for Illustration. And fo much the more, because, while we are in the Body, we conceive of Spiritual things, even of our own Soul, in fome fort, after the manner of Body. And if our own Soul, by which we Move and Act and Think, is fo Hidden from us, that we cannot Conceive Rightly of it: How much more muft the Infinit and In-comprehenfible Nature be Remov'd far above our poor UnderStanding! Seeing we cannot Conceive any thing of it, but by Allufion to what we Understand here of our felves, and other Creatures that are before us. Therefore fuch Allufions are given to us, and God fpeaks to us of HimSelf after the manner of Mex, because we cou'd not otherwife Understand any thing at all of Him. Thus Ged afcribes Paffions to Himfelf, as Joy, Anger, Grief, Repen. tance, &c. And we Defcribe Him by what we Call His Attributes, as Power, Wisdom, Goodness, Justice, &c. And these we Conceive to Flow from His Nature. Tho' at the fame time our Reafon tells us, that ther can be no Accidents in God, nor any Change in Him. And therefore that whatever is in God, is God: But by the three Perfons in the Godhead, we mean the Divine NATURE, which Confifts of the three Perfons, as the Scul do's of the three Faculties, and Extenfion of the three Dimens ons, without any Confufion of the Faculties, or Dimenfions; or Divifion of the Soul, or of the Extenfion. As we fay the three Perfons are God, neither Confounding the Perfons, nor Dividing the Subftance. But what we call the Attributes of God, are the Different Manners of our Apprehenfion of the Actions of God, and fo are many and various. As Paffions are in Man, and Colours in Bodies. But Colours do not make the Body in which they are, tho' they fuppofe it. And Paffions do not make the Soul, tho' they are in it. But the Faculties are the Soul, and the Dimenfions are the Extenfion. Thus we fay, the Perfons in the Godhead, are God, but we Conceive of the Attributes of God, after the manner of Paffions in the Soul.

Tho'

Al

Tho' we know, at the fame time, that the
lufion do's not, cannot Anfwer. But we cannot Conceive
otherwife of God. And thus it is when we use the
words, Father, Son, Spirit, Perfon, in Relation to God, we
must not fuppofe them to Quadrat and Answer exactly
to these Words as us'd among Men. They are only
Allufions, but they are Neceffary, because we cannot o
therwise speak of God at all.

7.

clufive to the Argument.

Hence appears the unreasonableness of Inferring a Con. Thefe Con tradiction in the Nature of God, from what we find to be fo in the Nature of Man, and in these words as Apply'd to Man. Which is the Topick I have Infifted upon from the Beginning. And I have Illuftrated it by the Comparison of those Ir-reconcilable Contradictions which muft Appear to a Man Born Blind, in any Defcription poffible to be given him of the Nature, Motion, and Progrefs of Sight. And you connot Help him with any Allufion or Image of it, in any thing that he Understands. He can Apprehend nothing Like it, in any manner whatfoever, tho' at never fo great a Distance. It cannot be faid he has a wrong or imperfect Notion of it, for he has not, nor can have any Notion of it at all, not the least Glimps. Whereas on the other hand, as to the present Subject we are upon, and to which I apply this; tho' it be impoffible for any Creature to have a Full and Compleat APPREHENSION of the Infinit Nature; yet ther are fuch Allufions and Similitudes given us of it, Chiefly in the Soul of Man, which is faid to be made after His Image, as Enables us to have fome fort of Idea· and Apprehenfion of it, tho' we must still fuppofe at Infinit Distance, and that we Prefume not to draw Inferences from the one to the other, from Man to God. And even as to that Ineffable Mystery of the Holy Trinity, ther is no obfcure Refemblance of it given us in the Frame of our own Soul, Confifting of three diftin& Faculties, as I have before explain'd it. And even in the three Dimensions

8.

Allufions

from Body to

ry. Yet ma

which make up every Extenfion, fo far as Body is Capable of fuch a Resemblance. At leaft it folves the Contradictions you Alledge as to the H. Trinity, when we fee how Three may be One, even in Bodies. Nay that One must be Three. For Extenfion cou'd not be Extenfi on, if it were not three Dimenfions. As the Soul cou'd not be a Soul, if it were not Understanding, Memory and Will: fo that the Multiplicity makes the Unity. Tho' as I have faid, if these were Contradictions in Body, or in our Soul, it wou'd not follow it was fo in God, because of the Infinite Desparity of the Natures.

I have faid likewife, That we cannot Apprehend the Soul Neceffa Nature of a Spirit, even of our own Soul, but by Al ny Contradi lufion to Body, to fomething Material. Hence fome have lions in them Contended that our Soul is Matter, that is, a Body.

