effectual opperative Faith which all that profess to believe both these Articles have not and to which we appropriate Salvation and therefore the Doctor 's disputing in general of a Notional Faith and a Credulity as he calls it and under that Notion condemns is a Sophistical way of arguing much worse than any that Volkelius himself is guilty of for he discourseth of such a Faith as includes Repentance and Evangelical Obedience not such as is the effect of Natural Reason but of the Opperation of the Spirit of Patefaction as he calls it but more plainly such as he describes from St. Paul 1 Cor. 2.14 The natural man such as he saith are all that are destitute of the Divine Spirit doth not understand the things of the spirit of God and v. 9. Eye hath not seen nor ear heard nor the mind conceived what things God hath prepared for them that love him but God hath revealed them to us by his spirit Spiritu Patifactionis l. 3. c. 14. If these and other Opinions of Volkelius be compared with our Doctor 's Natural Faith it would appear to any impartial Reader that the Doctor is the grosser Socinian of the two On this Subject he spends several Chapters the Contents of the first is to shew he says in what sence Faith justifies but indeed he shews that it doth not justifie and first he condemns it as the unhappy Occasion of the Gnosticism which so much troubled St. Paul by corrupting the Disciples minds from the Simplicity of the Gospel which is all he says and he might as well charge good Laws with all the Villanies that are committed against them for the Scripture had foretold there must be Heresies and there would be Schisms and that men would walk after their own lusts and deny the Lord that bought them though the Evangelical Faith do no more cause these than the Sun doth those Works of Darkness which are committed in its light To make amends for this he says 2ly That it is so happy as to be honoured by our Lord and his Apostles as to be made the sole Condition of our Salvation But after this he asks p. 10. And now what need of Repentance of running the Gantelope of Mortification crossing our Appetites and afflicting our Souls As if the Doctrine of Faith did not include or presuppose Repentance or as if any sort of Repentance were available without Faith and as if the merit of good Works were a necessary and efficacious Ingredient to the Cause of Justification for thus he joyns Justification by Works upon account of Natural Religion with Justification by Faith upon account of the Gospel Hence in the 12th Page he makes a large Harangue Col. 2. What are the great merits of Faith which may any way entitle it to so great a Reward as Everlasting Life Whatever can pretend to worth must make its claim good by shewing how it partaketh the Nature of God who is the first Good but to be credulous is so far from the power of Divine Life that it is a plain confession of Weakness it is nothing else but leaning on another for want of knowledge of its own The simple believeth every word but a wise man looketh well to his going said the wisest of all Men and experience tells us that Children and Dotards Women and Fools the Sick and Ignorant are most easie and by how much any Man is wiser by so much he is warier that he be not imposed on Had it any worth we should have heard of it in Moses and the Prophets and the Philosophers would have allowed it a place among the Vertues and the Old Testament mentions it but once or twice and that not by way of Precept but occasionly and what reward can it possibly deserve if I believe either I do it on good reason or not if I see good reason for my belief I cannot deserve reward because no Man can choose but must necessarily believe as far as reason requires if I believe without reason then I am a Fool and so far from deserving a reward that I deserve blame and if it seem hard to justify our Lord's wisdom in promising so great a reward to a performance that deserves none at all it will appear no less so to justify his goodness in imposing such a Task no less difficult than worthless for whereas no small part of the good Tidings of the Gospel is our Manumission from the Burden of Moses's Law the Yoke of Christ will seem harder of the two it is easier for a rich Man to sacrifice whole Hecatombs when he hath Wealth enough to purchase them than to pull out his Eyes yet can a Man easier pull out the eye of his Body than his Reason which is not only the eye but the heart for it is his very definition without which he cannot be a Man it is God's Image and the Apostle exhorts us to put on the new Man which is renewed in knowledge after the Image of him that created him Now that God should print his Image in our hearts require us to renew it yet promise eternal Life for reward if we deface it is a saying harder to be believed than all the Ceremonies of Moses's Law were to be practised This and more says he is objected against Faith in general and against what Faith but in particular against that of the Holy Trinity and the Eternal Deity of Christ Now when the Doctor so industriously suggests all these Objections against Faith and takes no care to assoile them he betrays that Cause which he would seem to defend as it will appear in his fourth Chapter The Socinians affirm with our Doctor That nothing must be believed that cannot be apprehended and understood by