A Treatise of Christian Religion, Chapter 3
CHAP. 3.
Of the Attributes and Properties of God.
The Properties or Attributes of God, are either
Firſt, and they
Principall, as
Simpleneſſe.
Infiniteneſſe, in
Quantity, as Immenſity, &c.
Quality, as Time.
Secondarie,
Life.
Knowledge.
Will.
Power.
Goodneſſe.
Iuſtice.
Graciouſneſſe.
LoueLove.
Mercy.
Holineſſe.
Ariſing from the firſt
Perfection.
Happineſſe.
PSAL. 145.
1. I will extoll thee, my God, O King: and I will bleſſe thy Name for euer and euer.
2. EueryEvery day will I bleſſe thee: and I will praiſe thy Name for euer and euer.
3. Great is the Lord, and greatly to bee praiſed: and his greatneſſe is vnſearchable.
4. One generation ſhall praiſe thy workes to another, and ſhall declare thy mighty acts.
5. I will ſpeake of the glorious honour of thy maieſty: and of thy wondrous workes.
6. And men ſhall ſpeake of the might of thy terrible acts: and I will declare thy greatneſſe.
7. They ſhall abundantly vtter the memory of thy great goodneſſe: and ſhall ſing of thy righteouſneſſe.
8. The Lord is gracious, and full of compaſſion: ſlow to anger, and of great mercy.
9. The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are ouer all his workes.
10. All thy workes ſhall praiſe thee, O Lord: and thy Saints ſhall bleſſe thee.
11. They ſhall ſpeake of the glory of thy kingdome: and talke of thy power.
12. To make knowne to the ſonnes of men his mighty acts: and the glorious Maieſty of his kingdome.
13. Thy kingdome is an euerlaſting kingdome: and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.
14. The Lord vpholdeth all that fall: and raiſeth vp all thoſe that be bowed downe.
15. The eyes of all waite vponupon thee: and thou giueſt them their meate in due ſeaſon.
16, Thou openeſt thine hand: and ſatisfieſt the deſire of eueryevery liuing thing.
17. The Lord is righteous in all his waies: and holy in all his workes.
18. The Lord is nigh vntounto all them, that call vponupon him: to all that call vponupon him in truth.
19. He will fulfill the deſire of them that feare him: hee alſo will heare their cry, and will ſaue them.
20. The Lord preſerueth all them that louelove him: but all the wicked will he deſtroy.
21. My mouth ſhall ſpeake the praiſe of the Lord: and let all fleſh bleſſe his holy name for euer and euer.
Q. VVHat doth the Prophet heere meane by thy Name?
A. In that the name of God is diſtinguiſhed from God himſelfe in this verſe, the Prophet thereby ſetteth forth the things, whereby God doth manifeſt himſelfe to others, amongſt which, the chiefe and principall are his Attributes.
Q. What are the Attributes of God?
A. They are eſſential faculties of God, according to the diuers manner of his working, which are vncommunicable with the creatures, notwithſtanding that there are ſome ſhadowes and glimpſes of them in Men and Angels.
Q. How may they be conſidered?
A. Either in themſelues as they are eſſentiall; or in their workes or effects, which are all perfect.
Q. How many ſorts of Attributes are there?
A. Two, either firſt, or ſuch as ariſe from the firſt: Againe the firſt, are either principall or ſecondarie.
Q. What are the principall Attributes in God?
A. Simpleneſſe and Infiniteneſſe, which are not Ioh. 4. 24.only incommunicable themſelues, but which make all the other Attributes of God incommunicable.
Q. What is Simpleneſſe or ſingleneſſe in God?
A. It is an Attribute of God, whereby is noted, Exod. 33. 19. 20.that eueryevery thing that is in God, is God himſelf. And therefore he is vncompounded, without parts, inuiſible, impaſſible, all eſſence: whence it is, that hee is not onelyonly called holy, but holineſſe; not onelyonly iuſt, but iuſtice, &c.
Q. What learne you thereby?
A. That he is in no ſort mutable, or changeable, Jam. 1. 17.but in all things euer one and the ſame, without any alterarion, or ſhadow of change.
Q. Is not God in diuers places of Scripture ſaid to repent?
A. Yea. But this is ſpoken of God onelyonly tropically Gen. 6. 6.and improperly, becauſe vponupon the change and alteration that is in men, he vſeth often to change his worke, and therein ſeemeth to do as man doth, when he repenteth; whereas (in truth) he therein neuer doth any thing, but what he hath determined ſo to doe from all eternity.
