but,
only as the Lord God of his People. Luke i. i6,
1*7. —2. When the fame Angel, at the
Annunciation, as we call it, of the blefled Virgin,
had faid unto her, thou fhalt conceive in thy V/omby
and bring forth a Son, and fhall call his Name Jesus ;
he adds, in the firft Place, as his chief and moft
honourable Title, He fhall be great, (not as having
?L fiipra-atjgelical Spirit for his human Soul, but) and
fljall be called the Son of the Highest, ibid.
ver. 31, 32. and then mentions his everlafiing King-
dom, ver. 33. — 3. Elizabeth alio, when under the
Spirit of Infpiration, filled him my Lord, ver, 43,
and his Mo:her, the Lord, ver. 46. and God my
Saviour, ver. 47. And, 4. Zacharias called him
ex-
[ 382 ]
expreQy the Highest : And thou Child, fpeaking
of or to his Son, John, Jhak be cdled the Prophet of
THE Highest. — Why, or upon what AcGOunt ?
for thou fhalt go before the Face of the Lord, i. e.
of Chrift, our Saviour, to prepare his Ways. ver. j6.
Whence we may gather, thefe feveral Things, very
naturally.
I. That the promifed Deliverer was well known,
in Old Teilament Times, by the Titles of, the
Loud, and the Lord God of Jfrael. Had it not
been fo, I cannot but think, That the Angel would
nor have fo ftiled iiim, when he fpake of him to
Zacharias ; or would have, for feveral very obvious
Reafons, added fome other Name, or Names, to
explain it ; ^c. — 2. That neither the Angel, nor
Elizabeth^ nor the Virgin, nor Zacharias, give any
the leaft Hint of a prc-exijlent human Soul.
3. That every One of them profefs his Deity, as
the Foundation of their Faith in him. — 4. That
neither of them, when under the Infpiration of the
Holy Spirit, degrade him fo infinitely, as if he were
only a viade God, a God but of Tefterday, &c. or a
new God, &c. as our blafphemous Antitrinitarians
dream. So far from it. That one of them expreHy
calls him, l!he Lord their God, another God, and
with an Article too, and a third the Higheft, an
incom7'dunicable Title, peculiar to the one only true
God. To proceed.
When his Forerunner pointed him cut to the
World, 'tis very obfervable. He did not begin thus.
Behold the Adefiah, the long expeded King cf Ifrael-,
but (to correal their falfe and unworthy Notions of
the Me£iah, and vain and foolifh Expedtations from
him) thus, Behold the Lamb of God which taketh
away (0 &jpajy, Vvho beareth as a Sacrifice) the Sin of
theJVor^d; Jo. i. iq. thereby very emphatically
declaring, that lie Was to be the great Sacrifice for
Sin ; that his other Offices, were founded in this -,
that
[ 383 1
that he was firft to be humbled^ frffer, and die^
before he was to fet up his Kingdom in the World ;
and that his chiet Bufinefs, by his Doblrine^ Life^
and Deaths was not to make his People greats but
good ; and to fave ther.-^ not from external Slavery,
but their Sins -, and confequently, that his Kingdom
was to be the Kingdom of Heaven^ Mat. iii. ?,. /. e. not
a temporal^ but a fpiritual Kingdom. — And, to
fatisfy them, that he was an all-fiiffident Saviour ^
every Way qualified for, and equal to, this great
Tafk, he alio bare Record^ that this is the Son
OF God. ver, 34. — And that there might be no
Doubt, about the Meaning of that moft glorious
Title, he tells his Difciplcs, That this Son of
God cometh jrom above^ and is above all ; and tliercr
fore is fupreme : Ch. iii. 31. That he hath feen and
heard, i. e. he mod certainly knew and moH fully
comprehended, that he iefiifieth : ver. 32: That
God giveth not the Spirit by Meafure unto him ; and
therefore, \it^\Yt\h.\\v[^irameafiiTably, which no poffibie
Creature is capable of receiving or containing: ver. 14.
That the Farther loveth the Son, and hath given all
Things into his Hand \ ver. ^^. but the highelt
poflible Creature cannot fo much as know all Things,
and much lefs order, manage, and rule them : — And,
That he that believeth on the Son hath everlafiing
Life •, &c. ver. 36. and confequently, the Son, as
fuch, is the Obje^ of Worfhip, who is to be believed
on, and trufted in ; and has alfo Life in himfelf, and
hath purchafed everlajiing Life, which he gives to
his People. — But, He of whom all thefe Things
are true, is moft certainly true God : And there-
fore, THE Son, as fuch, is the true God : And,
by confequcnce, when this Title, the Son of Gody
is given to Chrift, it denotes a coeffential Son ; and
therefore, does neceffarily/«/)/)^y^, or imply his Divine
Nature. Q, E. D.
To
[ 384 ]
To illuftrate this, and put it out of all Doubt
with the plain Chriftian, Let him remember thefe
fix Things, i. I take it for granted. That the
Baptifi underftood the Meaning of his own Tejiimanyj
and intended to inftru6l his Difciples, in the true
Senfe of it. — 2. Our learned Author has not io
much as alledged, That John knew any Thing of
.his new fangledNotions : i. e. That he had ever heard
of the pre-exijtent created Soul of the MeJJiah: Or, That
this his human Soul was but a created, tho' a fupra-
angelical Spirit ; and much lefs. That it was this
human Soul that was, or was called, the Son of God.
— 3. It clearly appears, from what has been faid, and
will be yet more certain, and evident, from what
follows ; That, by this Title, the Son of God, which
was of old afcribed, and indeed appropriated, to
the fecond Perfon, v/ho was, from Eternity, anointed
to be the Saviour of his People, the Jews, common-
ly, if not univerfally, underftood a confubjlantial Son.
' But, if fo, 4. The Baptift could have no other
Notion of this Title •, and therefore, could defign to
convey no other Notion, or Idea, of it, to his Dif-
ciples. ' — And therefore, 5. Had the Senfe of it
been afterwards changed, this would have been
plainly revealed, fomewhere or other, that all might
have known it, and might have hG.tn.fet right in this
great, I may fay. Fundamental Article. « • But,
6. Since no fuch Intimation is, any where, given,
we may be fully facisfied. That the Senfe of this
Title, when afcribed to Chrijl, is the very fame that
it ever was : And confequently. That, ever finee
this Title was applied to the fecond Perfon, the
Church of God hath, in all Ages, and every where,
underftood it to denote a confuhfiantial Son -, and,
accordingly, have acknowledged, and believed in him,
as fuch, i. e. as God of God. Q. E. D.
He that pleafes may confult, Mark. xiv. 61—64.
Mat. xxvii. 43, and 54. Luke xxii. 70. Jo. xi. 4,
r 385 ]
t^c. t^c. But, having already confidered ievera^
of thefe, and other Texts, where this Title occurs,
I fhall only offer a Thought or two upon thefe few
more.
Mat. xi. 27. All Things are delivered unto me of
my Father-, but this^ as we havejuft now heard,
neceffarily implies his Godhead ; and no Man knoweih
the Son, but the Father ; neither knoweth any Man
the Father, fave the Son ; therefore, they are
equally incomprehenftble to all the Creatures, infinite
in themfelves, and intimately and perfe£ily known to
each other : Yea, it fcems plain, thnt the Son knew
the Father, as throughly, as the Father did him.
The Words ^Va? and ^§\ tu, and the compound
Verb iTTiyivioa-Kii are emphatic ; and lead diredly to
thefe Thoughts. — The Phrafe feems yet ftronger,
Luke X. 22. No one knoweth who the Son i?, but
the Father ; atid who the Father is, but the Son. So
that, they are equally paft being found out to Per-
feEiion -, and their Nature, Attributes, and the Re-
lations in which they (land to each other, as diftind:
Perfons, are equally unfearcheable : And Therefore,
The Son, as fuch, is God : Or, this Title implies true
Godhead, and coejj'ential SonP?ip.
Jo. vi. 46. Not that any Man, ng, any Creature,
hath feen the Father ; i. e. either hath, or can, imme-
diately or tully, , know his Effence, Counjels, JVill ;
fave he which is of God, irx^x ri 0£s, of, ox from him
as his Son, by natural and ineffable Generation ;
and therefore, lb of him, as to be (lill with, and
in him, as I am •, he hath feen the Father, i. e. He, He
and he only, hath intuitively and pafe^ly, been
acquainted with himfelf, his Secrets, and Purpofes :
Nor can any Man hioiv the Father, know him at all,
or know him to be a Father, and much lefs to
Salvation, but he to zvhomfocver the Son will reveal
him. Mat. xi. 27. Chrift then is, and wis,
D d d the
- [ 386 ]
the Light of the World : The Do6trine of the
'Jrinily, is to be known only by the Revelation of
the Word and Spirit, and not by the Light of Na-
ture : — Nor fliould we had any Knowledge of the
Diftincflion of the Three undivided Perfons ; or,
that one of them was an own, i. e. a proper Father ^
and another an only begotten Son ; had not this Son
himfelf, who was, from the Beginning, the great
Prophet of his Church, revealed them to us — Thefe
Words then, feem plainly to imply the Divinity of
Chrijl, as a Son. See Jo. vii. 29.
Mat. xiv. 33. Then they that were in the Ship,
came and worjhipped him, f<^yi^gt ^f ^ Truth thou
art the Son of God. They, viz. his Difciples,
ver. 22. had, from their firft Acquaintance with
him, firmly believed he was the Mejfiah, and con-
ftantly acknowledged him as fuch. — Even Andrew,
Jo. i. 41. and Philip, ver. 45. who were neither the
moll eminent, nor moll forward, of the facred
College, and of whom we hear but very little more,
were yet, from the firft, fully perfuaded of this. —
No Doubt, the more Miracles he wrought before
them, they would be the more confirmed, in the
Truth of this great Doftrine : But, there was fome-
thing, in this, both in the J^ature, and Manner of
it, fo very extraordinary, that they came and wor-
JhippedKim, not as the Mejftah, or not only and merely
as fuch ; but as him who was of a Truth, the Son of
Cod •, and therefore, the Objeft of Religious Wor-
fhip. — The common, but mean and falfe Notions,
they had entertained of the Meffiah, as fuch, had
no Relation to fuch extraordinary Works. — None
of the Prophets had ever wrought fuch Wonders^
and much lefs in fuch a Manner. — It lookt fo like
gathering the Wind in his Fifls, Pro. xxx. 4. which,
none but the Almighty Father, and his equally Al-
mighty Son could do : And feem'd fo clear a Proof
of his abfoluie Power over all Nature^ that even the
Wind
[ 387 1
fVind and the Sea oheyed him ; that they feem to have
had rather higher Thoughts of him, than they
ufually, if perhaps ever, had before •, and therefore,
worjhipped him, (which, fo far as we know, they
had never, I think, done before, on any fuch Oc-
cafion ;) as having now, to their full Convidlion,
proved himfelf to be the Son of God, u e. as the Jews
generally underftood it, the cceffential Son, and
therefore, equal with God. q. d. Lord, Wt know
the Scrips and Pharifees feek to kdl thee, becaufe
thou calltfl thyfelf the Sen of God : But, had they
been here, and ken, and heard, wh.u we have now
done, they might have had the fulkft ConiiSliin
poflible, as we have. That thou art indeed his
only begotten •, and therefore, equal with him.
Jo. ix. ^^ — 38. Our Lord, (having found the
Man which was Blind from his Birth, ver. i. whom
he had cured, ver. 6, 7. who had been called before
the Sanhedrim, examined, and by them excommuni-
cated, ver. 15, 24, 34. only becaufe of the grateful
Senfe he entertained of the Kindnefs done him j and
the jufl Regard he fhewed towards, or for, his un-
known Benefador ;) faid unto him, Boji thou believe
on TTKiriiiiq hq TOV JiOv tk 0.», THE SoN OF GOD ?
Upon his anfwering to his Queftion, Who is He,
Lord, that I might believe on him ? Our Saviour re-
joins, 1'hou haft both feen him, and it is he that talketh
with thee. Upon which, the Man readily replies.
Lard, I believe. And he, Trfoa-sw'vno-iv, adoravit,
worjhipped him. This was mentioned betore,
and we fhall now only obferve. That he does not
call himfelf the Me/f ah, but the Son of God : That
he requires Faith in himfelf, as fuch -, and therefore,
propofes himfelf, and as fuch, to the Man, as the
Object of Religious Worfhip ; which none, but one
who was, as fuch, true God, could be : And, that
the Man declared his Belief in him, and adored him j
which, as a Jew, he would not, fhould not, durlt
D d d 2 not,
[ 388 1
not, have done, had he not taken him to be, as
fuch, the true God, the one Obje^ of Worihip. And
therefore. That Chrift, as the Son of God, is indeed
true God ; and confequently, a coejfential Son : For
furely, he would not have accepted that Worjhip,
as the Son cf God, which was not due to him,
as fuch.
