A Stock of Divine Knowledge, Chapter 6
CHAP. VI.
HEB. 11.6.
He that commeth unto God muſt beleeve that God is, and that he is the rewarder of them that &c.
HAving ſpoken of the ground of the true knowledge of God, and of ſo many things concerning the word, as were thought neceſſary: It remaines that we proceed to that which God teacheth us, firſt, concerning himſelfe. Secondly, concerning his will. Firſt, that there is a God. Secondly, that there is but one God. Thirdly, what this one God is, in the unity of Eſſence, and trinity of perſons, and now concerning theſe.
Queſt. What doth the word teach us concerning God?
Anſw. The anſwer is, firſt, that there is a God; for the proofe of this, my text ſhall ſerve for many: he that comes to God, muſt beleeve that he is, and that he is the rewarder of them that ſeek him; alſo the firſt of Gen. hath this many times, In the beginning God created &c. And in the verſes following, God ſaw, that all that he had created was exceeding good. Therefore it ſhall be needleſſe for me to bring more proofes, for all men confeſſe there is a God.
Queſt. What reaſons have you to confirme this?
There be divers reaſons; firſt in man: ſecondly, without man; within man the very being of body and ſoule with the powers and parts of them: and ſecondly, the terrors of conſcience when they have done ill, and joy and comfort when they have done well: theſe and the like works in man doe manifeſt that there is a God.
Secondly, without man, the wonderfull frame of the world was not made by it ſelfe, nor by nature, nor by man, therefore by God; with the motions that are in it, each of theſe we will explane: that theſe proves, that there is a God, appeares by the bodies of men, whence have they themſelves? of themſelves? No, Pſal. 108. It is he that hath made us, and not we our ſelves; It appeares manifeſtly in that a man cannot comprehend one part of his body, he knowes not himſelf, nor the ſeveral ſecrets that God hath made in him; but it may be ſayd though a man made not himſelf, yet his parents did; no, nor his parents: becauſe his parents did not know what they did beget and conceive; but if parents were the cauſe, then they ſhould know the effect: therfore it was God that made them; Their ſoules are made by him, who is above reaſon; there is nothing that hath reaſon but men and Angels, but they made not the ſoule, and nothing is above reaſon, but God; This is apparant for the body, Pſal. 94.4. He that made the eare, ſhall he not heare? it was God that planted the eare, and not man. And for the ſoule, Eccleſ. 12. The ſpirit returnes to God that gave it. God made man, and he breathed into him the breath of life, (Gen. 2.7.) and he became a living ſoule. Wherupon the Poet Arratas of whom St. Paul ſpeakes, ſaith, that we are of the generation of God, becauſe we have our ſoules from him, which are indued with reaſon and knowledge, and in this reſpect he is called the father of ſpirits; ſo that if we looke to the beginning of man, when he was firſt endued with wiſdome and reaſon, and made with noble qualities, it appeares that there is a God.
Secondly, the ſecond ground is in mans ſelf; the conſcience of man when he hath done ill is full of horrors, all men are ſo: Adam hid himſelfe: Davids heart ſmote him, 2 Sam. 24.10. Eſa. 33.14. Sinners in Sion are afrayd, feare hath ſuppreſſed the hypocrites. And this is that in Pſal. 53.15. They were afrayd where no feare was; that is, where no outward cauſe of feare was; conſcience the deputy of God did terrifie them; This was that which did fill Iudas ſo full of terrors; Yea, but ſay ſome, they may feare leſt thoſe things they have done, ſhould come to the knowledge of the Magiſtrate, and ſo law ſhould take hold of them; I anſwer, this adds to their feare: but Adam had none to feare, becauſe he was the firſt: David had none to feare, becauſe he was king and ſo above all; but yet the deputy of God was in them, and that made them afraid: to add to this, if a man commit a thing in the wilderneſſe where no man knowes it, yet he is afraid, for ſomtimes he tels it in a frenſie, and ſomteme in ſleepe, as the Prophet Eſai ſpeaketh, Eſai. 66.14. Enforced by the worm in them that never dies.
Secondly, the comfort that it gives unto men when they have done wel, when they know the acceptation of their owne works, and live in expectation of reward; and this is not only when they have done wel in the ſight of men, but alſo whē their left hand knoweth not what their right hand doth; nay when men mock at them and ſcorne them, as Mychall ſcorned David, then they have joy; yea the Martyrs have laid downe their lives rejoycing: whence comes this but from God? the Apoſtle ſpeakes to this purpoſe, Heb. 10.34. You ſuffered with joy the ſpoiling of your goods: why? becauſe you know you have in heaven a better and a more enduring ſubſtance; all which proves that there is a God.