9.

Apply'd to our Prefent Subject.

Nay, that God Himself is fo. That ther is nothing but Matter. And yet we find many Contradictions in this Allufion. As what I mention'd before of the Prefence of a Body which is fo Circumfcrib'd, that it Cannot be in two Places at once. And yet how One and the fame Soul can Actuat all the Distant Members of the Body, without being either Multiply'd or Divided among them, is what we can find no Refemblance of in Bodies. And yet we cannot frame a Conception of a Sonl, without Allufion to fomething Material. And yet all this Notwithstanding, we Charge not this as a Contradiction in Soul, becaufe we find it fo in Body. Tho all our Notices of the Soul comes from the Body.

Now to Apply. The Imperfect Notices we have of the Nature of God come from His Works of Creation which we have feen. Yet in none of thefe do we find any Refemblance to His Eternity, Self-existence, and OmniPrejence, &c. Nay, they wou'd be flat Contradictions, if Apply'd to any Creature. Yet we Call them not Contradictions in God. How then can we call Three and One a Contradiction in Ged, tho' we found it fo in all

Crea

Creatures? But when we find it not to be a Contradiition, both in the Nature of Body, and of Soul, will we still make it a Contradiction in God, whofe Nature we Understand not? And for this only Caufe, Reject the Plain Revelations that are Given to us of it?

10.

We muf

But pray, let me Ask you what Notion have you think of Thre of any Spirit, of an Angel? Can you Apprehend an in every Sp Angel, without an Understanding, a Memory and a Will? rit. Can you think otherwife of God the Father of Spirits, and who made them after His own Image? Ther cannot be a Thought without thefe Three. For every Thought is the Act of thefe Three. We have no nearer an Idea of God than an Omnipotent Mind. And whose Thoughts are Omnipotent. Therefore God must be thefe Three. And thefe Three are God, Our Notion of His Attributes are the Acts of thefe Three, in Mercy, Wif dom, Power, Truth, Justice, &c. And fince ther is no Accident in God, but every thing that is in Him muft te of His Effence, confequently thefe Three are of the Effence of God. And Each of them is God, and all Three the fame God. So that inftead of this being a ContradiEtion, it wou'd rather be a Contradiction if it were not fo. That is, That ther cou'd be a Thought without what is of the Effence of a Thought, that it fhou'd proceed from Three Jointly, from an Understanding, a Memory, and a Will, each Diftinct from the other, yet all Three, one and the fame Mind. So that if we think of God, after the Image He has made of Himfelf (and we can think of Him no otherwife) we must think of a Trinity in Unity.

At least, I hope, what I have faid is fufficient to take away all Pretence of Contradiction in the Cafe, fo as to hinder us to believe the Revelation GOD has given Us of it.

SOC.

V.

nity were a

SOC. Whether God has given us any Revelation of it, If the Tri- is the Grand Question, which must be Determin'd when Contradiction, we come to Examin those Texts of Scripture which are Alleg'd for it. But we infift it is a Contradiction, and to be of Bu- therefore that these Texts must not be understood in man Inventi- that Senfe.

that wou'd

prove it not

on.

J.

CHR. If it be not a Revelation, it must be an Invertion of fome or other. But if it be a Contradiction, it cou'd not be an Invention. For who cou'd Invent a Con. tradiction? Or if he Cou'd, who Wou'd do it, with a Defign to have it pass upon the World, and to be Receiv'd among Mankind? When Men have a Mind to Impofe upon others, they Contrive their Story as Plaufible as poffibly they can; to be free, not only from Contradiction, but Objection.

In the next place, what do's any Man Get by it? What End cou'd it ferve to fet up fuch a Notion in the World? Men generally have fome Profpect of Advantage when they wou'd Impofe upon others.

SOC. Who Invented Tranf-fubftantiation? Which you The Objecti as well as we think a Contradiction, that one and the on as to Tranf fubftantiation fame Body fhou'd be in many Places, at the fame Time.

Solv'd.

CHR. It was not purely an Invention. For I believe that cou'd never have come into the Head of a Man of it Telf. It was but Grafting upon fome very high Expreffions in the Fathers, concerning the great Mystery in the Holy Sacrament, which they mistook, and thence were led to take the words, This is my Body, ftrictly according to the Letter. Whereas they were plainly Figurative, and ther are feveral other Figures in the Words of Inftitution of the Holy Sacrament, which they cannot Deny, as where the Cup is put for the Wine. Which is the Figure we call Continens pro Contento, where the thing that Contains is put for what is Contain'd in it. And again the Prefent is us'd for the Future. Luk. xxii 20 This Cup is the New Testament in my Blood, which is fhed for you. Whereas