A Chain of Principles, Aphorism 3
APHORISME III. Scripture-Oracles, ſuppoſing it ſufficiently clear by the light of Nature, that there is a God, make a further diſcovery of what he is in his Eſſence, Subſiſtence and Attributes.
EXERCITATION 1. 1 Corinth. 15. 34. expounded. Opinioniſts compared Exerc. 1.to ſleepers and drunkards. Three obſervations from the end of the verſe. What knowledge of God is unattainable in this life. What may be had. The knowledge we have concerning God diſtinguiſhed into Natural, Literal, and Spiritual.
§. 1. AWake to righteouſneſs and ſin 1 Cor. 15. 34.not: for ſome have not the knowledge of God; I ſpeak this to your ſhame. Theſe are the Apoſtles expreſs words to his Corinthians. Which will be better underſtood, if we conſider.
I. That there was a time, whenAph. 3. of all the Nations in the world Greece was held the moſt licentious, and Corinth of all the cities in Greece; inſomuch as in common ſpeech revellers were ſaid to play the Grecians, and fornicatours Pergraecari. foreign.to play the Corinthians. Alſo that after the grace of Chriſt (who came to call ſinners to repentance) had appeared there in planting Chriſtianity, this riotous humour was notably fed in falſe brethren by thoſe falſe teachers, who opened a gate to all profaneſs by denying the reſurrection.
II. That of ſuch teachers and profeſſours Paul ſpeaks in this chapter, How ſay ſome among you that there is no reſurrection? Verſe 12.and calleth upon them in the beginning of this verſe to awaken unto righteouſneſs, becauſe the many and groſs vapours that aſcended from this hereſie had caſt them into a deep ſleep, wherein all their ſpiritual ſenſes were bound. Hereticks may perhaps pretend to the higheſt ſtrains of devotion, and make their boaſt of ſtrongeſt aſſurances: yet all this be but like the talking or walking of men in their ſleep, or like the quick and nimble phantaſmes of dreaming ſtudents. Their devotion is but a dream of pieety, their aſſurance will prove but a dream of happineſs.
§. 2. III. That the word foreign there uſed by the Apoſtle is very emphatical, and properly ſignifies an awaking out of ſuch a ſleep as hath been occaſioned by too much drink. Thus Noah awoke from his wine, and Awake foreign Gen. 9. 24. foreign. Joel. 1. 5.ye drunkards ſaith Joel. Neither will it be difficult to diſcern in a ſenſual opinioniſt the ſymptoms of a drunken man. Ye may ſee him reeling to and fro, now entertaining this odd conceit, to morrow that, and the next day a third, unſtable in all: well if not vomiting too and caſting out ſcornfull reproaches upon all that are of a contrary judgement, as upon dark and low-ſpirited men. Ye may perceive him full of tongue, as drunkards commonly uſe to be, prating, and venting his own apprehenſions every where; yea perhaps boaſting of himſelf and his party as too many, too hard for all their oppoſites. So one drunkard, our proverb ſaith, is fourty men ſtrong. Who ſo attempts to reaſon with him will eaſily finde him as uncapable of conviction, as Nahal was of Abigails narration 1 Sam. 25. 37.till his wine was gone out of him.
IV. That the cauſe was manifeſt why ſuch men had a charge given them not to ſin, Awake unto righteouſneſs, ſaith the Apoſtle, and ſin not. For that the deſperate opinion they had embraced was an high-way to abominable courſes. The deniall of a reſurrection hath a natural tendency to looſneſs of life, inclining men to ſay, as they did, Let us eat and drink for to 1 Cor. 15. 3….morrow we ſhall die. And the more licentious any man is, the more willing to cloſe with ſuch an opinion. Accordingly among the Jews, whereas moſt of the common people adhered to the Phariſees, who profeſſed ſtrictneſs, and amuſed them with outward forms of godlineſs, the Gentry and ſuch as gave themſelves moſt to voluptuouſneſs became followers of the Sadducees, who denied the reſurrection. Such men (ſaith Theophylact) are not ſo foreign. Theophyl. in 1 Cor. 15.eaſily perſwaded of a reſurrection, becauſe they are afraid of puniſhments in another life, if any be.
§. 3. V. That theſe eſpecially were the perſons whom Paul there cenſureth for groſs ignorance, ſuch as they had juſt cauſe to be aſhamed of. He had ſaid before in the twelfth verſe, Some among you ſay there is no reſurrection: in the four and thirtieth ſpeaking ſtill of the ſame men, Some have not the knowledge 1 Cor. 4. 14.of God. OnelyOnly whereas in caſe of perſonal affronts to himſelf and his fellow-preachers he had appeared much more milde in the fourth chapter, I write not theſe things (ſaith he there) to ſhame you, but as my beloved ſons I warn you. Here he ſetteth an edge upon his rebuke, and telleth them he ſpake it to their ſhame; becauſe the hereſie he ſtriketh at, ſtruck at the root of all religion, and became an in-let to Epicuriſme, yea to Atheiſme.
VI. That from the latter part alone, Some have not the knowledge of God, I ſpeak this to your ſhame, three obſervations may be raiſed without offering violence to the words, one as implied, the reſt as expreſſed, to wit,
1. There is a knowledge of God to be had.
2. Some have it not.
3. The want of it is a matter of ſhame.
All which I intend to inſiſt upon in this and the following Exercitations.
