more of the fame kind. Others there are who tell us it is a figurative way of speaking, only to exprefs the dignity of God, not to denote any plurality in him. For they obferve it is cuftomary for a King, who is only one perfon, to speak of himself in the fame Style. But how abfurd is it, that God fhould borrow his way of speaking from a King, before a man was created upon the earth! And even granting this to be poffible, yet the cases will not agree. For though a King or Governour may say us and we, there is certainly no figure of speech that will allow any fingle person to say, one of us, when he speaks only of himself. It is a phrase that can have no meaning, unless there be more persons than one to chufe out of. Yet this is the Style in which God has spoken of himself in the following article

III.

Gen. III. 22. And the LORD GOD faid, behold the man is become like ONE

OF US.

The Jews are greatly perplexed with this pasfage. They endeavour to put it off, by telling us, God must here be understood to speak of himself

and

and his council, or as they term it

his house of judgment, made up of angels &c. to which there needs no answer but that of the prophet, who hath known the mind of the Lord, or who hath been his counseller 2 ?

IV.

a

Gen. XI. 6, 7. And the LORD faid—let us go down and there confound (Heb. let us confound) their language.

Another instance of this occurs in Isaiah VI. 8. I heard the voice of the LORD, saying, whom Shall I fend, and who will go for us? Upon the plural word Nobis, us, there is a fhort note of Junius and Tremellius, which contains the subftance of all that can be faid upon the occafion -"Nam confilium eft Dei Patris, Filii, & Spi"ritus Sancti" -For this (fay they) is a confultation of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghoft-And it fhall be proved to be fo, in a proper place, from an infpired comment upon this Chapter of Isaiah.

a Rom. XI. 34 & Ifai. XL. 13.

V.

Gen. XX. 13. And it came to pass when GOD caused me to wander from my fathers house &c.

God

The Hebrew is Deus errare facerent they caused me to wander: which, however ftrange it may found to an English hearer, is the strict grammatical rendering of the original. And the expreffion is affirmed by Junius and Tremellius, with other commentators out of number, to respect the plurality of the persons in the Godhead. They have a fhort note upon it to the following effect - Plurale verbum cum Dei nomine, ad indicandum S. Triados myfterium: which I mention, not in the way of an authority, but only to fhew how clear the cafe is to an bebrew reader, whose mind is without prejudice. And though others may have attempted to conceal fuch evidence as this under an heap of critical rubbish, yet if we are to come to no refolution till those who diflike the doctrine of a trinity have done difputing about the words that convey it, the day of judgment itself would find us undetermined. And if we would but attend to this state of the case, and apply it also to other points

of

of doctrine, I am well convinced it would shorten many of our disputes, and make the word of God a much more easy and intelligible book than it paffes for at present.

VI.

Gen. XXV. 7. Because there GOD appeared unto him, &c.

a

Here again the Hebrew verb is plural — Deus revelati funt-God they appeared, or were revealed to him. So again in 2 Sam.VII.23—even like Ifrael whom God went to redeem; which in the original is iverunt Deus ad redimendum; the verb being in the plural. A celebrated Latin tranflator of the old teftament has ventured to render it—iverunt Dii ad redimendum: but Dii in latin is not answerable to Elohim in the Hebrew; and, in ftrictness, may be thought to countenance the notion of Tritheifm or a plurality of Gods; which is abhorrent from the exprefs doctrine of the scripture; and against which the name Elohim is purposely guarded, by its being connected so very often with verbs and pronouns in the fingular.

a Pagninus in his interlineary verfion published by Montanus.

VII.

Deut. IV. 7. What nation is there fo great, that hath GOD fo nigh unto them? &c.

In the two preceeding articles we have seen the name of God connected with plural verbs: it is here joined to a plural adjective, whose termination is the fame with its own; for the original has it-Elohim Kerebim-Deus propinqui God who are fo near. Another inftance of which we have in Joh. XXIV. 19. Ye cannot Serve the Lord, for he is an holy God. For the bebrew reads it — Deus fancti ipfe, — he is a God who are holy ones. And again Pfal. LVIII. 12. Doubtless there is a God that judgeth the earth: the Hebrew of which is -Deus judicantes in terra-a God (i. e. divine perfons) who are judging in the earth.

VIII.

Several other nouns there are befide the name Elohim, as well adjective as substantive, that are fet down in the plural number, where it cannot be denied that the Being of God is to be understood by them.

M

Mal.