To wave many others, and that very obfervable
One, Mat. xvii. 24 — 26. Of whom do the Kings
of the Earth take 'Tribute or Cujlom ? diro rm J jw«
auTwu, of their own Sons ? &c. We fhall add but one
more.
Mat. xxvii. 34. Now when the Centurion, and
they that were with him, watching Jefus, faw the
Earthquake, and thofe Things that were done, they
feared greatly, faying^ Truly this was the Son of
God. To this our Author objedls, " He cannot
" be fuppcfed to mean that this Man was the true
*' and eternal God," p. 43, — Thefe were not the
Words of the Centurion only, but of thofe that were
with him alfo-; feveral of whom might, perhaps,
know the true Meaning of that Title better than he :
Nor did he, nor any of' them, mean, that He was
the Father, the firfi Perfon ; or, that He only was
the true and eternal God ; or, that he was only the
true and eternal God, and not alfo true Man. • >
" but only that he was a great and glorious Perfon,
*' like God, or fome Way related to God," — Pray
What Ideas could the Centurion have of thefe Words,
" like God, or fome Way related to God .?" I want
much to know — However, If by this Phrafe, re-
lated to God, he meant, with our Author, near a-kin
to him, he exprefs'd himfelf moll ftrongly •, and per-
haps, as properly too, as he could do, when he
called him the Son of God. — ** or he was the Perfon
" whom the J^'ie.'j expefted for their AfCi^^^." That
this only was not his Meaning, will prefently appear
evident ^ tho', by this Timt, I h^-'C no doubt he firm-
1 389 ]
ly believed him to be the Mejftah. " This Roman
** Captain could not imagine Chrift to be God him-
" felf." Thus you have every Word of this flrange
Objedtion. — Anf. This Roman Captain had heard
his TriaU before Pilate : Heard the Queftion pro-
pofed, Jrt thou the King of the Jews \ to which he
replied, 'ihou fayeft it, Mark. xv. 2. i, e. It is as thou
fayeft : And heard him accufed, that he made him-
felf the Son of God ; and therefore deferved to diCy
by their Law •, Jo. xix. 7. the Law againft Blafphemy^
Lev. xxiv. 16. to which he gave no Jnfzver ; no,
not one Word, (either to vindicate himfelf by ex-
plaining, excufing, or jullifying, what he had faid,
or, to deny the Charge, tho' his Life was at Stake !)
and confequently, might well have been thought to
have acknowledged the Charge, that he had indeed
made himfelf the Son of God ; and well deferved to
die^ if he was not really, and in their Senfe too, what
he made himfelf to be. — Had thefe two Titles been of
the very fame Import, Pilate's, laft Qiieftion, had
been perfectly ridiculous. Our Lord, having ac-
knowledged that he was the Meffiah, had really,
upon that Suppofition, acknowledged the other
Charge alfo ! — 'Tis then felf-evident. That, tho*
thefe Titles, the Chrifl., and the Son of God, denoted
the fame Perfon •, yet they were not exaftly fy,
nonymous, and did not mean the very fame Thing
in him, but were given to him upon feveral, and
quite different Accounts -, the former being a Title
of Office, the latter of Nature. This the Centurion
might, yea, could not but, know, as we Iliall de-
monftrate by and by.
We need not offer any more under this Clafs.
What we have faid is fufficient, efpecially fince it
will be much ftrengthened by what follows. But to
all thefe he will objed.
In all thefe Paffages, the Baptlft, the Difciples,
the blind Man, and our Saviour himfelf, ufe this
Title
[ 390 ]
Tide to denote the Mefiah, and as fuch. Anf. Sup-
pofing this, Is not tbe MeJ^ab, as fuch, Godman ?
Might not they then, in thefe Ir'affages, have a
pecLihar Refped to his Divine Nature ? Could all
thefe have been faid of his human Soul? Or, of the
Mejfiah^ had he not been true God? &c. This
his Obje6lion therefore, is, in reality, no Objeftion.
Procc-ed we then to,
II. Thofe in which the Father publickly, by an
audible Voice, bears I'ejiimony to him, as his Son.
We fhall confider thefe two, the one at his Baptifm^
when he was juft entring on his publick Miniftry,
and the other in his Transfiguration, to confirm him
for his Pajfion^ and prepare his Difciples againfl their
Trial therein.
Mat. iii. 17. And lo, a Voice from Heaven, f^y^'^igt
This is MY BELOVED SoN, iuwhom I am well pleafed.
Here, the Repetition of the Article, by the
Three Evangelifts, who retain it alfo, in the Hiftory
of his Transfiguration, muft not be flightly pafs'd by.
The Words, I think, may be rendered, This is
THAT MY Son, that my beloved, whom Mofes,
the Pjalms, and the Prophets, did fay Ihould come
into the World. Let us then obferve. That here
was a glorious Revelation of the Trinity, the Three
that hare Record in Heaven, Jo. v. 7. which gave
Occafion to that triumphant Challenge of the Ca-
tholics of old, Abi Ariane, &c. Go thou Arian to
Jordan, and there thou fhalty^'^ the Trinity : — This
was the Father^s own Teftimony ; and plain, clear,
and full, it was ; the Language of a Father -, ex-
prefTive of his very Heart ; and fuch as might be,
in the prefent Cafe, expefted from him. He
does not ftile him, mineEle^, my Servant, as j^ xlii.
I. the Meffiah, Dan. ix. 25. or my King, Pf ii. 6.
fnine Anointed, as el fe where ; tho* all Expreffions of
Love and Delight, as well as Honour : But, my Son,
my beloved Son, thereby fhewing, hot only the high-
eft
[ 391 1
eft poflible Satisfaction with, and Complacency in
liim, but the Son's tranfcendent and infinite Dignity
and Glory. — The Phrafes themfelves, the Circum-
ftances, and the End alfo of this Tejlimony^ will not
permit us to take this Title, in any common, low,
or improper Senfe ; but, in the very higheft it will
bear, as implying that he was his own, his only begot-
ten Son ; fo his Son as no other ever was, now is, or
Ihall, or can be, i. e. by proper Generation : Becaufe,
( I ) In every other Senle, there are many, who may
be called his Sons, yea, his beloved Sons. — (2) His
being fuch a Son, was that only, whereby he was
rendered equal to his glorious Undertaking. And
therefore, (3) The Father not only declares himfelf
well pleafed with him, but in him, i. e. with all
his People, for his Sake -, becaufe, fuch a Son, fo
every Way well qualified, had voluntarily engaged
to lay down his Life for them, Jo. x. 15, 17. If liii.
10 — 12. &c. to feek, find, and bring them home to
him. Luke XIX. 10. Heb.n. 10. &c.
Mat. xvii. 5. During his Transfiguration, ver. 5.
Behold a bright Cloud overfhadowed them : And behold
a Voice out of the Cloud, which f aid. This is my be-
loved Son, in whom 1 am well plea fedy Hear ye
HIM. To pafs many Things of the Time, Place,
Defign, and other Circumftances, of this Teftimony,
as well as of the Witneffes -, and defiring the Reader
to remember what we have faid upon the former
Text -, w« ihall only here offer thefe few Thoughts.
I. Mofes that renowned Giver, and Elias the
mofb zealous Reftorer, of the Law, appeared unto
them. 2. That remarkable Addition, Hear ye
him, in the prefent Cafe, and before thofe illuftrious
Perfons, efpecially if we remember, that they Jpake
of his Deceafe, and his Death, which was to be ac~
complifhed at Jerufalem, Luke ix. 0,1. (his Death
being the Completion or Fulfilment of all that he
was to do, and fufltr, in his Eftate of Humiliation,)
is
[ ^9^ ]
is very emphatic, implying many Things in it,
viz. That this was the great Prophet foretold t
Deut.xvm. 15. and 18. That rho' hitherto.
Believers were referred, chiefly, yea only, to the
haw^ and to the 'Tejiimonyy If viii. 20. now they
muft hear him : — Hear him^ (not correcting the Law,
or adding any Thing to that which was ferfe5i before,
Pf. xix. 7. or able to make Wife to Salvation, 2 Tim.
iii. [5. fo that even the Man of God might be
ferfe^, &c. ver. 17. but) vindicating, explaining,
illuftrating, confirming, fulfilling it, and expound-
ing in all the Scriptures the Things concerning himfelf.
Lukexxiv. 27. — 3. That Mofes and Elias heartily
confented to this TejUmony, and Canmand ; mod wil-
lingly referring all the Honour they had, as Prophets^,
to the Son of God-, nnd rejoycing to fee all that
was foretold of him, fo gloriouQy tulfiUed in him. —
4. That in this confifts one chief Glory of the New
hifpenfation, above the Old, that, in it, God fpeaks
to us in, or by, his Son. Heb. i. i. 5. That
the Church is now, abfolutely, and implicitely, to
believe the Son : He, as fuch, being, as we have
heard, the God, Amen, i. e. the God of Truth, is
a-jTOTTic-ro?, worthy of all Credit, purely upon his
own Account : And therefore, as a Son, he is a
(oeffential Son, and equal with the Father. What
puts this out ot all Doubt with me, is, — 6. That
the Prophets of Old, even the moft eminent and
diftinguilhed amongft them, prefaced their Dif-
courfes and Prediftions, with a. Thus faith the
Lord \ even after their Authority was moft eftablifh-
ed : But, Chrift never once did ! — His verily.,
verily, I fay unto you \ or his naked, I fay unto you,
was equal to, Thus faith the Lord I And,
feeing a Divine Faith, muft needs have a Divine
Tefti'rnony, to reft upon-, and the Faith of the
New Teftament Church, cannot be fuppofed to be
built upon a more weak, fallible, or difputable,
Foun-
[ 393 1
Foundation^ than was that of the Old : It muft
needs be lb : And therefore, Chrijl is Jehovah^ not
the Father^ but the Son. >. From all which it
follows, even with all the Certainty and Evidence of
Demonftration, Tha: the Son, as the Son, is ab-
folutely infallible^ which Chrift's human Soul, with
all its Glories, neither was, is, nor can be : Becaufe,
no one Perfon can be abfoliitely infallible, who is not
omnifcient, yea, and infinite in all Perfe6lions : And
conlcquently, as a Son, he is infinite in all Per-
fections : And therefore, a coeffential Son, and fo
equal with the Father. Q^ E D.
To this, all our Adverfaries will objeft, i. This
Teftimony was a public, folemn, and moft glorious,
Atteftation of his being the Meffiah. Anf. Who
doubts it ? But, he could not have been the Mefilah,
had he not been antecedently to that, the coeffential
Son of God i becaufe, he had not been etiudl to the
Office, if he had not.
Obj. 2. What End could it anfwer, for the
Father to bear Teftimony, That Chrifi was his
coeffential Son F Anfw. Many, and thofe the molt
veceffary Ends. The Prophets had foretold,
that it was the Son of God, one who had, formerly,
affumed the Names and 'Fitles, done the Works, and
accepted the Worfioip, of the one true God, who
was to fave his People from their Sins : And therefore,
the Difciples muft be moft convincingly afTured, I'hat
the Son who was promifed, was aftually come upon
that blefled Errand ; and, that this was He. •
Ifaiah had predided, Ch. xl. 9, 10, i j. That it was
the Lord God who fhoiild come, and feed his Flock
like a Shepherd : Seeing then, that Chrifi had de-
clared himfelf the good •shepherd, fee Jo. x. ver. 1 1.
and 14, ^c i^c. it was therefore now moft neccifary,
that the Father fhould bear Witnefs, that he was that
Shepherd which was foretold ; and confequently,
ihe Lord God. &c. God had promifed
E e e by
[ 394 1
hy Jeremiah^ Ch. xxiii. i6. That the Lord would
raije up unto David a King — whofe l^lame Jhould
he called, i. e. who fliould be, the Lord our
Righteousness! Jehovah, 3.s God tht Son , for,
it is certain, be is not the Father ; and our Righ-
teoufnefs, as the Mejfiah^ our Saviour I Now, no-
thing could be more necefiary, than the Father^
Teftimcny, that this was the Perfon : And that he
was Jehovah, as his leloved Son; and our Righ-
teoujnefs, as he in whom he is well f leafed : Becaufe,
it is only fov, or upon the Account of, his Righ-
teoufnefs^ that he is fo well pleafed v/ith any
Sinners, as to forgive all their bins, pronounce them
righteous, adopt them for his Children, ^c. t^c.