§. 4. Concerning the firſt. There is a knowledge of God to perfection, which is always ſaving; and another to ſalvation indeed, but as yet imperfect. The former hath been proudly challenged by ſome ſons of deluſion, and accounted attainable in this life by the ſole improvement of reaſon. For we reade of Aetius that he dared to ſay, I ſo know God, foreign. Epiph. haereſ. Totum quod Deus eſt humanâ ratione comprehendi poſſe O ſiand. hiſt. Eccleſ. centur. 12. p. 265.as I do my ſelf; yea I do not know my ſelf ſo well as I do God. A certain evidence to make it appear, that the wretch neither knew himſelf, nor God. And Petrus Abelardus is ſaid to have maintained this aſſertion, That the whole of Gods eſſence may be comprehended by humane reaſon. But the truth is, it is neither attainable in this life, as being reſerved for another world (according to the Apoſtles doctrine, We know but in part. 1 Cor. 13. 9, 10.When that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part ſhall be done away) nor at all by the ſole improvement of reaſon. The leſſer cannot comprehend the greater; God is greater then our heart, 1 Joh. 3. 2.faith St. John, therefore incomprehenſible by the ſhallow reaſon of ſhipwrack'd nature. He and the Sun are alike in this, both refreſh wary beholders, but put out the eyes of curious pryers. However faith may look upon God with much comfort, for reaſon to ſtare too much upon him is the way to loſe her ſight. When ſhe hath tired and wildered herſelf in ſearching after the true God her return muſt be Non eſt inventus, He is not to be found, at leaſt not by me. Faith onelyonly can finde him out, yet not to perfection neither, although to ſalvation it may and doth.
§. 5. Which is the latter kinde of knowledge above-mentioned, and that I am now ſpeaking to, as attainable here. Even the loweſt rank of Chriſtians, whom John ſtyleth his little children are deſcribed by their having known 1 John 2. 13.the father: And becauſe the new covenant runneth thus, They ſhall all know Jerem. 31. 33.me from the leaſt of them to the greateſt of them, ſaith the Lord. But although it be moſt true, that there is a ſaving knowledge of God attainable here, yet for any man to preſume, that whatever knowledge of God he attaineth, it will certainly ſave him is a moſt ſtrong deluſion. For whereas there is a Natural and a Literal as well as a Spiritual knowledge, it will be manifeſt by the ſequel of this diſcourſe, that none is ſaving but the third. The firſt is that which may be fetched out of the book of nature without any further manuduction of higher principles. Antony the religious Monk, when a certain Philoſopher asked him, how he did to live without books, anſwered he had Socrat. Eccleſ. hiſtor. lib. 4. cap. 23.the voluminous book of all the creatures to ſtudy upon, and to contemplate God in. Beleeve me, ſaid Bernard to his friend, as one that ſpeaketh out of experience, Bern. epiſt. 107. Aliquid amplius invenies in ſylvis quàm in libra.There is ſometimes more to be found in woods, then there is in books. Trees and ſtones will teach thee that, which is not to be learned from other maſters. The Book of Scripture without doubt hath the preeminence in worth by many degrees; but that of the creatures had the precedency in time, and was extant long before the written word. We may therefore well begin with it.
EXERCITATION 2. That there is a God, the prime dictate of natural light; deducible from mans looking backward to the creation, forward to the rewards and puniſhments diſpenſed after death, upward to the Angels above us, downwards to inferiour beings, within our ſelves to the compoſition of our bodies, and dictates of our conſciences, about us to the various occurrences in the world.
§. 1. THere are ſix ſeveral acts which every man of underſtanding is able to exert in a way of contemplation: He may respicere, prospicere, ſuspicere, despicere, inspicere, and circumspicere. Whoſoever ſhall adviſedly exerciſe any of theſe will undoubtedly meet with ſome demonſtrations of a Deity; much more if he be induſtriouſly converſant in them all.
I. If he do respicere look backward to the creation of the world (which the light of nature will tell him had a beginning) he will ſee and underſtandExerc. 2. the inviſible things of God by the things that Rom. 1. 20. foreign …. Hex.are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, as Paul ſpeaks. Baſil therefore called the world a ſchool wherein reaſonable ſouls are taught the knowledge of God. In a muſical inſtrument when we obſerve divers ſtrings meet in an harmony, we conclude that ſome skilfull muſician tuned them; when we ſee thouſands of men in a field, marſhalled under ſeveral colours, all yeelding exact obedience, we infer that there is a General, whoſe commands they are all ſubject to. In a watch, when we take notice of great and ſmall wheels all ſo fitted as to concur to an orderly motion, we acknowledge the skill of an artificer. When we come into a Printing-houſe and ſee a great number of different letters ſo ordered as to make a book, the conſideration hereof maketh it evident that there is a compoſer, by whoſe art they were brought into ſuch a frame. When we behold a fair building, we conclude it had an architect; a ſtately ſhip well rigged and ſafely conducted to the Port, that it hath a Pilot. So here. The viſible world is ſuch an Inſtrument, Army, Watch, Book, Building, Ship, as undeniably argueth a God, who was and is the Tuner, General, and Artificer, the Compoſer, Architect and Pilot of it.
