Essence Who being the brightness of his glory and the express Image of his Person Heb 1.3 The first manner of existence in the Divine Being is here called Hypostasis which imports a distinct subsistence If the Father viz. the Correlate be a distinct subsistence there is the same reason of the Son vâ—z the Relate If the Father be a distinct subsistence the Son is a distinct subsistence If the Son be a distinct subsistence the Father is a distinct subsistence the Son is as distinct from the Father August de trinit lib. 7 c. 4. as the Father is from the Son that which the Greek calls hypostasis the latine calleth persona from which last is our English word person Christ speaking of the Father Iohn 5.32 calleth him another there is another that beareth witness of mee likewise speaking of the Holy-Ghost he calleth him another Iohn 14.16 I will pray the Father he shall give you another Comforter this predicate another is unintelligible of the Essence for so the Father Son Holy-Ghost are one Iohn 10.30 1 Iohn 5.7 therfore it must proceed concerning the Subsistence what is more manifest then that another Subsistence and another subsistence speake distinct subsistences The distinction of the persons or Subsistences is manifest from the relative properties of begetting being begotten and proceeding Psal 2.7 Iohn 15.27 Begetting is distinct from being begotten being begotten from begetting both from proceeding A personal act is God necessarily relatively and in an Incommunicable manner acting within or upon himselfe Now these acts of the Persons one upon another argue the distinctnes of the subsistences viz to beget being begotten proceeding God in the first manÌ„er of subsistence is considered as acting upon himselfe in a way of understanding in the second manner of Subsistence as reflecting upon himself understood August de trinit lib. 5. c. 11 lib. 6. c. 5. in the third manner of subsistence as willing of delighting in himselfe Hence the Spirit is called the hand of the Trinity proceeding from the two other persons as the Love of them both which selfe-sufficient and infinitely blessed Communion of God in and with himself before there was either mountain or hill while as yet he had not made the earth wee read of Prov. 8.30 Then was I by him as one brought up with him I was dayly his delight rejoycing alwayes before him The distinction of the Persons further appeares from the order of their operations upon the creature held forth in their mission or sending the second Person is sent from the Father Iohn 8.42 Iesus said unto them if God were your father yee would love mee for I proceeded forth came from God neither came I of my selfe but he sent mee The Holy-Ghost is sent from the Father the Son whom the Father will send John 14 26. whom I will send John 15.26 Sending imports two things First an eternall relative property of the Divine Essence the order original whereof is not of it self Secondly a designation of the Person distinguished by this relative property unto some work concerning the creature to be performed in time Now evident it is that he which sendeth and he which is sent are distinct That the Father sending the Son sent by the Father the Father and Son sending the Spirit and the Spirit sent by the Father Son are distinct subsistences and not the same Concerning satisfaction to some Objections Object 1 The Church was without the Scripture or written Word for the space of 2454 yeares untill Moses during which space the Doctrine of Life was communicated VOCALLY by the Patriarches Therefore there is no need of the Scripture or written Word Answ There are many Reasons obvious why the Tradition of the Rule of life by word of mouth might better suit the state of the Church in the time of the longâ—evity of the Patriarchs then now as also why God saw not good to continue unto after ages such and so frequent extraordinary manifestations of himself as wee read of in those elder times Why God dispensed the Rule of life then by word of mouth not by writing a principal reason thereof was his good pleasure The same good pleasure may stand for a principal reason way he dispenseth the Rule of life now by the word written and not by vocall tradition Even so Father because it pleaseth thee Distinguish between necessity absolute necessity according to Divine constitution God according to his absolute power can communicate the rule of life by what means he pleaseth therefore the scripture is not necessary absolutely But Gods will being to communicate the Rule of life by his written word hence the scripture is necessary by necessity of divine constitution or appointment Whilest Israel was in the wilderness God give them Manna bread from heaven in an extraordinary manner After their comming into Canaan he changeth his dispensation and giveth them bread in the ordinary way of agriculture or tillage He could still have supplyed them in an extraordinary way out he would not The Maana ceased Josh 5.12 Not the letter without the mind of the Author nor the Spirit without the letter but the Scripture i. e. the word-written as including the sense of the author is the Rule of life Distinguish between Moral-obliging-power and strengthning-Physical-power All the strengthning-Physical-power whereby we are enabled to obey the Rule is from the Spirit but the Moral-obliging-power is from the Scripture it self or CoÌ„mand as denoting the will of God signifyed thereby Surely they are under a Rule who have not the Spirit Since the Canon of the Scripture is closed so farr is the Spirit from being a Rule of life that to us it is not the Spirit but as it moves agreeably to the written word Hereby we are taught to discerne between the Spirit of trueth and the Spirit of error Object 2 The words of the Scripture are to be taken simply without interpretation or consideration of what is signifyed by them Answ This Objection exposeth Scripture to the imputation of non-sence which cannot be without at least the reflexion of blasphemy interpretative upon the author It was wont to be said Scripture lyeth not in the Sound but in the Sence They are not the inkie characters without the mind of the author that can constitute Scripture But taking the mind of the objection more favourably as proceeding only against any other sense or interpretation to be given of Scripture then according to the sound of the words in a proper or according to some in a literall sence yet it unscriptures a considerable part of the Scripture unto us becommeth a fruithfull womb of confusion error and absurdity should it stand in force The example those words that they may be one as wee are one John 17.22 give an uncertain sound Nay the Papists Transsubstantiation Origen's castration are hence warrantable Distinguish between no interpretation mis-interpretation sound