In fhort. If they will have it. That the Father
here proclaimed his Mejfiahfljip, as I, for my Part,
moft readily grant, We muft infill: upon it. That
there are two Ideas in this Teftimony ; not only
that he is the Chriji, a Deputy, a Serva7U, one in
an Office : But, that he is more than fo ; even the
Son, the own Son, the only begotten of
the hather, and confequently, his coejjential Son ;
which is always the firft, the principal, the leading
Idea, v/hen we fpeak of the complex Perfon of the
Meffiah, — And hence, in the New Teflament, the
Father, as we have jufb now obferved, never ftiles
him, iuy Servant, or the Chriji, but my beloved Son,
who can, and will, do all my Pkafure ; and in whom,
I can, and do acquiffce. — N. B. His Office is the
greateft Honour imiaginable, yea, polTible, to his
human Soul, be it as great, and glorious, as it
poffibly can be ; and to which it never had, nor
could h^ve, been advanced, had not the own, the
only begotten Son, afllim'd it into his own Perfon, or
been ferfonally united to it : Bur, his Deity, i. e, his
Divine Nature, as the Son, or the fecond I'erfon,
is an infinite Honour, both to the Perfon of the
Redeemer, as fuch, and to bis Office,
III. Thofc
t 395 ]
III. Thofe in which the Ad nouns, cnjon^ "proper^
begotten, only hegotten, are annexed to the Word,
Son : Of which there are a great many, and all of
thfem mofl memorable. — We lliall now give a few
Thoughts only upon the three or four, which firfl
occur in the Gofpel according to John.
Jo. i. 14. IVe beheld his Gkry, the Glory as of
THE ONLY BEGOTTEN of the FaTHER. Upon this
obferve, i. He was then the Son, the begotten,
the only begotten 6on, not of the Deity, but of the
Father. — It was not the Ejfence that begat another
EJfence, or begat itfelf ; but the Father, the jirji
Perfon, begat the Son, the fecond Ferfon. — It is
not, at all, or hardly, Senfe, to talk of a Nature's be-
getting., but of a Ferfon's begetting : Nor is it
proper to fay, an EiTence is a Father, or a Son ;
but a P erf on, is the one or the other — 2. It was
the Logos, t};e Word, that was made Flefh, i. e. af-
fumed our Nature into a perfonal Union with him-
felf, (by taking unto himfeif a true Body
and a reasonable Soul, the Word
Flejh, being here taken fynecdochically, for the whole
that was Human in him, or his whole Manhood, as
in innumerable Flaces of Scripture. — It was his
Glory, fays the Apoftle, we beheld, i. e. the Glory
of the Logos, even when made Fle/h ; and this
Glory, v/as the Glory as of the only begotten of the
Father, fuch as became, and could be found in no
other but, his own, -proper Son. Whence, I hum-
bly conceive, that theLo'^os, i. e. the perfonal Word^
and the only begotten, arc convertible Terms -y or that
each of them, in flridnefs, denotes the fecond
Perfon only ; and then, 'tis undeniable from ver.
I — 3. That the only begotten, as fuch, was in the
Beginning, was with God, and was God, and that
all Things were made by him : But if fo, the only
begotten, and as fuch, is the Creator of all Things, (as
his human Soul, is not, cannot be, fuppofed to be)
E e e 2 and
[ 39M
and confequently is, as fuch, the true God; and
therefore, God the Son. — Or, if this fhould be
doubted^ I cannot but think, from the Manner of
Expreffion, &c. that, of the two Titles, the only
begotten is rather the Superior, and more Auguft :
And that, The Logos^ or the JVordj is a Title o^ Office,
denoting the Omnific Creator, or the great Reveder
of the Father's Will, or both ; and the Son, the
only begotten, is a Title of Nature, exprefllng his
coejfential SonJJjip, or his having the fame Nature
and effential i^erfed:ions with the Father. — The
Title, the only begotten Son, is never, was never,
among Men, a Title o'i Office -, nor is it ever fo ufed ;
but always denotes the natural Relation between an
own Father and his own Son : Whereas, the Title, the
LoGO', i. e. as we render it, the Word, (if it is
not iifed to denote the Relation between Thought
and the Mind whofe Thought it is, or Speech pro-
ceeding from the Mind, as fome of the Fathers feem
to have conceived ; and then, it is much, if not
wholly, the fame, with the Idea they had of the
Generation oj the Son ; or, whereby they tried to
explain the moft intimate, and natural. Union of the
firll and fecond Perfons, in the moft Holy and
Undivided 'Trinity : If, I fay, this is not the Mean-
ing of it, then this Title, the Word,) plainly
denotes the omnif.c Word, i. e. the Divine Ferfon
who made all things, Jo. i. 3. who fpake, and it
was done, &c. Pf. xxxiii. who faid. Let there he
Light, and there was Light, Gen. i. 3. &c. and who
was alfo the great Revealer of the Will of God ; either
immediately, Ex. xx. i — 17, i^c. &c. or by his Spirit
in the Prophets, and that from the Beginning, till
the Canon of Scripture was Sealed, i Pet. i. 1 1 .
Ch. iii. 18—20. Rev. xxii. 6 and 16, &c. And,
if this is the Cafe, then 'tis evident, That, the' this
Title, THE Logos, plainly fuppofes and implies,
injinite Power and JVifdom and indeed all Per-
fections J
r 397 1
Fedions ; and confequently, that he^ to whom it is
given, is true God: Yet, it feems rather a Title
of Office^ than of Nature. All this I leave with the
ferious Reader, not daring any farther, to break
through unto the Lord to gaze. And, 3. The
Phrafes are. We beheld.^ [we^ even as many as received
him^ to whom he gave Power to become the Sons of
Gody ver. 12. or, at leaft, we the Difciples, who were
afterwards conftituted his JpojUes., Mat. x. i, 2.
beheld) his Glory, i.e. faw, in fome Senfe, with our Eyes,
lQi(x.iy, had he not indeed been God?
and had alfo faid, and avowed as much ? " as well
" as he did deny the Jiijlnefs of their Confequence^
" from his calling himfelf the Son of God." p. 58.
He did not then, it feems, r£77cunce the Conclufion
itfelf ;'. (?. that he was really the true God! But
only
[ 427 ]
only *« the Juftnefs of their Confequence^' i. r That
this followed from any Thing he had then faid !
So that, as Logicians are wont to fay, Tho' the
Conclufion was materially true, it was not formally fo !
Or, tho* it was true in itfelf, and might be other-
wife proved, it did not follow from thefe Premijfes !
— But, here are feveral Millakes, befides his per-,
verting the Senfe of onr Lord's Words. For, —
I. He had not, at that Time, exprefsly, called him-
felf the Son of God: So that this was none of his
Premiffes. — 2. The Words, for which they took tip
Stones again to ft one him, ver. 31, were, I and
MY Father are one, ver. 30. which they took
to have a very different Meaning and Tendency. —
For, 3. The Senfe they put upon them, or the
Inference they drew from them, was (not that he
viade himfelf equal ivith God, but) that he made him-
felf Gody ver. ^Z- ^"^ therefore, had not kept up
the Diftindlion between the t-u:o Divine Perfons. — •
So that, 4. They feem to me, to have put much
the fame Senfe upon them, which our Author feems
to have put on them, or on others not unlike them, in
many Places where he talks of " the fame numerical
*' Effence or Nature," &c. " of the Man Jefus being
*' perfonally united to God," p. c^y, &c. " his moil
*' intimate Union with the Godhead of the Father,"
p. 61, ^c i^c. So that the more he flruggles,
he finds himfelf the more entangled ! As all will
find themfelves, who plead for Error : The farther
they wade, the deeper are they in the Mire.
" I fay therefore (3.) The chief Defign of his
*' Anfwer, was to refute the Cakimny of the Jews
*' and the Weaknefs of their Inference, by fhewing
" that the Name Son of God, doth not necefiarily
** fignify one equal to God," &c. p. 58. But,
whoever will read the Verfes will fee, that there
are no fuch ExprefTions in them, as wc have jufl;
now obferved ; And confequently, That all this
I i i 2 is
[4^8 ]
is a mere E"jcifwn, and nothing to the Pur-
pofe.
" Prophets or Kings, Judges or Dodlors of the
" Law were called Gods, and Children or Sons of
'• the moft High, Pf. Ixxxii. 6. and in other
^' Places of Scripture," Anf. — i. Only Magiflrates
and Judges, I humbly conceive, and that moft
improperly, p. 120, &c. 2. Not one of them
fmgiy was ever fo diftinguillied. — 3. Much lefs
v/as ever any one of them faid to be his cwn, his
l;egctten^ his only begotten Son. — Nor, 4. Did any
one oi them ever aiTume this Title to himfelf, or
fay, / ajn the Son of God. — Nor, 5. Did ever God
himftlf honour any of them with thofe Titles, ^c.
— Nor, 6. Are they ever called Sons of the mcji
High, but in that -poetical Pafiage. " becaufe they
^' c me from God, ^<:." — No one is ever faid
to have come f rem God, or come forth from him, bu^
his own, only begotten Son.
*' Our Lord's Argument is a jninori ad majuSy
^* They who where originally in and of this Worlds
^' u7ito whom the Word of God carue, had the Title
" of Gods given them : Therefore the Mefjiah who
^' was not oiiginally of this JVcrld, but was with
" tic Father, &cc. may furely be called the Son of
^'' God without I anger of Biafpheojy. p. 59, 6c."
No i'^oubt, he might : Becaule, it he had not
been really the Son of God, the only begotten, and
therelore his ccefj'ent-'d Sen, and, as fuch, true
God, he cculd not, poiTibly, have been the Meffiah.
^' And indeed 'tis worth our Obferyation here,"
— And fmce it is fo, you fhall have every Word
of it.
" Tlio' the Jews built Part of their Accufation
" upon his faying, 1 and the Father are One," p. 60.
Thefe v/ere the very Words v/hich excited,
and C!. flamed, their Fury, and on which they
principally founded their Charge. — " Jefus did
^ " ' " not
[ 4^9 ]
^' not diredlly anfwer to thofe Words," — What
then, did he fliiifRe with them ! ^' nor undertake to
" vindicate or explain them j" — The diredt con-
trary is manifeft ! " becaufe he might defign in
*' thofe Words to intimate his Godhead or his
*' 0716716/5 with God the Father ;" — Might defign ?
Why, if he defigned any Thing at all, 'tis felf-
evidcnt, this was adtually his Defign, if he did not
intend to amufe, or impofe upon them, and deceive
them. " Therefore he negledls and drops this
*' Part of the Ground of their Charge," — Could
any Thing be more unworthy of our blelTed Lord ?
— 'This was the chief, if not the only. Ground of
tlieir Charge ! And could he pretend to anfwer it, by
negleding and dropping it ? — If thefe his Words
were true^ he 77tade hvmfelj God, tho' not the
Father : If they were not true, himfelf was certainly
a Deceiver ! " and applies himfelf intirely to anfwer
*' their Accufation, as it was built upon his calling
" God his 0W71 Father, and himfelf the Sofi of God :^*
• But, this was not their Accufation at this Time,
as any one will fee who confults the Place : And
confequently, all this is but a mere Evafion. — How-
ever, How, or when, did he anfwer their Accufa-
tion ? " And this he did becaufe he knew that this
" Name did not neceflarily imply Equality with
" God, and fo he could boldly refute their Inference
" and renounce their Charge, p. 6i. Stranger
ftill ! Anf I. There is not a Syllable of Equality
with God, in all that Chapter. — 2. Where did he
fay, or where is it faid, or whence does it appear,
that " he knew that this Name did not neceflarily
*' imply this Equality? — — 3. Where did " he
" boldly," or any how, " refute their Inference ?"
— And, 4. Was ^' neglefting and dropping this
'* Part of their Charge, boldly to renounce it r"
i^C' — The Caufe of all thefe Mifiakes^ is ins con-
founding
[ 430 ]
founding the two Paflages, which, as we fhall £tCj
are not only diftinft, but very different. In
Ihort, 'tis plain, as every Child may fee, That he
did not deny their Charge, viz. that he made hitnfelf
God, which he could not have done, without di-
reftly contradicting his own moft folemn Words :
And then all he denied was. That he was guilty of
Blafphemy, or was the Father. < Whence I infer,
and fhall prove it prefently, " That he both vin-
dicated and explained his own Words -," and is there-
fore God. But, would one think it, be begins
his next Paragraph thus,
*' Yet it fhould be obferved alfo, that before
*' Chrifl leaves them,'* — The Words, ver. 39.
therefore they fought again to take him : But he
efcaped out of their Hands •, as well as thofe,
Ch. viii. 59. make it plain, that they intended
tumultuoufly to have murdered him, had he not,
(which might have the more convinced them, that
he was indeed God,) miraculoufly delivered himfelf,
and fo efcaped their Fury. " he leads them to his
" Godhead;' Did he fo ? Why then, Ci.) He
confirmed his own Words, ver. 30. and acknow-
ledged their Charge, That he made himfelf God!
This, 'tis undeniable, he did, if it was pollible to
doit! unlefs there are two Godheads. (2.) 'Tis as
plain, he made himfelf a coejfential Son : Becaufe he
fpeaks of himfelf, as the Son of the Father, quite
through that Difcourfe ! And thus, he clearly, and
exprefsly, yields the Caufe to me ! For which I
heartily thank him. Ma^na efl Veritas, i^ prevalebit !
" i. e. to his moft intimate Union with God the
" Father, ver. 38. and 30. p. 61." Right. 'Tis
evident, yea, and undeniable, from ver. 33 and 30.
That his Union with the Father, was as intimate,
as the Union of a coefen:ial Son^ polTibly could
be.