The ſecond thing is without man, and that is from the wonderfull frame of the world; it had a beginning but it was not made by nature, nor by man, nor by it ſelfe, nor by chance; It had a beginning, and therfore ſubject to alteration, and change, and therefore it made not it ſelfe, nor came it by chance. If a man come into a ſtrange place, and ſee a ſmall cottage, he will ſay it was made by ſome body; much more, if a man look upon the frame of the world, he cannot thinke it was made by it ſelfe; well, who ſhould make it? it ſelfe? or nature? or man? Firſt, chance made it not, which is a caſual concurrence of things, and nanature made it not, for if it did, then there ſhould be a naturall reaſon of all things in the world; but there are Millions of things in the world of which none can give a reaſon; as the ebbing and flowing of the Sea. The maſter of reaſon could not find it out, & therfore ſayd, becauſe I cannot finde thee, thou ſhalt find me, and caſt himſelfe into the Sea: who can give a reaſon of the colors in the Rainbow, and who can give a reaſon for the heate of a mans ſtomack, that digeſteth all things that it receives, and conſumes not it ſelfe?
Neither did man make it, it was made for man, and he was brought into it as a gueſt, therefore man could not make it; beſides, there is ſuch skill in the frame of the world, that man could not do it; and Chriſt teacheth us, that man hath not power to make a haire of his head white or blacke, much leſſe to make ſuch an earth, and ſuch an heaven as there is, therefore it could not be made by man; as the Apoſtle ſaith, the inviſible things of God are ſeen by the creation of the world. Rom. 1.20. Hereby they that have doubted whether there was a God, have been brought to confeſſe one: for Pliny ſaith, that when he ſaw a Butterfly or a gnat buffing about him, he confeſſed that there was a God; becauſe that ſo little a creature could not elſe make ſo great a noiſe: to adde to theſe, the motions that are in things, it is the reaſon that Philoſophers have had to prove, that there muſt be a God; becauſe all inferiour things, muſt be moved by ſuperiours: that as the pulſe carries a mans eie, or reaſon to the heart, ſo theſe to God; eſpecially, when all theſe things move to one principall end, though things have two or three cauſes, yet all comes to one end, Prov. 16.4. God made all things for his own glory; ſo that by theſe arguments we have proved that there is a God.
Vſe 1. This ſerves to confute all Atheiſts, ſuch as deny that there is a God, and ſay that religion is nothing but a meer invention to keep men in awe; Saint Auſtin; in his confeſſion, ſaith; If there be any that deny God, I know not what to ſay, I know not with what manner of arguments to go to them; but I ſhould offend in ſpeaking to them: Tully in his book of the nature of God, makes mention of one Protagoras who wrote a booke, and in the beginning of the booke, he wrote thus: The Gods whether they be or not, I know not: the Athenians abhorred this, and for this, they baniſhed him out of the Country, and burnt his bookes in a publique aſſembly: this I ſay, if there be any Atheiſts amongſt us, I could wiſh they were baniſhed the Court, and Country; I adde this further, as Seneca ſpeakes, there are no Atheiſts though there would be ſome; if any ſay there is no God, they lie; though they ſay it in the day time, yet in the night when they are alone they denie it; howſoever ſome deſperately harden themſelves, yet if God doth but ſhew himſelfe terrible to them, they confeſſe him. Many of the heathen, and others, have denied that there is a God, yet when they were in diſtreſſe, they did fall down and confeſſe him, as Diagoras that grand Atheiſt, when he was troubled with the ſtrangullion, acknowledged a diety which he had denied; theſe kinde of Atheiſts, I leave to the mercy of God, of which I doubt it whether there be any for them.
Vſe 2. The ſecond uſe, ſerves to teach every man to bethinke himſelfe, and to humble himſelfe, for theſe Atheiſticall thoughts, in which he hath called into queſtion, and diſputed whether there be a God, or no: Brethren know thus much, if thou beeſt a man that doeſt believe, thou canſt not be perfectly without theſe thoughts, ariſing out of the ſeed of thy owne infidelity, to call into queſtion, whether there be a God: for the divel out of his malice which he beares to God, labors to corrupt men in this, that ſo they may call their faith into queſtion: It may be a man by grace may reſiſt theſe thoughts: but know, that there is no man ſo reſiſteth a temptation of Sathan, but that it leaves ſome filth behind it: a man cannot perfectly reſiſt him by reaſon of his weakenes, therefore every man ought to humble himſelfe; for he that is leaſt troubled with them hath leaſt faith; but he that wraſtleth with them, and humbleth himſelfe for them, may have comfort. Therefore labour to ſtrengthen thy ſelfe againſt theſe, that if they come, they may be but as a flaſh of fire. For the concluſion of this uſe, what ſhall a man do? even as St. Chryſoſtom ſaith (teaching how we may make the divel nought to himſelfe, and good to us) labour for more ſtrength by his temptations; It grieves the divel to ſee us bettered by him; if we were watchfull againſt occaſions, and temptations, and reſiſted them, by this meanes we ſhould grow ſtrong in faith, and gaine by him: and to this end the Apoſtle ſaith, reſiſt the divel, and he will fly from thee.
Queſt. What doth the word teach us concerning God?
