this was one of the last acts of Moses his life for the Lord said unto him avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites afterwards shalt thou be gathered unto thy people it was a work fit for him to do when he was ready to leave the world How odious were those Prophets of Baal to that zealous Prophet Elijah Saith he take the Prophets of Baal let not one of them escape and they took them and Elijah brought them down to the brook Chishon and slew them there Micaiah shewed his detestation of those lyes spoken by the false prophets when he told the King now therefore behold the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy Prophets The like may be shewed of the Prophet Ieremiah how he abhorred the lyes of those false Prophets Hananiah Ahab Zedekiah and Shemajah but I come to the Examples of the New Testament And first to begin with Iohn Baptist who came to prepare the way of the Lord with what zeal did he detest the corruption of doctrine brought in by the Pharises and Sadduces When he saw many of them come to his Baptisme he said unto them O generation of Vipers Who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come But above all take the blessed Example of the Lord Jesus Christ with what heavenly zeal did he manifest his detestation of the false doctrine taught by the Scribes and Pharises Thus have ye made the Commandment of God of none effect by your tradition And he gave his Disciples this Caveat Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharises and of the Sadduces which is meant of their corrupt doctrine How sharply doth he reprove them and how many woes doth he denounce against them He calleth such Wolves Theeves and Robbers And the Apostles and servants of the Lord Jesus Christ being led by the spirit of Christ did abundantly discover how exceedingly they detested and abhorred Heresies and falsâ— doctrines The Apostle Peter inveigheth with much vehemency against false Teachers calleth their corrupt doctrines damnable heresies whereby they denyed the Lord that bought them and bring upon themselves swift destruction He terms their ways pernicious and shews how they make merchandise of souls He calleth them pernicious self-wilâ—ed and such as are not afraid to speak evil of dignities wells without water speaking greaâ— swelling words of vanity with divers other expressions St. Iude agreeth with St. Peter and among other passages compareth false Teachers to Cain Balaam Core The Apostle Iohn calleth them Antichrists adversaries to Christ and false Prophets They are called deceivers yea it is said ver 10 11. If there come any unto you and bring not thiâ— doctrine receive him not into your house neitheâ— bid him God speed for he that biddeth him Goâ— speed is partaker of his evil deeds In the Revelations written by St. Iohn the Angel oâ— Minister of the Church at Ephesus is commended for hating the deeds of the Nicolaitans Pergamus is threatned because in that Church was found those that held the doctrine of Balaam and of the Nicolaitans and therefore t is added Repent or else I will comâ— unto thee quickly and will fight against theâ— with the sword of my mouth Thiatira is blamed for suffering the woman Iezabel which called her self a Prophetess to teach and seduce A great part of this book declareth the wickedness of the Whore of Babylon the Antichristian popish faction the mischief they do the Judgements of God hanging over them and how odious their false doctâ—ines and false worship is to God and his people The Apostle St. Paul as he laboured and wrote more than the rest so he is very plentiful in declaring his detestation of false doctrines and false teachers In his Epistle to the Romans â—he earnestly exhorteth the Saints I beseech you Brethren mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned and avoid them for they that are such serve not the Lord Iesus Christ but their own belly and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple He speaketh of those that cause divisions contrary to â—ound doctrine not of those that oppose false doctrine and corrupt customes whereupon sometimes divisions may follow through obâ—tinacy of those that resist the truth How largely doth he declare against that fundamental errour of them that denyed the resurrection He calleth them corrupt teachers false apostles deceitful workers transforming themselves into the Apostles of Christ Ministers of Satan and imitating their Master transforming themselves into the Ministers of righteousness as he being the Prince of darkness transformeth himself into an Angel of light How sharp and severe is he this way in the Epistle to the Galatians Though we or an Angel from heaven preach any other Gosâ—el unto you than that which ye have received let him be accursed As we said before so say I now again if any man preach any other Gospel unto you than that ye have received let him be accursed Yea he spared not that great Apostle Peter but withstood him to the face and gave him a publick reproofe because he did but warpe a little and by withdrawing from the believing Gentils for fear of offending the Iews gave occasion to men to question the doctrine of free justificâ—tâ—on through the righteousness of Christ alone and to think that circumcision and the ceremonies of the Law were necessâ—ry to justification Again saith he O foolish Galatians who hath bewitched you that yâ— should not obey the truth shewing that tâ— be led by â—alse teachers is to be befooled and bewitched Corrupts teachers bewitch and make fools of their followers