He
[431 ]
He as ftrangely, gives up his Caufe in the next
Paragraph, ibid. " And indeed if we take the Word
*' Son of God to fignity necefiarily in that Place
" an Equality ivith the Father,*^ As we fhall fliew
prefently, it necelTarily does. " we plainly take
*' away the Force of our Saviour's Argument and
" Defence," Why, our Saviour's Defign, Ch. v.
ij — 47. was, evidently, either to prove, and de-
fend, h's Equality with him, or to fhuffle and
wriggle with the Jews. " we leave the Accufation
** of the malicious Jews in its full Force againft
" him." p. 61. Anfw. (i.) If, by their ^<:<:^^-
fation., he means, That, he made himfelf equal with
" G^J," Ch. V. 18. we believe, that it was plainly
implied in his Words : And know, that our Lord
was fo far from thinking it an unjujl Accufation.^ that
he acknowledges it, and llrenuoufly defends it, yea
and clearly and invincibly proves it. (2) If,
by their Jccufation, he means. That he vfolated the
Sabbath., by curing the poor Man on that Day, and
bidding him take up his Bed., and walk : We anfwer.
That, by neither of thefe, was he to be accounted
a Breaker of the Sabbath ; and that the Jews could
not but know, that their Accufation was mo^falfe,
and malicious. — Becaufe, They could not deny,
that the Cure Chrift had wrought was, all Things
confidered, above the Power of Nature or fecond
Caufes : That therefore, it required Divine
Power ; and confequently, was really a fFork of
God : — That, fuppofing our Lord, as the blafphe-
mous Socinians contend, to have been but a mere
Man, or only a tnoral Inflrument in the Hand of
God., as the Prophets of Old were ; then God him-
jelf was indeed the Worker., and not he., who only
fpake a few Words, and at his Command : — That
the 7nojt High would not have owned him fo much,
as to cure the Man, had he not approved of what
he
, [ 432 J ^
he did and faid : — That the Man's carrying his
Bed fhewed, evidently, to all who faw him, the;
PerfeBion of his Cure ; and fo, was for the Glory
of God: — And, That ordinary Prophets had, as the
jews acknowledged, Authority to difpenfe with Rites,
Ceremonies,, and indeed all Circumfiantials, &c. &c.
(3) If, by their Accufation, he means, That " he
" made himself God, Ch. x. i^o^.'^ we believe he
did fo, tho' not in their Senfe -, and our Author,
if his Words have any Meaning that is true, has, as
we have juft now heard, acknowledged that he did ;
and, 'tis plain, that the Jews thought that he, at leafh
dejignedto prove it ; ver. 39. yea, and our Lord has in
Fadl, clearly proved it, ver. 37, 38. But, (4) Ifj
by their Accufation, in either or both oi* thofe
Paflages, he means their Charge^ that he blafphemed
when he faid what he faid •, we are fo far from
leaving that Charge, in its full Force againft him, that
"we believe his Words were not, at all, Blafphemy, but
implied feveral great and divine Truths -, and that
our Lord continued to declare, and prove, that they
did fo : Or, in his own Words, p. 62. " that he
*' indeed defigned to let them know that he was
*' actually equal with God, but that he was no Blaf-
" phemer, becaufe it was a great Truth. " — But
fays he,
" Now that he did not defign this, — ■ feems
*' evident to me, becaufe his Anfwer cannot reach
'* this Senfe •," ibid, "Tis evident he never denied
this Senfe, when charged with it : And we fhall fhev/
prefcntly, that his Anfwer did fully reach it. — ■
*' and if flrained to this Senfe^ 'tis very obfcure
" and far fetch'd :" — Our Lord's Anfwer, as we
fhall fee, is in itfelf, plain enough : But, our
Author confounds two Paffages, which are not the
fame, but really different, and brings them from
fo great a Diflance, as from Ch. v. to Ch. x. and
troni Words fpoken at a great Diflance of Time
too j
[ 433 ]
too ', t?t*. and hence their pretended Ohfcurity t
*' It might alfo have been fpoken in plainer Lan-
*' guage twenty Ways," Anf. I dare not pretend
to teach, or correft our Saviour : — His Lan-
guage was fo very plain^ that the Jews never, but
once, miftook the Senfe ; and tlien but in Part
only : — Chrifi never, but once, anfwered as if
they had mijiaken it, or corrected their Miftake : —
He invincibly proves, that he was tqiiol with God:
— And, it would not be eafy, to fpeak this Senfe, in
much plainer, and ftronger Language too, twenty
Ways, i£t:. — " and he would doubtlefs have
*' proved it by plainer Citations out of the Old
*' Tejiament, which aflert the Divinity of the Mejfiahy
*' &c." Anf The Scriptures never any where afferc
fuch a Divinity of the Mejjiah^ as our Author feems
every where to intend : — He needed not bring
any Citations to prove the Divinity of the MeJJiahy
which feems to have been a Thing known, and
acknowledged, among the Jews : — His DoSIrine
and JVerks^ vrcvt to be the principal Proofs of
the Mejfiah : — Chrift gave a great many invincible
Proofs^ of his Divinity, as we have heard : — And,
*Tis next to impoITible to aflfert his Equality with
God, as his Son, more fully and emphatically than
he has frequently done. Jo. v. 17. Ch. x. 30, &c.
&c. From all which 'tis evident. That our
Lord's Defign was, not only, no nor at all, " to
*' (hew the FalJJjood of their jirjt Inference, ibid."
but to explain, illuftrate, and confirm, his own
moft folemn Words. — Whence
I conclude, and fhall by and by demonjlrate.
That nothing can be more falfe, than to tell us,
p. 63. " That the BJief of Chrifi to be the Son of
" God in fome more eminent Senfe than all the
*' antient Prophets and Kings were," (tho', moft
certainly, he was and is fo,) " i. e. to be the glorious
." Mefftahy (as he moft undoubtedly is,) "is all
K k k " tha
[ 434 ]
'' that Chrifl diredly and plainly defigned in calling
« himfelf the Son of God, &c.". — I'll add, That
nothing can be more certain, than that, by this
'Title, he did direftly, and plainly, yea primarily,
defign to reveal, proclaim, and confirm, his own
coejfential Scnfloip, or Equality with God : And that
he has moft Itrongly confirmed it alfo. But,
So eafily are even great Men brought to think
thofe 1 hings apparent, which they wifh were fo ;
efpecially, when they have long fancied, zealoufly
maintained, and have even begun to difpute, that
they are fo ! that he concludes, " Thus, I have
" made it appear that the Name Son of God cannot
" neceffarily imply his Divine Nature^ &c." ibid.
But, may I not afl<, Where ; or How ? — By
what Evidences, Reafons, or Proofs ? — What
Nature does it then neceffarily imply : For one^
at lead, it mud ? — I earneftly defire an Anfwer,
having, I conceive, more than fufficiently proved.
That he has made no fuch Thing appear. — Let
the ferious, impartial Reader judge, the Scriptures
being his Guide, or Rule.
Having thus difcufs'd every Thing, of any the
leail Moment, which our learned Author has
offered, to wrefi thefe Texts from us, and turn them
againfi their literal, plain, and obvious Senfe ; we
now return to confider them more clofely, begin-
ning with the firft.
Jo. V. 17. Our bleffed Lord having, on the
Sabbath Day, at the Pool of Bethefda, with a IVord
fpeaking, cured an impotent Man that had been
difeafed thirty eight Years, and bidden him Rife,
take up his Bed, and walk ; ver. i — 8. the Jews
quarrel with the Man for carrying his Bed on that
Day ', and being informed, that it was our Saviour^
who had made him zvhole, &c. they perfecuted him,
and fought to flay him, for this fuppofed Crime : —
And therefore, having, as is. generally thought,
brought
[ 435 ]
brought him before their Smthedrim^ and read his
Indictment to him -, or interrogated him, Why he
did, or How he durft do, fuch a Thing ? ver. 8 —
16. Our Saviour gave this direti Reply, whicli
fuperabundancly juftifies what he had faid, or done,
My Father worketh hitherto^ and I work. v. 1 7. —
Words exceedingly folemn, and emphatic, if any
Words ever were : And, no Doubt, pronounced,
as his Way was, as by One having Authority.
In them. He proclaims his moft peculiar Relation
to God, i. e. the firji Perfon, as his Father ; or.
That he himfelf was fo his Son, " as no other Son,
" or Sons, can have the leaft Pretence of Share or
<' Similitude :" That, tho' the Father refied
on the feventh Day, from the Work of Creation,
and appointed that Day to be kept as a Day of
Reft, in Remembrance of it •, yet he did not abfo-
lutely ceafe from working, but continues, incejfantl;,
to uphold, preferve, provide for and govern, &c.
all his Creatures : = That therefore, he never
i:eafes to work^ -on the Sabbath^ any more than
on other Days : — And yet, that they neither did,
could, nor durft, pronounce him a Breaker of the
Sabbath. But they might have, and, no
doubt, had he faid nothing more, would have afkt,
What is that to thee ? Dareft thou prefume to fay.
That THOU CANST do, or doft, whatever he does ;
and therefore, mayft, or doft, alio work, whenever
he works ? Yes, fays our Lord, He worketh
hitherto, and I work. i. e. What [over he does, ad
extra, 1 alfo do: And therefore, ,Whenfoever he
works, even on the Sabbath Day, I alfo work
with him : And confequently, can no more be
blamed, for doing thefe Works, on that Day, than
He. • That this was his Meaning, his glo-
rious Apology, as we fliall fee, puts out of all Doubt.
Well, How did the Jews bear this ? What Ccn-
JlruBion did they put upon thefe his emphatic Words ?
K k k 2 Why,
1 436 ]
Why, they took them as, I humbly conceive,
every honeft, judicious, and thoughtful Man
would have done, in their plain and natural Senfe ;
as implying. That he made himfelf equal with
God: ver. 18. And therefore, fought the more
to kill him. — — A Charge, or Crime, fo very
heinous and fatanical! had it not indeed been
plainly implied in his Words, and the very Senfe,
our Saviour intended they fhould take them in ;
That, if he had had any Regard for the Glory of
God, or the Salvation of Men, or any Concern for
his own Character, &c. Yea, had he not been
loft to all Senfe of T^ruth, Modefly, Humility, &c.
he would, he ought, he could not but have, even
with Horror, fhewn them their Mifiake, and have
fet them. Right; which he might eafily have done,
more than " Twenty Ways." He might, he
fhould, have told them, He fpake no fuch Words,
he meant no fuch Thing, he detefled any fuch hellifh
'thought, he abhorred every Thing fo fuperlatively
devilifh, fo defperately, fo infinitely wicked, &c. &c.—
But, Did he ? — No : So far from it, that he, in a
long, a Divine Apology, explain'd himfelf, and
confirmed this Fundamental Truth, That, as the Son
of God, he was, adbually, equal with him ; which
we proceed to fhew, when we have reminded the
Reader of what we have often ^proved already. ■
I. That Chrifl is called, and is, adually, both the Son
of God, and the Son of Man -, and is as truly God, as
the Son of God, as he is Man, as the Son of Man,
2. Ihat therefore, ^ach of thefe Titles are,
when literally and ft riftly taken, Titles oi Nature,
and not 0^ Office. — 3. That yet, each of them are
fometimes ufed, in a larger Senfe, to denote the
complex Perfon of the Mediator, and as fuch, in
the aftual Execution of that Office. 4. That
therefore, this Title, the Son of God, may either
fignify the fccond Perfon and purely as fuch, or the
[ 437 1
Mediator as fuch : And that this Title, the Son^
without any otherWord annexed, may denote either
the fecond Perfon and purely as fuch ; or the Man
Chrtji Jefus and purely as fuch ; or the complex
Perfon of the Mediator^ as the Scope, or Circum-
ftances, of the Pafiage may require. — 5. That
therefore, our Lord might ufe this Title, the Son^
in each of thefe three Senfes, in the very fame
Difcourfe ; as he adually, I conceive, did in this.
— And, 6. That our Author has pitched upon
fome Ckufesy which, by his Art^ might be fo fer-
verted, as to feem to favour his Caufe •, but has
taken no Notice of others, in the very fame Verfes,
which cannot, by any Jrt, be tortured to any fuch
vile Purpofe. — Let us then fee how our Lord
explains himfelf, and pleads, and confirms his
Equality with God, i. e. the Father. He anfwered
their Charge, thus.
