The Way to Heaven Discovered, Religious treatise · Stumbling block 17
XVII.
The ſeventeenth ſtumbling block, that doth many times lie in a Chriſtians way, may be this about the Trinity. I having received ſatisfaction, in all the former things, thought all was well with me, ſaith another Chriſtian, but behold I ſee a greater mountain lying in my way, then any of the former, and I have no hope either to get over it, or to have it removed; and that is, I doe not know God; and He will come in flaming fire, rendring vengeance on them that doe not know him, 1 Theſſ. 2. 8. Nay, it ſeems to be a paradox to me, that there ſhould be three Gods, and yet but one God; nay, ſome of our Miniſters do ſay, that there are three perſons; and if ſo, there muſt be there diſtinct beings; others ſay again, that there is but one God, and the Scripture ſaith, O Iſrael, the Lo…d thy God, is one Lor…! and whom to beleive, or what to thinke of it, I know not; only this I know, that all thoſe that live without God in the World, and die in ignorance, ſhall never goe to heaven, 1 Theſſ. 2. 8.
Anſw. I muſt confeſſe, if a man ſhould goe about to know what God is by thoſe definitions, and deſcriptions, that moſt men give of God; a man may ſpend all his dayes in learning, and yet die in ignorance: So confuſed are moſt mens notions of God, ſome declaring him to be that which he is not, and others ſaying, he is not what he is: And for mine own part, I can ſpeak by ſad experience, who was my ſelfe about 14. years ſince, at ſuch a loſſe in my ſoul about this very thing; that had not he that doth live in that inacceſſible light, that no mortall eye can appro…h unto, ſatisfyed my ſoul in ſome meaſure, I had been mad, for I was in that condition for the ſpace of one monethmonth; during which time I remained reſtleſſe in my ſoul; and ſometimes felt the flames of hell burning within me as it were; then I felt what a wounded conſcience was, and could ſay by experience, who can beare it? Well, I ſet my ſelfe, ſometimes to reading ſeverall Authours upon the attributes of God, and the more I ſought after the knowledge of him there, the more ignorant I ſaw my ſelfe of him; I inquired alſo of many Miniſters, and of ſome Antient profeſſors, but they could make out but little to my underſtanding; at laſt I went to another Miniſter, Mr. Stubbs by name, and declared to him my condition, and after a little ſerious conſideration, he gave me a milde and tender anſwer, as one that did ſympathiſe with me in my miſery, and as he was ſpeaking to me, or within few houres after, my ſpirit was finely calmed, and my trouble abated. The ſubſtance of what he ſaid unto me was in theſe two heads; Firſt, that whereas I was ſo troubled that I did not know God; he ſaid that neither I, nor any man under heaven did know him ſo as we ought to know him, and as hereafter we ſhall know him; Paul himſelfe ſaid he knew but in part. Secondly, he further ſaid, this my ignorance of God, is not a willing ignorance; and God never comes in flaming fire rendring vengeance upon thoſe that are willing to know him, but he comes to render vengeance upon thoſe that are willingly ignorant of him. With theſe and ſuch like words, the Lord was pleaſed to calme thoſe ſtormes that were within me, which mercy I truſt I ſhall never forget &c. And to proceed for the removing of this ſtumbling blocke, that God hath in mercy removed from me;
Conſider, that God in himſelfe is wonderfull, and God in Chriſt is wonderfull, ſee Iſa. 9. 6. Father and Son in the Spirit is wonderfull, the Fathers wayes are in tho deep, the Sonnes wayes are in the deep, the holy Ghoſts wayes are in the deep, and ſo their foot-ſteps are not known, Pſal. 77. 19. If any aske, How can theſe be three, and yet but one God? I anſwer, great is the myſtery, the Sonne in the Father, and the Father in the Sonne, and the Spirit of truth which is ſent by the Father and the Sonne, Joh. 14. 11. with 15. 26. & 14. 26. God is incomprehenſible, there is ſomething in Gods eſſence, not to be inquired into; and there are ſome things that may be known of God, and ſome things not, Rom. 1. 20. Of his great and glorious being, we can ſee but the glimmerings. Exod. 33. 20, 23. No man can ſee and know him as he is, and live in this ſinfull body; we may admire his eſſence, but not comprehend it. Rom. 11. 33. It is life eternall to know him, as we may read Joh. 17. 3. But he dwelleth in that light that no man can approach unto, whom no man hath ſeen or can ſee. 1 Tim. 6 16. No man hath ſeen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the boſome of the Father, he hath declared him, Joh. 1. 18. And as he is immortall, ſo he is inviſible, 1 Tim. 1. 17. & 1 Joh. 4. 12. But more particularly, how can theſe be three, and yet but one God? I anſwer, they are diſtinguiſhed, not divided, they be diſtinguiſhed into Father, Son and holy Ghoſt, 1 Joh. 5. 7. There are three that beare record, and theſe three are one, he is ſo eternall as is n…t onelyonly without beginning and ending, but by and in him all things begin and end.
