2 Kings xix. 15, 19. Nehem. ix. Isa. xxxvii. 16., Ps. lxxxiii. 18. cxviii. 28.

Jesus Christ himself, in speaking to his God and our God, prayed thus, 'Not as I will, but as thou wilt.' Mat. xxvi. 39. It may be worth notice, that Jesus Christ mentions God above thirty times in the singular number in St. Matthew's gospel, which, duly con ́sidered, fully expresseth his notion or belief to have been, that there is but one God, and that God is one. 'This is life eternal, to know,' or own, thee, O Father, to be the only true God;' and in his prayer with his disciples, God, the Father, is addressed seven times in the second person singular. John xvii.

The sacred writers of the New Testament use αυτος, and also εμαυτός, σεαυτόν, εαυτον, that is, myself, thyself, and himself, concerning God. And these compound pronouns emphatically denote either a first, a second, or a third person singular, and never more than one person.

The passages are also numberless which speak of God by the pronouns he, him, himself, and his, which so often occur in every page of the Bible, that as it is needless to cite them so it is most astonishing how it should ever enter into any one's head and creed, that there should be three persons in the Godhead; or that God is not one person, or spirit, but three persons, three infinite minds, spirits.---Dean Sherlock, and other bold and heretical writers, have thus rashly asserted, in manifest contradiction to all the language, in almost every chapter of their Bibles.

Moreover, as in the texts above cited, it appears unanswerably, that when God speaks of himself, or is spoken to, or of; the words always used are terms of the first, or second, or third person of the singular number only. So it must also be always, and with great candour and attention observed, that besides the affirmative texts above cited, and multitudes which are uncited; there are also to fortify this point, viz, that God is one person; there are, I say, several texts

that impliedly, or expressly, deny God to be more than one person. As in these texts, 'Thou shalt have none other Gods but' or besides 'ine.' 'There is no God beside 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. Isa. xlv. 5. 22. xliii. 11, 25.-In such passages, where these exclusive terms are used, 'I even I,' and none but me,' 'beside me,' 'with me,' none else,' none but me ;'. I say, where such exceptive and exclusive terms are used, or supposed to be used by God himself, who best knows himself, in texts wherein he first affirms of himself, 'I, even I, am God,' and then denies and excludes any other from being God besides himself, or with himself-can human understanding possibly form any other notion from these words, thau that God, who best knows himself, expressly declares himself to be one person, I say, one person alone, and no more than one person; and that no other person besides his person is God.

As to the judgment and faith of our master Jesus Christ, besides the texts upon this point, it will be abundantly sufficient to evince it, if my following scheme which I have drawn up in a note* from John xvii. be thoroughly and attentively considered.

• 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 persons, we must, we cannot understand them otherwise than to mean one, two, or more persons.

Jesus Christ hath, throughout the seventeenth chapter of St. John, as well as in many other places, addressed his prayer to God the Father, in pronouns and verbs, &c. of the second person of the singular number, and is so understood by all interpreters of all parties of Christians, and his address or prayer is directed to the Father alone, whom he, Christ, himself calls the only true God. Ver. 3

Now if Jesus Christ himself always used the second person singular, throughout this chapter in his prayer to him whom he styles the only true God, can we possibly understand it otherwise, than that the Father, or the only true God, is one single person alone, and no more than one person; and consequently, the one true God whom Christ worshipped is one single person and not three.

N. B. It appears that St John, in the person of Jesus Christ, in this one chapter, useth terms in his prayer to God, which most cer

CHAP. VII.

Jehovah the proper name of God among the Jews; whom alone they worshipped; as also did Christ and his apostles.

;

1. JEHOVAH, by the critics in general, is supposed to be the proper name of God among the Hebrews, and a name so sacred among the rabbies, that they forbore the use of it in their common discourse; and when they met with it in their hagiographa, or books of the Old Testament, they read Adonai and not Jehovah; perhaps by a transcending amplification of the sense of the third commandment by which, however, they guarded the sacred name from the abuse and profanation of it, by careless and sinful men. Yet notwithstanding the express and repeated commands of this Jehovah, the God of Israel, Exod. xx. 3. Deut. vi. 4, 5, 14. x. 12, that people, Judges ii. 10-13, became idolaters, and worshipped other gods. Such is the proneness, the wonderful and shameful proneness, of mankind to idolatry.