Verily, Verily 1 fay unto you, The Son can do nothing
cf himfelf, ver. 1 9. but zvhat he feet h the Father do : —
The plain, the full. Meaning of which is, q. d. Tho' I
do not deny the Senfe you put upon my Words,
becaufe it is flriftly true ; yet, I would have you
remember, I am not the Father, who is firfi in
Order and Operation, but the Son : And therefore,
tho' I faid He workeih hitherto, and I work, I did
not fay, nor mean, that / wrought firft, or was
the firfi ; and much lefs, as divided from him, or
without his Co-operation and Concurrence : But, that I
wrought with him, and from him ; fo that, we
work the very fame Works, as One joint Caufe, or,
if you will, as two undivided and infeperable Caufes,
but each according to the Order of his Subfiilence ;
He as the firfi, and I as the fecond, no one of us ever
working without the other. — And that this is
indeed the only true Senfe, is plain from the next
Claufe of that very Verfe, For what Thing foever
HE doth, thefe alfo doth the Son likewife. — IVhat
Thing
. [ 438 ]
I'hing foever^ ad extra, i. e. relating to the Creatures,
in Heaven or Earth j and whatfoever, without
Exception, the Thing be, whether according to,
befides, above, or contrary to, the Power or
ejiabli/hed Courfe, or Laws^ of Nature, — he, i. e. the
Father doth, whether in the Kingdom of Nature or
Grace,— thefe alfo doth the Son likewife, all of them,
with the fame Eafe, Power, and Authority : So
that the Operation of the Father and the Son, is
really undivided, and their Works the fame. And,
as HE never works without the Son, fo neither
doth, nor will, nor can, the Son do any Thing, but
what the Father in him and he in the Father doth,
or will, or can : And therefore, in accufing me,
ye really accufe him. Or, if we fbould fuppofe,
that our Lord fpeaks of himfelf in this Apology,
at leafl ver. 19 and 20. not ftridlly, and merely, as
the fecond Perfon, (but as having condefcended to
be the Mediator, who had alfo alllimed our Nature,)
our Argument would lofe nothing by it : Becaufe,
'tis felf-evident, That, in what Senfe, or Capacity,
foever, he could do what Thing foever the Father
doth, he is moft certainly equal with him in Power ;
and confequently, in all other ejfential Perfe^ions ;
and therefore, in EJfence alfo. ■ ■ But, it will be
faid.
In the very next Verfe, Our Lord is exprefs.
For the Father loveth the Son, Yes, He loves him
as another felf\ and as his own felf: Yea, and
cannot but love him, who is the exprefs Image of
his Perfon. — " and fheweth him all '■Things that
himfelf doth,^* p. c,6. Yes. — The Father is the
jirfi in Order and Operation : And this Phrafe, very
naturally, denotes as much. — But, more par-
ticularly, we anfwer i. If thefe Words are fpoken
of him, purely as the Son of God, they intimate, I
humbly conceive. That the Father does, as it were,
begirt, or is the firjl Agent, in every Work of the
Bleffed
[ 439 1
Blefifed T'hree. Or, 2. If we would talk with our
Fathers, They point out that ineffable ( ommunica-
tion as oihis EJfence, fo alfo of all his H^^'ili and Pur-
pofes, &c. to the Son. But, 3. Since he does
not, in all that long Apology, ftile him fel f /^^ Son
of God, but only the Son, I rather incline to think.
That our Lord here, throughout, fpeaks of him-
felf as the Mediator, tho' with a very particular
Refpedl to his Divine Nature And then, as he
condefcended to receive a Commijfion from him, and
confequently, to receive Commandments, &c. alfo ;
I fee no very great Inconvenience in granting.
That the Father did, on fome particular OccaJionSy
or always, fome Way or other, acquaint him with
his Will ; or, what he would have done, together
with the Place, Time, and Manner, ^c. as well as
the Work itfelf, which himfelf would concur in, or
work with, and hy him. — For, the Words themfelves
make it evident. That all 'things, which the Father
fheweth the Son, The Son himfelf was to do ; either
together with the Father, and as well as he ; or,
hy himfelf, and without him. — " and he will fhew
*' him greater Works than thefe," Yes : And what
then ? *' Thence I infer, that he hath not fhewn
" all yet i" Not to trifle, I anfwer i. We have
proved above, that the Words are not, cannot be,
taken literally. 2. The following Verfes put it out
of all Doubt, That the Father had shewn him,
what thefe greater Works were ; becaufe, he cer-
tainly knew them : For, otherwife, he could not
have told them of them, as every one, who can
but read the PafTage, muft fee he did. He adds,
" and ver. ^o- I can of myfelf do nothing," True :
He could not, as the firfi Perfon, or without him^
or as a Being feparate from him, as they pre-
tended he was. — *' 1 feek not mine own Will, but
" the Will of the Father who hath fent me,'''
Anf. (i) As his coeffential Son, he did not feek his
own
[ 440 ]
own H^ill, in xhtfirji Place, or not only, or not as
divers from, and yet, much lefs, as contrary to his :
But, in feeking his Will, he fought his own, as
being indeed the fame with his. (2) As the
Mediator, and, as fuch, God-man, he condefcended
to a61: in a delegated Capacity, and to become the
Father s Servant -, and therefore, had obliged him-
felf to feek his Will, in Purfuance of the Covenant
between them : But, feeing he knew the Father^!
Will, which was alfo indeed his own ; and chofe, yea
delighted to do it ; he really did his own Will j
and that in the Profpeft of the Glory that was fet
before him, as the Saviour of his People. Heb. x. 7.
• — 13. Ch. xii. 2, ifc. And, (3) As Man, he was
not only fuhordinate, but infinitsly, and in every
Senfe, inferior to him : And therefore, was not, at
all, to feek his own Will, in any Cafe •, or, only in
a perfecSt, and abfolute, Submijfion to his.
He concludes this, in thefe Words, not one of
which is true, " All which ExprelTions fufficiently
" evince," Not a Syllable of them, nor altogether,
evince any fuch Thing. — " that he did not
*' intend to fignify his own Godhead, or Equality
*' with God, when he called himfelf the Son of God,**
Anf. I. He did not, in all that Chapter, call him-
felf the Son of God. And yet, 2. If he did not
intend to fignify this, 'tis evident, he fhuffled with
them. But, — 3. 'Jhe coeffential Son could not
poffibly prove his Godhead, as is evident, any other
Way, but by declaring and proving, his . ejfential
Unity and Equality, with the Father. — I fay
as 'tis evident, except he had declared he had
another Godhead ; and confequently, that he was
another God : And then, the Jews, might and
would, have charged him, with making himfelf
a new God, a ftrange God, whom their Fathers knew
not ', &c. and therefore, as our Arians and Socinians
now do, That he made, at leaft, two Gods!
■ How
[441 ]
—However, how does he prove this ? " for in
" his very Anfwer to their Accufation he reprelents
" himfelf inferior to and dependant on God the
" Father." p. 56. Words very ambiguous ! and
therefore, in the prefent Cafe, exceedingly unfair.
To which we anfwer.
I. We have often obferved. That Chrijl, God-
man, confidered purely as the coejfential Son of God,
was not the firjl but the fecond Perfon ; fecond in
Order ^ and Operation ; and therefore, fubordinate
to the Father, as his own Son : — That, confidered
as having undertaken our Redemption, he condefcended
to be fubje^ to him ; yea, and become his Servant :
And, That, merely, as the Son of Man, he
was infinitely inferior to him, and omnimodoufly
dependant upon him, — 2. That he might there-
fore, in this Apology, or any Difcourfe, prove
himfelf as a coejfential Son, to be God equal with
the Father : And yet, relatively, fubordinate to him
as his Son, ceconomicaliy, fubjcS to him as his
Servant, and infinitely inferior to him as Man, his
Creature. 3. He does not, in all that Chapter,
call himfelf the Son of God, but only the Son, and
once the Son of Man. ver. 27/ 4. Thefe Ex-
prefTions, The Son can do 7iothing of himfelf, but
what he feeth the Father do, ver. 1 9. the Father
SHEWETH him all Things that himfelf doth, ver. 20.
I feek not mine own Will, but the IVill of the Father
who hath fent me. ver. 30. naturally, and eafily,
point out the Concurrence of the blelfed Three,
in all their IVorks relating to the Creatures ; that
the Son is the fecond, as in Order fo in Operation j
and that as the Mediator, tho' really equal with God,
he condefcended to aft as the Fathers Servant, and as
fuch, to feek his Will : But not at all, that he is
not a coejfential Son, and, therefore, as fuch, equal
with him. For, 5. In general, He doth what
Thing jocver the Father doth j ver. 19. — And, 6. In
L. 1 \ oar-
[ 442 ]
particular. He quickeneth whom he will, i. e. by his
awn Poiver and Authority j ver. 21. — Alt Judgment is
committed to him, ver. 22. which neceffarily requires
infinite Perfeftions, and therefore, prefuppofes his
eternal, coejfential Sonfuip •, — He is to be honoured by
all Men, even as they . honour the Father \ and
therefore, he is equal with him, ver. 23. — He that
helieveth on him, is pajjed from Death unto Life ;
and therefore, he is God, the Author both oi f-piritual
and eternal Life \ ver. 24, 26. — And all that are in
their Graves floall hear his Voice , &c. ver. 28, 29.
^ — If thefe now do not invincibly prove, That the Son
is God equal voith the Father -, and confequently, a
coejfential Son -, 'tis abfolutely impolTible to prove
any Thing by Words.
But, befides thefe, Our Lord brings other Wit-
neffes to prove his Equality with God. — 1. John
the Baptift, ver. 39, — '^c^. whofe Evidence we have
produced, and illuftrated. 2. Thk Father,
ver. 36 — 38. whofe '•lefiimony we have alfo given,
and vindicated. 3. The Scriptures, ver. 39.
which bear Witnefs to this great Truth, from the
Beginning to the End of them, as we have heard,
and may yet farther demonftrate. — And, 4. Mofes,
ver. 45, — 47. who, as we have proved, hath
fuper abundantly teftified the fame Thing. What
then would fatisfy Men .^ What would they
have ? — The Lord incline them to confider.
From this Time forward, we may obferve.
That, whenever he fpake of his Divinity, i. e. fpake
of God as his Father, in fo fingular a Manner, or of
himfelf as his own Son, &c. they always were either
difpleafed, or cavili'd, or reviled him, or in a
Rage, or fought to murder him. — Thus, after he
had multiplied the Loaves, Jo. vi. 1 — 14. a Miracle^
if any ever was ! when he came to make the Ap-
plication, and call God his Father, and himfelf his
Son i to tell them he ivas the Bread of Life, that he
A came
[ 443 J
came down from Heaven, to give Life to the Worlds
&c. ver. 32, 33, 46, (all ExprefTions neceflarily^r^-
fuppcjing, or implying^ his coeffential Son/hip ;) not-
withftanding the extraordinary Fondnefs they had
jufl before exprefTed, ihty Jlrove amongfi themf elves ^
ver. 52. cavilled, ver. 60. deferted him, ver. tb^
iic. — In like Manner, when he feems to have again
plainly enough hinted, That he was the Son of God,
and, as fuch, God of God, Ch. vii. 28, 29. then they
fought to take him, ver. 30. — But, Thefe Things
may be yet more particularly obferved, in the fol-
lowing Chapter.
Jo. viii. 12. Our Lord having called himfelf /;&5
Light of the Worldy vtx . 12. (for the Father being
Light, the Son is Light of Light, as well as
God of God ;) tlie Pharifees fcornfully reply, 'Thou
hearefi Record of thy f elf, thy Record is not true, ver. 1 3.
'-lamnot alone, faysChrift, but I and the Father that
fent me, ver. 16. and he alfo bears witnefs of me. ver. 1 8,
In which we may obferve the Familiarity exprefs'd, the
Order of the Words, and the near and indilToluble
Union between them. q. d. I am not alone .in my
Tejiimony, any more than in my Effence and IVorking :
But, as neither of us exijl, or work, without the
other j or, as we are not divided in our EJJence, or
' Working, fo neither are we divided in our Tejiimony :
(fee ver. 29. Ch. xiv. 10, &c.) For the Three that
bear Record in Heaven, are one, Vv, unum, one
Thing. — This feems to have again enraged them,
ver. 20. — And, when afterward he fpeaks of him-
felf, more plainly, as the Mediator, ver. 28. who
would make his People free; 32. and they (hame-
fully boafled, that they were never in Bondage, being
Abraham^ s Seed : 33. Our Lord very exprefsly tells
them, that they had another Original, or Father,
befides Abraham ; becaufe, had they been the ge-
nuine Sons of Abraham, and like him^ they would
have followed his Steps, who rejoyced to fee his Day ;
L 11 a and
[ 444 ]
andfnw it, and ivas glad •, ver. §6, Sec. < — ■ Abraham^
fay they ! "What, Haft thou feen Abraham ? Yes,
fays Chrift. Before Abraham, yivea-^xi^ was, was
born, was made, exified, I am. — — T\itjews took
his Meaning dire6liy, as we have obferved already,
•That he ajfmned to himfelf necejfary Exiftence, or
Eternity ; and thereby -made him j elf equal with God,
or a coeffential Son -, and therefore, taking this to be,
^in fo mean a Perfon, as they thought, or rather
•would be thought to think, he was,) Blaffhemy,
they took up Stones to cafi at him, ver. ^6 — c^^.
