light and darkness create good and evil Again our own souls are notable instances We see one and the same soul worketh diversly as to will and not will it perceiveth various things it understandeth divers things it move's the body from place to place it resteth the body If one creature can produce various and divers things then much more God we may as well argue that there are two contrary souls in man as argue there be two Gods from diverse operations and effects There is no summè malum principium Arg. 2. as there is summè bonum because God who is summè bonus good in the highest manner can and doth disperse order and govern the greatest evil according as he will for either it is Sin that is summè malum or the Devil now both Sin and Devils are all subject to Gods government which would not be if there were a summè malum principium as there is summè bonum because then there would be an equal power in both that the chiefest evil would never endure the chiefest good but would strongly oppose it CHAP. IV. IT is needlesse for me to confute Vse 1. the Heathens who worshipped many Gods in heaven and earth most kind of creatures were Gods to some nation or other I know there are no such persons here among us we are Christians and all say I believe in God so we profess but one God It were needlesse for me any further to confute the old heresie of the Manichees which heresie St. Augustine Aug. in Haeres c. 1. 7 8. c. 6 22. 46. held before his conversion because I believe there are none here that hold that wretched Tenet There are other Heretiques called Tritheitae who held there were three Gods and that upon this ground because there were three Persons and each person is very God this errour ariseth from the ignorance of this in that they consider not that though the three Persons are truly distinct yet are they but one and the self same glorious Being and Essence I hope there is none that heareth me that thinketh the three persons in holy Trinity to be three gods really distinct Now because the Heathen have worshipped many gods and because mâ—ny errours have sprung from thence I will draw these useful Considerations from the Premises 1. We may see in them the most horrible pollution of nature by the fall of Adam the strong and strange pronenesse of mans heart naturally to idolatry and to make many Gods How can we but wonder to consider how reasonable Man should be so besotted blinded and stupefied as to fall down before stocks and stones beasts and clouts and worship them for gods Hence God compareth them to Oxen and Asses yea makes them more brutish Isa 1. 3. 2. We may see hence the full necessity of having the holy Scriptures which are Gods own Testimony of himself as he is and how many gods there are or rather that there is but one God the onely living and true God Then what a mercy is it to have the scriptures read and diligently preached among us Why did the Gentiles like blind Sodomites go feeling and groping after God as they for Lot's door if haply they might find him and therefore took creature 's for God but because they had not the light of the Word to discover the one glorious God to them So how comes it to passe that Papists are kept under spiritual darknesse and in an idolatrous worship this is one reason because they are kept from reading the Scriptures in the mother-tongue The Psalmist makes the word of God to be the greatest blessing Psal 147. 19. 20. He sheweth his word unto Jacob his Statutes and his Judgments unto Israel he hath not dealt so with any nation and as for his Judgments they have not known them 3. Take heed of foolish reasonings about the Godhead I mean about the Unity of the Godhead and of thy foolish conceits how three persons can be but one God these foolish reasonings were the ground of the heresie of the Tritheites as How can three persons being very God make one God The best answer unto all such thoughts about the unity of the Godhead is to hold to the holy Scriptures God in his word hath given this testimony that there is but one God I will believe no more Gods because God hath said There is but one God I will acknowledg no more His own testimony is the very ground why I will believe and acknowledg but one God Take this for a rule when once a man departs from the word of God he exposeth himself to an hundred errors What the German Proverb is concerning a Lie is true of all errors Nothing is more fruitful one error begetteth another CHAP. V. FRom hence I gather that Christ Use 2. is God equâ—l with the Father contrary to the Arrians of old and Socinians of late who maintain that Christ is God but yet diverse and not of the same substance with the Father for Christ must either be the same with the Father or else there must of necessity be more Gods then one Now if Christ be God and diverse from the Father then the Father and the Son be two real distinct Gods which is blasphemously false 'T is true what learned Zanchy saith A man makes Zanch. de trib Elohim more Gods intra Deum as well as extra Deum Intra Deum as the Arrians and Photinians of old and the Socinians unto this day If there be but one God and we acknowledge Use 3. but one God then as God is to have all worship so only God is to be worshipped Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve Matt. 4. 