Again saith he I would they were even cut off that troublâ— you He calleth false teachers dogs evil workers the Concision and sheweth that such are apt to beguile others with enticing words and to spoil them through Philosophy and vain deceit after the tradition of men after the rudiments of the world and not after Christ intruding into those things which they have not seen vainly puffed up by their fleshly minds How notably doth he set forth Antichrist and his followers speaking of a grand apostacy and general falâ—ing away and calleth the head of it the man of sin the Son of perâ—ition who opposeth and exalteth himself c. He calleth the mystery of Antichrist the mystery of Iniquity He calleth him that wicked one 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifying the lawless one a term exactly agreeing to the Pope who trampleth upon the laws of Christ at his pleasure and exalteth his own Laws He sheweth that his coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish c. He sheweth that to fall into Heresie is to make shipwrack of faith
divisions and stirs and contentions followed by accident not from the Nature of the doctrine delivered by Christ and his Apostles But 1. From the malice of Satan 2. From the Corruption Blindness Perverseness of mens Spirits First From the malice of Satan who looked upon the powerful preaching of Christ his Gospel as an Engine of battery planted against his strong-holds He being the Prince of darkness extreamly hateth the Light and therefore whereas he possessed all in peace before when the light of the Gospel breaketh forth he betaketh himself to his arms standeth upon his guard striveth to keep possession of the hearts and souls of men Yea he is not content to make a defensive War only but rageth and laboureth to put out the light stirreth up his instruments to oppose and persecute those that receive the love of the Truth and give up their names and hearts to Christ. Secondly The Corruption of mans Nature the blindness and perverseness of their spirits is a cause of theâ—e divisions and commotions Their ignorance errours lusts sinful courses are reproved by the word yea others receiving and obeying it is a condemning of their unbelief impenitency disobedience and therefore they are easily perswaded by Satan to oppose and persecute the Truth and them that embrace it So that it is from the malignity of their hearts that divisions follow I may add yet a third cause Thirdly And that is the weakness of some who for the main do embrace and love the Truth but for want of more clear and solid judgements do differ and dissent in things of lesâ— moment whereupon follow estrangements and too much alienation of affection And aâ— Satan and the world took occasion to stir up contention and cause division upon occasion of Christ his coming and preaching so also upon the publishing of the Gospel by hiâ— Apostles and by consequent by other faithful Preachers of the Truth Paul and Barnabas at Iconium so spake that a great multitude both of the Iews and also of the Greekâ— believed Here was the proper effect oâ— Christs spirit working in the Gospel preached it made peace between God and men and united Iews and Gentiles together who werâ— odious to each other Now see also the effect of Satans malice and the perverseness oâ— unbelievers in taking occasion hence to cause divisions But the unbelieving Iews stirred uâ— the Gentiles and made their minds evil affected against the Brethren It seemeth these mischievous persons then began to kindle the fire of contention in the breasts of ignorant persons but it did not presently flame out And therefore in the third verse we find that these faithful servants of Christ went on in their work without interruption Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord which gave testimony to the word of his Grace and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands But at length this fire of Hell that lay smothered under the ashes brake forth the multitude of the City was divided and part held with the Iews and part with the Apostles and an assault was made both of the Gentiles and Iews People and Rulers to use them despitefully and stone them so that the Apostles fled and preached the Gospel elsewhere Here it is as clear as the Sun that the unbelievers and enemies of the Truth were the cause of this division If we should trace the Apostle Paul in his travels from place to place where shall we find a place free from divisions not caused by his preaching but following occasionally from his preaching Satan and his Agents kindling the coals of contention The Apostle could not bring men to Christ by his Ministry but he must of necessity wrest them out of the power of Satan and call them from the course of the world and thereupon Satan and the world were enraged and so contentions and divisions followed Second Caution The use of this may be First To teach us more seriously to lay to heart and bewayle the great and lamentable inundation and overflowing of Errours and Heresies among us Saith Iohn I beheld and heard an Angel flying through the midst of Heaven saying with a loud Voice Woe Woe Woe to the inhabitants of the Earth by reason of the other voices of the Trumpet of the three Angels which are yet to sound Before we may read of seven Angels with their seven Trumpets now after four of them had sounded and sad consequents followed here is a solemn preparation made against the sounding of the three last It seemeth the reasoâ— is because the calamities following should be more