Or, perhaps, they put the fame Senfe upon thefe
Words, which we Ihall fee they did, upon another
Expreffion, Ch. x. 30. ■ — ■ However, I fhall only
now add, i. The delirious Interpretation, which
Socinus gives of thefe Words, is really, not only
beneath Contempt, but plainly contrary to their natural
grammatical Conftrudion ; and would alfo render
our Lord's Words either a poor Shuffle, or little
better than Nonfenfe -, &c. — 2. The Title, iyta bI/mi,
I AM, plainly implies necejfary Exigence -, is one of
the Titles of the moff High-, Ex. iii. 14, &c. and is
never, can never, be ufed of any, but one who is
true God ; &c. — Yea, 3. Could it be ufed of any
but the true God, we can hardly think. That he^
who was meek and lowly, would have fo publickly,
and with fuch Solemnity too, to the Faces of his
Enemies, who feldom failed to pervert every Thing
he faid, alTumed it to himfelf. Efpecially,
4. Since he could not but remember. That they
had lately accufed him of Blajphemy, for talking in
fuch Strains ; and could not but know, that they
would again be filled with hdignation •, and that he,
upon that Suppofition, needlefiy, not only Jiirred up
Anger, but expofed himfelf to their Fury, &c. by
ufmg fuch Words. — 5. 'Tis clear, he fpeaks of
himfelf, quite through that Chapter, as the Son of
^^od now made Flefh. — 6. 'Tis evident, from their
taking
t 445 1
iakin^ up Stones to Jione himy That they took him
to have afiumed to himfelf true and proper Divinity.
And yet, 7. He did not fo much as attempt to tell
them, that they mifiook him-, or to fet them rights in fo
important a Point!— Yea, 8. So far was he from doing
this. That, by his miraculous Efcape^ ver. 59, for
fo it was, fee Ch. x. 30. he confirmed the Trutb^
That he was indeed God-, and might have confirmed
them in it. That he, indeed, made himfelf, and as
i>is Son too, equal with God. — And, to wave
feveral others, 9. Had the Jews ever heard of his
pre-exiflent Soul, or had he now told them of it, 'tis
felf-evident, he might have feen Abraham, and
affirmed as much without Blafphemy, &c.
Jo. X. 33. We find them charging him with
Blafphemy ; becaufe he being a Man, made himfelf
God', for faying, in fo many Words, ver. 30. I and
the Father are one. — This with our Lord's
Reply, ver. 35, 36. being the Paflage, which the
Antitrinitarians, in all Ages, have pretended does
either totally overthrow our Faith, That he made
■himfelf God, or equal with him -, or, at leaft, very
much weaken our Proofs of it : We Ihall, the more
particularly, confider it ; and fhew that it invincibly
eftablifhes it.
As our Lord walked in the Temple, ver. 23. the
Jews, i. e. the Scribes and Pharifees, came round
about him, as if they had been very fincere-, and
indeed much in Earneft \ (tho' really with a Defign
to entangle, and enfnare him,) and faid. How long
doft thou make us to doubt ? If thou be the Christ,
tell us plainly, ver. 24. He immediately replied,
I told you and ye believed not, ver. 25. Ch. viii. 25.
Now, he had never, as we have proved already,
told them, that he was the Chrijl ; but only. That
he was the Son, the own, the only begotten Son of
Cod. ]o.m, 16 — 18. Ch. v. 17, &c. The IVorks
that
[ 446 ]
that I do in my Father's Name, they bear Witnefs
of me. q. d. As I told you, that I was the only
begotten of the Father^ the Divine Works which 1 do,
(not as a mere Injirument, but) as indeed a real efficient
working together with him, fully confirm what I fay
/ am. — None but one, who is God, can do thefe
Works : But, I do them : And therefore, I am God.
— I do not pretend to be the Father^ but only
the Son : And therefore, I am ^ coeffential Son. — —
The Father would not concur with me, in any
Work, to confirm a Lie -, and, by fo doing, impofe
upon the World : And therefore, you may depend
upon what I fay. And, tho' you believe not
this, ver. 26. yet My Sheep hear my Voice -, ver. 27.
and confequently, believe. That I am the only be-
gotten ; that 1 do the Works of the Father -, and that
the Father wcrketh hitherto, and 1 work: And, by con-
fequence. That I am equal with God. Ch. v. 17 — 19.
— And, I give unto them Eternal Ufe, and theyfloall
never periflo, &c. ver. 28. which none but One, who
is God, can fay and perform ! — I do not indeed
promife this, as a feparate Being from the Fat her ^
as the World fuppofe rne to be i or, as purfuing
my own Glory and not his, or, as divided from his ;
or, as that they were not Jiill his : For, tho' He
gave me them -, yet are they ftill in his Hand ; and
therefore, they Jhall never perifij •, ver. 29. becaufe,
in and for their Preferv at ion ^ zue jointly concur : He
worketh, a7id I work. And, in Reality, fays he,
it cannot be otherwifc : JSldther of us can work,
without the ^'//^^r ; For, jV la-fj^^.v, unum fumus, we are
ONE Thing. In which obferve,
I. He fpeaks of himfelf and the Father, as two
difiinSi Perfons ; as every Father Sind- Son neceffarily
are. — 2. That the Verb plural ect/aev, we are, puts
this out of all Doubt. — 3 . That, as he never faid of
himfelf, I AM God, for the Reafons given above,
fo
[ 447 ]
fo he does not here fay, / and God^ but I and the
Father •, that he might the more clearly keep up the
Dijlin£iicn of the Perfons, even when he was moi^Jirongly
to exprefs their Unity of EJfence. — 4. What he affirms
of them, are one Thing j /. e. in a Word, I as the
Son and He as the Father, are as much One, as we
pofiibly can be ; or, every Way, and in every
Senfe, One, but that we are two perfonal Agents ;
or, as we are one in EJfence, Co are we in all EJJential
Perfe^ions. — As his Omnipotence is my Omnipotence,
fo is my Omnipotence his \ and fo of the reft. •
5. The /^Wji/Z^r Manner in which he fpeaks. — Sup-
pofing the Son to be a coejfential Son, Could he,
poffibly, fpeak more in Charad:er, more familiarly,
or more like fuch a Son ? — But, 6. The Order of
the Words, (/ and the Father ; and fo it is, Ch. viii.
16, &c.) can never be enough confidered. ■ — They
are joined, as the Subject of the fame Propofition ;
he names himfelf firft, and no Doubt with an
Emphafis ; he did it before his Enemies, who were
ready to catch at every Word •, and in A nfwer to
their important ^ejlion ! And therefore, not with-
out a Defign. — Could any Words be to them more
irritating ? — Was it then confiftent with common
Difcretion, needlefly to provoke them ? — Was this
like one, who was meek and lowly? — Would it
not, does it not, look Wkt feeking his own Glory P —
The Manner of Speaking, (which would not be
fuffered among Men, were not the Speaker at leaft
equal to any of thofe before whom he named himfelf,)
confirms me in it, That our Lord intended, in the
moft obfervable and emphatic Way, to proclaim his
Coejfentiality with the Father. — I have often won-
dered, that, to the beft of my Remembrance, I
never heard of, or read, any One, who laid fuch a
Strefs upon this, as it well defer ves ! For my own
Part, I have never confidered it, for many Years
paft, but I was ftruck with it : And cannot help
faying.
[ 448 ]
faying. That were I in any Doubt, or Doubts,
about the Doflrine of the Trinity, and coejfential
Sonjhip of the fecond Perfon, this Order of thefe
Words would, alone, forever remove them all. •
Durft any, but a coejfential Son, have exprefied him-
felf in this Manner ? before fuch a Company ? ^c. ^c.
* Well, How did the Jews bear this ? — Why,
they were fo enraged, that, without waiting to
carry him before their Sanhedrim, they took up
Stones again to jlone him, ver. 31. in a tumultuary
Way, as they did the Froto-Martyr afterwards. —
And when our Lord mofl: kindly expoftulated with
them. Many good Works have I Jhewn you from my
Father: Which are my Credentials-, and in doing
which, he would not have owned me, and concurred
with me, to confirm any Lie of mine ; or, if I had
not fpoken the Truth, and for his Glory. — For
which ofthofe Works do you jlone me ? ver. ^2.q.d. 'Tis
full as reafonable to jlone me for my good Works, as
for any Words I have faid : Becaufe, my Works are the
highejl Proof, which either the Father, or I, can
give of the Truth of my Words. When, I fay,
Chrift had, in this tender Manner, reafoned with
them ; they anfwered him in their Fury, faying.
For a good Work we jlone thee not ; hut for Blafphemy \
and becaUfe that thou being a Man makejl thyfelf God^
ver. 33. q. d. Good Works! they cannot be good
Works ; becaufe, as we have told thee often, Jo. v.
ver. 10 and 16. Ch. ix. ver. 14, 16, and 24. thou
art not of God, but art a Sinner -, yea, a Blafphemer ;
in that thou being but a Man, fuch a poor, mean,
defpicable Man, makejl thyfelf God. — In which,
let the Reader obferve, i. They called him a Man ;
and this, he did not, could not deny. 2. They
pretend and infmuate, that he was no more but
a Man, or a mere Man, and a very mean one too.
• — 3. They charge him therefore diredly, with
Blafphemy -, a, capital Crime ! for which they were
corri=^
[ 449 ]
commanded tojlone him. Lev. xxiv. i6. — 4. They
would here make good their IndiHment^ from his
own Words, / and the Father are cne^ hu, 0ns
Thing. — What Man foever dare talk in this Strain,
is guilty of Blafphemy : Thou haft done fo, in our
Prefence : Therefore, Thou art guilty of Blajphemy.
Here now let thefe Thoughts be well re-
membered,
N. B. (i) The Words, on which they grounded
this Charge, are not the fame with ihofe^ Ch. v. 1 7.
Our Lord's Words, in that PafTage, are, My
Father worketh hitherto, and 1 work : Here, they
are, / and the, or my. Father are one. — N. B. (2) The
Senfes the Jews put upon them, or the Inferences
they drew from them, were not the fame neither.
Their Conclufion from that was, That he made him-
felf equal iznth God : From this. That he made him"
felf God. N. B. (3) In the former Words,
Chrift, clearly and ftrongly, exprefTes the Dijiin^fion
between the Father and hinifelf, as being two Co-wcrkers j
and confequently, two f erf onal Agents -, without any
plain, 21 Ic^H literal Intimation of their £7;zzV_y and Co-
ejfentiality ; whence they conclude, and naturally
enough. That he made himfelf equal with God:
Whereas, in the latter, he not only exprefsly keeps
up the Dijiin^ion between th,e Perfons, but ftrongly,
and very emphatically, intimates their Unity and
Coeffentiality ; whence they infer. That he made him-
felf God. N. B. (4) Tho', for one, who was
true Man, and not alfo Gcd^ to 7nake himfelf equal
with the Father, was really Blafphemy, as well as,
for fuch a Perfon, to fay, I aiid the Father are, 'iv,
one Thing : Yet, the Jews feem to have thought, that
this latter Expreffion had more in it ; and was rather
more Blafphemous, upon fome Account or other,
than the former ; and therefore, tho' they were
exceedingly difplcafed with thaty they permitted our
Lord to make his Apology, they heard him our,
M m m and
[ 450 ]
Bnd fuffered him to depart in Peace : But, they
were fo furioufly enraged with him, for this, tho'
his Defence was, in Reality, much the fame, that
they fought again to take him, &c. ver. 39. So
that, N. B. (5) They feem to have thought. That
. he either dropt the Dijlin^ion of the Perfons al-
together •, or made thefe Words, / and the Father^
to imply little more than a Difiin5iion of Namei»,
Charafter.", or Offices : And, that he really mads
himfelf the Father ; or, at leafl, left not room
enough for a perfonal Diftindlion betwixt them 5
and confequently, that, inftead of ufing the Lan-
guage of the Prophets, and of their Fathers, (for
which, it would feem, they had ftill fome Re-
verence,) he talk'd, if I may be allowed the Phrafe,
pretty much at leaft, in the Strains of the Sabellians
and other Heretics. That this was, in Fad, the
Cafe, appears to me, from thefe Confiderations,
befides what has been ofrered.
'^his was one of the two, or three, principal
Texts, on v/hich the Herefy of Sahellius, and the
Patripaffians, &c. was founded : — If any Words
could give any fpecious Pretext for fuch a Fancy,
it cannot be denied, that thefe Words, / and the
Father, tv la-fAn', we are one ^hing, might ; efpecially,
becaufe, 'tis evident from the Context, that Chrift
there reafons, as well he might, from their Unity
cf Power ^ to their Unity of Effence : — 'Tis plain,
the Jews were 'more vehemently offended with
thefe Wcrds, than thofe, Ch. v. 17. for which, na
other Reafon can be imagined : — — And our
Saviour's Anfwer, puts it, I conceive, out of all
Doubt. Well then, How did he behave?
What Jpology did he make ? What Anfwer did he
give ?
Did he ** fhew them plainly, that thefe Words
** did not neceffarily imply, that he ajfumed Equality
" wilh God i" *s our worthy Author will have it ?
