pains to examine their reasoning, will find it to be very childish and inconsistent, wholly owing to their hatred against the divinity of Jesus Christ, and the notion of a Trinity. But when the Jew is become a Christian, and the stumbling-block of the Cross removed out of his way, he can allow the name Elohim to be plural as readily as other men; and it is one of the principal points he chuses to insist upon, to convince the world that his eyes are open, and he is sincere in his profession of the Christian religion.

John Xeres, a Jew converted here in England about forty years ago, published a sensible and affectionate address to his unbelieving brethren, wherein he lays before them his reasons for leaving the Jewish religion and embracing the Christian. "The Christians

(says he *) confess Jesus to be God; and "it is this that makes us look upon the Gospels as books that overturn the very prin

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ciples of religion, the truth of which is "built upon this article, the Unity of God. "In this argument lies the strength of what

you object against the Christian religion.” Then he undertakes to prove that the unity

* P. 53.

· of

of God is not such as he once understood it to be, an unity of Person, but of Essence,

under which more persons than one are comprehended; and the first proof he offers is that of the word Elohim. Why else, says "he*, is that frequent mention of God by nouns of the plural number? as in Gen. I. 1. "where the word Elohim, which is rendered

God, is of the plural number, though an"nexed to a verb of the singular number; "which demonstrates as evidently as may “be, that there are several persons partaking "of the same divine nature and Essence.

II.

Gen. I. 26. And GOD said, let us make man in OUR image, after OUR like

ness.

No sensible reason can be given, why God should speak of himself in the plural number, unless he consists of more persons than one. Dr. Clarke contrived the plan of his Scripture Doctrine so as to leave out this difficulty with

*P. 57.

many

many more of the same kind.

Others there are who tell us it is a figurative way of speaking, only to express the dignity of God, not to denote any plurality in him. For they observe it is customary for a King, who is only one person, to speak of himself in the same Stile. But how absurd is it, that God should borrow his way of speaking from a King, before a man was created upon the earth! And even granting this to be possible, yet the cases will not agree. For though a King or Governor may say us and we, there is certainly no figure of speech that will allow any single 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 chuse out of. shall find, is the Stile in

Yet this, as we

which God has

spoken of himself in the following article.

Though it be impossible to apply this plural expression to any but the Persons of the Godhead, there is a writer who has attempted to turn the force of it by another text, in which, as he says very truly, the weakness of the argument will appear at sight. God invites the people by the prophet Isaiah, and says, "Come "now and let us reason together," chap. I. v. 18. Upon which he remarks, that "if

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"this form of expression puts the children of “Israèl upon an equality with God, then we may allow some force in this argument And so we may if it does not. For let us reason refers to an act common to all spirits; and therefore no Christian ever thought of arguing from it: but let us make man refers only to an act of the Godhead. All spirits can reason, but only the supreme Spirit can create. Therefore, the author, instead of answering the expression, hath only brought together two texts as widely different as God and man.

If the King were to say to another, "Let "us see," or "Let us breathe," no man would be so weak as to think that the expression denoted any equality or co-ordination in the person so spoken to. But if he should say, "Let us pardon a malefactor condemned by "the law," then the expression would admit of such an inference, and the objector might have been aware of these distinctions, if he had not prematurely settled his faith before he had consulted the Holy Scripture.

* See an Appeal to the common sense of all Christian People, P. 139,

III.

Gen. III. 22. And the LORD GOD said behold the man is become like ONE OF US.

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

IV.

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

US go

Another instance of this occurs in Isai. VI, 8. I heard the voice of the LORD, saying, whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Upon the plural word Nobis, us, there is a short

* Rom. XI. 34. and Isai. XL. 13.

note