§. 2. II. If he do prospicere look forwards to the rewards and puniſhments, to be diſpenſed in another world, (which the heathens Elyſium Vid. Livium Galant. Chriſtian. Theolog. cum Platonica comparat. lib 12. pag. 341. & ſequent.and Tartarus ſhew them to have had a ſleight knowledge of by the light of nature) he cannot but acknowledge ſome ſupreme Judge, whom they are diſpenſed by; and that he is a ſearcher of hearts, wherein piety and ſin do chiefly reſide; ſeeing it were impoſsible for him otherwiſe to paſe righteous judgement without miſtaking good for evil, and evil for good. Some diſcourſes of Plato, and ſome verſes of Menander, beſides many other teſtimonies make it appear that the notion of foreign. Menand.theſe things was entertained by the wiſer ſort both of Philoſophers and Poets, and that which they held of a world to come is a topick ſufficient to argue from, for the being of a God in the world that is.
III. If he do ſuspicere, look upwards to a rank of creatures above himſelf, I mean good and evil ſpirits, of which the heathens were not ignorant; witneſs their large diſcourſes of Demons, of Intelligences, and of a bonus & malus Genius. For if ſuch creatures as Angels be acknowledged, ſo good, holy, wiſe and powerfull as they are ſaid to be by all that take notice of them, they muſt have a maker better, holier, wiſer and powerfuller then themſelves; ſeeing the cauſe is always more noble then the effect, and hath that perfection which it communicates much more eminent in it ſelf. If there be Devils, whoſe miſchief and might are both of them ſo confeſſedly great, there muſt needs be a God to reſtrain and countermand them; elſe the world would ſoon be turned into a a mere hell, full of nothing but abominations and confuſion.
§. 3. IV. If he do deſpicere, look downward to things below himſelf, whoſe nature is inferiour to that of man; the contemplation of elements, plants and brute beaſts will extort the confeſsion of a Deity. The heavens declare Pſal. 19. 1.the glory of God, and the firmament ſheweth his handy-work. Nor theſe alone, which have ſo much of magnificence in them: but the leaſt flie, if it could be anatomized, would be found to have in it more miracles, then parts; ſuch proportion of members, diſtinction of offices, correſpondence of inſtruments, as ſpeaketh the infinite power and wiſdome of the Maker. Well might Job ſay, as he did, Ask now Joh. 12. 7, 8, 9.the beaſts and they ſhall teach thee, and the fowls of the air, and they ſhall tell thee: or ſpeak to the earth, and it ſhall teach thee, and the fiſhes of the ſea ſhall declare unto thee. Who knoweth not in all theſe that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this?
V. If he do inſpicere, look within himſelf, and that either to the compoſition of his body, or to the dictates of his conſcience. We are ſo fearfully Pſal. 139. 14. Galen. lib. 3. de uſu partium, Compono hic canticum in Creatoris noſtri laudem, &c. Multa miſer timeo, quia feci multa protervè, Exempli que metu terecor ipſe mei. Ovid. l. 1. Amor. Eleg. 1.and wonderfully made, that the great phyſician Galen, though an heathen, being amazed at the wiſdome which he diſcovered in the frame of every member in mans body, could no longer contain himſelf, but fell to praiſing the Creatour in an hymn. As for conſcience there is nothing more common then for wicked men after the commiſsion of groſs ſins to be inwardly tormented and affrighted by reaſon of ſomewhat it ſuggeſts, the ſubſtance whereof is, that there is a God, and that he will judge them for what they have done. Calvin telleth us of a certain profane fellow who was ranting at his Inn, and blaſphemouſly wreſting that of the Pſalmiſt, The heaven of heavens is the Lords, and the earth hath he given to the children of men, as if God left us to do what we liſt upon earth, confining himſelf and his providence to the heavens; thereby as far as he openly durſt diſavowing a Deity. Whereupon he was ſtruck ſuddenly with extreme torments in his body, and began to crie out O God, O God. So natural it is even for the worſt of mankinde to acknowledge a God in their extremities; and for others more ingenuous, even among thoſe that want Scripture-light (as Tertullian hath obſerved) to be frequently ſaying, God ſeeth. I commend it to God, God will recompenſe: which drew from him an exclamation that muſt be warily underſtood, O the teſtimony of a ſoul naturally O teſtimonium animae naturaliter Chriſtianae! Tertull. Apolog.Chriſtian!
§. 4. VI. If he do circumspicere, look round about him to the various occurrences in the world; the great deliverances vouchſafed to ſome, the great calamities brought upon others, both beyond all expectation. The Lord is, Pſal. 9. 16.and cannot but be, known by the judgements which he executeth; ſo by the bleſſings which he beſtoweth. Who can ſee a Daniel reſcued from reaſonable lions, unreaſonable men, a Moſes preſerved in an ark of bulruſhes, a Noah in a deluge of waters, others in a furnace of fire? Who can behold a Pharaoh plagued, an Herod eaten up with worms, an Achitophel making away himſelf, a Judas burſting aſunder in the midſt, an Arius voiding of his bowels, and not crie out, as it is in the Pſalm, Verily Pſal 58. laſt.there is a reward for the righteous, doubtleſs there is a God that judgeth the earth? We meet with a paſſage in Atheneus not unworthy, as I conceive, to be taken notice of, and recorded here. When at a publick meeting in ſome place of receit, a beam of the houſe ſuddenly falling had daſhed out the brains of a notoriouſly wicked man in the ſight of many by-ſtanders to whom he was known; one Stratonicus brake out into a ſpeech ſo emphatical in the Greek, as foreign. Athen. Deipnoſophiſt. l. 8.it can hardly be tranſlated without much loſs, yet take it thus: Sirs, ſaid he, the beam of light which I have, convinceth me that there is a God; if any of you be otherwiſe minded, this beam of wood may ſuffice to beget in him the ſame perſwaſion.