10. There is the Act that is to give Divine worship unto 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quae quantum ad religionem attinet non nisi uni et soli Deo debetur Isidor lib. 11. Aug. cont Faust Manic lib. 20. God and the object is both exclusive and inclusive God must be worshipped and served and no other but he only A place if well weighed that would scatter all Popish shifting distinctions concerning Divine Worship given to Creatures as to Angels Saints and Images as the common distinctions of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to the Creature and to this may be added their hyperdulia to the Virgin Mary But we find that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are promiscuously used for service to God and the creature therefore it is a meer verbal distinction because they signifie one and the same No distinction will excuse the Papists from Idolatry and as they give Divine worship to others rather then to God they make moe Gods then one Their own praiers put up to the Virgin Mary testify against them that they make her a God praying to her for grace and mercy yea their putting up
tongue to speak of it If God be perfect so as that he wanteth Object 3. nothing why then doth he require our worship and service I answer Not that he needeth our Sol. 1. service Other Lords need the service of their servants the greatest Princes in the world need the service of their Subjects but God doth not he is perfectly happy if we did not serve him If thou sinnest what doest thou against him or if thy transgressions be multiplied what doest thou unto him If thou be righteous what givest thou him or what receiveth he at thy hand Thy wickedness may hurt a man as thou art and thy righteousness may profit the son of man Job 35. 6 7 8. If we sin we hurt him not we onely make our selves miserable Do ye provoke me to anger no wretches it is to the confusion of your own faces If we be righteous he is not benâ—fited by us he needeth not our prayers our obedience our faith onely we are blessed in so doing Our serving of God is our perfection and the more holy we are the more we grow up in perfection and resemblance of our heavenly Father 2. God requireth our service in way of justice because we are bound to serve him who is our Lord. 3. God requireth our service not for his own benefit because being perfect he needeth it not but for our own happy benefit and profit Our disobedience is our greatest imperfection and the procuring cause of all our misery our obedience to him is our perfection and an anâ—ecedent condition of our perfect glory and happiness CHAP. V. Practical Inferences from the consideration of God's Perfection HEnce see that it is of meer grace Infer 1. that any are saved What if all the sons of men had been for ever cast into the pit of perdition it had been nothing to God as when the old world was drowned what was it to God his perfection was not diminished when they all perished Dispute not why so few are saved wonder rather that any are saved seeing God was infinitely perfect in himself when no man or creature had any being and will be perfect if all had been lost He needeth neither men nor Angels to praise him therefore every one that is saved may say Lord we are saved not because thou didst need us or our services or praises but because thou art gracious to whom thou wilt be gracious 2. This should wean us and all our Infer 2. thoughts and affections from all creatures which are full of imperfections at best they have but a diminutive or derivative perfection and place them upon God who is an infinitely perfect good What need we to set our hearts on drops of perfection when we may have the incomprehensible and â—athomless sea of perfection CHAP. VI. THis informs us why God throws Use 1. away and loatheth the duties sacrifices and performances of the wicked viz. because they are done with rotten unsound and wicked hearts He being a Spirit a perfect God looks at those that serve him with perfect hearts and where the heart is found or imperfect He regards no more the wicked man's praying than he doth the blessing of an Idol yea he hates his most glorious duties as wilful murder Malac. 1. 8. It was a great sin in the time of the Law to offer up the lame and the blind of the flock to God who required the best of the herd and of the flock for sacrifice It is no less an evil to offer up lame or blind prayers or any act of lame or blind obedience What makes your duties so lame so blind but your rotten and imperfect hearts Your imperfect hearts make your duties and persous abominable It is said of Amaziah King of Judah that he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord but not with a perfect heart 2 Chron. 25. 2. the good duties of the wicked are sins to them both they and their services are rejected This will cut the unsound heart to the quick when he shall hear Christ say to him It is true these and these good works thou hast done these duties and such like thou hast performed but yet he will say to them as sometime he did to the Angel of the Church in Sardis I have not found thy works perfect before God Rev. 3. 