Reason To this we say that it is not contrary to any Principle of right Reason that the Eternal Creator and Law-giver in revealing his will should propose Articles to be assented to upon his own Authority revealing them though his Creatures cannot by their Reason apprehend how those Articles should be true Divine Faith is grounded on a Divine Testimony as it is Divine T 〈…〉 de Pae 〈…〉 Neque enim quia bonum est id circo ausculture debemus sed quia Deus precepit For we do obey the Command not because we judge it good but because God commands it And as St. Augustin Judicatur ad id quod possumus creditur ad quod non possumus How can the corrupt and finite reason of Man comprehend the Reasonableness of an Alwise and Infinite God We allow to all Governors some Arcana Imperii which the Vulgar cannot judge of and shall we not allow it to the only Wise God the Governor of the World is there nothing above the sphear of natural Reason How then comes it to pass that it is baffled in so many natural things in Sympathies and Antipathies and Occult Qualities the Effects whereof are demonstrated but the Causes cannot be known And shall Man
See Gothofrede p. 46. Chap. 8. p. 34. The Doctor amuseth us with the variety of Creeds published by Councils under the influence of the Emperor Constantius whereof I shall give the Reader this brief account After that Athanasius fell under Constantines displeasure and was banished it is said he never saw his face more though it is reported that Constantine did it out of kindness to secure him from the Attempts of such as sought to take away his life and Constantine his Son declared as much and that it was his Fathers mind to recal him and some say he would have put it on his Will had not Eusebius of Nicomedia hindred it Athanasius himself was of the same mind and evident it is that his Son Constantine recalled him soon after his Fathers death and sent Letters to the people of Alexandria on his behalf A Synod at Alexandria vindicate him and write to Julius Bp of Rome on his behalf but a Synod being met at Antioch which had the favour of Constantius they coyn new Creeds in opposition to the Nicene Faith there are in Ecclesiastical History fower sorts one is of a larger size which hath this Preface We are not the disciples of Arius yet they consented to the Condemnation of Athanasius who made his Appeal to Julius Bishop of Rome who summoned the Eastern Bishops intending a hearing of Athanasius his cause in a full Synod but they refusing to come the Synod acquitted Athanasius and condemned Photinus Constans befriended Athanasius so far as to write to his Brother Constantius on his behalf not without threatning to restore him by Arms if it were denyed They therefore agreed that there should be a general Council summoned at Millan but that requiring a long time there was a Synod held at Sardica where the Arrian Party thought that Athanasius durst not appear but he deceived them and came so provided that they thought not fit to revive their accusations against him though a Party of the Arrians decreed to omit the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and without hearing condemned Julius Bishop of Rome Hosius of Corduba and Athanasius But the Council of Sardica confirmed the Nicene Faith acquitted Athanasius and found the Arrian Party guilty of divers Tumults which had occasioned much shedding of blood they Condemned George who had intruded to the Bishoprick of Alexandria as a person not worthy of the name of a Christian and wrote their Letters to Julius to confirm their Decree for the restoring of Athanasius which was agreed to by more than Three Hundred Bishops and sent Letters also to the people of Alexandria to receive their Bishop and it hapning that George the Intruder having been slain in a Tumult Constantius himself fearing the consequence of such Tumults wrote to the Citizens on the behalf of Athanasius And thus that Church injoyed some respite Constantius being employed in a War against Magnentius In his March towards Mursa where the Battle was fought he made a stop at a Church under the Jurisdiction of Valens the Arrian Bishop waiting the Success of the Battle in which retirement Valens carest the Emperor and as Sulpitius Severus relates the matter Valens had provided some Messengers to attend the Army and as soon as they saw to which Party the Victory inclined to bring him the News with all possible speed designing that if the Emperour was overcome he might secure himself by flight if he conquered Valens might ingratiate himself by giving the first Intelligence of a Victory which accordingly fell out for Magentius was totally routed and the News came when the Emperour seemed much dejected but on hearing of it by Valence the Emperour could scarce believe it demanding to speak with the Messenger but Valens told him He might be confident of it for it was revealed to him by an Angel and shortly after the Messenger entred to confirm the News of the Victory This so ingratiated Valens with the Emperour that he was wont to say The Victory was owing more to the Merits of Valens than to the Valour of his Army Sulp. Sever. l. 2. p. 143. Edit Amstel 1641. After this Battel Valens having regain'd the good Opinion of the Emperour which he had almost lost by his inconstancy declaring sometimes for and other times against the Nicene Faith