For the further clearing hereof, Conſider, at the firſt the Lord made man of the duſt of the earth, and breathed in him the breath of life, and he became a living ſoul; and in this ſoul there is a ſpirituall ſubſtance as is God, but finit and not being of it ſelfe, ſo is not God; the Lord ſtamped his owne likeneſſe of an holy Trinity in Unity, and of an holy Unity in Trinity; as the ſoul is but one eſſence, yet there ariſeth three diverſe faculties in that one ſubſtance: firſt, there is the Minde; ſecondly, there is the Will; thirdly, there is the power of doing or working; the minde conceiveth and underſtandeth things; the will affecteth the object according as the minde firſt conceiveth of the thing, and from this minde conceiving and will affecting, there proceedeth the working power by which ſomething is done; the minde ſo conceiving reſembleth the Father, the will having his affections begotten by the minde, conception reſembleth the Son begotten of Father, and the power of doing proceeding both from the minde and will, reſembleth the holy Ghoſt, proceeding from the Father and the Son: and as theſe three, Father, Son, and Spirit make but one God; ſo theſe three faculties doe make but one ſpirituall ſubſtance or ſoul. But as the Father worketh not without the Son, nor the holy Ghoſt without the Father and the Son; ſo neither doth the minde or will or working power, effect any thing apart, but joyntly together; yet as we attribute Creation to the Father, Redemption to the Son, Illumination to the Spirit; ſo to the minde we attribute underſtanding; to the will we attribute both well or ill affecting; and to the working power we attribute the thing wrought or done: And as in that one God, no perſon is before or after another in time but only in order; ſo neither in that one ſoul, is the minde before the will in time, nor the working power behinde them in time, for the power of working is before the thing wrought: There is no diſtinction but only in order, for there is no ſooner the ſoule in the body, but there exiſt all them three, and without any one of them the ſoul cannot be. If any demand, who created all things? I anſwer, God. Who redeemeth man fallen? God. Who doth inlighten man? God; yet there are not three, but one God. So if any man demand, What is that in me that underſtandeth? I anſwer, the ſoul. What is that willeth or affecteth any thing? I anſwer, the ſoul. What is that whereby I am inabled to live? I anſwer, the ſoul; yet I have not three, but one ſoul in me, whereby I live and act.
But as the image of any thing, cannot attain the perfection of that thing whereof it is an image; ſo neither this Image of God in man, cannot attain the excellency of the Higheſt, who in every thing is infinite only, and the cauſe of all things; and although man was by him made of the duſt, yet notwithſtanding this almighty Being preferred him above all other creatures, viz.
1. By putting in mans ſoul an Image of himſelfe.
2. By ſetting him in the moſt glorous place of the earth called Eden or Paradiſe.
3. By giving him dominion over all other his Creatures.
4. By revealing his minde to man, what he would have him to doe, that thereby he might profeſſe ſubjection to his Creator.