§. 5. But notwithſtanding all this, as it fared with the wiſe men from the eaſt, who, although they were aſſured by the appearance of a ſtar that a King of the Jews was born, yet needed the prophets manuduction to give them notice who he was, and where they might finde him: ſo though natural reaſon improved can make it appear that there is a God, yet there is a neceſſity of Scripture-revelation to inform us who and what he is, in regard of his Eſſence, Subſiſtence, and Attributes; in all theſe the written word goes far beyond whatever was or could be diſcerned in Natures ſchool, and becomes the fountain of that literal knowledge which we are now to treat of.
EXERCITATION 3. Reaſons three ways of diſcovering God fall ſhort of manifeſting what he is. The expreſsion in Exod. 3. 14. moſt comprehenſive. A brief expoſition thereof. Satans impudence. Nature and Art both unable to diſcover the Trinity. What Scripture revealeth about it. Baſils memento. Julians impiety. Socinians branded. The three Perſons compared to thoſe three wells in Geneſ. 26.
§. 1. DIvines tell us of three ways, Exerc. 3.whereby reaſon goes to work in her enquiry after God; but none of them all is able to make a full diſcovery of his Eſſence. The firſt is via cauſalitatis, when from the creatures, whereof God is the ſupreme univerſal cauſe, reaſon begins to contemplate him as their efficient, becauſe they could not make themſelves. But hitherto it onelyonly diſcovereth Quod ſit, that there is a God, to whom all things ow their beings; not Quid ſit what he is. The ſecond is via remotionis, when it conſidereth the ſeveral imperfections of creatures, and removeth them all from God, as inconſiſtent with a Deitie. Thus it conceiveth him immortal, impaſsible, impeccable, becauſe to die, ſuffer, ſin, are imperfections. But this onelyonly ſheweth Quid non ſit, what he is not; ſhe is ſtill to ſeek for what he is. The third is via eminentiae, when reaſon conſidereth the ſundry perfections, which are ſcattered here and there among created beings, and aſcribes them all to God in an eminent and tranſcendent way. As when finding in Angels and men wiſdome, holineſs, and ſtrength, it conceiveth God to be moſt wiſe, moſt holy, and moſt ſtrong. Yet even this doth but ſhew Qualis ſit, non quis, what kinde of being God is, not who is he. Reaſon for that muſt be beholding to revelation. In which reſpects I cannot but applaud the wiſe anſwer of that Philoſopher, (Epictetus, as ſome report) who when his hearers ſaid to him, Sr you have uttered many excellent things concerning God, Joh. de Carthag. hon il. Catholic. lib. 1. hon il 8. p. 47.but we cannot as yet underſtand what he is, told them plainly, Were I able fully to ſet forth God, I ſhould either be God my ſelf, or God himſelf ceaſe to be what he is. Si omnino ego Deum declararem, vel ego Deus eſſem, vel ille Deus non foret.
§ 2. Were all ſuch paſſages ſet aſide as are not originally the Heathens own, but borrowed from Jewiſh or Chriſtian authours, I ſhould not be afraid to affirm, that there is one very ſhort expreſsion in Scripture, to wit this, I am that I am, which revealeth Exod. 3. 14.more of God, then all the large volumes of Ethnick writers. An expreſſion ſo framed as to take in all differences of time, according to the idiome of the Hebrew tongue, wherein a verb of the future tenſe, as Ehieh is, may ſignifie time paſt and preſent, as well as that which is to come. Hence ariſeth a great latitude of interpretation; for according to different readings it implieth different things. Reading it, as we do, I am that I am, it importeth the ſupremacie of Gods being. The creatures have more of non-entity then of being in them: It is proper to him to ſay I am. foreign. ſo the Septuagint. Or the ſimplicity thereof; whereas in creatures the Thing and its Being, Ens and Eſſentia are diſtinguiſhable, in him they are both one. Or the ineffabilitie; as if the Lord had ſaid to Moſes, enquiring his name, I am my ſelf, and there is nothing without my ſelf that can fully expreſs my Being. Which put Scaliger upon inventing that admirable Scalig. de Subtilit. Exercit. 365. § 2.epithet foreign, that is, Ipſiſsimus Ipſe. Or laſtly, the Eternitie thereof; ſince there never was, never will be a time, wherein God might not, or may not ſay of himſelf I am. Whence it is that when Chriſt would manifeſt his goings out from everlaſting, as Micah phraſeth Micah 5. 2.it, he maketh uſe of this expreſſion, Before Abraham was, I am, not I Joh. 8. 58.was; for that might have been ſaid of Enoch, Noah and others who lived before Abrahams time, yet were not eternal, but I am. If it be rendered I am what I was, as Piſcator would have it, then it ſpeaketh his Immutability: I am in executing, what I was in promiſing, Yeſterday and to day and the ſame for ever. If, as others, I will be what I will be, then it denotes his Independency. That eſſence which the creatures have dependeth upon the Creatours will; None of them can ſay I will be, not having of and in it ſelf any power to make it ſelf perſevere in being, as God hath. It may perhaps intimate all theſe, and Quae verbulo hoc continentur omnium hominum capacitatem tranſcendunt. Andr. Rivet. in Exod. 3. 14.much more then the tongues of Angels can utter. Verily it is a ſpeech containing more in it (as a learned writer acknowledgeth) then humane capacities can attain.