grievous than the former and accordingly an Angel flying through the midst of Heaven denounceth three woes to the Inhabiters of the Earth It is supposed this Angel was Gregory 1. Bishop of Rome said to fly through the midst of Heaven or the middle space between Heaven and Earth because on the one side he came nearer the heavenly purity of doctrine and worship than his Successors but was yet far below that heavenly purity of the primitive and Apostolical times and so declining toward the earth according to the corrupt times wherein he lived who by foretelling that the King of Pride was at hand Antichrist was at hand with an army of Priests follow-him gave warning of these woes approaching Soon after this warning given the fifth Angel sounded which is the first of the three woe-bringing Trumpets as they may be called and the first consequent following is thus expressed And I saw a Star fall from Heaven unto the Earth and to him was given the key of the bottomless Pit It is conceived that this Star noteth out both the Pope in the West and that false Prophet Mahomet in the East who though they differed far from each other in their particular way of acting yet they both promoted the main design of the Prince of darkness and therefore may well be represented by one Star falling from Heaven and said to have the Key of the bottomless Pit They fell from Heaven from the heavenly purity of the true Church often called Heaven in this Book About three years after the death of Gregory his Successor Boniface the third received of Phocas the perfidious Emperor who murdered his Master Mauritius the Emperor with his children the Title of Universal Bishop and so a vast power to work mischief in the Church which accordingly was put in execution as it followeth And he opened the bottomless-pit and there arose a smoak out of the Pit as a smoak of a great furnace and the Sun and the Air were darkned by reason of the smoak of the Pit The smoak of errours and superstitions like a most loathsom fogg came out of the bottomless pit darkning the light of the truth and blinding the eyes of men the efficacy of errour and strong delusion bewitching multitudes of poor souls Besides this out of the smoak came locusts upon the earth huge multitudes of Monks and Fryers
oâ— Christs gloriouâ— appearing especially considering that the day of death was to them as the last day not that he did peremtorily determine any thing concerning the time which was unknown now compare this with what he writeth to the same Church in the next Epistle Now we beseech you Brethren by the coming of our Lord Iesus Christ and by our gathering together unto him that ye be not shaken in mind or be troubled neither by spirit or word nor by letter as from us as that the day of Christ is at hand Let no man deceive you by any means for that day shall not come except there come a falling away first and that man of sin be revealed the son of Perdition c. It seemeth some went about to deceive them under pretence of Revelation implied in the word Spirit some by word of Mouth as if the day of the Lord should come in that age and these might abuse those words of the Apostle in his former Epistle therefore he saith by Letter or Epistle as from us Now Satan might have this pollicy and set a certain day and that within a short time that when they saw it did not come to pass at the time foretold they might doubt of the thing it self whether ever it would come to pass but the Apostle shews them that there must be a great change before that day a general Apostacy or falling away and the revealing that man of sin the Son of perdition Secondly by drawing false inferences and conclusions from some places of Scripture So in the present Text from that â—ound doctrine of the Apostle concerning free justification of sinners through the righteousness of Christ without any respect at all to the works of the Law it seemeth some drew this inference or conclusion that the Law was made void and do not the Antinomians the very same â—t this day yea do not many among us harbour the same conceits in their minds as if it were enough only to pray to God to pardon their sins for Christ his sake as if they â—eed not labour after conformity to the Law â—n righteousness and holiness On the other â—â—de whereas Christ saith Except ye repent ye shall likewise perish Except a man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God Follow Holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. From these and the like Scriptures some it seemeth draw false conclusions as if by repentance by holiness by prayers and other duties they might in part satisfie for their former sins and as if Repentance Regeneration Holiness were not only things accompanying justification and salvation but proper causes But ye must consider First that Christ his satisfaction and righteousness is the full perfect and only cause of â—ustification and pardon of sin and that no holiness no duties of the persons justified do help any thing at all towards their justification it is the Righteousness of Christ imputed to them which maketh up the whole matter of their Righteousness in the sight of God and covereth all their sins Secondly on the other side Regeneration Repentance Holiness are concomitants things accompanying justification and salvation and evidences of it So that although none can procure pardon of sin nor justification in the least degree by any graces or duties of their own yet none can have any â—ound hope that their sins are forgiven or their persons