2 Jethro doth most justly declare, that he knew Jehovah'to be greater than all gods.' Exod. xviii. 11. And so Psal. 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 false gods of

tainly mean one single person and no more, above fifty times; and we may be most certain, that Jesus Christ could not be mistaken in his notion of the personality of the one true God.

As this language of Christ, expressed as above, must be decisive with every intelligent honest Christian, so it is most certain, that in all the versions, ancient and modern, Christ's words are actually translated in the second person singular; and it is not possible they should be otherwise translated in any future version, by any language that now is in use, or shall hereafter be spoken while the world

stands.

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

the nations who were their neighbours. 2 Kings xvii. 7-12.

3. The LXX interpreters always translate Jehovah by the word Kupios, and our interpreters by the word Lord, except in nine places only, but in all other places, which are many, never once use Jehovah, which is remarkable, for our interpreters were not awed by the superstition of the Jewish nation about the tetragammaton. But in most passages, perhaps, when Jehovah is in the original, it had stood much better in our translation; and imprest a more solemn 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 vainJehovah made heaven and earth.'

4. Jesus Christ citing some texts out of the Old » Testament, no doubt, used the original Hebrew word Jehovah, though the evangelists have, in our copies, expressed Christ's words, in Greek. For instance, when Jesus Christ cited Deut. vi. 4, 5, as we find he did Mark xii. 28-30, in his answer to the scribe, no doubt he used the original Hebrew words; 'Hear, O Israel, Jehovah, your God, is one Jehovah, and thou shalt love Jehovah thy God with all thy heart,' &c. And when Christ was tempted, he resisted the tempter, by citing the great laws, which were rules of his duty, Deut. vi. 16. Mat. iv. 7. 'Thou shalt not tempt Jehovah thy God.' And Deut. vi. 13. x. 20. Mat. iv. 10. Thou shalt worship Jehovah thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.' And Mat. v. 33. Thou shalt perform unto Jehovah thy oaths. And when Christ, Mat, xxii. 44, &c. cites Psalm cx. 1, he no doubt mentioned the very words of the Hebrew text, which would be better rendered, 'Jehovah said unto my Lord,' or, 'the word of Jehovah unto my Lord was'-' sit thou on my right-hand;' by this or the like version, the Lord God is distinguished from the Lord to whom the words are spoken. And considering the great bías that reigns in weak and perverted minds to catch

at every shadow to support their erroneous opinions, such care is necessary in all versions, that different words in the original should convey distinct terms. and meaning in the translation; especially where two beings are spoken of, who are infinitely distinguished, as the Creator, and the highest finite being, are, and must necessarily be ever conceived as infinitely distinguished, in all our acts of devotion.

5. In many texts we find these words "the Lord God,' and the Lord Christ,' which are proper distinctions of two very distinct beings and persons; and so are the Lord God,' and the Lord Jesus.' Matt, iv. 7, 10. Acts xi. 17. And both names and characters are often found in the conclusion of St. Paul's epistles, viz. the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ; and in his salutations, at the beginning of his epistles, in these words, grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father of us, and of our Lord Jesus Christ.' And the Lord God' is read above seventy times in the Old Testament, and nine times. in the New Testament, as 1 Pet. iii. 15, Rev. iv. 8, xv. 3, &c. Mark xii. 29, 30. In short, God,' and Jesus,' the Christ of God,' are so fully and so frequently distinguished in the New Testament, that no orthodox reader can be deceived, unless he be blinded, and hardened by modern schemes.

6. The great difficulty to the illiterate readers of our translation, is, when in some places they meet with the word Lord alone, and without the addition of any distinguishing term, whether in that case they are to understand it to mean the Lord God, or the Lord's Christ, that is, the Lord Jesus Christ. In such passages some learned men have been mistaken greatly. To fix the sense there are two methods: 1. A due consideration of the context, which often determines the true meaning with very little difficulty. 2. When the passage is a citation from the Old Testament, then the word Lord will be found to signify the Lord God of the Jews by the original reading; and by the context too. When Christ