§. 3. I ſhall therefore forbear to enlarge upon it. Let me onelyonly obſerve before I leave it the notorious impudence of apoſtate ſpirits. Satan not contenting himſelf to have got the name of Jove in imitation of Jehovah, the incommunicable name of God, prevailed with his deluded followers to aſcribe unto him that, which the Lord of heaven and earth aſſumeth to himſelf in this myſterious place of Exodus, ſaying I am that I am. For over the gate of Apollo's temple in the city of Delphi, ſo famed for oracles, was engraven in capital letters this Greek vvord foreign. which ſignifies Thou art, vvhereby thoſe that came thither to vvorſhip, or to conſult Satans oracle, vvere inſtructed to acknovvledge him the fountain of being, and the onelyonly true God: as one Ammonius is brought in diſcourſing at large of this very thing in the laſt Treatiſe of Plutarchs morals, vvhereunto I refer the reader.
§. 4. As to the point of divine ſubſiſtence, Jehova Elohim, Father, Son and Holy Ghoſt: three perſons, but one Deus indivisè … in Trinitate, & inconfusè trinus in unitate.God; or in Leo's expreſsion, One God without diviſion in a Trinity of Perſons, and three Perſons without confuſion in an Unity of Eſſence; it is a diſcovery altogether ſupernatural: yea Nature is ſo far from finding it out, that novv when Scripture hath revealed it, ſhe cannot by all the help of Art comprehend, or ſet it forth as ſhe doth other things: Grammar it ſelf wanting proper and full words whereby to expreſs, Logick ſtrong demonſtrations whereby to prove, and Rhetorick apt ſimilitudes whereby to clear ſo myſterious a truth. The terms Eſſence, Perſons, Trinity, Generation, Proceſsion and ſuch like, which are commonly made uſe of for want of better, have been and will be cavilled at as ſhort of fully reaching the myſtery in all its dimenſions. Of the ſimilitudes uſually brought for its illuſtration that which Hilary ſaid is Omnis comparatio homini potiùs utilis habeatur quàm Do apta. Hilar. lib. 1. de Trin.moſt true, They may gratifie the underſtanding of man, but none of them exactly ſuit with the nature of God. For example, Not that of a root, a trunk, and a branch; the trunk proceeding from the root, the branch from both, yet but one tree: becauſe a root may for ſome time be without a trunk, and a trunk without a branch, but God the Father never was without his Son, nor the Father and Son without their coeternal Spirit. Neither that of a chryſtall Ball held in a river on a Sunſhineday, in which caſe there would be a Sun in the Firmament, begetting another Sun upon the chryſtall Ball, and a third Sun proceeding from both the former, appearing in the ſurface of the water; yet but one Sun in all: for in this compariſon two of the Suns are but imaginary, none reall ſave that in heaven; whereas the Father, Word and Spirit are diſtinct Perſons indeed, but each of them truly and really God.
§. 5. Well therefore may Rhetoricians ſay, It is not in us and in our ſimilitudes fully to clear this high point; Logitians alſo, It is not in us and in our demonſtrations fully to prove it. For however reaſon be able from the creatures to demonſtrate a Godhead, as hath been ſaid, yet it cannot from thence a Trinity; no more then he that looks upon a curious picture can tell whether it was drawn by an Engliſh-man, or an Italian, onelyonly that the piece had an artificer, and ſuch an one as was a prime maſter in that faculty: becauſe the limbner drew it as he was an artiſt, not as one of this or that nation. So the world is a production of that Eſſence which is common to all three, not any perſonal emanation from this or that ſubſiſtent; which is the reaſon why a Deity may be inferred from thence, but not any diſtinction of Perſons, much leſs the determinate number of a Trinity. The doctrine whereof is like a Temple filled with ſmoke, ſuch ſmoke as not onelyonly hinders the view of the quickeſt eye, but hurts the ſight of ſuch as dare with undue curioſity pry into it. A myſtery, which my faith embraceth as revealed in the word, but my reaſon cannot fathome. Whileſt others run themſelves on ground, and diſpute it till their underſtandings be non-pluſt; may I be enabled to beleeve what Scripture teſtifieth concerning an unbegotten Father, an onelyonly-begotten Son, and an Holy Spirit proceeding from both; Three, yet but One: and therein to acquieſce without enquiring as Mary did, when the Angel foretold her miraculous conception, How can this thing be? To which queſtion my return ſhould be no other but that of Auſtine, who notwithſtanding his fifteen books concerning the Trinity, modeſtly ſaid, Askeſt thou… me Neſcio, & libenter neſcire profiteor. Auguſt. ſerm. de tempore 189.how there can be Three in One, and One in Three? I do not know, and am freely willing to profeſs my ignorance herein. Verily this light is dazling, and our eyes are weak. It is a caſe wherein the wiſeſt clerks are punies, and the ableſt Oratours infants.
