The facred writers of the New Teftament use αυτός, and alfo εμαυτος, σεαυτον, εαυτον, that is, myfelf, thyfelf, and himself, concerning GOD. And these compound pronouns emphatically denote either a first, a second, or a third person fingular, and never more than one person.

The paffages are also numberless which speak of GOD by the pronouns he, him, himself, and his, which fo often occur in every page of the bible, that as it is needless to cite them, fo it is most astonifhing how it should ever enter into any one's head, and creed, that there fhould be three perfons in the Godhead; or that GOD is not one perfon, or fpirit, but three perfons, three infinite minds, fpirits.---Dean Sherlock, and other bold and heretical writers, have thus rafhly afferted, in manifeft contradiction to all the language, in almoft every chapter of their bibles.

Moreover, as in the texts above cited it appears unanswerably, that when GOD speaks of himself, or is fpoken to, or of; the words always used are terms of the first, or fecond, or third perfon of the fingular number only. So it must also be always, and with great candour and attention obferved, that befides the affirmative texts above cited, and multitudes which are uncited; there are also to fortify this point; viz. that GOD is one perfon: there are, I fay, feveral texts that impliedly, or expressly deny GOD to be more than one perfon. As in these texts, Thou shalt have none other Gods but or befides me.---There is no

GOD

GOD befide me. I, even I, am he and there is no God with me: I am GOD and there is none else. I am God, and there is none like me. Exod. xx. 3. Ifa. xlv. 5, 22. xliii.11, 25.--In fuch paffages, where these exclusive terms are used, 1, even I; and none but me; beside me ; with me; none else: none but me. I say, where fuch exceptive and exclufive terms are used, or supposed to be ufed by GOD himself, who beft knows himself in texts wherein he firft affirms of himfelf, I, even I, am GOD; and then denies and excludes any other from being GOD befides himself, or with himfelf---can human understanding poffibly form any other notion from thefe words, than that God, who best knows himself, exprefsly declares himself to be one perfon, I fay, one perfon alone, and no more than one person; and that no other perfon befides his perfon is God.

As to the judgment and faith of our mafter Jefus Christ, befides the texts upon this point, it will be abundantly fufficient to evince it, if my following fcheme which I have drawn up in a note* from John xvii, be thoroughly aud attentively confidered.

CHAP.

* Wherever any words or terms are used by Christ, which in the common understanding of mankind are understood to mean certainly, and only, one, two, or more perfons, we must, we cannot understand them otherwise than to mean one, two, ør more perfons.

Jefus

CHAP. VII.

JEHOVAH the proper name of God among the Jews; whom alone they worshipped; as also did Chrift and his Apofles.

1. JEHOVAH, by the critics in general, is fuppofed to be the proper name of GoD among the Hebrews, and a name fo facred among the rabbies, that they forbore the use of it in their com

mon

Jefus Chrift hath, throughout the feventeenth chapter of St. John, as well as in many other places, addreffed his prayer to God the Father, in pronouns and verbs, &c.-of the fecond person of the fingular number: and is fo understood by all interpreters of all parties of chriftians, and his address or prayer is directed to the Father alone, whom he, Chrift, himself calls the only true God. ver. 3.

Now if Jefus Chrift himself always ufed the fecond perfon fingular throughout this chapter in his prayer to him whom he ftiles the only true God: can we poffibly understand it otherwife, than that the Father, or the only true GOD, is one fingle perfon alone, and no more than one perfon; and confequently, the one true God, whom Chrift worshipped, is one fingle perlen and not three.

N. B. It

mon discourse; and when they met with it in their hagiographa, or books of the Old Teftament, they read ADONAI and not JEHOVAH; perhaps by a tranfcending amplification of the fense of the third commandment; by which, however, they guarded the facred name from the abufe and profanation of it, by careless and finful men. Yet, notwithstanding the express and repeated commands of this JE

N. B. It appears that St. John, in the perfon of Jefus Chrift, in this one chapter, useth terms in his prayer to God, which most certainly mean one fingle perfon and no more, above fifty times; and we be most certain, that Jefus Chrift could not be mistaken in his notion of the perfonality of the one

may

true God.

As this language of Chrift, expreffed as above, muft be decifive with every intelligent honest Christian; fo it is moft certain, that in all the verfions, antient and modern, Chrift's words are actually tranflated in the fecond perfon fingular: and it is not poffible they fhould be otherwife tranflated in any future verfion, by any language that now is in use, or shall hereafter be spoken while the world ftands.

To this argument, formed upon the prayer of Chrift in the feventeenth of St. John, I at prefent forbear to cite any more of the words of our master Jesus Christ, but refer my readers to confider his most pathetic intreaties, which he offered to God the Father. Mat. xxvi, 39. Mark xiv. 35, 36. Luke xxii. 42.

HOVAH, the GOD of Ifrael, Exod. xx. 3. Deut. vi. 4, 5, 14, x. 12. that people Judges ii. 10---13. became Idolators, and worfhipped other Gods. Such is the pronenefs, the wonderful and shameful proneness of mankind to idolatry.

2. Jethro doth moft justly declare, that he knew JEHOVAH to be greater than all GODS. Exod. xviii. 11. And fo Pfal. xcv. 3. A great king above all GODS. xcvii. 9, highly exalted above all GODS. Yet the Jews were too often revolting from this JEHOVAH, their one true GOD, to the worship of the falfe Gods of the nations, who were their neighbours. 2 Kings xvii. 7---12.

3. The LXX interpreters always tranflate JEHOVAH by the word Kug, and our interpreters by the word Lord, except in nine places only, but in all other places, which are many, never once ufe JEHOVAH, which is remarkable, for our interpreters were not awed by the fuperftition of the Jewish nation about the tetragammaton. But in most paffagés, perhaps, when JEHOVAH is in the original, it had flood much better in our tranflation; and impreft a more folemn and emphatic idea of Almighty GoD. As is apparent in Exod. xx. I am JEHOVAH thy GOD---thou shalt not take the name of JEHOVAH thy GOD in vain. JEHOVAH made heaven and earth.

4. Jefus Chrift citing fome texts out of the Old Teftament, no doubt, used the original Hebrew word JEHOVAH, though the evangelifts have, in

Our