Q. What doe you ſay of his Infiniteneſſe?
A. It is either in quantity and greatneſſe, or in time and eternity.
Q. What is his Infinitenes in quantity and greatnes?
A. It is an Attribute in God, whereby is noted, Pſal. 139. 7. Iob 11. 7. Eſay 66. 1. 1. King. 8. 27. Eſay 40. 12.that he containeth al things, and is contained of nothing that either is or may be imagined. And therefore that he is eueryevery where, and in all places preſent; it being not poſſible that he, that is infinite in greatneſſe, ſhould be circumſcribed or bound within the limits of any finite place.
Q. What learne you from hence?
A. That ſeeing God is eueryevery where preſent, that therfore in the whole courſe of our liues we ſhould walke as in his preſence, and feare to doe any thing that may offend him: for if it be a ſigne of contempt vntounto man to doe that before his face, that you know will diſpleaſe him; it muſt needs argue a high contempt of the great Maieſty of God, to dare to do any thing that he is diſpleaſed withall; eſpecially when wee can doe nothing in ſecret that can bee hidden from him: yea, whatſoeuer we doe, it is done in his face and preſence, he looking vponupon vsus.
Q. What is his Infiniteneſſe in time or eternity?
A. It is an Attribute in God, whereby is noted, Reuel. 1. 8. 11. Eſay 44. 6. Pſal. 90. 2. 1. Tim. 1. 17.that hee is the firſt and the laſt, without beginning, and without end.
Q. What learne you hereby?
A. We are ſtrengthened hereby in the truth, not onelyonly of the immortality of our ſoules, but alſo of the immortality of our bodies after the reſurrection; conſidering that he being euerlaſting, can giuegive continuall Being to ſuch of his creatures as he pleaſeth.
Q. What are the other Attributes of God, which you called ſecondarie?
A. They are chiefly tenne; Life, Knowledge, Wil, Power, Goodneſſe, Iuſtice, Graciouſnes, LoueLove, Mercy, Holineſſe.
Q. What is the Life of God?
A. It is an Attribute of God, whereby is noted, Pſal. 36. 9. Ioh. 5. 26.that he liueth of himſelfe. Whence, 1. Tim. 6. 16. it is ſaid, that hee onelyonly hath immortalitie, and therefore cannot die.
Q. What learne you hence?
A. That the liues and deathes of all other things depend vponupon his good pleaſure.
Q. What is the Knowledge of God?
A. It is an Attribute of God, whereby is noted, that hee perfectly knoweth himſelfe; and of, and by himſelfe, all things which are, and which are not.
Q. In what manner doth God know all things?
A. Not ſucceſſiuely, or by diſcourſe, collecting one thing from another, but in one ſimple and eternall act, knowing and comprehending all things; and therefore neither fore-knowledge, nor remembrance are properly in God, all things both paſt and to come, being preſent before him.
Q. What learne you from hence?
A. That hee is infinite in wiſdome and vnderſtanding; and therefore whatſoeuer hee doth, muſt needs bee done moſt wiſely, and no vaine act can proceed from him.
Q. Is not the knowledge or fore-knowledge of God the cauſe, why all other things are?
A. No: but his will.
Q. What is the VVill of God?
A. It is an Attribute of God, whereby is noted, Pſal. 139. 11. Heb. 4. 13. Iohn 21. 17. 1. Tim. 6. 16.that of himſelfe moſt freely he approueth, or diſapproueth whatſoeuer he knoweth.
Q. What learne you hereby?
A. Firſt, that nothing commeth to paſſe by meere hap or chance, but as God in his eternall knowledge and iuſt will, hath decreed before ſhould come to paſſe.
Secondly, that whatſoeuer commeth to paſſe, though we know no other cauſes thereof, yet we are to acknowledge the ſame to bee alwaies from God; and though it be neuer ſo contrary to our willes, yet we ſhould beare it patiently, and therein ſubmit our willes to the good will and pleaſure of God.
Q. What is the Power of God?
A. It is an Attribute of God, whereby is noted, Iob. 42. 2. Luk. 1. 37.that he is able to doe whatſoeuer is honourable for him to doe: whereby are excluded contradictions, and whatſoeuer things elſe are diſhonourable, as being not things of power, but of weakeneſſe.
Q. What inſtructions doe you learne from the power of God?
A. Firſt, that we ſhould not deſpaire of the things that God doth promiſe, either in reſpect of our owne weakenes, or in reſpect of the apparent weakneſſe of the things, that God hath ſanctified for our good.
Secondly, it ſerueth both for a ſpurre to doe well, conſidering that God is able to ſaue: and a bridle to reſtraine from euil, ſeeing he hath power to deſtroy.
Q. What is Gods Goodneſſe?
A. It is an Attribute of God, whereby is noted, Mark. 10. 18. Iam. 1. 17.that hee is infinitely good, in, and of himſelfe; and conſequently that he is the Chiefeſt Good.