P-55-
[ 45' J
p. ^^. No : He did no fuch Thing. — Or, That he
altered, or retra5fed, or even foftened, any Thing he
had faid ? No : Not at all. Is there then any
Thing like Eva/ton, or Shuffiing, in our Lord's De-
fence ', or, did he decline to give a direft Reply to
their Charge, as others have more than hinted } No.
— Far be any fuch mean Things, from our dear
Redeemer, the only begotten Sen of God. Did^ he
then let them right, in that wherein they mifiook
him ^ Yes. — Did he give a dire6t Anfwer to the
Charge ? Yes. — And did he unanfwerably confirm
what he had faid ? Yes ; in every Part of it, moft
fully. For, as to the feveral Parts, or Articles,
of the Indi£ftnent, which we have mentioned above,
obferve,
I. He allows himfelfto be 2. Man-, and denies
not that, in his then prefent Circumftances, he was
a mean Man : But alledges. That feveral, who were
but mere Me}!, had been, even in the Scripture, and
confequently, without Blafphemy, called Gods ; and
therefore, lb might he. 2. He declares. That,
tho' he was a Man, and in a low and mean State
alfo in the Eyes of the World ; yet he was not a
were Man, or nothing hut a Man -, but, even as
Man, inconceiveably exalted above all other Men :
And therefore reafons, from the leffer to the
greater. Thus : If he, without Blafphemy, called them
(Magiftrates) Gods, unto whom the Word of God
came, as the Scripture which cannot he hroken, ver. ^3.
/. e denied or found Fault with, affures us ; Say ye
cf him, whom the Father hath fan^lified, feparated to
be the Mediator, hy whom Kings reign, &c. Pro. viii. i ^.
Thou hlafphemefl, hccaufe I Jaid, (not that / am God,
in your Senfe, and as you hint, but) / am the
Son of God .'' — Surely, He whjm the Father hath
fent unto the PVorld, i. e. the Son, who was pro-
mifed to be given, to be the Child horn to us, may,
even as fuch, with infinitely more Reafon, and
M m m 2 * much
[ 452 ]
iruch more properly, ftile himfelf th^ Son of Gody
then they might be ftiled Cods. c^. He ftrong-
ly keeps up the Biftinftion of the Perfons, / and the
Father, He ivhcm the Falher hath [an5tified\ bcz,
and therein fhews, that they were indeed two fro^er
Perfons, as all Sons and Fathers are. 4. He, by
fo doing, rectifies thcrir Miftake, That when he faid,
/ and the Father are one Thing, he did not mean.
That he was the Father, as they feem to me to
have thought : But, tho' coeffential with him, only
the Son of the Father, and not the Father him.felf.
* 5. He proves. That, as the Son of God, he
was indeed, as they took him to mean, equal with
him : And he does it, by the very fame Argument
he had ufed, Ch. v, 1^7, 19. If I do not the ff^orks
of my Father, (vvhich require infinite Power, and
which I really do with him, or as well as he,) believe
me not : But, if / do them, as you cannot but fee,
I really do ; tho' ye believe not nie^ believe the Works \
Tcr. 38. and thefe will fhevv, infallibly fhew, the
Omnipotent Power of him, who works them ; and
confcquently, That the Father worketh hitherto, and
I work, viz. the Ytvj fame Works, with him. — But,
whereas they might ihave urged. Thou didft, in fo
many Words, and with much Affurance, fay, 7 and
the Father, are one 1'hi;ig ; He anfwers direftly,
' — 6.1 did fo : And now iland by it, 'That ye may
know andbelii,ve, Th:.t //j,? Father is in me, and I in
HIM. ver. 38.x e. faith the learned Mr. Clark, " That
*' the Divine Effence is xhe. farae\i\ us both, (ver. 30.)
" tho' there be a Bifiin^ion of Perfons between us."
And 'tis felf-evidcnt, 1 hat, as the Divine Effence
cannot poUibly be divided from itfelf, or the iJivine
Perfioiions, any more than the Divine Perfe5iion^
can be feparaied from th-.^mfelves, or from the
C'ivine Effence : So, 'tis as evident. That the very
fame PerJe£lions, which are in the Father and the Son,
de-
[ 453 1
demonftrate. That the felf-fame Offence is in them
both ; or. That they are^ tv, one Thing.
Thus have we clearly explained, and vindicated^
this Context, v/hich has been thought, by many,
as well as myfelf, to have no fmali Difficulty in it,
arifing from the Miftake hinted above. We
have, I fay, made every Thing plain, and eafy, even
to the meanejR: Capacity : Yea, and made it alfo appear
an irrefragable Argument^ for the Coejfentiality of the
firji and fecond Perfons of the Trinity -, and therefore,
of the coejfenlial Soijhip of the Seconds Here the
Reader will find no Pf^riggling, or mean Eva/ion ;
no declining any Thing, v/hich feems to make againft
us ; no advancing, nor fuppojing, any Thing pre-
carious, or without both Recfcn and Proof: Yea,
here he will fee every Word, which could raife any
'Demur, or Bctibt, fairly confidered, and the true
SeJife of it fully eftabliihed. And two
Things further confirm me in the Truth •, and,
I verily think will fully convince every impartial
Perfon.
I. When the Jews, upon his Trial, when they
fiiewed their Malice to the uttermofl, accufed him
of Blafphemy, they did not charge him with
making himfelf God, {i. e. making himfelf the
Father, or leaving no pcrfonal Diftinftion between
himfelf and the Father •,) but only, with making him-
felf ^ the Son of God. Jo. xix. 7. Whence it feems
plain, he had convinced them, ( 1 ) That they had
miftaken the Senfe ol his Words, Ch. x. 30.
(2) That he had alTerted nothing more in that
Verfe, than he had done ; Ch. v. 17. but only, more
fully and plainly, exprefs'd the Coeffentiality of the
blefied Perfons. And, — (3) That he was fo far from
yielding. That he did not, " as ^ Son, affime
" Equality with the Father^'' that he ftill maintained
it, and proved it too, by the Itrongeff, and moft
con-
[ 454 ]
convincing Argument poITible \ If I do not the
Works of my Father^ believe 'me not^ &c.
2. This, 1 conceive, is rendered indubitable
from their Carriage, therefore they fought again to
take him : ver. 39. viz. as a Blafphe^ner, for affuming
Divinity to himfelf, which did not belong to him.
And, I think alfo, I may add. That his miraculous
Efcafe out of their Hands^ was fufficient, not only
to filence them j but confirm them in it. That
he.i 2i% his own Son, thought it indeed no Robbery
TO BE EQUAL WITH GoD. Procecd wc then
to,
Jo. xix. 7. This is the laft Text wherein thejww
accufed him with Blafphemy. ^he Jews anfwered
i>im, we have a Law^ (the haw againft Blafphemy^
Lev. xxiv. 16.) and by our Law he ought to die^
hecaufe he made himfelf the Som of God. -— This I
produce lail, not only becaufe it comes laft in
Order ; but becaufe it is, if I may fo fay, the
Seal of all the reft, and confirms them fo abfo-
lutely, as to leave no Room for a fober or rational
Anfwer ; yea, and hardly, for any wriggling,
fhuffling or evading ; as will appear undeniable, if
we confider,
( I ) Every one, v/ho will but read the Paflages,
may, yea miuft fee. That, whenever the Jews
beard him call himfelf the Son of God, his only
begotten Son -, or call God his Father^ in that folemn
and peculiar Manner, and with thofe Circum.ftances
which he added ; they always, and every where,
put the fame Senfe upon it •, and charge him with
making himfelf equal with God, &c. and with Blaf
phemy, for fo doing. — (2) 'Tis as undeniable,
That they put the very fame Senfe upon this 'Title,
in this their Charge, before Pilate : Becaufe, 'tis
felf evident, l>iat. If they had put our Author's
Senfe upon it, or indeed any other Senfe, their
Charge
[ 455 ]
Charge would not have amounted to Blafphemy c
For furely, it was not Blafphemy to fay, " that his
" Human Soul was created before the Foundation of
** the World," (to pafs the Inconfiftency in theic
Words,} " tho* in a very peculiar Manner j" nor
to pretend to be the Son of God^ i. e. the Meffiah^
if, by fo doing, he had not, in their Opinion,
made himfelf equal ivith God ; no, nor to call himfelf
his Son, in any low, or improper Senfe, becaufe
others have, without Blafphemy, called themfelves,
or been called, his Sons, in all thofe Senfes : And
confequently, l^y their Law he ought not to have
died. — Need I add. They would then have advanced
the moll criminal Charge againft him, which they
had any Thing like a Pretext for, l^c. — And-
therefore, 3. 'Tis no lefs evident. That he is, really.
So the Son of God, as to be, as fuch, eo^ual*with him ;
and therefore, a ccef[ential Son ; as will be manifcfl,
beyond all fobcr or ferious Contradiftion, from^ thefe
Confiderations.
This Title, the Son of God, his only, begotten^ if
taken in a ftrid and proper Senfe, naturally, as is.
evident, denotes a cocffential Son : — 'Tis undeniable.
That the Jezvs ahvays took it in a Jlriff Senfe ; and
therefore, always accufed him with making himfelf
equal with God : — '1 is vifible to every one, who can
but read the PafTages, That he never directly, or.
exprefsly, denied the Accufaticn^ tho' he might
eafily have done it many Ways : — It can't be
doubted. That it was his Diity^ as the Prophet of his
Church, either to have exprefs'd himfelf, fo plainly
and fully, upon fuch an important Point, that his
Followers might not miflake Wm ; or, at lead, to
have corrected tb.eir Miflake^ when he perceived they
did : — A truly pious Perfon could not have heard
fuch an Accufation, had it not been true, without
Grief, Horror, Detefcation : — He, who was tneek and
lowly, mull have abhorred, I had almoll faid, /«-
finitely
[ 456]
finitely abhorred the Suggefiion^ as mofi: hateful^ and
abominable to God\ and, with the utmoft Care, and
even Anxiety^ have cleared himfelf of all fuch odious
Sufpicions : — Yea, a meer morally honefi Man, had he
been no more, muil have protejied againft it, had
it not been true, as a falfe, injurious, malicious
' Charge •, and fo exceedingly criminal, as to be
indeed Blafphemy ; and that the guilty Wretch well
deferved to be put to Death : — He was now upon
his Trial, before a Judge who feemed very ready to
favour and releafe him, and very willing to put
the beft Conftrudlion upon any Defence he could
make ; and therefore, in Juftice, and in Pity, to
him, he ought, at leaft, to have offered fomething,
if not to deny, yet to alleviate the Charge, or, one
Way or other, to explain and defend himfelf: »
When a Prifoner at the Bar has not the Courage,
fo much as to deny the Indi^ment, no Judge, nor
Jury, in the World, would think it unjujl, no nor
uncharitable, to JindKim. Guilty, a.nd proceed againG: him
accordingly •, yea, Silence in fuch a Cafe, has always,
and every where, been reckon'd equivalent to a
Confejfton, if the Prifoner is indeed compos Mentis :
— ■ It our Lord was not, really, fo the Son of God,
as to be equal with him. How eafily might he have
faid, Tho' I called myfeif, the Son of God, I did
not fay, I did not mean, that I was equal with hini j
and therefore, I did not blafpheme ', and confequent-
ly, ought not to die for what I faid : — He either,
as his Son, made himfelf equal with God, or he did
not ; If he did, he is indeed equal with him, becaufe
our Author confeffes. He is the God of 'Truth \ If
|ie did not, Should he, Could he, have left fuch
a heinous Imputation on himfelf, without a Reply :
— His Life was then at flake, for Blafphemy, a
Capital Crime, which juftly expofed to Death ; and
therefore, to be fiknt, was, in Effed, to confefs
himfelf guilty -, and confequently, to be Sinfully
a('
r 4S7 ]
accejfory to his own Death : &c. &c. — In fine, he
who can think, That Chrift would, or could, have
been filent^ under an Accufation of Blafphemy^ for
making himfelf fo the Son of God, as to be equal with
him -, if it was not, indeed, a great 'Truth j may even
think, or fay, any Thing of him they pleafe, as,
alas ! we fee many of them do, without either Fear^
or Shame.