§. 6. Yet is the myſtery it ſelf written in Scripture as it were with the Sun-beams. I reject not as invalid, but onelyonly forbear as leſs evident the places commonly cited out of Moſes and the Prophets; chooſing rather to inſiſt upon New-teſtament diſcoveries, when the vail which formerly hid the Holy of Holies from mens ſight was rent in pieces, and the ſecrets of heaven expoſed to more open view, then whileſt the Church was in her minority. At our Saviours baptiſme there was a clearer manifeſtation of the Trinity then ever before; as if God had reſerved this diſcovery on purpoſe to add the greater honour to his onelyonly Sons ſolemn inauguration into the office of Mediatour-ſhip, which was then moſt viſibly undertaken. Who ſo caſts his eye upon the third chapter of the Goſpel according to Luke, will quickly diſcern the Father in an audible voice, heard but not ſeen, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well Verſ. 21, 22, 23. Voce Pater, Na…us flumine, Flamen ave.pleaſed. The word made fleſh now in the water, receiving baptiſme, and after praying, ſo both heard and ſeen. The Spirit like a Dove deſcending and reſting upon Chriſt, ſeen but ſlot heard. Inſomuch as the Catholicks were wont in the times of Athanaſius to ſend the misbeleeving Arians to Jordan, there to learn the knowledge of a Trinity.
§. 7. Behold after this a clear nomination of the three coeſſential Perſons in that commiſsion which Chriſt our Lord ſealed to the Apoſtles before his aſcenſion, in the end of the Goſpel according to Matthew, when he ſent them out to make diſciples in all Nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghoſt. Who can but ſee a Trinity foreign. Baſil. epiſt. 78.here? How can any who by vertue of this inſtitution hath been baptized, refuſe to beleeve it? It becomes us (ſaith Baſil) to be baptized as we have been taught, to beleeve as we have been baptized, & to glorifie as we have beleeved, the Father, the Son, and the holy Spirit. This the great Apoſtate Julian, was not a little ſenſible of; wherefore conſidering that he could not fairly diſclaim the Trinity, till he had renounced his baptiſme, he took the bloud of beaſts offered in ſacrifice to the heathen Gods (as Nazianzen tells Nazian. Orar. 1. aduerſ. Juliar. circa medium.us from the report of his own domeſtical ſervants) and bathed himſelf therein all over; ſo, as much as in him lay, waſhing off the baptiſme he had formerly received. Add hereunto that impregnable place (which hath hitherto, and will for ever hold out againſt all the mines and batteries of hereticks) in the firſt epiſtle of John, There are three that bear witneſs in heaven, 1 Joh. 5. 7.the Father, the Word, and the holy Spirit; and theſe three are One. Where a Trinity is proclaimed both in numero numerante, there are three; and in numero numerato, telling us plainly who they are, Father, Word, and holy Spirit: And that the ſame Eſſence is common to them all. For theſe three are One.
§. 8. Yet is there a late generation, of men commonly known by the name of Socinians, who although they maintain againſt Atheiſts the Perſonalitie and Eternitie of God the Father, have confounded Chriſtian Religion by denying the Eternitie of the Son, whoſe Perſonalitie they acknowledge; and the perſonalitie of the Spirit, whoſe Eternitie they confeſs. Methinks it fares with theſe three bleſſed Perſons, as with thoſe three noted wells of which we reade in the twenty ſixth of Geneſis. Two of them Iſaacs ſervants were enforced to ſtrive for with the herdmen of Gerar, which made him call the one Eſek, that is, contention, the other Sitnah, that is, hatred. A third they got quiet poſſeſsion of, and he called the name of it Rehoboth, ſaying, Now the Lord hath made room for us. The Fathers Godhead is like the well Rehoboth, which there was no ſtrife about, the Sons divinity like the well Eſek, we are forced to contend for that, as alſo for the Deity of the Spirit, which is as Sitnah to the Socinians; they hate theExerc. 4. thoughts of it, much more the acknowledgement.
But can any man ſay by the Spirit of God, that the Spirit is not God? Is it not as clear by Scripture-light that Chriſt is God, as by Natures light that God is? Are they Chriſtians and Spiritual, who denie the divinity of Chriſt and the Spirit? Let the judgement of charity enjoy its due latitude: but for my part, I would not for a thouſand worlds have a Socinians account to give at the end of this.
EXERCITATION 4. Divine Attributes calling for tranſcendent reſpect. They are ſet down in the Scripture ſo, as to curb our curioſitie, to help our infirmity, to prevent our miſapprehenſions, and to raiſe our eſteem of God. Spiritual knowledge ſuperadding to literal clearneſs of light, ſweeteneſs of taſte, ſenſe of intereſt and ſinceritie of obedience.
NExt to the Eſſence and Subſiſtence of God, his Attributes are to be conſidered; concerning which I premiſe this rule.