Now this great, incomprehenſible and everlaſting God is every way ſo glorious, that if thou didſt but ſee him thou wouldeſt admire him, and account all things lighter then vanity in compariſon of him, if thou didſt but know him, thou wouldſt be ſo raviſhed with the love of him, that many waters could not quench it: if thou didſt but taſte him, thou wouldſt hunger and thirst after him, more then the hart doth after the water brooks. In a word, it is life to know him, Joh. 17. 3. It is heaven to behold him, it is melody to hear him, it is endleſſe happineſse to injoy him, he is all thy tongue can aske, thy heart can wiſh, thy minde conceive; he is light in darkeneſſe, joy in ſorrow, reſt in trouble, health in ſickneſſe, food in famine, life in death, heaven in hell. Iſa. 40. 22, 23. It is he that ſitteth upon the circle of the earth, and all the inhabitants thereof are as graſs-hoppers: this is he that ſtretcheth out the heavens as a Curtaine, and ſpreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in; this is he that bringeth the Princes to nothing, and maketh the Judges of the earth as vanity; it is he that dwelleth in everlaſtingneſſe, whoſe throne is ineſtimable, whoſe glory may not be comprehended, before whom the hoſt of Angels ſtand with trembling: Job 11. 7. Who by ſearching can finde out God? can any mortall man finde out the Almighty to perfection? We may know ſomething of God and of his will, but not perfectly, for that is too great a task for any of us, or any creature to doe, it goes beyond all created underſtanding, mans eyes cannot ſee, nor his underſtanding comprehend: take the moſt knowing men in the world, and they are not able to comprehend the higheſt heavens, nor the loweſt hell, nor the length of the earth, nor breadth of the ſea: much leſſe the perfection of the Almighty, which is higher then heaven, deeper then hell, longer then the earth, broader then the ſea, Job 11. 8, 9.
We cannot give an account of the cauſes of things in heaven, as of the motion of the Sun, Moon, and Starres; what can poor mortall man ſay to it? deep things are hard to be found out, and ſometimes impoſſible: Job 9. 11. Job ſaith, that the Lord goeth by him, and yet he could not ſee him: not that the Lord moveth from place to place as men do, but he being ſpirituall is as inviſible and incomprehenſible to the eye and minde of man, as a man that paſſeth by unſeen and unthought of.
In a word, he is ſuch a one that is preſent in all places; The Lord was in this place, and I knew it not, ſaid Jacob, Gen. 28. 16. and David, in Pſal. 139. 7, 8, 9, 10. Whither ſhall I goe from thy Spirit, or whither ſhall I flee from thy preſence? if I aſcend up into heaven, thou art there, if I make my bed in hell, behold thou art there, If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermoſt parts of the ſea, even there ſhall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand ſhall uphold me: what ſhall I ſay? all things had their being from him, and all things doe centre in him, all things lead us to him; wherefore let us forſake all things for him, and follow hard after him, and cleave cloſe to him, that we may know, that we have a relation to him, and an intereſt in him: all other relations, and intereſts, which vain man is apt to reſt upon and centre in, will prove a ſandy foundation. If thou doeſt expect comfort from friends as near to thee as Jobs friends, they will prove but ſorrowfull comforters, as his friends did to him: if thou doeſt expect comfort from the Magiſtrate or Miniſter, they are mutable, ſometimes ſmiling upon thee, ſometimes frowning: if thou doeſt expect comfort from thy children, they may bring abundance of ſorrow upon thy heart, as Jobs ſonnes and daughters, and the ſonnes of Eli; or as in the Proverbs, A foolſh ſonne cauſeth ſhame to his father: if thou doeſt expect comfort from thy neighbours, they will ſpeak thee fair to thy face, and make thee their table-talk behinde thy back: if thou doeſt expect comfort from thy ſervants, the one will be apt to runne away, and the other to anſwer thee again, or elſe to ſerve thee with eye-ſervice: if thou doeſt expect comfort from the King or Prince, alas! he is turned tyrant, for which he muſt loſe his life or be baniſhed, and ſo is unable to comfort himſelf: if thou doeſt expect comfort from he or ſhee that doth lie in thy boſome, bone of thy bone, and fleſh of thy fleſh, which was made to be a help one to another, this boſome friend is either given to idleneſſe, or pride and waſtfulneſſe, or both; or if free from that, then full of frothy talking, to the grief of thy heart; or elſe froward and touchy to thy ſelf and ſervants, that as Solomon ſaith, you were as good be in houſe with a roaring Lion, and a raging Beare, and ſo thy boſome friend from whom thou didſt expect ſome comfort, when all other creatures comfort faild; why, this frined above all the reſt proves the greateſt enemy, and brings more ſadneſſe upon thy heart, and ſorrow upon thy ſpirit, then all the loſſes, croſſes, ſcandals, and reproaches that ever thou mett'ſt with before, from all the world beſides; ſo that now thou art fain to keep thy ſelf from him or her that lyeth in thy boſome, and the one muſt not reprove, for fear the other will flie in the face; the faireſt face is ſometimes matched with the fouleſt heart; and the ſmiling looks with helliſh thoughts, Prov. 6. 26. & 9. Prov. 13. & 21. 19. Prov. 27. 15. Eccleſ. 7. …8.