Well, How did Pilate receive this frefii Charge,
as 'tis evident he took it to be ? Why, we are
told, he was the more afraid, ver. 8. — He was
afraid, it feems, before -, but he was much more fo
now. Afraid for what he had done ! afraid to pro-
ceed ! afraid to have any Thing more to fay to, or
do with him ! — And went again into the Judgment
Hall, ver. 9. that, by talking with Chriji, he might
inform himfelf farther about this New Accufation^
which he had not heard of before ; — and faith unto
Jefus, Whence art Thou? — Not, JVho art
thou ? Or, fVhat haft thou done ^ But, Whence art
thou .? q. d. What is thy Original, and Generation ? Art
thou indeed from Hea^uen ? Art thou, in Fadt,
the Son of God, and, as fucb, equal with him, as he per-
ceived the Jews meant it ? Or, Art thou fuch a Son
of the God of the Jews, as we Romans believe the
Sons of our Gods are ? — Whence, 'tis evident, he
took this to be a Title of Nature, and not of Office ;
as every unprejudiced Man in the World would
have done. — And now. How eafy would it have
been, for our Lord, to have given us fome Inti-
mation of " his pre-exiflent human Soul, and its
*' peculiar Derivation from God ?" What a
proper Opportunity was this, if the Jews had all
along miftaken the Meaning of this Title, the Son
of God, to have explained it ; and have, for ever,
wiped off the Stfiin of Blafphemy from himfelf ; and
prevented, forever, his People, from falling into
this Error of the Jews -, which, if it be an Error, is
fo far fyom being a fmall one, that it is, indeed,
N n n Blaf'
[4S8]
Blafphemy ? — Yea, whether we will hear it, or no V
on one Side, or the other, there is really Blafphemy •'
If the Son, as fuch, is, in Fact, equal with Godt
as, we think, we are fure we have demonjiratedy
then it is plainly Blafphemy to deny it ; and much
more fo, to oppofe it, and wrejl fuch a great Num-
ber of Texts to patronife this Oppofition : — And,
If the Son is not, as fuch, in Reality, equal with
God, i. e. a coejfential Son, 'tis plainly Blafphemy, to
fay he is ; or, afcribe that Divinity to him, as fuch,
which does not belong to him.
Well, What Reply did our Lord give to Pilate*s
Queftion ? — But Jefus gave him no Anfwer. And
therefore, as we have unanfwerably proved, did, at
leaft, tacitly allow, and, in EfFed:, confefs. That
he was fo the Son of God, as to be equal with him,
i. e. a coeffential Son. — And hence, by the Way,
we may certainly learn the true Meaning, of the
glorious Confeffion of the Centurion, and thofe that were
with him. Mat. xxvii. 54. Truly this was the Son
OF God. — He had, fome Space before, glorified
God, faying. Certainly this was a righteous Man ;
Luke xxiii. 47. but having, with fome others, feen
and obferved more of the Miracles that attended
his Death % and reflected alfo more ferioufly, upon
what they had heard, during his T'i'ial -, and that he
had, (tho' like himfelf, without OJlentation !) really
confeffed, that he made himfelf the Son of God -, they
feared greatly, faying. Truly This was the Son of
God. And, if he was indeed a Righteous Man, he
was truly the Son of God : Becaufe a Righteous Man,
would not have been filent, and fo have, in Effect,
fealed a hie with his Blood.
Hence it was, that I called this Paflage the Seal
of all Vv'hich has been faid, upon this Clafs, if not
cf all the Proofs we have produced : Becaufe, it
confirms, and forever eftabliflies, the coeffential Son-
fijip of Chrifl, beyond all that can, poflibly, be
foberly replied. — Our Lord died under the Impu-
tation
[ 459 J
ialion of Blajphemy^ for making himfelf the Son of
God J and, as fuch, equal with him : And therefore,
he did adtually make himfelf a coeffential Son, and.
this was a great Truth and not Blafphemy. — Or, He
was accufed for making himfelf a coequal^ and
therefore a coeffential Son -, which, would have been
Blafphemy in him, to have done, had he not been
indeed io: He did not fo much as deny he had
made himfelf fuch a Son : And therefore, we mufl:
conclude, he was really what they faid he had made
himfelf. — Yea, He did not fo much as honeflly
explain his Words, tho' his Honour, Veracity, and
Difcretion, &c. yea, his Life was at Stake : And
therefore, we may be fure, his Enemies did not
miftake the true Meaning of them ; or put any
other Senfe upon them, than that which, he
intended they Ihould put upon them, v/hen.he ufed
them.
From this Text, which, all Things confidered,
may be faid fufficiently to explain, and vindicate
itfelf, or perhaps that it needs neither, being clear
enough without them ; I now, according to my
Promife, offer a Demonflration or tv/o, againft all
my Antagonifts. I call it a Demonflration, becaufe
it is ftri^tly fo ; being well aflured, that every in-
telligent and impartial Perfon, will acknowledge it to
be lo. And,
I. I argue againft Dr. Ridgley, Dr. Anderfon, and
{ill of their Mind -, (as well as the learned lioel, and
our worthy Author, fo far as they agree with them ;)
who take this Title, the Son of Gody to be a Title
of Office and not of Nature j or, in their own
Words, fayj That " Chrifl is called the Son of God,
*• as Mediator, or the Meffiah, &c.*' p. 53. and all
who deny that the fccond Perfon is, as fuch, a Son ;
and confequently. That Chrifl is, in any Senfe, a
coeffential Son. • — Againft them all, I fay, we reafon
thus.
N n n 2 If
[ 46° ]
If not only the Jews and "Pilate^ but our Lord
himfelf, took that Title, the Son of God, to be,
properly and ftridly fpeaking, a Title of Nature
and not of Office ; and tbis Title, the Cbrift, to be
always a Title of Office and not of Nature ; then is
that, ftridly fpeaking, a Title of Nature, and tbis
a Title of Office : But they all moft certainly did
io : Ergo, They are fo. Q^ E. D. — Or thus,
Thofe Titles which were neither in the Opinion of
the Jews, nor of Pilate, nor of Cbrifi himfelf,
ilridly fynonymous, were not ftriflly fynonymous :
But thefe Titles, tbe Son of God, and the Mediator^
or the Mejfiab, or the Saviour, were neither in
the Opinion of the Jews, nor Pilate, nor of Cbriji,
ftridly fynonymous, z. e. of the fame precife, but of a
very different Signification : Therefore they are not
ftridly fynonymous, nor of the fame precife, but of a
very different Signification. Q^ E. D.
The Propojition, or the Major as it Is called, is
undeniable: Becaufe, Ihould we fuppofe, that the
Jews erred through Malice or Prejudice, and Pilate
thro' Ignorance, we are fure Our Lord himfelf knew,
and could not be miftaken. — The Ajfumption or
Minor, we prove per Partes, in all its Parts.
I. Tis evident. That the Jews, who had falfly
accufed our Saviour, for perverting the Nation, and
forbidding to give Tribute to Cefar, faying that he
himfelf was Chrifl a King \ Luke xxiii. a. and for
fiirring up the People, teaching them throughout all
Jewry, &c. ver. 5. advanced this. That he made
himfelf the Son of God, as a nezv, a frejh Charge ;
and believing, that he thereby made Jsimfelf equal
with God, 'tis evident, they thought it, by far, his
greateft Crime: And therefore, plainly enough
hint, That, if the Governor fhould make fo light of
his Sedition and Treafon, they had a Law, by which
he ought to die, for a yet more heinous TranfgrefTion.
' — 2. 'Tis as evident, that Pilate did not take
thefe
t 46i ]
thtfe Titles, the Chriji, and the Sou of God, to be
Ilriftly fynonymous, or of the fame Signification pre-
cifely ; but of a very different Signification : And
thought that the former was a Title of Office, the
latter of iV(^/«r(? •, as he could not but fee the Jews
did. — When he examined him about his being a
Seditious Perfon, an Enemy and Rival to Cefar,
feeing his Accufers could prove nothing, his
^eflions were very natural, Jrt Thou the King of
the Jews ? Jo. xviii. 33. What haji thou done ? ver. ^^,
Art thou a King then? ver. 37. And fo was this,
when they had accufed him with making himjelf the
Son of God, Whence art thou ? q. d. Art thou indeed
the Son of God, come down from Heaven to fojourn
among Men ? &c. — Withal, Had either the Jews, or
the Governor, believed that thefe Titles, the Chriji,
and the Son of God, were flriftly fynonymous,
nothing could have been more fuperfluous, yea
ridiculous, than either this new Charge, or Ptlate*s
new ^ejiion. 3. Chrijl himfelf did, by his
Silence, in this Cafe, abfolutely, and forever, con-
firm this great Truth, That thefe Titles, the Son of
God, and the Chriji, were not ftriftly fynonymous,
but that a Title of Nature, and this of Office. —
When the high Priefi ajked him of his Difciples,
and of his Do^rine, Jo. xviii. 19. he anfwered di-
redlly, ver. 20 — 23. When the Govcrnour put the
Queflion, Art thou King of the Jews ? ver. 33. he
acknowledged it, but like one that was meek and
lowly in Heart, as he was. ver. ^7- B'-^t to this.
Whence art thou ? Jefus gave him no Anfwer. - — Can
any Thing then be more certain, than that thefe
Titles, the Chriji, and the Son of God, do not pre-
cifcly fignify the fan-^e Thing, but excite in us, or
convey to us, very diflind and different Ideas } —
And indeed, tho' he could not have been the
Meffiah, had he not been the Son of God -, yet he
was the Son of God, in the Order of Nature, before
he
E 462 ]
he could be defigned to, and abftrading from all Con-
fideration of, his Office.
This Demonftration then I have offered againfi
this Notion^ and am fatisfied it can never be evaded,
and much lefs confuted. I fhall only add, N. B. This
will remain a Demonjiration^ againft Dr. Ridgley^ &c.
and their Admirers, even tho* it could be demon-
firatedy That the fecond Perfon is not a coejfential Son :
Becaufe, it cannot be denied. That neither the Jews^
nor Pilate, nor Chriji himfelf, took thefe two
Titles, the Son of God and the Chrifi, to be fynony-
mous or to lignify the very fame Thing : And con-
fequently. That Chriji is not called the Son of God^
as the Mediator or the Mejfiah. — I therefore hope
their Difciples will, forever, freely give up this
Nojlrum^ as I verily think themfelves would do,
were they now alive.
2. I offer this Deraonjlration againfi feveral other
of our learned Author's Notions.
The Jews, when they heard him, in that folemn
Manner, and with fo many Circumflances, ftile
himfelf the Son of God, his only begotten Son, &c.
always, and every where, took him to have meant
a coejfential Son ; and therefore, charge him with
Blafphemy, for making himfelf equal with God : &c. Our
Lord was fo far from ever, clearly, or exprefsly,
or indeed any how, denying it •, as he would, and
cught, upon many Accounts, to have done, had it
not been true •, that he always maintained and de-
fended that Senfc, either by infallible Proofs, or
Divine Works ; or both : Ergo, He is the coejfential
Son of God Q^E. D. — Or thus.
Our Saviour was charged with this, as a capital
Crime, upon his I'rial, when his Life was at flake,
and when the Glory of God, the Salvation of his
People; i^c. ^c. did loudly call upon him to deny
it rou .Jly, if it was not indeed true; or explain
himfcU clearly, if his Words were miflaken : But
he did neither, no not in the leafl j and therefore,
fince
[ 463 ]
fince Silence at the Bar, is allowed by all, to be
equivalent to a Confejfwn, he did, in this Manner,
confefs. That he was indeed the coejfential Son of
God ; yea, and fealed this great and fundamental
Truth with his Blood: Ergo. He is indeed his
coejfential Son^ and, as fuch, equal with him. Q^E. D,
^-And, in a Word,
Many Things we have heard of this Son, and, as
fuch, which neither ever were, nor pofTibly could be,
true of his human Soul^ be it as great, and glorious,
as poflible : Ergo, His human Soul is not properly
the Son of God. — Q^ E. D. In Reality, it neither
is, nor in Scripture is ever fo called.
I need proceed no further at prefent, being pretty
well afiured. That the Subjlance of what has been
faid, can never be confuted. — A clear Caufe pleads,
and proves, itfelf. A very indifferent Pleader, with
fuch a Caufe, may do pretty well, againft all Op-
pofition. — If any fhall attempt a Reply, I affure
them, I fhall neither wriggle, nor fhuffle, nor
meanly evade, in any Cafe. — My WeaknefTes,
Miflakes, Blunders, or Nonfenfe, they may be
very free with. Let; them quote my own Words
fairly, as I do every Body's : Let them confute me,
if they can, with Scripture, or Reafon -, and they
fhall find that, through the Grace of God, I fhall
not fhut my Eyes againfl the Light. Only let
ferious Things be managed fcrioufly, and I am
pleafed.
Thus, we hope, through the Bivine AfTiflance,
we have proved the Six Propofitions. p. 55.
1. That the fecond Perfon in the Trinity, and as
fuch, is often, in Scripture, fliled the Son of God :
And therefore, is really fo, in fome Senfe or other.
2. That the fame Dm;/^ Perfon, as fuch, is often
called his own, his begotten, his only begotten. Son.
3. That therefore this Title, the Son of God, and
efpecially when thefe Mnouns are annexed, is a Title
of 'Nature.^ and not of Office. And confequently,
4. That
[ 464 ]
4- That, in all Places where he is fo calledj,
it neceflarily does either prefuppofe, imply, or denote^
his Divine 'Nature. Nor can it be otherwife. And
therefore,
5. That, as the Son, he is God of God, very
God of very God, begotten not made. And,
6. That his pre-exiftent human Soul, Is not, pro-
perly, the Son of God. I add, is never fo called.
The Reader, I doubt not, will think it ftrange,^
as well he may. That I have not confidered, and
improved, the F