accepted of God as righteous without Repentance Regeneration and Holiness because none have their sins pardoned and their persons justified but such as receive Christ into their hearts by Faith Now Christ alwaies cometh by water and blood by his holy graces to wash and sanctifie the Soul as by his blood and merit to justifie and procure forgiveness of sin As the light of the fire giveth no heat and the heat of the fire giveth no light yet the heat and light are joyned together in the fire so righteousness imputed to the soul for justification and forgiveness of sin do not sanctifie and on the other side Repentance Regeneration holiness in Believers do not justifie yet they are joyned together and where one is there is the other and the latter is an evidence of the former I conceive it is a common case with many to mistake in this kind because they want judgement rightly to draw inferences from Scripture groâ—nds so the Anabaptists because they read of persons baptized when they made profession of faith and repentance hereupon they draw conclusions against Infant-baptisme whereas the case is not alike for those examples are of converted Jews or Heathens not of such as are born of Christian-parents whereas they should rather argue that because Infants born of Church-members under the old Testament were circumcised as Church-members by the Lord command therefore Infants born of Church-members under the new Testament are to be baptized as Church-members now Thirdly prejudicate opinions false conceits sutable to corrupt Nature and carnal reason forestalling the mind and being entertained aforehand make people very apt to deprave or deny the Truth when it is presented to them I conceive this was the cause why the Jews were so obstinate in rejecting Christ and his doctrine not receiving and obeying him as Christ because their carnal minds were forestalled with conceits of a Messias that should come in state as an earthly Prince and erect a glorious worldly Kingdom amongst them and this prejudice moved them to corrupt the Prophecies of the old Testament and to distaste the doctrines of the New they liked not to hear of a crucified Redeemer the doctrine of the Cross was to them a stumbling-block they did not close with a spiritual Kingdom of Christ attended with persecution yea Christ his Disciples were not free from this disease and therefore when Christ foretold his own sufferings Peter presumed to rebuke him and there was a contention among them for the chiefe place as if they expected great worldly honours and dignities by following Christ On the other side the Grecians were prepossessed with the rational principles of worldly wisdom and Philosophy and so despised the Gospel as foolishness though indeed there were such heights and depths of divine wisdom in the mysteries of the Gospel as never came into the head of the wisest men amongst them The carnal Israelites were forestalled with an opinion of their own righteousness and so rejected the doctrine of justification by the righteousness of Christ For they being ignorant of Gods righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God Ignorance and prejudice the fruit of ignorance caused them to disrelish the Truth of the Gospel Secondly the love of sin is a cause why men pervertor reject the Truths of the Gospel The Gospel and word of grac teacheth to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts c. This is distastful to a soul wherein sin raigneth The Gospel requireth Christians to
be truly godly and not abhor false doctrines which are such a fruitful spawn of a venemous Issue Many flying serpents being hatched of one Cockatrice egg Fiftly Errours are apt to overgrow the Truth as Tares and other weeds are ready to overcome the corn And that 1. by corrupting one doctrine of the Gospel after another And 2. by oppressing and persecuting the sincere professors and Preachers of the Truth It seemeth the errours and corruptions of Popery were first winked at being taken up by particular persons not generally owned then they became more general and overbore the truth then they were armed with power and so opposed and persecuted the sincere maintainers of the truth The Arian Heresie at first was kept under at length prevailed so as to raise most bloody persecutions against the Truth The outrages of the Anabaptists and sueâ—â— as pretended to Revelations how notoriouâ— were they when once they got a head at Munster in Germany But our age seemeth to exceed former times in this kind that errours and heresies among us have been armed almost at their first appearance It would appear a strange Monster if a child should bâ— born in armour such a monster if I mistake not I have read of born in Germany about the time of the late wars Is it not prodigious to see armed monsters born amongst us errours and heresies with swords by their sides Pistolls Muskets Pikes â—n their hands at their first coming into the world almost Who knoweth the dismaâ— events and mischief such things presage if the Lord Christ who is the Truth and whose name is the word of God should for our unworthiness forbear to ride forth on his white horse conquering and to conquer But what gracious heart doth not both abhor and tremble at those things that tend to the suppressing of the Truth and rooting out of those that are of the Truth and for the Truth Sixthly Errours aud Heresies are apt to spread far and wide in a short time from a person to a family from the family to a Neighbourhood then over a Province or Country then over a Nation