Again, if thou doeſt expect any comfort from thy eſtate, one Scripture ſaith that riches make themſelves wings and flie away: another Scripture ſaith, that moth and ruſt doth corrupt, and theeves will break through and ſteal: another Scripture, namely the ſecond of Eccleſiaſtes, ſaith that all is Vanity, and vexation of ſpirit, vanity on the door poſts into which we enter, on the tables where we ſit, on the diſhes out of which we eat, on the cups out of which you drink, on the bedſteeds where you lye, on the wals of the houſe where you dwell, on the garments which you wear, and on the foreheads of all them whom ye meet, and on your own ſelves in every member of your body, and faculty of the ſoul, Pſal 39. 5. Every man at his beſt eſtate is vanity: Where is the glory of Solomon, the ſumptuous buildings of Nebuchadnezzar, the nine hundred Chariots of Sicera, the power of Alexander, the authority of Auguſtus, that commanded the whole world to be taxed? all theſe at their beſt eſtates we…e but vanity; nay take Solomon for beauty, Samſon for ſtrength, Achitophell for policy, Haman for favour, Ahaſael for ſwiftneſſe, Alexander for great conqueſts; and yet all theſe at their beſt eſtate are altogether vanity.
Wherefore centre not in any creature comfort, take not up thy reſt in any thing be this ſide God, the God of reſt and peace; for all is mutable that hath the name of creature upon it, only the Creator is immutable and unchangeable, in all that he ſaith or doth; if he be once a Father, he will be ever a Father; if once a Friend, he will be ever a Friend; if he once love thee, he will never hate thee: and for this ground it is we are commanded to love him with a ſupreme love; if we love father, mother, wife, or children, more then he, we be not worthy of him, nay we cannot be his diſciples, unleſſe we, in a ſenſe, hate all the…e for his ſake, Luk. 14. 26.
