A64989:52
The foundation of God standeth sure, or, A defence of those fundamental and so…
The foundation of God standeth sure, or, A defence of those fundamental and so generally believed doctrines of the Trinity of persons in the unity of the divine essence, of the satisfaction of Christ, the second person of the real and glorious Trinity, of the justification of the ungodly by the imputed righteousness of Christ, against the cavils of W.P.J. a Quaker in his pamphlet entitled The sandy foundation shaken &c. : wherein his and the Quakers hideous blasphemies, Socinian and damnably-heretical opinions are discovered and refuted ... / by Thomas Vincent.The foundation of God standeth sure, or, A defence of those fundamental and so generally believed doctrines of the Trinity of persons in the unity of the divine essence, of the satisfaction of Christ, the second person of the real and glorious Trinity, of the justification of the ungodly by the imputed righteousness of Christ, against the cavils of W.P.J. a Quaker in his pamphlet entituled The sandy foundation shaken &c. : wherein his and the Quakers hideous blasphemies, Socinian and damnably-heretical opinions are discovered and refuted ... / by Thomas Vincent.
London : s.n., 1668
Chapter 5: The Doctrine of the Trinity of distinct persons in the unity of the Divine Essence, ass…
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
CHAP. V. The Doctrine of the Trinity of distinct persons in the unity of the Divine Essence, asserted and proved.
The Trinity of Persons in the unity of the Divine Essence, and the unity of the Divine Essence in the Trinity of Persons, that three should be one, and one should be three; that three should be distinguished, but not divided; that one should not be another, the first should not be the second, nor the second third, nor the second or third the first, and yet the first, second, and third the same; that the first should be in the second, and the second in the first, and both first and second in the third, and that without composition, without confusion, all related to one another, and all distinguished one from another by incommunicable personal properties, and yet all one and the same in regard of one individual Essence, this is such a mystery as doth exceed the weak and narrow understanding of the most enlightened and clear sighted Christians fully to comprehend: some by gazing too long upon the Sun become blind; and some by prying too much into this mystery, and attempting to bring it to the standard and module of their reason have lost the sight thereof and sunk into gross apprehensions, and denied either the unity of the Godhead, affirming the three persons to be three distinct Gods, or denied the Trinity, affirming the Godhead to be without three distinct persons; thus while they have professed and conceited themselves to be wise, they have proved themselves to be fools, & void of true understanding, by changing the glory of God into that which is unworthy of him. But we, having a sure ⟨p. 26⟩word of Prophecy in the Scriptures, which is like a light shining in a dark place, ought to give heed thereunto, and conform all our conceptions of God according to the discoveries which he hath made of himself in his word; God knoweth himself better than any creature can know, and what he hath spoken of himself, must needs be so because he cannot represent himself otherwise than he is, and if there be a mystery in him which we cannot reach, we add folly to our weakness if we do in the least question it: reason, it may be, will leave us in our search after the Deity in the Trinity, and the Trinity in the Deity; but where reason faileth, Faith must supply it's room; the proper object of Divine Faith is such things as we purely do assent unto upon Divine authority; such are not only Histories and Prophesies, but also Mysteries, which reason cannot demonstrate unto us: