CHAPTER II.

The general Tenor of the Scriptures, both of the Old and New Teftament, in favour of the Doctrine of the Divine Unity.

H

AVING obferved, in the preceding chapter,

that the general tenor of the Scriptures would greatly affift us in determining the truth, or falfeLood, of any particular doctrine, I fhall now, before I notice Mr. Hawker's arguments, attempt to prove, that the general tenor of the Old and New Teftament is in favour of the doctrine of the divine unity.

The first principle of the law, as taught the Jews by Mofes, was, Hear, O Ifrael, the LORD our God is one LORD. Accordingly we find, that this important truth is frequently afferted in all their writings. Some of the moft remarkable paffages are the following. Ex. xx. 3. Thou fhalt have no other Gods before me. Deut. iv. 35. The LORD he is God, there is none else befides him. II. Sam. vii. 22. Wherefore thou art great, O LORD God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God befide thee. II. Kings, xix. 15. O LORD God of Ifrael,-thou art the God, even thou alone. I Chron.

xvii. 20.

xvii, 20. O LORD, there is none like thee, neither is there any God befides thee. Ifai. xliv. 6. I am the firft, and I am the laft, and befides me there is no God. v. 8. Is there a God befides me? Yea, there is no God, I know not any.

The general tenor of the Old Teftament is agreeable to the above quoted paffages; a certain proof that no other being, or perfon, is God befides Jehovah. This will perhaps more fully appear from the following confiderations.

1. The paffages, in the most exprefs terms, exclude any one else from being God.

2. The pronouns ufed, with refpect to this one God, are all fingular, (d) I, thou, he, me, thee, him;

(d) Perhaps it will be here objected, that the plural pronoun is used Gen. i. 26, Let us make man in our own image, and in fome other places. To this it may be anfwered, that it is not uncommon for fingle persons to (peak in the plural number. It was the custom not only in the eastern nations; but every one knows it to be fo in our own. I will content myself with producing the following inftances from the scriptures. Cant. I. 4. Draw me, we will run after thee. Daniel says, Dan. II. 36, This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the King. Jefus fays to Nicodemus, John iii. 11, Verily, verily I fay unto the, we speak that we do know.

a circumftance which not only proves that no other being is Jehovah, but that Jehovah is one perfon.

3. There is not a fingle text to be found in the Old Teftament, which favours the doctrine of a plurality of perfons in the divine effence; the confequence of which is, that the Jews always have been, and ftill continue to be, ftrenuous advocates for the divine unity.

I fhall now produce fome paffages from the New Teftament, which is equally clear and explicit with the Old.

Jefus Chrift himself confirms the doctrine of the divine unity as taught before him by Mofes. Mark xii. 29. And Jefus anfwered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Ifrael, the LORD our God is one LORD. Matt. xix. 17. And he (Jefus) faid unto him, why calleft thou me good? there is none good but one, that is God. John xvii. 3. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jefus Chrift whom thou haft fent; or, as it might be rendered, know thee to be the only true God, and Jefus to be the Chrift whom

thou haft fent."

The apoftles, inftructed by our Lord, teach the fame truth. I. Cor. viii. 4. 5. 6. We know that

there

there is none other God but one.

For though there be that are called Gods, whether in heaven, or in earth,

(as there be gods many and lords many) there is but one God. Gal. iii. 20.

But to us

But God is

one. Eph. iv. 6. One God and Father of all. I. Tim. i. 17. The only wife God. I. Tim. ii. 5. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and mon, the man Chrift Jefus. James ii. 19. Thou believeft that there is one God; thou doft well. Jude v. 4. The only LORD God.--Surely, if there be any meaning in words, thefe paffages, which are but a few out of the many that might be produced, prove God to be numerically one.

The New Teftament has fufficiently informed us, who this one God is; for it teaches us exprefsly that the great Being, who is called the FATHER, is the only true God. The apostle Paul fays, I. Cor. viii. 6, There is but one God, the FATHER; I. Cor. xv. 24, When he fhall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the FATHER; Gal. i. 1, Paul an apofile- by Jefus Chrift, and by God the FATHER. Eph. i. 17, he uses these remarkable words, That the GOD of our Lord Jefus Chrift, the FATHER of glory, may give unto you the /pirit of wisdom. Speaking of our duty to God, Eph. v. 20, he ufes thefe words, which deferve particular attention, because, in them, the great and only object of religious worfhip is clearly

pointed

pointed out to us; Giving thanks always for all things to God, even the FATHER, in the name of our Lord Jefus Chrift. St. James ufes the fame ftile, James iii. 9, Therewith blefs we God, even the FATHER; and Peter, II Pet. i. 17, For he (Jesus) received from God the FATHER honour and glory; St. John also in his fecond epiftle, v. 3, Grace be with you, mercy, and peace from God the FATHER; and Judė likewife, v. 1, Jude to them that are fanctified by God the FATHER. It is ftill more remarkable, that Chrift himself uses the words GOD and FATHER as fynonymous. John xx. 17. I afcend unto my FATHER and your FATHER, GOD and your GOD.

my

From thefe paffages we may infer,

to

1. That our faviour himself, and all his apoftles, have adopted an uniform ftile in fpeaking of God. They uniformly call him God the FA

THER.

2. It is evident, that the apoftles who wrote, and the perfons to whom they wrote, were well acquainted with this form of words, as being the familiar and ordinary terms which were used in the apoftolic age.

3.

It deferves our particular notice, that

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