A Glimpse of God, Title page – Dedication
A GLIMPSE of GOD: Or, A Treatiſe proving, That there is a GOD. Diſcovering the Grounds of Atheiſm. With Arguments of divers ſorts againſt Atheiſts. Shewing alſo, the Unity of the Godhead, and the Trinity of the Perſons; as likewiſe, what God is in himſelf, and and what he is to us; with particular Diſcourſes on ſome of God's Attributes, viz. the Simplicity, Eternity, Incomprehenſibility, Omnipreſence, Omniſcience, Immutability, Omnipotency, Life, and Immortality of God: Scholaſtically and Practically handled. By that Eminent and Judicious Divine, Mr. THOMAS BYRDALL, Late Miniſter of the Word, and Preacher at Walſall in the County of Stafford.
Nil cum majori periculo ignoratur quam Deus: Inquiſitione Dei opus eſt animo religioſo & cauto: Religioſo, ne manibus illotis ad tanta myſteria temerè accedamus: cauto, ne vel noſtris vel aliorum cogitationibus innitamur. Muſcul. loc. com.
LONDON, Printed by A. Maxwel for Thomas Parkhurſt, at the Sign of the Three Crowns at the lower end of Cheap-ſide, over againſt the great Conduit. 1665.
To the Right VVorſhipful Sir Thomas Wilbraham of Woodhey in the County of Cheſter, Baronet; and to the Vertuous Lady Elizabeth Wilbraham, his Wife.
Right Worſhipful,
THeology is that heavenly and ſure Wiſdom, revealed by the Holy Ghoſt in the Scripture, touching thé knowledg of God, and of our ſelves, whereby we are taught the way to Eternal Life. The deſign of this Treatiſe, is concerning God, to ſhew,
1. That He is.
2. What He is.
1. That God is: Firſt, and moſt generally, God makes himſelf known by his Works, whereby his glory appeareth to the whole world. So the very Philoſophers knew the Majeſty of the InviſibleRom 1 20. God, viz. by the Creation; in which are two things: 1. the Greatneſs of the work: for by what Engines could the Creatures raiſe ſo great a building? 2. The artificial ſitting of things together, ſheweth it was ſome great Artificer that made it: the Majeſty of God appeareth in the ordering and diſpoſing of the whole Univerſe, which in Greek is called foreign, and in Latin, Mundus, for the orderly diſpoſing the parts, and the harmony thereof. It is reported, that Archimedes made a Sphere, wherein all the world was fram'd, and the frame thereof deſcribed, with the orderly courſe of the Sun, Moon, and Stars, the …bbing and flowing of the Sea, &c. Now as no man that ſaw this, would doubt but that it was an Artificer that made it, much leſs reaſon is there to call into queſtion, whether the ſubſtantial world (whereof this was a ſhadow) was not made by a wiſe God of heaven and earth.
2. This may be further confirmed from Providence; foreign, providenti…, the word in Greek and Latin, betokens God's care concerning the whole world▪ and every part of it: The word in the Hebrew cometh from H…ſgiah, which ſignifieth, ſubtilitèr videre, vel deſpicere, an accurate ſight, or looking down upon things.
Now when we ſee the effects of Providence, the former and latter rain, ſummer and winter and all the creatures provided for, the courſe of things maintained, and every thing done in due order▪ this argues there is a God, whoſe governing hand holds all together. God is the firſt univerſal Cauſe, and all creatures depend upon him as the ſecondary cauſes, who cannot work without help from the firſt and univerſal cauſe.
3. Becauſe in the ſubordination of efficient cauſes, there cannot be proceſſus in infinitum.
4. The works of unreaſonable creatures, being many of them done according to reaſon, ſhew that they are guided by ſome higher intelligence; even as the Arrow that knows not the mark, is directed to it by the Archer. Hence it is ſaid, that Opus Naturae eſt opus intelligentiae.
5. Becauſe the ſenſe of the Deity is imprinted upon every mans's heart and conſcience, which importeth an univerſal Cauſe by which it was imprinted. And albeitCicer. d. Natur. De…r. lib. 1. Lactant. inſtit. Ca…. 10 l…b. 3 many things were feigned in the Religion of the Heathen, yet this could not; for this is the ground and root of all other: for unleſs it be ſetled in men's minds, that there is a God, in vain are men exhorted to this or that way of worſhipping: for, from this perſwaſion, that there is a God, Emergit omnis ad religionem propenſio; and unleſs this be certainly believed, all the myſteries of our Religion and Salvation will be no better, nor more certain, than old wives fables; for hereupon they all depend.
Now as this Treatiſe will evidently ſhew you, That God is; ſo likewiſe, What God is. Indeed God cannot be defined, becauſe of his Immenſity; for, as Moſes, we ſee his back-parts onelyonly: but he may be deſcribed.
God is one in Eſſence, three in Perſons, Jehovah E…ohim▪ or a Spirit having being of himſelf, full of all perfection, uncapable of all defects.
