SERMON XXXIX.

DIVINITY OF CHRIST.-OBJECTIONS ANSWERED.

CORINTHIANS iii. 20.-The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.

IN the eighteenth verse of this chapter, St. Paul says, Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise, in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God; for it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.

These words, together with the text, are paraphrased by Doddridge in the following manner: "I know there are those among you, whose pride and self-conceit may lead them to despise this admonition, especially as coming from me; but let no man deceive himself with vain speculations of his own worth and abilities. If any one of you seem to be wise in this world, if he value himself on what is commonly called wisdom among Jews or Gentiles; let him become a fool, that he may be wise indeed. Let him humbly acknowledge his own natural ignorance and folly; and embrace that Gospel, which the wisdom of the world proudly and vainly derides as foolishness, if he desire to approve himself really and substantially wise, and to reap at last the honours and rewards of those, who are truly so, in the sight of God. For all the boasted wisdom of this world is foolishness with God; who with one glance sees through all its vanity; as it is written, (Job v. 13) He entangleth the wise in their own crafty artifice; often ruining them by those designs, which they had formed with the utmost efforts of human policy, and were most intent upon executing. And again it is said, elsewhere, Psalm xciv. 11, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise that they are vain. He sees how they ensnare themselves in their own subtleties; and, when they think themselves most sagacious, are only amused with their own sophistry and deceit."

This paraphrase expresses, exactly, my own views concerning these declarations of St. Paul: declarations, which appear to me to be continually, and abundantly, verified by experience. No man is in the way to true wisdom, who does not first become, in the Apostle's sense, a fool; that is, who has not a just and affecting consciousness of his own ignorance and weakness, his utter inabili ty to devise a system of Religion, or to amend that, which God

has taught; and who is not altogether willing to submit his own opinions to the dictates of Inspiration.

Concerning the text it will be only necessary to observe, that the word diaλoyous, translated thoughts, is properly rendered reasonings; and that the word, translated the wise, is dopwv; denoting the learned men of Greece, and ultimately of other countries, most usually called Philosophers. The reasonings of these men, as the Apostle proves from the Scriptures of the Old Testament, are in the sight of God vain; or utterly incapable of accomplishing the end, to which they were then chiefly directed; viz. the formation and establishment of a sound Theological system.

What was true of these men in ancient times is equally true of men of the same sort in every age. Modern wise men are no more able to perform this work than ancient ones. Hence, the proposition in the text is written in the absolute, or universal form; and extends this character to the reasonings of all men, employed either in making systems of Theology, or in amending that, which is revealed by God.

Of the truth of this declaration experience has furnished the most abundant evidence. The great body of such systems, including all, which have been originally devised by man, and which have existed long enough to be thoroughly examined, have been successively exploded; and, as objects of belief, forgotten. Those, which have been devised for the purpose of amending the Scriptural system, have been generally of the same frail and perishing character. Some of them, however, under the wing of that divine authority, which by their abetters was supposed to shelter them; and under the garb of sacredness which was lent them by their inventers; have lasted longer, and been more frequently revived. New forms have in the latter case been given to them; new arguments suggested in their behalf; and the splendour of new and respectable names has been employed to recommend them to mankind. After all, their existence and their influence, have been generally limited by bounds comparatively narrow.

From the nature of the subject the same truth is completely evident. THEOLOGY is the science of the will of God concerning the duty, and destination, of man. What the will of God is concerning these subjects cannot possibly be known, unless he is pleased to disclose it. That it is disclosed by him in the works of Creation and Providence in a very imperfect degree, and that it cannot be discovered by man beyond that degree, must be admitted by every one, who would make even a plausible pretension to good sense, or candour. All that remains undiscovered in this way, must be unknown, unless revealed by the good pleasure of God. When thus revealed, it can never be safely added to, diminished, nor otherwise in any maner altered, by man. To him, whatever God is pleased to withhold must be unknown. By him, whatever God is pleased to reveal must be unalterable, either as to form or sub

stance; for no authority, less than infinite, can change that, which infinite authority has been pleased to establish. As, therefore, the Scriptural System of Theology could not have been invented by man; so neither can it possibly be amended by man. In the strong, but accurately just, language of St. Paul on this subject, Let God be acknowledged to be true; but let every man, who denies, or opposes, what he has revealed, be accounted a liar. Or in the still stronger language of the same Apostle, Though an angel from heaven preach any other Gospel, let him be anathema.

Among the various denominations of men, denoted in the text by the wise, whose reasonings are vain, are included, so far as I can discern, the Arians and Socinians; or, as both sometimes choose to term themselves, Unitarians. I feel myself obliged to warn my audience, that this name however, contains in itself an error; and appears to have been formed with a design to deceive. It was professedly assumed for the purpose of challenging to those, who assumed it, the exclusive character, among Christians, of believing in the Unity of God; and of denying particularly, that Trinitarians entertain this belief: whereas Trinitarians believe in the Unity of God as entirely, and absolutely, as their opposers. That every Trinitarian asserts this of himself, every Unitarian, possessing a very moderate share of information, knows; and he knows also, that the charge of admitting more Gods than one cannot be fastened upon the Trinitarian; except by consequences, professedly derived from his doctrine, which he utterly disclaims. To prove, that such consequences do indeed follow from it, is, if it can be done, altogether fair, and unobjectionable; but to charge him with admitting them, while he utterly disclaims them, is unworthy of a disputant, assuming the character of a Christian.

For the assertion, which I have made above, concerning the Untarians, generally, I am bound to give my reasons. This I intend to do without disguise, or softening; but at the same time with moderation and candour. My observations I shall distribute under two heads: Answers to the Objections of the Unitarians against the doctrine of the Trinity; and Objections to the Doctrine of Unitarians, and to their Conduct in managing the controversy. It will not be supposed, that under either of these heads very numerous, or very minute, articles can find a place in such a system of discourses. All, that can be attempted, is to exhibit a summary view of such particulars, as are plainly of serious importance.

In the present discourse, it is my design to answer the principal objections of Unitarians against the doctrine of the Trinity. Of these the

1st. And as I conceive, the fundamental one, on which their chief reliance is placed, is, That the doctrine of the Trinity, or of Three Persons in One God, is self-contradictory.

This objection, therefore, merits a particular answer.

Those, who make this objection to the public, express ther

a shadow of Reason for either denial, or doubt. That God can be One in one sense, and Three in another, is unquestionable. Whatever that sense is, if the declaration be true; and one, which God has thought it proper to make in the Scriptures; and one, therefore, to which he has required our belief; it is, of course, a declaration, incalculably important to mankind, and worthy of all acceptation.

The futility and emptiness of this fundamental objection of Unitarians, as applied to the doctrine of the Trinity, is susceptible of an absolute and easy demonstration; notwithstanding the objection itself claims the character of intuitive certainty. It is intuitively certain, or in other language, self-evident, that no proposition can be seen to be either true, or false, unless the mind possess the ideas, out of which it is formed, so far as to discern whether they agree, or disagree. The proposition, asserted by Trinitarians, and denied by Unitarians, is that God is Tri-personal. The ideas, intended by the words God, here denoting the infinite Existence; and Tri-personal; are not, and cannot be possessed by any Neither Trinitarians nor Unitarians, therefore, can, by any possible effort of the understanding, discern whether this proposition be true, or false; or whether the ideas, denoted by the words God and Tri-personal, agree, or disagree. Until this can be done, it is perfectly nugatory, either to assert or deny, this proposition, as an object of intellectual discernment, or Philosophical inquiry. Where the mind has not ideas, it cannot compare them; where it cannot compare them, it cannot discern their agreement or disagreement; and of course it can form out of them no proposition, whose truth, or falsehood, it can at all perceive. Thus this boasted objection is so far from being conclusive, or even formidable; that it is wholly without force, or application.

man.

After all that has been said, it may still be asked; "Why, if this proposition be thus unintelligible, do Trinitarians adopt it as an essential part of their creed? I answer, "Because God has declared it." Should it be asked, "Of what use is a proposition, thus unintelligible?" I answer, "Of inestimable use:" and this answer I explain in the following manner. The unintelligibleness of this doctrine lies in the nature of the thing, which it declares, and not in the fact declared. The nature of the thing declared is absolutely unintelligible; but the fact is, in a certain degree, understood without difficulty. What God is, as One, or as Three in One, is perfectly undiscernible by us. Of the existence, thus described, we have no conception. But the assertions, that He is One, and that He is Three in One, are easily comprehended. The propositions, that the Father is God, that the Son is God, that the Holy Ghost is God; and that these Three are One God; are equally intelligible with the proposition, that there is One God. On these propositions, understood as facts, and received on the credit of the divine Witness, and not as discerned by mental spe

culation, is dependent the whole system of Christianity.-The importance of the doctrine is therefore supreme.

The utmost amount of all, that can be said against the doctrine of the Trinity, is, that it is mysterious, or inexplicable. A mystery, and a mystery as to its nature wholly inexplicable, it is cheerfully acknowledged to be by every Trinitarian: but no Trinitarian will, on that account, admit, that it ought to be less an object of his belief. Were the faith, or even the knowledge, of man usually conversant about objects, which are not mysterious; mysteriousness might, with a better face, be objected against the doctrine of the Trinity. But mystery envelopes almost all the objects of both. We believe, nay, we know, the existence of one God; and are able to prove him self-existent, omnipresent, omniscient, almighty, unchangeable, and eternal. But no more absolute mysteries exist, than in the being, nature, and attributes, of God. The Soul of Man, the Body of Man, a Vegetable, an Atom, are all subjects filled with mysteries; and about them all a Child may ask questions, which no Philosopher can answer. That God, therefore, should in his existence involve many mysteries, inexplicable by us, is so far from violating, or stumbling, a rational faith, that it ought to be presumed. The contrary doctrine would be still more mysterious, and far more shock a rational mind.

"As to the doctrine of the Trinity," says a Writer* of distinguished abilities and eloquence, "it is even more amazing, than that of the Incarnation: yet, prodigious and amazing as it is, such is the incomprehensible nature of God, that I believe it will be extremely difficult to prove from thence, that it cannot possibly be true. The point seems to be above the reach of Reason, and too wide for the grasp of human understanding. However, I have often observed, in thinking of the eternity and immensity of God; of his remaining from eternity to the production of the first creature, without a world to govern, or a single being to manifest his goodness to; of the motives that determined him to call his creatures into being; why they operated when they did, and not before; of his raising up intelligent beings, whose wickedness and misery he foresaw; of the state in which his relative attributes, justice, bounty, and mercy, remained through an immense space of duration, before he had produced any creatures, to exercise them towards; in thinking, I say, of these unfathomable matters, and of his raising so many myriads of spirits, and such prodigious masses of matter, out of nothing; I am lost, and astonished, as much as in the contemplation of the Trinity. There is but a small distance in the scale of being between a mite and me; although that which is food to me is a world to him, we mess, notwithstanding, on the same cheese, breathe the same air, and are generated much in the same manner; yet how incomprehensible must my

* Skelton. Deism Revealed; Dial. 6.