No. III.]

[Price 3d.

ONE GOD IN TRINITY

AND

TRINITY IN UNITY.

MAN, before his fall, dwelt in the presence of his Creator, and walked in the light of the revelation of His glory. In the knowledge of God, and in obedience to His will, consisted his happiness and wellbeing; and it was only when he ceased to obey, that he ceased to have peace. As it was with man at the first, so is it now; it is indispensable to his present and eternal welfare that he walk in the light of that revelation of God's great name, made unto us in the work of redemption.

In reading the sacred Scriptures, we can scarcely fail to mark the great importance and sanctity which are ever attached to "the name of the Lord our God.” God holdeth him not guiltless who taketh it in vain; wheresoever it is placed, it confers on the recipient some of its own sacredness; wherever it is known, there is the fulness of joy which no man knoweth save he that receiveth it. To receive His name, and to know it, are the peculiar privilege of the Christian's calling. "After God is the whole family in heaven and earth named." He has placed His great and glorious name upon all who have been "baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost;" and in the power of that name have been called to obedience and peace. The doctrine of the Trinity in Unity is of all subects the most important; as upon the right under

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standing and reception of this doctrine depend all' true and correct ideas of the being of God, and all real holiness of life. It involves every article of the Christian faith, and therefore any unsoundness therein must be productive of the most serious consequences; for whatsoever is unsound in doctrine or impure in practice, may be traced to unsoundness in the faith touching the revelation of God. If the foundation is out of course, the superstructure must be faulty. It is in this practical point of view that the doctrine of the Trinity in Unity is treated in that wonderful compilation of divine truth, called the Creed of St. Athanasius.

Creeds in general are summaries of the Christian faith. The Athanasian Creed is more: it is a mighty rampart raised up against heresies; or, as Luther calls it, "a bulwark to the Apostles' Creed." It was a Creed composed expressly against the error of Arius, who denied the co-equality and co-eternity of the Son with the Father; and is also an exposition of the true faith against the other heresies concerning the person and natures of our blessed Lord, which had, even at that time, sprung up; and the peculiar force of that Creed, as a confession of faith, is contained in the following extract :-"Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the Catholic faith, which faith except every one do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly. And the Catholic faith is this: that we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; neither confounding the persons, nor dividing the substance." And again: "Furthermore, it is necessary to everlasting salvation, that he also believe rightly the incarnation of our

Lord Jesus Christ." So that the first statement of Catholic truth is in reference to the three Persons in the one Godhead; the second, to the Son of God in our flesh. And without referring more than I have done to the particular heresies which drew forth such explicit statements, whereby the distinctness of the three Persons in the Unity of the Godhead is so emphatically declared, we may yet, from the confusion and errors now prevailing in the Church, see the importance of rightly knowing Him who is the Father, Him who is the Son, and Him who is the Holy Ghost; and also of being duly acquainted with the work of each in man's redemption. It is, indeed, necessary that we know the special actings of God the Father, and of God the Son, and of God the Holy Ghost, in order that we may be preserved from every delusion of the devil, and all the subtle devices which abound in these perilous times of the last days; and whilst we bow before the One Uncreated, Incomprehensible, Eternal, Almighty Lord God, the Maker of heaven and earth, and Redeemer of mankind, rightly ascribe to each the glory and majesty of the Godhead, neither confounding the persons nor dividing the substance; for it is observable, that this confession of our faith is drawn up especially to the end that we may WORSHIP God aright" that we worship One God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity." It is a confession drawn up for the use and defence of the Church, and for the support of all her children, that they may always, in well-ordered words, be able to express the truth. It was not composed for the speculations of the mind, but for the exercise of the heart and spirit of man, that we may worship God in spirit and in truth

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For it is through our Lord Jesus Christ that we all have access by one Spirit unto the Father; and they who will rightly come to the one must rightly believe concerning the others.

And as it is in and through our Lord Jesus Christ alone that the Trinity in Unity is revealed, or can be apprehended or known, the Creed next sets forth a full and explicit statement of the great mystery of godliness" God manifest in the flesh." "For the right faith is, that we believe and confess, that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man; God, of the substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds; and Man, of the substance of his mother, born in the world; perfect God and perfect Man; of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting; equal to the Father as touching His Godhead, and inferior to the Father as touching His Manhood. Who although He be God and Man, yet is He not two, but one Christ; one, not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh, but by taking the Manhood into God; one altogether, not by confusion of substance, but by unity of person. For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man, so God and Man is one Christ."

It is here declared what "the right faith is," against those who would impair His Manhood, deny His Godhead, confuse the two natures-"the substance of the Father begotten before the worlds, and the substance of his mother born in the world"-or who would limit the actings of the Son, by bringing the Infinite and Incomprehensible within the bounds of space, instead of lifting the creature into the Infinite, wherein, in truth, the glory of man's redemption consisteth. I have already said that it is not a matter of indif

ference whether this be our faith or not, but that it is absolutely necessary and essential to man's salvation; yea, that his salvation consists in apprehending this truth of God revealed unto us through our Lord Jesus Christ. Hence, in reference to this confession of faith, there are two declarations: first, "Whosoever will be saved, it is of the first importance and necessary that he hold the Catholic faith;" and, secondly, "Except every one do keep whole and undefiled-entire and inviolate-without doubt he shall perish everlastingly." This is nothing more nor less than to affirm that man cannot be saved in his own way, but in God's way-that if the creature will be saved at all, he must submit himself to God, and walk in the light of His revealed truth-that salvation standeth in the knowledge of the one living and only true God; and whosoever shutteth out that light of life from his heart, must abide in darkness, and perish for ever. It is just what our Lord said when He commissioned His disciples to preach the Gospel to every creature, adding, " He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned." For faith in God is not a mere ideal thing, but a reality, a "coming to God," possessing "the knowledge of God," making ourselves "acquainted with God." God truly saith to the believer, "I am thy salvation." And the believer saith as truly, "The Lord is my God :"..." I know in whom I have believed." O let us not mistake in this matter! That which is set before us as the object of faith is not mere abstract doctrines, well-defined propositions; but God. The LORD GOD is the subject matter of the Creed. "The Catholic faith is, that we worship One God in Trinity,