§. 1. The degrees of our respect are to keep proportion with degrees of worth in perſons and things; ordinary worth requiring eſteem, eminent calling for reverence, ſupereminent for admiration, yea and adoration too, if it be an uncreated object. Hence the Pſalmiſt upon contemplation of God crieth out as in an extaſie, O Lord, our Lord, how excellent Pſal. 8. 1, and 9.is thy Name in all the earth! His Attributes are his Name; their worth ſo ſuperexcellent, as far to tranſcend the utmoſt pitch of that obſervance, which we, poor we, are able any way to render. Seeing as the ſtars of heaven diſappear, and hide their heads upon the riſing of the Sun that out-ſhineth them: ſo creatures ſeem not to be excellent, yea, not to be, when the being and excellency of their Maker diſplayeth it ſelf, according to that, All nations before Iſai. 40. 17.him are as nothing; and they are counted to him leſs then nothing and vanity. The beſt of them have but ſome perfections: God either hath (as manna is ſuppoſed to have had the reliſh of all meats) or containeth all; Sovereignty comprehendeth inferiour honours. The beſt of their perfections are mixed with ſome defects: but God is light, 1 Joh. 1. 5.and in him is no darkneſs at all. They may be perfect and good in their kinde: He is perfection and goodneſs it ſelf. In them we may finde matter of wonderment, but of aſtoniſhment in him, witneſs that eminent place Nehem. 9. 5. Bleſſed be thy glorious Name, which is exalted above all bleſsing and praiſe. Nature, though not altogether ſilent upon this argument, to wit the divine Attributes, yet enjoyeth but a dim light to diſcover them by, whereas the Scripture repreſenteth them moſt magnificently in ſundry reſpects.
§. 2. Firſt, ſo as to curb our curioſitie. For which end it expreſſeth divers of them negatively, as when God is ſaid to be infinite, immortal, inviſible, unſearchable: whereby we are taught that it is eaſier for us to know what he is not, then what he is; which is known onelyonly to himſelf. The beſt terms (as Scaliger hath it) for men to manifeſt Scalig. de Sub…ili…. Exercit. 365. § …. foreign. Nazi anz hymn. ad Deum. Meliùs ſeitur neſci…ndo. Aug. lib. 2. de ordine.their underſtanding of God by, are thoſe which manifeſt that they underſtand him not. Thou, O Lord, ſaith Nazianzen, haſt produced all thoſe things of which we ſpeak; but art unspeakable thy ſelf. All that can be known by us is from thee, but thou thy ſelf canſt not be known. Yea Auſtin was not afraid to affirm that Neſcience is the better way of knowing God.
Secondly, ſo as to help our infirmitie. For whereas we are not able by any one act of our finite underſtandings to comprehend that infinite Eſſence, which is it ſelf one ſimple Act, but comprehenſive of all perfections; Holy Scripture, condeſcending to our weakneſs, alloweth us to take up as it were in ſeveral parcels, what we cannot compaſs at once; and in contemplating the Attributes to conceive ſome under the notion of divine properties incommunicable to creatures; ſuch as are Immenſity, Independency, Eternity, Simplicity, Self-ſufficiency, Allſufficiency, Omnipotence, Omniſcience, Omnipreſence. Others under that of divine faculties; ſuch are Underſtanding, Will, and Memory aſcribed to God. It gives us leave to look at ſome as divine affections; ſuch are his Love, Hatred, Anger, Grief and Delight. At others as divine virtues; ſuch are his Mercy, Juſtice, Patience, Faithfulneſs, Holineſs, Wiſdome, &c. and at other ſome as divine excellencies reſulting out of all the former; ſuch are Majeſty, Bleſſedneſs and Glory.
§. 3. Thirdly, ſo as to prevent our miſapprehenſions. The Attributes of God however diverſified in our conceptions (as hath been ſaid) are identified with his Eſſence, which is but One: though to us they appear to be different each from other, and all from it; as the vaſt ocean, though but one, receiveth divers names from the ſeverall ſhores it waſheth upon: ſo however Juſtice, Mercy, Power and the reſt, be ſeverall names ſuited to different operations; yet God is but one ſimple Act under thoſe various denominations. Leſt we ſhould therefore apprehend them to be ſuch qualities as our virtues are, really diſtinguiſhable, yea and ſeparable from our being (as appeared when the firſt man fell from his holineſs, yet continued a man ſtill) Scripture doth ſometimes predicate them of God in the abſtract: as when Chriſt is ſtyled Wiſdome; when it is ſaid, God Proverb. 8. 1 Joh. 1. 8. 1 Joh. 5. 6.is love, and the Spirit is truth. Men may be called loving, wiſe and true: God is love, wiſdome and truth it ſelf. The Apoſtle telleth us that if God ſwear, he doth it by himſelf and no other; yet we Heb. 6. 13.finde him in the Pſalm ſwearing by his Pſal. 89. 35.holineſs: whence it followeth that his holineſs is himſelf. Chriſt is uſually ſaid to ſit at the right hand of God; but in one place it is expreſt by ſitting on the right-hand of power: Therefore God Mark 14. 62.is Power, as well as Love. There is the ſame reaſon of all his attributes.