2. therefore all thy works are but lost labour 2. If God be a most perfect God this Use 2. infinite perfection of God should make us the more to humble our selves before God to be low and base in our own eyes and that in diverse Respects 1. In respect of our great imperfections God is light we are darknesse God is Almighty we Impotent God is Eternal we Mortal God is Good we Evil God is Holy we Impure God only Wise we Foolish we are very Beasts before him God hath all perfections we all imperfections in us 2. In respect of the very graces in us the consideration of Gods infinite perfections should make us be base and low in our own eyes though we were full of the graces of Gods Spirit because our very perfections have much imperfection in them our faith is mingled with much unbelief our repentance with impenitency our patience with impatience and our obedience with much disobedience If the most perfect God should observe the imperfections of our perfections the defects of our graces the ungodlinesse of our very godliness as I may so speak who then could stand before him yea had we our created perfection and were as perfect as Adam in innocence yet still we should be base in our own eyes looking to Gods infinite perfections The glorious Angels who are the most perfect creatures yet cover their faces standing before God as being unworthy to behold the infinite perfections of so glorious a God 3. Be humbled in respect of all your Services and duties that ye do to God and for God and that in three respects 1. In that all we do is but little in comparison of what God requireth at our hands We do not bring in that full Tale of bricks of prayers of duties of works which God requireth at our hands and which we are bound to perform to our God He that doth most is very deficient therefore we should be humbled considering what perfection God requireth at our hands 2. In respect of the manifold imperfections that adhere to all our services and duties As we said but now of graces so of duties if God should mark the imperfections of them woe unto us woe unto us for our praying and hearing c. woe unto us for our duties and services considering what perfection of duties the perfect God requireth how God commandeth us to pray to hear his Word to meditate upon it to examine our selves than he that prayes and heareth and meditateth most and best may be in his own eyes as if he had not prayed nor heard nor done any thing at all 3. In this respect
appears by this Chapter and by the fourth and tenth Chapters In his speaking of Christ he sets him forth two ways 1. In his absolute and personal excellency in the beginning of the first Chapter 2. In his comparative excellency being compared with Angels Prophets and Priests and Levitical Sacrifices he sheweth how Christ infinitely transcends all these He sheweth how far he excelleth all the glorious Angels in the first Chapter and that in divers particulars 1. He is the natural Son of God 2. He is the heir of all things 3. He is the Creatour and Lord of Angels him all the glorious Angels worship and adore Then he shews Christs transcendent excellency above all Prophets he instanceth in Moses the first and Prince of Prophets here in this third Chapter setting forth the excellency of Moses in an high manner that he might the better declare the transcendent excellency of Christ above him The thing chiefly commended in Moses was his faithfulness in Gods House by house understand not a material but a spiritual house his Church Now Christ excelled Moses in two things 1. Christ was the Son of God Moses a Servant 2. Christ was builder and Master of the House Moses was part of this house Now in the following Verses the Apostle strongly inferreth that Christ is more excellent then Angels and Moses We ought to give more heed to the word spoken by him then to the word spoken by Angels or by Moses and this he presseth from the danger of unbeleif after men have heard and received the Gospel of Christ Those that did not beleive Moses were not suffered to enter into Canaan but perished in the Wildernes Now the Apostle tells the Hebrews that as God dealt with their forefathers for their unbelief so will he deal with all unbeleivers they shall never enter into his glorious rest but shall perish eternally My Text is a serious admonition to all to beware of unbeleif seeing it shuts men out of heavenly rest and throws them headlong into hellish torments Wherefore Calv. in loc for so Calvin thinketh is to be referred to this twelfth verse all the foregoing words being a Parenthesis take heed lest there be in any of you c. In the words there are these three things considerable 1. A dangerous disease to which those that make profession of Christ are subject viz. Apostacy from Christ who is here stiled a living God 2. The cause of that dangerous disease is an evil heart of unbeleif it is an hebraism put for an evil unbeleiving heart where the Apostle doth describe unbeleif by an elegant paranomasia 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 unbeleif is Apostacy 3. The cure and remedy both of the root and disease Take heed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 look about you look circumspectly above all things take heed of an unbeleiving heart for in time of trial it will make you to fall off from God There are these four points observable from these words 1. That an unbeleiving heart is Observ the evil heart 2. That an unbeleiving heart is the cause of Apostacy from God 3. Christians must specially watch and keep their own hearts 4. That our God is a living God CHAP. II. MY purpose is onely to handle the last point viz. that attribute of the life of God That God from whom unbeleivers back-slide is a living God The life of God is taken two ways in Scripture 1. For that life whereby God liveth Vita Dei dicitur vel quâ vivit in nobis qui regenerati sumus in his Saints or a Saints godly life â—ph 4. 