then from Nation to Nation and so over the world Behold how great a matter a little fire kindleth The Arian Heresie being a little spark at first in Egypt in a short time did spread over Asia and Africk and took hold of divers parts of Europe for the devil himself hath declared it that his business is to go to and fro in the earth and to walk up and down in it and he is very swift in his motion and active in his work and who that hath any zeal for Christ doth not abhor such a growing evil such a spreading mischief Seventhly Errours and Heresies are apt to draw poor souls from the means of grace They are deadly diseases and withal of such a cursed nature that they take off the heart from the remedy They cause people to withdraw from those assemblies where the truths of God are taught and the unsoundness of such errours is laid open And then it is as the Devil would have it when he can so bewitch poor souls as to make them drink down deadly poyson and then refuse to take a purge But as this is pleasing to Satan so how grievous is it to them that tender the good of poor souls to see them dangerously sick and altogether unwilling to be healed or come near the means of the cure Eightly Heresies and false doctrines make woful rents and divisions in the Church The Church is one body under one head the Lord Jesus Christ. The Apostle speaking to the Church says now ye are the body of Christ and members in particular Christ is the head of the Church and he is the Saviour of the body and therefore the Apostle exceedingly presseth the members of the Church to endeavour to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace heaping up arguments of unity Saith he there is 1. one Body 2. one Spirit 3. one Hâ—pe 4. one Lord. 5. one Faith 6. one Baptisme 7. one God and Father of all Shall the members of one body fight each against other Is it not monstrous for them that should be quickned with one spirit to strive against each other as if they were acted by contrary spirits Shall they that 〈◊〉 called to one hope be at defiance among themâ—selves Can the Servants of one Lord beaâ— arms against each other and one party noâ— fight against the Lord himself by contending with their fellow Servants Shall those that are called to the profession of one faith embrace contrary beliefs Is it not odious to see those that were washed in one laver of Baptisme cast dirt upon each other or stain their hands yea their consciences with the blood of each other Is it not horrid to see the children of one heavenly Father or such as profess themselves to be so to hate and destroy their brethren Now how clearly doth Scripture witness how sadly doth experience prove that errours and heresies make woful rents and divisions In one of those places formerly mentioned saith the Apostle I beseech you Brethren mark them which cause diâ—visions and offences contrary to the doctrine which we have learned and avoid them by teaching contrary to sound doctrine dangerous divisions are caused and great offences given What a grievous rent was likely to have been made in the Primitive Church by them which would have perswaded the believing Gentiles that Circumcision was necessary to Salvation had not the Apostles and Elders meeting together in a Synod at Hierusalem carefully suppressed this errour at the first appearing of it It is said Paul aud Barnabas had no small dissention and disputation with them that taught this false doctrine In the Synod it self there was much disputing In the Epistle directed by the Synod to the Churches of the Gentiles it is said We have heard that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words subverting your Souls saying ye must be circumcised and keep the Law scil of Ceremonies to whom we gave no such Commandment And although this Errour was for the present much restrained yet how did it break out again afterward among the Galatians And therefore the Apostle calleth these false teachers the Concision instead of the Circumcision Cum ecclesiam conscinderent lacerarent seeing they did as it were cut and tear in pieces the Church of Christ with their false doctrine or as another saith he called them the Concision tum quod ecclesiam pravo dogmate scinderent tum quod simplciores a Christo abscinderent because by their corrupt opinion they did both cut asunder the unity of the Church and cut off the weaker sort from Christ. But if we should speak of the Rents that were in the Church by Errours and Heresies mentioned in the Ecclesiastical Histories it would amount to a large Volumn What a rent was like to be made in the
manifested and made visible and so framed this humane nature thus united to his God-head after the image of God in perfect Righteousness and holiness and inabled it to perform full and compleat obedience to the Law And thus the work of Satan was destroyed one of the Sons of Adam one of the seed of the woman after the fall of mankind being inabled to fulfill the Righteousness of the Law Fourthly Ye may note by the way that I do not speak of this as the full sense of this Text as it this were all that Christ did in destroying the works of the Devil and in restoring what he had ruined but I speak of it as a part of the Apostles meaning and a part of that work of Christ concerning the point in hand Fifthly Observe that by this work Christ established the Law For first As the Law was given to man so the Son of God took upon him the nature of man and subjected it to the Law as it is said he was made under the Law 2. He wrote this Law of perfect holiness