And now was a fit opportunity to mind the Emperour of his Promise for Summoning a General Council at Millan the Emperour being then resident there and the Council being met Valens pursues his design against Athanasius requiring Subscriptions for his Condemnation but the Orthodox Party perceiving many Arians there desired that Matters of Faith might have the precedency and so propounded the Nicene Creed to be first subscribed which Valens opposing it was cast in his teeth That he had formerly subscribed it more than once and therefore it was hoped he would not refuse it now yet when Dyonisius Bishop of Millan took his Pen ready to subscribe his Name Valens snatcht it out of his hand and bid him forbear until Athanasius 's Case was decided and then was an Arian Creed read and Subscriptions required thereunto which the Catholiks refused and thereupon arose a great Tumult among the People insomuch that the Emperour fearing the event adjourned them to meet at his Court where the Accusations against Athanasius being renewed the Catholicks pleaded that they had been adjudged to be false viz. in the Synod at Tyre Anno 335 where the Woman that was brought to accuse him for Incontinency was convicted of a false Accusation for Timotheus who accompanied Athanasius stood up as if he had been Athanasius and asked her Whether he ever used any force or other temptation to deprave her which she confidently affirmed and thereupon that sham was detected So was the Second Accusation about the Death of Arsenius who being deprived by Athanasius and denied Communion with the Church at Alexandria the Arian Party perswaded him to withdraw and lie hid for a while and in the mean time they gave out that Athanasius had been the cause of destroying him but there were two sufficient Witnesses produced to prove that Arsenius was alive and that they saw him lately in good health They accused him also of several other Crimes but wanting sufficient Evidence the Emperour being present stood up and said That he himself accused Athanasius and knew him to be a turbulent and seditious Person and demanded who would refuse his Testimony Liberius Bishop of Rome was the first whose Subscription to the Condemnation of Athanasius was required who stoutly refused it and argued against the Emperour and others who urged it and still refusing was banished by the Emperour then Hosius Bishop of Corduba was assaulted sometime by Promises and then by Threats and being of great Age and overcome by Reproaches as if he alone withstood the Emperour's Pleasure and the Church's Peace and having suffered in his Body as well as his good Name at last to save his Carcase as the Historians say
conceived of them when he thought to present his Naked Gospel to them as if they would have faln in love with its Nakedness And the truth is they saw so many shameful and scandalous Pamphlets demanding Alterations in our Constitutions and Doctrines and a Toleration of Latitudinarian Principles that though they were willing to make some moderate Concessions yet when they perceived there would be no end of demanding such Alterations as they could not consent to they thought it fit to maintain their ground and not give way to unreasonable Propoposals such as these which the Doctor now makes for a Toleration of the Socinian Heresie As for his Charity to the Oxford Convocations the Reflections made on them in his Vindication which hath been already considered do discover that his Charity begins and ends at home and is confined only to Men of his own Perswasion I think I do not conjecture amiss if I say that he hath the same enlarged Charity for us as Smalcius had who concludes his Book De Divinitate Christi thus I doubt not to affirm confidently That none of those who believe Jesus Christ to be God of himself and to have Divine Power can by any means have certain hope of Eternal Life by vertue of his Opinion concerning Christ. And such is the Charity of this Author to all that profess Christ to be their Saviour and say Thou art the King of Gory O Christ Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father If this were the Doctor 's design in writing his Naked Gospel I shall conform to the Apostle who enjoyns That if an Angel from Heaven should teach what is so opposite to the Gospel which the Church in all Ages hath received and believed he deserves an Anathema Thus at last we are like to see a thorough Reformation of the glorious Gospel of our Lord and Saviour even such as we saw of the once Flourishing Church of England under the Government of the most Religious King and Martyr Charles the First It was reformed first by a Presbyterian Parliament which took away her Bishops and Liturgy then by an Independent Army that devoured her Lands and Revenues then by an Inspired General which brought in a Toleration of all sorts of Enthusiasts and after sundry Revolutions by a Naked Rump which if God alone had not prevented it would have left us all in Confusion Thus the Gospel which spread so far and wide under the Ministry of our Saviour and his Apostles was first reformed by a Juncture of Gnosticks Nicolaitans and Ebionites who mixt the Jewish Opinions and Observations with the pure Ordinances of the Gospel and would equal Moses with Christ then by the Samosatenians and Arians who robbed him of that which he thought no Robbery to assume