Anſ. That there is but one true God, it is manifeſt where in my text: he that comes to God, muſt believe that God is, and that there is but one God: when God ſpake to Abraham, of Iſaak he ſayd, I will be thy God, and the God of thy ſeed, So Iſai. 44.6. I am the firſt and the laſt, and beſides me there is no God. Iohn 17.3 This is eternall life, to know thee to be the onelyonly true God. 1 Cor. 8.5. Though there be many that are called gods and lords, yet unto us there is but one onelyonly true God.
Queſt. What Reaſons are there of this?
Anſw. There are three: Firſt, from him are all things.
Secondly, Becauſe there can be but one Infinite.
Thirdly, Becauſe there is but one Omnipotent.
For the firſt: Becauſe from him are all things: thus the Apoſtle Paul reaſons with the Gentiles, that from him, for him, and by him, are all things, Rom. 11.36. If all things be from him, then there can be but one for all; other things come from him, as maine roots have their firſt originall from one root; ſo all beings have their being from God, who is the firſt being. And as all things come from him, ſo all things returne to him againe, and ſerve to manifeſt his glory; and therefore he is called the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending.
The ſecond Reaſon is, becauſe (as the Maſter of reaſon ſaith) there can be but one infinite being and wiſdome, and that muſt be the firſt mover, and that is, he that fils heaven and earth, Ioſ. 23.23. I fill heaven and earth: and therefore there can be but one God.
The third Reaſon is, becauſe there can be but one Omnipotent; It appeares manifeſtly that there cannot be many: for (as Lactantius ſpeakes) if there be two, they muſt be equall, and then they agree, or diſagree; if they agree, then one of them is ſuperiour; if they diſagree, then there will be a confuſion: therefore it followes, that there can be but one; for (as Saint Auſtin ſaith) a King cannot endure a fellow; no more can God endure a copartner: when was there heard that two Kings raigned together, but the one ſought the overthrow of the other?
Vſe 1. This ſerves to overthrow the multitude of gods that the heathen have had and worſhipped, and the hereticks have invented. It ſhewes, that they were fictions of their owne braines, becauſe they made a multitude of them: the true God hath not his name, nay, he will not have his name given to another; a true Husband cannot endure a fellow; a true Mother cannot endure the parting of her childe: this argues that the Gentiles gods, were falſe gods, becauſe if they might be gods, they cared not how many there were. And that was the reaſon why the Romans refuſed Chriſt, becauſe they would have their gods with him, and he would be worſhipped alone, without them.
Vſe 2. This teacheth us from whence it is, that the world continues, and is not deſtroyed; not onelyonly becauſe there is a God, but becauſe there is but one God, and he alwayes preſerves it: Saint Chryſoſtome ſaith, as it is with the body, If God doe forſake it, it cannot continue; ſo is it with the world, if God did not uphold it, it would come to nothing: he ſaith further, the world is like unto a ſhip, the Marriners are the men, the ſayles are the heaven; why doth this ſhip never periſh? becauſe there is but one Governour; if there were two governours, the ſhip muſt needs periſh; for while the one would hoyſt up ſayle, the other would caſt ancor, and ſo there would be a confuſion. Saint Athanaſius ſaith, if there were as many Governours and Coronels in one Armie as ſouldiers, the Armie would ſoone be confounded; this is the ſafety of an Army, that there is but one Generall, and ſo all are preſerved; ſo is it of the world, that there is but one God.
The third Uſe is for matter of practice, to reſtraine men from wronging one another; becauſe there is but one God. It is not my uſe, but the Prophets, Mal. 2.10. Have not we all one Father? and the Apoſtle in the new Teſtament exhorts, that we live in peace, &c. he addes, becauſe there is but one God, Father of us all, &c. ſo he that is about to injury another, ought thus to reaſon with himſelfe; there is but one God, and he is his God as well as mine: and if any man injury me, ſhall I goe about to take revenge? therein ſhall I ſinne againſt God, for there is but one God: Well might it be, if an Engliſh man and a ſtranger ſhould injury one another in a ſtrange place, they might returne revenge, becauſe they are not both under one ſupreme Governour; but we may not do ſo, we have all one God: a Maſter of a family that hath two ſervants fallen out, is moſt angry with him that ſtrikes the ſecond blow: ſo with him that offers wrong, God is angry, but he is much more offended with him that takes revenge: therefore we ought to reaſon thus with our ſelves, he is his God and my God, therefore I may not tranſgreſſe againſt him: and this is not onelyonly generall, but particular, for the Maſter to the ſervant, for the King to the Subject; we have but one God, and his God is my God; I may not wrong him, for he will puniſh me, and defend him: and this is the argument that Iob uſes, If I did deſpiſe the counſell of my maid; that is, if I was a tyrant over them, and would not heare them ſpeake, but would have done what I pleaſed: what was the ground that reſtrained him? he that made them, made me; therefore deale equally with your ſervants; you have but one God, and there is no difference betweene him and you; therefore let every man take heed of himſelfe, eſpecially that ye tranſgreſſe not one againſt another; and every one ſhall receive of God as he hath done: And ſo much for this time.