1) The Lord our God is but one only living and true
God;a whose subsistence is in and of
himself,b infinite in being and perfection;
whose essence cannot be comprehended by any but
himself;c a most pure
spirit,d invisible, without body, parts, or
passions, who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which
no man can approach unto;e who is
immutable,f immense,g
eternal,h incomprehensible,
almighty,i every way infinite, most
holy,j most wise, most free, most absolute;
working all things according to the counsel of his own immutable
and most righteous willk for his own
glory;l most loving, gracious, merciful,
long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving
iniquity, transgression, and sin; the rewarder of them that
diligently seek him,m and withal most just and
terrible in his judgments,n hating all
sin,o and who will by no means clear the
guilty.p
(a 1
Corinthians 8:4,6, Deuteronomy 6:4;
b Jeremiah
10:10, Isaiah
48:12; c Exodus
3:14; d John
4:24; e 1 Timothy
1:17, Deuteronomy 4:15,16;
f Malachi
3:6; g 1 Kings
8:27, Jeremiah
23:23; h Psalms
90:2; i Genesis
17:1; j Isaiah
6:3; k Psalms
115:3, Isaiah
46:10; l Proverbs
16:4, Romans
11:36; m Exodus
34:6,7, Hebrews
11:6; n Nehemiah
9:32,33; o Psalms
5:5,6; p Exodus
34:7, Nahum
1:2,3)
2) God, having all life,q
glory,r goodness,s
blessedness, in and of himself, is alone in and unto himself
all-sufficient, not standing in need of any creature which he
hath made, nor deriving any glory from them,t
but only manifesting his own glory in, by, unto, and upon them;
he is the alone fountain of all being, of whom, through whom, and
to whom are all things,u and he hath most
sovereign dominion over all creatures, to do by them, for them,
or upon them, whatsoever himself pleaseth;v in
his sight all things are open and manifest,w
his knowledge is infinite, infallible, and independent upon the
creature, so as nothing is to him contingent or
uncertain;x he is most holy in all his
counsels, in all his works,y and in all his
commands; to him is due from angels and men, whatsoever
worship,z service, or obedience, as creatures
they owe unto the Creator, and whatever he is further pleased to
require of them.
(q John
5:26; r Psalms
148:13; s Psalms
119:68; t Job
22:2,3; u Romans
11:34-36; v Daniel
4:25,34,35; w Hebrews 4:13;
x Ezekiel 11:5, Acts
15:18; y Psalms 145:17;
z Revelation 5:12-14)
3) In this divine and infinite Being there are three
subsistences, the Father, the Word or Son, and Holy
Spirit,a of one substance, power, and eternity,
each having the whole divine essence, yet the essence
undivided:b the Father is of none, neither
begotten nor proceeding; the Son is eternally begotten of the
Father;c the Holy Spirit proceeding from the
Father and the Son;d all infinite, without
beginning, therefore but one God, who is not to be divided in
nature and being, but distinguished by several peculiar relative
properties and personal relations; which doctrine of the Trinity
is the foundation of all our communion with God, and comfortable
dependence on him.
(a 1 John
5:7, Matthew
28:19, 2
Corinthians 13:14; b Exodus
3:14, John
14:11, 1
Corinthians 8:6; c John
1:14,18; d John
15:26, Galatians 4:6)