1. He is one God, but three Perſens; which is ſaid onelyonly of him, and of no creature; therefore 'tis well to be put in, as a note to diſtinguiſh him from us.
But here it may be objected, That if the Father be God, and the Son (begotten of the Father) be God alſo, then there are more Gods than one? I anſwer, that God the Father begetteth God the Son, yet they are not two Gods, but one God; the meaning is, God the Father did not beget another God, but another Perſon. In the Three Perſons, there is neither prius, nor poſterius, being all Coeternal, by nature and time; yet in regard of order, the Father is firſt named, the Son in the ſecond, and the Holy Ghoſt in the laſt place; and in this regard, ſometime the firſt work, viz. the work of Creation, is attributed to the Father, the work of Redemption to the Sonne, the work of Sanctification to the Holy Ghoſt, though they be all common and communicable: Nor doth this diſtinction any whit hinder the ſimple and indiviſible unity, for the Son is one with the Father, becauſe he conſiſteth of the ſame Spirit, and the Spirit is not diverſe from the Father andPropter u… tatem naturae totus Pater in F…l…o & Spi…it…, totus Spiritus S. in Pa…e & F… lio. Aug de …e. Fatemur q…od Pater eſt in Filio, & Fil…us in Patre, & D…us in Deo non p…r duplcem conv…nie…t i…m gener…m conj…nct…o…m▪ n…c p…r inſi…am … ſed per naturae unitam ſimil …udinem. H…lar It was a … ſi … of Lombard, concerning ſome curious queſtions about t… Trin…ty, Ego neſc…o, non requi…, ſed conſolabor …e ta…en, … n…ſci…nt, Angeli non …ud…ve…, Propheta …n … Apoſtol…s non interrog…, … ipſe non … c…ſſ…t … L…mb. …. the Son, becauſe he is the Spirit of the Father and the Son, the whole nature is in every perſon: John 14. 30. I am in the Father, and the Father in me, ſaith Chriſt. St. Auguſtine ſaith, that by theſe terms, which note a diſtinction, is ſignified a difference in relation, not in ſubſtance, wherein they are one; and therefore he ſaith elſewhere, Filius ad ſe Deus vocatur, ad Patrem Filius; the Son in reſpect of himſelf, is called God; in reſpect of the Father, he is called Son; in reſpect of ſubſtance, they have the ſame beginning, in relation the Father is the beginning of the Son. I conclude this, with that ſaying of the forementioned Father, Non poſſum unum cogitare, quin trium fulgore circumfundor, nec tria poſſum diſcernere, quin ſubito ad unum referor. I cannot think upon the Unity, but I am every way confounded with the brightneſs of the Trinity; neither can I diſcern the Trinity, but I am ſuddenly brought back to the Unity.
Now this one God is a Spirit, and will be worſhipped in Spirit and truth, John 4. 24. He hath being from himſelf, to diſtinguiſh him from all other creatures, who have a communicative being; he is full of all perfections, whereas every creature hath ſome perfection in him which another hath not, he hath ſimply all which may be had: Moreover, the beſt perfections of the creatures, do fall ſhort of his perfections, both becauſe they are infinite, and uncapable of any defects; the creatures be they never ſo exact, yet are they capable of defects; as a glaſs in a mans hand, though it be not broken, yet it is weak, and ſubject to be broken.
Now God (as to his Nature) he is ſimple, there is no compoſition of parts in him, neither doth he come into compoſition with his creatures: He is infinite in duration, which is his Eternity; infinite in Eſſence, which is his Immenſity; his preſence is infinite, filling all places in heaven and earth. God who is everywhere, and in every thing, doth wholly hear, wholly ſee, wholly effect every thing, ſaith Hilary; he is infinite in knowledge, underſtanding all things by his own Eſſence; he is his own knowledge, underſtanding all things together, uno ictu & actu, and not ſucceſſively, as the Schools ſpeak; he is ſempèr idem, alwayes the ſame, his Eſſence and Nature is unchangeable; other Eſſences or Subſtances, have accidents by which they are changed more or leſs, but no ſuch thing can befall God, therefore he only is immutable; he is ſpiritual and incorpor…al, and therefore cannot be ſeen with mortal eyes; he is Almighty, able to do whatſoever he pleaſeth, and his power both in its own nature, and the objects on which it worketh, is infinite and unmeaſurable. I ſhall not inſiſt upon theſe things, becauſe the enſuing Treatiſe will furniſh you with particular apt Diſcourſes upon God and his Attributes.
Now Right Worſhipful, and much Honoured Sir, I humbly dedicate this firſt Part of the deſcription of God and his Attributes, unto your Self, and worthy Lady: To you, Sir, above all others, I commend the Patronage of this Treatiſe, as being now Patron of that place where the Worthy and Learned Authour (preſented thereunto by your Renowned Grandfather, Sir Richard Wilbraham) exerciſed his Miniſtry with good ſucceſs for divers years, to whom alſo your Worſhip was (as I have been informed) a good Mecaenas. The ſcope of this Treatiſe will lead you to the knowledge of God, the unity of the Divine Eſſence, and the Trinity of the Perſons ſubſiſting in the Divine Eſſence. We cannot worſhip God aright, without ſome knowledge of this glorious and incomprehenſible Truth, becauſe the Trinity of Perſons, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghoſt, are both the object of our worſhip, and of our faith. This is life eternal, to know thee to be the only true God, and him whom thou haſt ſent, Chriſt Jeſus, Joh. 17. 3. We are baptized in the Name of the Three Perſons, which layeth an indiſpenſable neceſſity upon all Chriſtians to know them in ſome meaſure.