18. The Apostle setting forth the state of unregenerate persons men addicted to their lusts saith They are alienated from the life of God that is have no acquaintance with the holy heavenly and spiritual life this life is here called the life of God and Gal. 2. 20. it is called the life of Christ I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me this life is also called the life of the spirit and beleivers are also said to live in the spirit Gal. 5. 25. But this life I am not to speak of 2. T is taken for that essential Vel quà ipse vivit in sese life of God or that life which God liveth himself and in himself and which is very God himself In him was life saith John of Christ as God John 1. 4. that is essentia vivens ab aeterno in aeternum that living essence who lives for ever and ever giving life to all others and this I am to speak of As the life of God is taken two ways so again living God is taken two ways in Scripture 1. Either it is opposed unto dead and false gods 1 Thes 1. 9. Ye turned from idols which cannot hear speak or do any thing for you to the living and true God Or 2. Living God implies that God is a powerful lively and effectual God Heb. 10. 31. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God most powerful able to destroy body and soul or who eternally liveth to take eternal vengeance on your immortal souls This being premised I will briefly shew what the life of God is Thus it is described It is Gods own divine being Descr who of himself doth all things and is the Author of all life in his creatures Or thus It is the divine being who of himself understandeth willeth and loveth infinitely and is the fountain of all life being and motion in all his creatures both bodily and spiritual Let me give it in parts 1. It is the divine being so it is Anima vivere operationes vitae distinguished from the life of creatures for in their life are three things the soul by which it liveth the life it self and the actions of life distinguished in the creatures but in God the essence life and the actions of life are one and the same his life is nothing else but his very being hence he is called that life and life eternal and the living God 2. Who of himself doth all things or of himself understandeth willeth and loveth all things and in this he is distinguished from the life of creatures for they live in another live move and have their being in God but he most independently lives of himself understandeth and willeth of himself therefore called Jehovah who hath being from himself 3. He is the Author of all life in his Creatures in him they live if he withdraw himself Creatures are turned into destruction if he say Return again ye sons of men they live Psa 90. 3. of dry bones he makes living men and of living men he makes dry bones T is said he breathed the spirit of life into Adam and he takes away mans breath again Some Divines make a fivefold life of men 1. The life of nature and this God is the Author of he made man a living soul In him was life and that life was the light of men
omnia therefore most perfect therefore but There 's none good but God verè perfectè summè simpliciter one God who is infinitely wise infinitely good infinitely powerful infinitely holy there is none good but God truly perfectly chiefly simply If there should be more Gods then one then there should be a distribution of excellencies there would be some perfection in one God which is not in the other so each of them would be imperfect neither should be God because each imperfect for there is no imperfection in the Godhead an imperfect God is no God Because that which hath Being from Arg. 2. himself and is an absolute independent Being can be but one now God hath an absolute independent Being from himself therefore he calls himself Jehovah which implies two things for our purpose sc that he hath being from himself and gives being to all other things In him we live and move and have our being Act. 17. and of him are all things Now that there is and can be but one Being from himself this reason may evince because otherwise there would be progressus in infinitum if God's Being be from another then that which gave God his being should be God and that had his being from another and so you may reason infinitely so t is absurd both in Divinity and Philosophy There can be but one first Cause Arg 3 and one first mover and one last end of all things therefore but one God who is the first cause of all things and the last end of all things Rom. 11. 