Moſes deſired to ſee the Lord, that he might know him more perfectly, and the Lord told him, Exod. 33. 20. Thou canſt not ſee my face, for there ſhall no man ſee me and live, and Paul renders the reaſon of this, 1 Tim. 6. 16. who only hath immortality, dwelling, in the light, which no man can approach unto, whom no man hath ſeen or can ſee: in a word, man is ſo vailed, and clouded, and narrow ſpirited, that at the higheſt degree, he can know God but only in his attributes, and that but in part neither, for he is wonderfull in every attribute; and as the Prophet ſaith, ſuch knowledge is too wonderfull for me: wherefore, to winde up all, and for the removing of this ſtumbling block, endevour to beleeve in one God, Father of all; and in one Lord Jeſus Chriſt, redeemer of all; and in one ſanctifying Spirit of grace; it is the office of the Father to Elect, the office of th… Sonne to Redeem, and the office of the Holy Ghoſt to Sanctif…e thoſe, and only thoſe, whom the Father hath elected, and the Sonne redeemed: Endevour in the Name of the Lord, to ſee the Father love thee freely, and the Sonne manifeſting that unto thee, and the Spirit beginning to evidence it in thee; further, endevour to ſee that the Father loves thee as redeemed by the Sonne; the Sonne looks upon thee and loves thee as being given by the Father, for him to redeem; and the Holy Ghoſt ſeeing the love of the Father in chooſing thee, and the love of the Sonne in redeeming thee, he alſo ſets his love upon thee, and will ſhortly manifeſt it unto thee, and evidence it in thee; this is that intenall eternall Word by which all things were made, ſupported, ruled, quickned, enlightned, and judged: this glorious infinite wiſdome was vailed in fleſh, and ſo God manifeſt in the fleſh, was the mirror of Angels, the terrour of Devils, the expectation of the new creation; in a word, it is as eaſie to compaſſe the heaven with a ſpan, and to contain the ſea in a nut-ſhell, as to apprehend, or comprehend this internall, eternall being in the fulneſſe thereof; we may as ſoon fill a bag with wiſdome, and a cheſt with virtue, and a circle with a triangle, as the heart of man with the knowledge of God: man may have ſome glimerings, and know him in part, and this is life eternall, but dark man is ſo narrow ſpirited that in all things God is above him; he ſaith of himſelf to man, My waies are not your waies, nor my thoughts your thoughts, for as the heavens are higher then the earth, ſo are my thoughts above your tho…ghts, and my waies above your waies, Iſai. 55. 9. as if the Lord had ſaid, there is as vaſt a difference, between my knowledge of you▪ and your knowledge of me, as there is diſtance between the heaven and the earth, my diſpoſitions and dealings both for mercy and goodneſſe, and for firmneſſe and faithfulneſſe, are as farre above your underſtanding, as the higheſt heavens are above the very centre of the earth, and farre higher: for the one is unmeaſurable, yet finite; whereas the other becauſe infinite, is for greatneſſe, and amplitude, and immenſity inconceivable. The beſt of men that have bowels of compaſſion, ſome tender heartedneſſe, ſome ingenuity, and readineſſe to remit a wrong, or ſome firmneſſe, or faithfulneſſe in making good what they promiſe, what is all this to that which is in God? for ſo much as God is above man in point of Majeſty, ſo he is above man in mercy; he is a guide to lead you, a ſtaffe to uphold you, a cordiall to ſtrengthen you, a plaiſter to heal you; he will ſtand you in ſtead, when friends forſake you; he is as ſwift to ſhew mercy, as he is ſlow to anger; he will carry you through the hardeſt ſervices with the greateſt ſwiftneſſe; if he give us more knowledge of him, we ſhall live more upon him, and delight more in him, and be more conformable unto him: true happineſſe lies only in our injoyment of a ſutable good, a pure good, a totall good, an eternall good; and God is only ſuch a good; the treaſure of the Saints is the knowledge of God, the preſence of God, the favour of God, union and communion with God, the pardon of ſin, the joy of the Spirit, and peace of conſcience, all which c…mes into the ſoule, by the knowledge of Chriſt, and is clouded again in the abſence of Chriſt: a man wi…hout this knowledge of Chriſt and God, is as a workman without hands, a painter without eyes, a traveller without legs, a ſhip without ſails, or a bird without wings, or as a body without a ſoul; all our diſcouragements doe flow from our ignorance, and want of faith in this Almighty God, viz. it ſprings from our ignorance of the riches, freeneſſe, fulneſſe, and everlaſtingneſſe of Gods love, or from our ignorance of the power, glory, ſufficiency, and efficacy of the death, and of the ſufferings of Chriſt Jeſus our Lord, or from our ignorance of the worth, glory, fulneſſe, and compleatneſſe of the righteouſneſſe of Jeſus Chriſt, or from our ignorance of that reall, cloſe, ſpirituall, glorious, and inſeparable union, that there is between Chriſt and our precious ſouls: To drive further into this myſtery, time would fail me, ſtrength fail me, light would fail me, I doe rather liſpe then ſpeak in the things of God, and therefore muſt I needs ſtammer in ſo myſterious a point as this I have been ſpeaking to.