Q. Is nothing then good but God?
A. Nothing of it ſelfe; howbeit all creatures hauehave their being, and many good things, (which are not of themſelues), but from God.
Q. What learne you hereby?
A. That hee is the fountaine from which all goodneſſe doth ſtreame; and that whatſoeuer hee doth is good, yea perfectly good, whatſoeuer men iudge of it: yea, that by this goodneſſe of his hee vſeth all things well: and ſeeing God is good to vsus, we ought to be good one towards another.
Q. What is his Iuſtice?
A. It is an Attribute, whereby is noted, that God Pſal. 119. 137. & 145. 17.is iuſt in himſelfe, and of himſelfe, and exerciſeth iuſtice towards all creatures.
Q. VVhat is the rule of this Iustice?
A. His will: for becauſe he willeth it, therefore Epheſ. 1. 11. Pſal. 115. 3. Matth. 20. 15.it is iuſt, not becauſe it is iuſt, therefore hee willeth it: and theſe things may be applied to other the properties of God.
Q. VVhat learne you from hence?
A. Not to call into queſtion, or to murmure and repine at, or to refuſe to doe any thing that hee willeth, ſeeing that cannot but be moſt iuſt & equall, which proceedeth frō his will, how hard & vnreaſonable ſoeuer it may ſeeme to our naturall diſpoſitiō.
Q. VVhat is the Graciouſneſſe of God?
A. It is an Attribute, whereby hee is of himſelfe Exod. 34. 6. Ioel 2. 13.moſt gracious and amiable.
Q. Is he onelyonly Gracious?
A. OnelyOnly, in and of himſelfe: for whatſoeuer elſe is gracious and amiable, it is ſo from him.
Q. VVhat learne you from this?
A. That wee ought to louelove and reuerence God aboue all. For ſeeing gracious and amiable men doe winne louelove and reuerence from others, in whoſe eyes they appeare gracious and amiable: who is able more to winne this at our hands then God, who is the fountaine of all graciouſneſſe and amiableneſſe?
Q. VVhat is his LoueLove?
A. It is an Attribute of God, whereby is noted, that he loueth himſelfe aboue all, & others for himſelfe.
Q. VVhat learne you from hence?
A. That we ſhould louelove him dearly, and all other things for him.
Q. Seeing his Mercy followeth of his LoueLove, what is his Mercy?
A. It is an Attribute of God, whereby he is ready Iudg. 2. 18. & 10. 16.meerely of himſelfe to helpe them that be in miſery.
Q. VVhat learne you from hence?
A. In all our miſeries and diſtreſſes, to ſeeke vntounto him, who is infinite in Mercy and Compaſſion, and able to helpe vsus, and therefore will aſſuredly doe it.
Q. VVhat is his Holineſſe?
A. It is an Attribute, generally noting the Vertues Exod. 15. 11. Pſal. 145. 17.of God, as his Truth, Iuſtice, Mercy, &c.
Q. VVhat learne you from hence?
A. Firſt, that as eueryevery one commeth nearer vntounto him in holineſſe, ſo they are beſt liked and loued of him; and conſequently it ſhould breed a louelove in our hearts, of holineſſe, and hatred of the contrary.
Secondly, that this ought to kill in vsus all euill thoughts and opinions concerning God, which riſe in our hearts, ſeeing that in him that is Holineſſe it ſelfe, there can be no iniquitie.
Q. You hauehave ſhewed me the firſt Attributes of God: now tell me what Attributes ariſe from thence?
A. Two: Perfection, and Happineſſe.
Q. VVhat is Perfection?
A. Perfection is an Attribute of God, wherby whatſoeuer is in God, is perfect.
Q. VVhat learne you from hence?
A. That he is to ſeeke his owne glory, and not the glory of any, in al that he willeth or willeth not, Prou. 16. 4. Rom. 11. 36.doth, or leaueth vndone: whence they are confuted, who thinke that God is moued to will or nill things in reſpect of the creatures: as men, who ſeeing a miſerable man, are moued to pitie; whereas God, of himſelfe, and in himſelfe, is moued to ſaue It is to be vnderſtood of reprobation, not of condemnation.or reiect, to receiue ſome, and to caſt away others. Whence alſo is to be noted, that all which hee doth is perfect, howſoeuer he deale with vsus.
Q. Hitherto of the Perfection of God: what of his Felicity?
A. It is the Attribute of God, whereby hee hath all fulneſſe of delight and contentment in himſelfe, and needeth nothing out of himſelfe to make him bleſſed and happie.
Q. VVhat learne you hence?
A. To expect and looke for happineſſe, onelyonly in our vnion with him, and fruition of him, and not in any thing elſe whatſoeuer.