and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you."5 These words certainly contain the doctrine of the Trinity; for they shew, that in that solemn act of religion, whereby we enter into covenant with God, we enter into precisely the same relation towards the Father, towards the Son, and towards the Holy Ghost, thus binding ourselves to render to each of them the same unlimited honour, worship, and obedience. But " it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." Each of the three Persons, therefore, to whose service we are dedicated in baptism, is the Lord our God. Yet "we know that there is none other God but one ;" which Divine Unity is indicated in the form of baptism by the use of the word name in the singular number; for the expression is "in the name," and not in the names, "of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." Thus we may learn from this single passage, that "the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God; and yet they are not three Gods, but one God."

And not only is the baptismal form, so solemn

5 Matt. xxviii. 19, 20. 6 Luke, iv. 8. 7 1 Cor. viii. 4.

ly introduced, a proof that the doctrine of the Trinity is true; but such a proof, as shews that it includes all the articles of the Christian faith. It is apparent on the very face of the institution, that a full and unfeigned belief in the doctrine of the Trinity is sufficient to render a penitent adult a worthy recipient of baptism. But, as we may learn from the case of the Ethiopian eunuch, an unreserved assent to all the peculiar doctrines of Christianity is indispensable: for when "the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptised? Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest ;" thus requiring of him a hearty assent to all that he had preached unto him concerning Jesus. "And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God," which form of words always implies a full assent to all that Jesus taught. And upon this expression of belief, Philip proceeded at once to baptise him. Since, therefore, it appears from the words of the institution, that a full belief in the doctrine of the Trinity is a sufficient, and, from other parts of Scripture, that an unreserved belief in all the articles of the Christian faith is a necessary, qualifi

8 Acts, viii. 36, 37.

cation for baptism, it follows, that the doctrine of the Trinity includes all the articles of the Christian faith; and that in the pregnant words of our Lord, which we have quoted from the close of St. Matthew's Gospel, all the doctrines of Christianity are comprehended under the doctrine of the Trinity, as all its precepts are under the precept," To observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you."

That our Lord's concluding instructions were thus understood by the earliest Christians, and, therefore, by the Apostles themselves, to whom they were primarily addressed, appears from the practice of the primitive Church, organized and established under the immediate episcopacy of the Apostles. For their Creeds, or Rules of Faith, consisted, at first, simply of a declaration of belief in the Holy Trinity. (H) To this they referred all the doctrinal points of instruction which were thought necessary for adult converts, previous to baptism; as it was to this a full and rational assent was required, before admission to that sacred ordinance. I believe in the Father, and in the Son, and in the Holy Ghost, appears to have been the whole Apostolic Creed, in which none of the things to be believed concerning the Deity are recited, but are

considered as contained, by implication, in the confession of a right faith respecting the Persons.

To counteract particular heresies as they arose, more and more of the details of our faith were, from time to time, introduced into these summaries; but still the doctrine of one God in Trinity formed the outline of every authorized creed; and all the alterations that were ever made, consisted in filling up that outline from the word of God, in those parts where heretics shewed a disposition to fill it up from their own arrogant imaginations, or expressing it more strongly where they attempted to explain it away. The ancient creeds retained in our church, answer exactly to this description; for they consist of the doctrine of the Trinity, clearly and carefully, and in one of them, strongly and minutely expressed, filled up with certain details, to guard against particular heresies. And it is evident, that if it were required to swell those creeds till they became, instead of summaries, complete expositions of Christian faith, they might still be referred to the same heads; for every article of faith must have a reference, direct or collateral, either to God the Father, God the Son, or God the Holy Ghost, or to the united Trinity.

Were the impugners of the blessed Trinity ca

pable of discerning the truth, what has been said in this and our two preceding Discourses might serve, with God's blessing, to convince them of their error, and the danger of persevering in it. But, alas! "this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted and healed." They make, indeed, a show of attending to such arguments as we have produced, but the answers they give always betray the "evil heart of unbelief," which prevents their seeing the force of any reasoning founded on the word of God. One or two fundamental errors, the offspring of pride and impiety, have poisoned the sources of truth in their minds, and keep them in a state of slavish infidelity. Thousands of times have these errors been confuted, but still they chain down their miserable victims with the same strong delusion as before. Earnestly, therefore, as I pray for the deliverance of these poor deluded captives, it is not so much in the hope of extricating them, as of preventing others from falling into the snare, that I now proceed, once more, to expose the fallacy of the principles