36. There can be but one infinite Being one Almighty Being one Omnipresent Arg. 4. being therefore but one God who is onely Infinite Omnipoâ—ent and onely every where Cujus centrum est ubiqùe circumferentia nusquam as Tâ—ismegistâ— Trismegistus speaks of God There can be but one Infinite for if there were two distinct Infinite Beings then there would be something in one which is not in another then where there is any thing wanting that is not Infinite and so no God There can be but one Omnipresent Being as Athenagoras argues well if there be more Gods where are they seeing the one onely true God is every where The fifth Argument is from the Arg. 5. Gentiles who though they Worshipped â—any Gods yet still did acknowledge there was but one true God Because the Divine nature is indivisible Aâ—g 6. cannot be divided into parts it is indivisible because God is one simpliciter unum simplicissimum one most simple thing admitting no parts nor number if the Divine Nature were divisible into parts then were it not one simple but a compound entity CHAP. III. Sheweth the grounds how it came to pass men made so many Gods besides God NOw the grounds whence it camâ— to passe that men made so many God's besides the true God werâ— Jon. 1 6. these 1. One Reason was the great benefits which sometimes they receiveâ— from men who were eminent in somâ— Heroicall vertues the blinded Gentiles would therefore honour and reverence them as Gods 2. The creatures that were usefull were worshipped as gods because of their usefulness by those deluded Heathens thus the people of Judah when they fell to Idolatry burnt incense as they termed it to the Queen of heaven poured out drink offerings to her and made her cakes to Worship her Jerem. 44. for say they to the Prophet When we did thus then had we plenty of victuals and were well and saw no evil ver 17. Therefore the Egyptians would worship Fire Cattel Onyons Doggs c. and the Persians would worship the Sun Moon and Stars 3. From a conceit that Devils did all mischief to them therefore they would worship even Devils themselves to pacify them 4. The Devil himself did earnestly labour to blind the eyes of the Heathen by foretelling things to come which begot in them an opinion of a Deity therefore they did offer sacrifice to them and would go to their Oracles to demand future things which gave them an ambiguous answer 5. Sometimes they would frame a God according to their own lusts and wicked conditions as those that were given to lust and adultery made Venus their Goddesse they that wâ—re given to theft made Mercury their God they that were given to murther and war made Mars their God 6. The Apostle gives the true reason of all sc God's judgement upon them giving them up to a blind mind and vain imaginations for their contempt of the true and only God Râ—m 1. 21. 22 23. Because that when they knew God they glorified him not as God neither were thankfull but became vain in their imaginations and their foolish heaâ—t was darkened professing themselves wise they became fools and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man and to birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things therefore God gave them up to their own hearts lusts and so they changed the truth of God into a lie and worshipped and served the Creature more then the Creat 〈…〉 who is blessed for ever Amen ver 25. This is the reason why God gives men up to idolatry in these daies 2 Thes 2. 10 11. The Apostle having described the coming of the man oâ— Sin to be after the working of Satan with all power and signes and lying wonders and with all deceiveablenesse of unrighteousnesse in them that perish because they received not the love of the truth that they might bâ— saved he then tells us that for this cause God shall send them a strong delusion that they should believe a lie when men shall resist the revealed truth of the onely true God he gives them up to believe lies 7. Another ground why they made more Gods then one was the very ground and argument of the Manichees affirming there were two priâ—ciples or beginnings of things a summum bonum and a summum malum a summum bonum from whence sprang all good a summum malum from whence issued forth all evil Their argument and reason is from the contrary effects of things and the contrary works that are done there are divers and very contrary effects to one another Now two things will give full answer hereunto The diversity and contrariety of effects Arg. i. arguâ—s not a contrariety and diversity of causes one thing may be the principle from which issueth divers contrary effects as for instance As the Sun is one and the same cause and yet worketh diversly upon divers subjects his presence causeth light his absence darknesse it hardens clay soften's wax the Sun is the cause of the great heat in the Summer and of the cold in the Winter it ripeneth and rotteth fruit it â—awneth the Blackmore's skin it doth not do so to another Nation If contrary effects should argue contrary causes then there should be two Suns if one Sun can by his light and heat produce contrary effects why not one God form