to himself i. e. to be equal with God Then by Mahomet that great Impostor who preferred himself above our Saviour drawing all Sects into a Body under himself And now after various Revolutions by the Naked Gospel which proclaims our Saviour a meer Man as Moses and other Messengers of God were to whom therefore some already do and the rest of the Socinians ought by their Principles to deny any Religious Worship which by their own Confession is due to God only and to no Creature whatsoever And who can foresee with what Viperous Monsters the Naked Gospel is now pregnant which begin to eat through the Bowels of that Church wherein they have been nourished and proclaim Liberty to all sort of Heresies and Blasphemies against the Son of God and the Spirit of Grace as the Apostle speaks Heb. 10.28 Trampling under foot the Son of God and doing despite to the Spirit of Grace When one Pamphlet proclaims the Holy Ghost Dethron'd another The Triple God Buried and the Doctrine of the Trinity is a Popish Antichristian Diabolical Doctrine these dreadful Alarms from the Bottomless Pit should awaken all good Christians unanimously to Invoke the Ever Blessed Trinity to arise and plead its own Cause against such as daily Blaspheme them The loud Blasphemies of these Philistines against not only the Israel of God but the God of Israel hath called me forth to bid Defiance to this Goliah though armed only with a Stone and a Sling not doubting but there are many Worthies in our Israel who will appear and do wonderful things All that I intended was to discover where this Adversary lay hid under the usual Disguise of the Old Serpent that mostly appears as an Angel of Light that he may with less suspicion effect his Works of Darkness and I doubt not but the Church of Christ hath still such good Angels ministring to her before whom such Angels of Satan shall flee and fall as Lightning The Rabbies say That on the Stone wherewith David slew Goliah the Characters of the Messiah were engraven I shall sling a Stone or two in the Name of the Messiah our Blessed Saviour against those Philistines that have blasphemed that Name and commit the success of them to the All-disposing Providence of God the Father Son and Holy Ghost The first Argument that I shall urge is the Harmony of the Old and New Testament which speaks of the Deity of the Messias and apply it to our Saviour The second is drawn from the Doctrine and Faith of such eminent Fathers and Martyrs as suffered for that Faith The third from those Judgments of God executed on those who in their several Ages openly opposed that Faith which may serve as Examples to deter others from tempting Christ lest they be destroyed as those were of whom the Apostle speaks 1 Cor. 10.9 From which Premises we may rightly infer an Equality of Nature and Power in the Father and the Son and conclude the same Honour and Worship due to both When Arcadius an Arian Emperor assumed his Son to a Partnership in the Empire the good Bishop St. Ambrose as I remember addressing himself to Arcadius humbled himself with all due Obeysance but took no notice of his Son Honorius at which the Emperor manifesting his displeasure the good Bishop took occasion to tell him That if he were offended at the disrespect shewn to his Son he might consider that the God of Heaven might be more justly displeased with them that neglected to honour his Son which I leave you to apply Some Socinians deny our Saviour any Worship and others grant him only a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 such an inferior Honor as the Papists do their Saints not that Divine Worship which properly belongs to the Deity It is generally agreed by the Socinians to make the Holy Sripture Judge of this great Controversy concerning the Godhead of our Saviour but they would have Reason to be Judge of the sence of the Scripture and to this we would appeal if they would not seek little Evasions from Particles and Criticisms of their own inventions against the plain Letter of the Scripture for Smaltsius one of their best Champions says Ludum jocum è
not with Angels And let Socinus shew where ever Moses in the Old Testament is called Christ or where the name of Christ put absolutely is attributed in the New Testament to any other than to our Saviour 3ly To tempt any one before he was is said gratis but thus they fall into temptation who attempt to deprive the Son of the Living God of his Deity and Eternity The second Instance is out of the Psalms where that which is proposed of the glorious going of Jehovah Psal 68.19 is expounded of Christ ascending on high and leading Captivity Captive Ephes 4.8 2ly That which is ascribed to Jehovah Worship him all ye Angels Psal 97.7 is affirmed of Christ Heb. 1.6 Let all the Angels of God worship him 3ly That which is affirmed of the Creator of Heaven and Earth Thou Lord in the beginning hast laid the foundations of the earth and the heavens are the Works of thy hands Psal 102.26 is attributed to Christ in the self same words Heb. 1.10 The Adversaries are diligent to decline this either by denying that these things in the Old Testament are to be understood of the most high God or to be repeated in the New Testament concerning Christ or by affirming that these things may be accommodated to Christ but not as God of the same Nature with the Father but because he did represent