§. 4. Fourthly, So as to raiſe our eſteem of God. Some there be which are frequently called Communicable Attributes, becauſe in them the creatures ſhare, as being, immortality, goodneſs, and wiſdome. Leſt we ſhould in this reſpect have lower thoughts of God then becomes us, Scripture is wont to aſcribe them to him in ſuch a way of ſupereminence as, (however they be participated by Angels and men yet) he onelyonly is ſaid to have them. Witneſs theſe texts, There is none Iſa. 49. 6.beſides me. Who onelyonly hath immortality. 1 Tim. 6 16. and Chap. 1. 17. Matth. 19. 17.God onelyonly wife. And There is none good but God. Becauſe in him they are all infinite, all eternal, all unmixed, and without the leaſt allay of imperfection. An apoſtrophe borrowed from a devout, though popiſh, writer, ſhall ſhut up this. O abyſs of divine perfections! How admirable art thou, O Lord, who poſſeſſeſt in one onelyonly perfection the excellecy of Fr. Sales. Love of God. lib. 2. cap. 1. § 3. pag. 74.all perfections, in ſo excellent ſort, that none is able to comprehend it but thy ſelf!
§. 5. There is yet behinde, a third kinde of knowledge far exceeding both the former. A knowledge of God not proceeding from the light of Nature alone, as the firſt doth; nor of Scripture alone, as the ſecond; but from effectual irradiations of the Spirit of Epheſ. 1. 17.wiſdome and revelation, accompanied with purging and cheering influences from the ſame ſpirit. Look as the Literal maketh an addition of further diſcoveries to the Natural (which hath been ſufficiently proved) So this Spiritual knowledge of God ſuperadds even to the Literal ſundry particulars, not unworthy of our ſerious conſideration, viz.
Firſt, Clearneſs of light. Since the Canon of Scripture was perfected, the things which the Holy Ghoſt diſcovereth are no other for ſubſtance, but thoſe very things which are contained in the written word: onelyonly he affords regenerate perſons clearer light to diſcern them by, then any they had before their converſion. Take a man that is now become a learned Critick, turn him to the ſame Authour which he peruſed when he was a young ſtudent; he will finde the ſelf-ſame matter, but ſee a great deal further into it, becauſe he hath now got further light. So is it here.
Secondly, Sweetneſs of taſte. I ſate Cantic. 2. 3.down under his ſhadow with great delight, and his fruit was ſweet to my taſte. So the Spouſe. O taſte and ſee that the Lord is Eſal. 39. 8.good. So the Pſalmiſt. Upon which place the School-men have founded their diſtinction of knowledge of ſight and a knowledge of taſte. Spiritual ſcience Scientia visûs guſt….is ſteeped in affection; taking delight in the things known, and not barely apprehending, but reliſhing and ſavouring what it apprehendeth with abundance of love and complacency. Whence thoſe expreſsions in Solomons ſong, Becauſe of the ſavour of thy Cantle. 1. 3. Neſcit divina, qui non optat, qui non amal. Jo. Euſeb. Nicomb. Theopolit. pag. 91.good ointments, thy name is as an ointment poured forth, therefore do the Virgins love thee, He doth not know the things of God (ſaith a late writer well) who doth not deſire and love them.
§. 6. Thirdly, Senſe of intereſt. Of the Zidonians God ſaid, They ſhall know that I am the Lord: But of his own people Ezek. 28. 22. compared with verſe 26. Epheſ. 1. 13.Iſrael, They ſhall know that I am the Lord their God. Paul of the beleeving Epheſians concerning Chriſt, In whom ye truſted, after that ye had heard the word of truth, the Gospel of your ſalvation. Others may conſider the Goſpel as a word of truth, and a doctrine holding forth ſalvation; but ſuch as are ſavingly enlightened and ſanctified by the Spirit, view the ſalvation it holdeth forth as theirs, and are ready to ſay of every truth therein contained, This is good and good for me. Happy man, whoſoever thou art, that canſt look by an eye of faith at the Goſpel as the Charter of thy liberties, at the condemning Law as cancelled by thy Surety, at the Earth as the footſtool of thy Fathers throne, at Heaven as the portall of thy Fathers houſe, at all the creatures in Heaven and Earth as an heir is wont to look at his fathers ſervants, which are therefore his, ſo far as he ſhall have need of them, according to that, All 1 Cor. 3. 22, 23.are yours, and ye are Chriſts, and Chriſt is Gods.
Fourthly, Sincerity of obedience. No doubt but Elies two ſons, being Prieſts had a literal knowledge of God; yet being profane, they are ſaid expreſly not to have known him. They 1 Sam. 2. 12.were ſons of Belial; they knew not the Lord. When Lucius a bloudy perſecuter offered to confeſs his Faith, in hope thereby to beget in the auditours a good opinion of his orthodoxy, Moſes the religious Monk refuſed to hear him, ſaying, The eye might ſometimes judge Ruffin. hiſtor. Eccleſ. lib. 2. cap. 6.of ones faith as well as the ear: and that whoſoever lived as Lucius did, could not beleeve as a Chriſtian ought. Fully conſonant hereunto is that of James, I will James 2. 18.ſhew thee my faith by my works. That of John, He that ſaith, I know God, and keepeth 1 John 2. 4.not his commandments is a lyar, and the truth is not in him. And that of Job, Behold the fear of the Lord that is wiſdome, Job 22. laſt.and to depart from evil is underſtanding.