There is a four-fold knowledge, or rather four Properties or Qualifications of the knowledge of God.
1. A meer notional, or ſpeculative knowledge of God, a knowledge which is only in the brain, and reacheth not the heart; like the Moon, which giveth light, but no warrnth to inferiour bodies. A man may (as St. Paul ſpeaks) have all this knowledge, and yet his knowledge may profit him nothing; this makes men great Scholars, but not good Chriſtians, and ſome great Scholars are but Dunces in Chriſtianity. The deepeſt Philoſopher that ever was (ſaving the reverence of the Schools) is but a Sot to the ſimpleſt Chriſtian that hath the ſaving knowledge of God in Chriſt; yet we are all to labour after this ſpeculative knowledge, for we cannot come to ſaving knowledge without a natural apprehenſion: Speculation is previous to practice, but meer Speculation will not ſerve our turn.
2. There is a practical and ob…diential knowledg which is required of us: practice is the end of knowledg: hereby we know that we know him, if we keep his Commandments, 1 John 2. 3. And indeed knowledg without obedience may be termed ignorance of God, and Chriſt ſaith, that ſuch knowledg will greaten a mans torments in hell; he that knoweth, and doth not his maſters will, ſhall be beaten with many ſtripes, Luk. 12. 47. A practical knowing Chriſtian is a more knowing man, than he that hath all knowledg without practice; ſome Divines give this definition of Divinity. Theologia eſt ars benè vivendi; Divinity is the art of holy living: he is a Divine Preacher that lives holily, he is a Divine Chriſtian that lives obediently.
3. An affectionate knowledg of God, and the things of God is requiſite to a Chriſtian: if the ſtar of knowledg doth not guid our affections to Chriſt, to love him, to deſire him, this knowledg is nothing: Chriſtian knowledg is love and delight in the perſon known to us, 'tis as the husband knows his wife, the father his child, and one friend knoweth another, loving and delighting in them. 'Tis a common rule: Verba ſenſus & intellectûs in ſcripturâ ſempèr implicant affectum. Words of underſtanding and ſenſe imply affection. God himſelf is ſaid to know us and our ways, when he loveth and approveth of our perſons and ways, and he is ſaid not to know us, when he loves us not: in like manner we then know God, when we love him, and we cannot but love him, if we truly know him.
4. An experimental knowledg of God, a ſcientia guſtus, as the School-men term it, a knowledg of taſte, ſapida ſcientia, a ſavoury knowledg of ſpiritual truths. O taſt and ſee that the Lord is good. Pſ. 34. 8. The more you taſte of Gods goodneſs in your hearts, the more will you love him, and delight in him, your ſouls will then reliſh nothing but God, the ſweetneſs of all creatures, pleaſures, profits, will be unſavoury to your ſouls; of all Chriſtians thoſe are the moſt knowing, that have taſted of ſins bitterneſs, and Chriſts ſweetneſs: he that hath once taſted of hony, doth more perfectly know the ſweetneſs of it, than he that hath read a thouſand books of the ſweetneſſe of it, but never taſted it. That Chriſtian that hath taſted how gracious God in Chriſt is to him, and how bitter ſin is, knows both better, than that Miniſter that hath onelyonly read a thouſand books or that Chriſtian that hath onelyonly heard a thouſand Sermons of both. When we preach of the ſweetneſs of God and his ordinances to men that never had any experimental knowledg, we do but commend dainty meats to dead pallates, and commend the Sunne to men that are blind; knowledg in the ſoul is both the eye, and light, if the light that is in a man be darkneſs, how great is that darkneſs? Why do the Generality of the world take phancy for faith, preſumption and conceit for faith? is it not becauſe they want this light of ſaving knowledg to diſcern the right hand of faith, from the left hand of phancy and preſumption? now craving pardon for this my boldneſs, my prayer for you to God ſhall be that you may not be barren, nor unfruitful in the knowledg of God; and now when the World is blew with envy, green in malice, and withered in goodneſs, and when many great perſons provide delitiouſly for their bellies, gloriouſly for their backs, and poorly for their ſouls; you may always be doing good, laying up in ſtore for yo… ſelves a good foundation againſt the time to come, and laying hold of eternal life, that when others ſhall be found among the fooliſh virgins, with their ſic dicentes, ſo ſaying, you may be found among the good ſervants with your ſic facientes, ſo doing. I humbly take my leave and reſt.
Much honoured Sir and Madam, Your Worſhips moſt humble Servant in the Goſpel. W. GEARING. May. 1. 1665.