the Person of the most high God Ans Not only the words but the scope of those Texts do exclude these Evasions That if in any manner our Saviour represented the Person of his Father in the Old Testament it was then necessarily before he was born of the Virgin which wholly destroys the Cause of our Adversaries 3ly The same is proved out of the Prophets for that Majesty of the most High which is so magnificently described Isa 6.1 is applied unto Christ by Name These things spake Esay when he saw his glory and spake of him John 12.41 Many others of this sort may be produced Socinus objects That these things are either spoken figuratively or are adapted to Christ only by way of accommodation but conclude nothing of his Eternal Deity Ans Then those Apostles and Evangelists which urge and accommodate them to that purpose do deal with us sophistically or unskilfully and are to be corrected and explained by Posterity viz. the Socinians The fourth Argument is drawn from certain Attributes ascribed to Christ which clearly evince that he is of the same Nature and Excellency with the Father of very many I shall only name three viz. Eternity in respect of Time Omnipresence in respect of Place and Adoration in respect of Sovereign Majesty and Dominion Now his Eternity is asserted from these places The Lord hath possest me in the beginning of his ways from the beginning before he made any thing Prov. 8.22 The Syriack read from Eternity the Arabick I have begot thee before the Morning-star Ps 110. 2ly His coming forth is from the days of eternity To which 3ly our Saviour confirms the same of himself Joh. 8.58 Before Abraham was I am Here Socinus objects That in the first place Wisdom signifies not the Son of God but the Wisdom of God nor doth this expression of the beginning of his ways signifie Eternity but Antiquity But this Interpretation is excluded by the following Verse I was set up from everlasting from the beginning before the earth was The Apostle confirms our Argument We preach Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God 1 Cor. 1.4 To our second Argument he cavils That thence it would follow that Christ from Everlasting came forth from Bethleam This is a shift for the Text of the Prophet suggests a double going forth a temporal concerning which 't is said in the Future Tense He will go forth the fulfilling of which Prediction the Evangelists observes Mat. 2.6 And an eternal of which it is said in the Preterperfect Tense His going forth was from eternity To the third he trifles that the Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies not onely to be but to become and hence the Vulgar reads Before he became Abraham i. e. a Father of Nations I am i. e. I was sent to pluck down the partition wall to bring the Gentiles into the Church Ans The Question was not concerning the calling of the Gentiles but whether Christ preceded Abraham so as he might see him our Saviour affirms that he was viz. by the glory which he had with the Father before the World began Joh. 17.5 which the Jews endeavoured to refute with Stones as now the Socinians by Subterfuges Again we assert his Omniprefence from Joh. 3.13 None hath ascended into heaven but he that came down from heaven the Son of Man which is in heaven where he was before John 6.62 Now this he spake to Nicodemus while he was on Earth and yet he declared that he was then in Heaven therefore at the same time he was in Heaven and on Earth The Innovators do here betake themselves to an unheard of Comment viz. That as Moses was taken up into the Mount and St. Paul into the third Heavens that they might be instructed of God speaking to them as it were face to face so it was more convenient that the Son should be assumed into Heaven and instructed by the Father Which they think was done during those forty Days which intervened between his Baptism and his Conflict with Satan this though they do not urge as an Article of Faith yet Smalcius saith We are fully perswaded of it and greatly rejoyce that this Mistery is revealed to us by God in the Scripture But this Mistery nor the Revelation of it doth please us for what need was there that he should be taken up into Heaven for a more perfect Information on whom the Holy Spirit did descend and in whom the Godhead dwelt Bodily in whom the Father was always and he in the Father 2ly He was amongst the wild Beasts in the Wilderness for the space of those forty Days the Devil tempting him and the Angels ministering unto him as St. Mark expresly saith Was the Desart Heaven and were Satan and the Beasts admitted into it Nor doth this Fiction satisfie the Argument seeing we thus urge the Text That the Son of Man whom Nicodemus saw and spake to saith expresly of himself that he was then in Heaven which could not be as he was a Man therefore it must be as he was God Omnipresent The more the Adversaries do strive in this Point the more they intangle themselves Lastly We infer the Deity of Christ from the Adoration which was performed unto him for he was adored as God by Stephen the Proto-Martyr calling on him Acts 7.59 Lord Jesus receive my spirit Francis David answereth That that Jesus here is of the Genitive Case and the sence is this O thou Lord who art the Father of Jesus making the Father to be the Object of Invocation not the Son Christianus Franken presseth the same Argument