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6. His fixth Argument is to the fame purpose; That God giveth what and to whom he pleaseth; he needs not the aid of any other; he entreateth not for himfelf and his people; he cannot die; and deriveth his Power from none but himself. But 'tis certain that the Lord Chrift could not himself, without the prævious ordination of the Father, confer the prime Digni ties of Heaven or of the Church (or any thing elfe, if he pleafes, for he does nothing but what he fees his Father do) he placed his fafety in his Fathers prefence and help: he prayed often and fervently to the Father, both for himself, and for his Difciples. He died, and was raifed from the dead by the Father. After his Refurrection he had received of another that great Power, which he now enjoyeth.

Now all this we grant, and have answered alrea dy, which partly refers to the economy of the Incarnation, and partly to his Natural Subordination to his Father. But to give a more full and plain Answer, and to prevent all fuch Objections for the fu ture, it will be neceffary briefly to ftate this Matter alfo.

Now this Author is certainly fo far in the right that the One Supreme God has all Authority and Power, can need no help from any other, can receive no Commands, no Power from another, has no need to pray to any other,to intercede for himself or others; can difpofe of all things, as he pleafes, and to whom he pleases accordingly this One Supreme God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft, receives no Power or Authority from any other Being,intercedes with no other Being, stands not in need of the help of any other, neither prays for himself or others to any other Being,

Well!

Well! but the Son prays to the Father, intercedes with the Father, receives Authority from the Father, difpofes of all things by his Father's Will. What then? then the Son is not the One Supreme God. Why fo? He intercedes with no Creature, receives Authority from no Creature, &c. nor from any God neither separated from himself, for he is One God with the Father and the Holy Ghost: that he intercedes with the Father, proves indeed that he is a distinct Perfon from the Father, not that he is not One God with him? If each Divine Perfon be God, none of them can intercede with, or receive Authority from any separate Being, for then there must be some separate God above them; and then they are not the Supreme God; but if there be Three diftinct Divine Perfons in the Godhead, and an order and fubordination between these Divine Perfons; I fee nothing to hinder, why One Perfon may not intercede with another, and receive from another.

Tofhow the fallacy of this, I will frame another Argument exactly like it, which may do our Socinians a kindness in helping them to a new Argument, and who knows but that fuch great Wits as they are, may make it a good one: and it is this. The One Supreme God is not, and cannot be begotten of any other, nor proceed from any other, and therefore the Son, who is begotten of the Father, is not the One Supreme God, and the Holy Ghoft who proceeds from Father and Son, is not the One Supreme God. The Major is as felf-evident as any Propofition in Euclide; whoever understands the Terms, muft confefs it to be true, that the One Supreme God cannot be begotten, nor proceed from any other; the Minor is confeffed by Trinitarians, that the Son is begotten of A a 2

the

the Father, and the Holy Ghoft proceeds from Father and Son; how then thall we avoid the Conclufion, That the Son is not the One Supreme God, nor the Holy Ghost the One Supreme God? Indeed no way, that I know of, for the thing is true: the Son is not the One Supreme God, nor the Holy Ghoft the One Supreme God, nay nor the Father the One Supreme God, confidered feparately from each other, but Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft, or a Trinity in Unity is the One Supreme God: Now of this One Supreme God, it is certainly true, that he is not begotten, nor proceeds from any other; for then there must be a God above this One Supreme God: but if there be Three Perfons in this One Supreme God, this does not hinder, but the Father may beget the Son, and the Holy Spirit proceed from Father and Son,and yet the One Supreme God neither be begotten nor procecd; for it is not the One Supreme God, that is begotten,but the Divine Perfon of the Son,who is God, and with the Father and Holy Spirit, One Supreme God; nor is it the One Supreme God that proceeds, but the Divine Perfon of the Holy Ghost, who alfo is God, and together with Father and Son One Supreme God.

This is plain, and what every One may understand at first fight; and the fallacy of the Argument confifts in this, That whatever may be affirmed of the One Supreme God, is applied to each Divine Perfon in their Personal Capacities, as if each Perfon confidered separate from the other Divine Perfons, were the One Supreme God: Now this is falfe, for the One Supreme God is not any One Perfon diftinct and feparate from the reft, but all Three Persons effentially united into One God; and therefore the Applica tion must be falfe too; when what is true of the

One

One Supreme God, is applied to every distinct Perfon in the Godhead.

It is certain the One Supreme God can neither be Father, Son, nor Holy Ghoft: If he be a Father, he must beget a Son, who is not One with him, and yet is God: For the Son of God, who is begotten of his Father's Subftance, and has the fame Nature with him (which is the proper Notion of a begotten Son) must be God; as the Son of a man is a man: And if the Father himself in his own proper Perfon, as begetting the Son, be the One Supreme God, the whole entire Deity, then he must beget a Son without, not with in himself, who is not, and cannot be that One Supreme God, that the Father is. The One Supreme God is One in himself, and feparate from all other Beings: And therefore if the One Supreme God be a Father, he must beget a Son feparate from himfelf; if he be a Son, he must have a Father feparate from himself; and fo of the Holy Ghoft.

In the One Supreme God, there may and must be a Trinity of Divine Perfons; within the Unity of the Godhead there is a Father, a Son, and a Holy Ghost, but the One Supreme God is neither; neither begets, nor is begotten, nor proceeds; for all Three Perfons are the One Supreme God, and what belongs to the Godhead, belongs to them all as confidered in the Unity of the fame Godhead, but not as confidered in their diftinct Perfonal Capacities, as One is the Father, the other the Son, and the third the Holy Spirit.

And thus it is in the prefent Cafe: the One Supreme God can no more be fent, then he can be be gotten, can receive no Commands from any other, cannot be given by any other; cannot be fubject to

any

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any other Will but his own, &c. but the Divine Perfons may fend and be fent, and interceed with each other; for though in the Unity of the Godhead they are all the One Supreme God, yet there is a mutual Relation and Subordination between the Divine Perfons, as I have already explained it.

As to inftance in Interceffion or Prayer for himfelf or others, which is a Contradiction to the Notion of a Supreme God, as it is to the Notion of an Abfolute and Soveraign Prince: but yet a Soveraign Prince may interceed with himself; his own Wisdom, his own Mercy, Clemency, and Compaffion, may interceed with him, and prevail too, without any diminution to his own Soveraign Power. Thus though the Supreme God can interceed with no other Being, yet the Son may interceed with the Father; his own eternal and begotten Wisdom may interceed with him, and make Atonement and Expiation for finners: and thus God interceeds with no body but himself; for it is his own Wisdom which interceeds with him, and makes the Atonement.

And if we will confider things aright, we fhall find that there can be no other Advocate with the Father but the Son, but his own eternal and begotten Wifdom. When a man interceeds with himself, it is done by reflecting on his own Mind, and examining the Reasons and Motives he finds there to pity and fpare, and to do good; that is, by his reflex Wisdom and Knowledge of himself, which in the Godhead is the Son, God's reflex Knowledge of himself, or his be gotten Wisdom, that Divine Aby or Word, which Philo calls the dexes or High Prieft: For let us confider, what it is to interceed with God, and what kind of Interceffion is confiftent both with the Sove