and Righteousness upon this humane Soul thus united to his God-head 3. In this nature of man He perfectly fulfilled the Law by all which he acknowledged the Law to be a perfect Rule of Righteousness which as man he was bound to obey and so did really confirm and ratifie the Authority of it whereas on the contrary they that taught mâ—n to seek justification and to approve themselves as Righteous in the sight of God by their own personal works of obedience to the Law though they pretended to magnifie the Law they did make void the Law because their Righteousness was far short of what the Law required and therefore to profess that they looked to be justified or found Righteous in the sight of God by their own imperfect works done in obedience to the Law was to accuse the Law of imperfection and so to make void the Law Saith David The Law of the Lord is perfect and therefore none can be justified by the Law unless their Righteousness be perfect Now for sinful men whose natures are contrary to the Law whose sinful omissions and commissions are numberless whose best works are exceedingly imperfect and defective to profess themselves justified by the Law is to deny the perfection of the Law and so to abolish or make void the Law So much for the first particular point comprehended in the general doctrine The second is this That the Lord Iesus Christ established the Law by making full satisfaction to the Law where note two particulars 1. That Christ did make full satisfaction to the Law 2. That hereby he did establish it 1. For the former When Christ was gloriously transfigured upon a certain mountain in the sight of three of his Disciples Behold there talked with him two men which were Moses and Elias who appeared in glory and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Ierusalem These two holy men of God who many ages before had been taken out of this world by an extraordinary dispensation of God were sent to meet the Lord Christ upon this Mount and why these two Moses was the Lawgiver I mean the ministerial Law-giver the Minister Servant or Instrument of the Lord by whom God who is the only authentical the supream Law-giver delivered and as it were handed over his Law to the people of Israel Elias was one of the most eminent among all the Prophets and exceeding zealous of the Law and by an extraordinary warrant from God slew divers hundreds of false Prophets for Idolatary and for teaching the people to transgress the Law and when he complained against Israel for their heinous sins against the Law the Lord directed him to annoint Hazael to be King over Syria Iehu to be King over Israel and Elisha to be Prophet in his stead as so many executioners of Gods justice upon backsliding Israel for their horrible sins against the Law It seemeth then that these two were sent to shew that the Lord Jesus Christ was he of whom the Law and the Prophets spake whom the Ceremonial Law shadowed out by Types and Figures who was to perform full obedience to the Moral Law and make full satisfaction for the transgressions of men against the Law and to accomplish what was foretold by the Prophets and it is said expresly that they spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Hierusalem They spake of his death and sufferings whereby he should make full satisfaction for the sins and transgressions of men against the Law and fulfill the sayings of the Prophets It is not barely said he should dye or suffer death but that he should 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 accomplish his decease He should fully and compleatly suffer such a death as should make full satisfaction to the Law He should undergo the full penalty of the Law and make full payment of all the debts which the Law could charge upon his people To make this appear more clearly consider these particulars 1. That the Lord Iesus Christ was very God in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God the same was in the beginning with God all things were made by him and without him was not any thing made that was made The Son of God is called the word God the Father manifesting himself by the Son as a man maketh known his mind by his words or speech There is the coessential word of God and there is the declarative word of God the Son of God is the coessential word of God of the same essence with God the Father The declarative word of God is that which we have in the holy Scriptures So Christ prayed to his Father for his people Sanctifie them through thy Truth thy word is truth For this cause saith the Apostle thank we God without ceasing because when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us ye received it not as the word of men but as it is in truth the word of God which worketh effectually in you that believe These and the like places shew the folly of those who seem to hold that there is no other word of God but Christ whereas it is plain that the holy Ghost calleth the word written in the Scriptures and the word preached and taught according to the Scriptures the Word of God scil his declarative word but Christ is the coessential or co substantial word of God and here it iâ— said He was in the beginning declaring his eternity when the world and the creatures in it were made He was not made but he was from eternity before all things and accordingly he saith to his Father O Father glorifie thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was that is from all eternity And the word was with God that sheweth the personal distinction betwixt the Father and the