Objection of force it would follow that this exhortation of the Apostle had then been as much after its time as that terme of a believers attention unto the word of prophecy be it either the incarnation Gospel-dispensation or regeneration of those whom he puts upon this duty was before this time The Gospel whether any of it were now written or not was promulged by Christ his Apostles and therefore was obliging If the particle untill bee sayd to denote a certaine terme not in this life but relating unto the dawning and rising of the vision of glory the question is graunted and the objection falleth While the Church is in a darke place the light of the Scripture is to be attended unto hence the written word is here compared unto a light that shineth in a darke place now wee know that there is much darkness and obscurity in the hearts of all the Children of light in this life 1 Corin 13.9 Or the particle untill signifyeth a terme issuing in attayning of all the good attainable in such a way or in the participatioÌ„ of the perfecting end of the subject spoken of A bruised read shall hee not break and smoaking flax shall hee not quench 〈…〉 untill he send forth judgment unto victory Mat 12.21 This notion agreeth not only with the analogie of faith but also according to the mind of the Apostles common action exhortatory seemeth more readily to flow The scope of Peter is to confirm the hearts of the twelve tribes scattered abroad concerning the trueth of the Gospel this he doth by two arguments The first taken from the testimony of the Apostles verse 15 16 17. The second from the word of Prophecy illustrated by two adjuncts the former of its sureness the latter of our taking heed thereunto this attention he amplifyeth by calling unto such a conscientious and vigorous continuance therin as may never be in vain in the Lord yea such as that the effectual light of the spirit of grace concurring with the doctrinal light of the word may from duty to duty shine upon the dark places of their hearts more and more untill the dawning of the perfect day of the vision of glory If with some Orthodox Interpreters wee understand by a dark place the time of the Church under the old Testament compared with the night wherein candles are lighted and by the day-dawning the time of the Gospel day-light wherin the Sun shineth the new Testament expounding the old and thereby giving a greater light Yet still we are to keep in mind that as the New Testament giveth light unto the Old so the Old Testament giveth light unto the New they give light mutually one unto another T is the same Christ the same Gospel which is held forth both in the old in the New TestameÌ„t Heb 13.8 Gal. 3.8 As the trueths of the old Testament are confirmed by the New so what more frequent then the confirmation of the New Testament from the Old both by Christ and his Apostles The word Vntill doth not here intend a certain time whereat they were discharged from after attention to the word of Prophecie as if they who were commended for their attention hitherto were now dismissed therefrom and stood not from henceforth obliged any more Gen 28.15 For I will not leave thee untill I have done that which I have spoken to thee of 2 Sam 6.23 Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto or untill the day of her death Mat 16 28. They shall not tast of death untill they see the Kingdome of God It were ill gathered from hence either that God did forsake Jacob after he had performed that promise concerning his safe return Or that Michal had a child after the day of her death Or that the Disciples which saw his glory in the Mount should not out-live the Assension Mission of the Holy Ghost and the promulgation of the Gospel to the Gentiles with signes ensuing Mat 11.13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophecyed untill John Mat 22.44 Sit thou at my right hand untill I make thine enemyes thy footstoole John 5.17 My Father worketh hitherto or untill now and I work 1 Tim 4.13 Till I come give attendance to reading to exhortation to doctrine In his exempris praeâ—eri tam ita negarat ut contrarium 〈◊〉 non significetur It cannot be gathered from hence either that after John there is no more Law and Prophets Or that after Christs enemyes are subdued he shall sit no longer at the right hand of his Father Or that after Christ spake those words the Fathers Governing-providence of the world ceased Or that after Pauls comming Timothy is no more to attend to reading exhortation and preaching In the Negative examples the word untill so inferreth the denyall of a thing concerning the time before it as that it doth not at all inferr the affirmative of that thing concerning the time after it In the affirmative examples the word untill so inferreth the affirmative of a thing concerning the time before as that it not at all infers the denyal of that thing concerning the time after it The summe is according to this last interpretation the word untill is taken extensively not exclusively So farr then is this text from disobliging believers from their attendance upon the Scriptures as that it is a most solemn serious incentive as of all others to whom the sacred Canon shall be revealed so also of believers in particular not only to attend upon the word of prophecie or the Scripture but so to take heed thereunto as that their attention through the co-operation of the Spirit may be effectual and that so long as their hearts are dark places i. e. during their present state of imperfection untill Christ the bright morning-starr appear in their soules according to the fulness of the Spirit of grace and the noon-day-light of the perfection of glory The heterodoxie errour of such who from the text alledged inferr the old Testament to be unnecessary unto those that live under the Gospel is argued thus Promises given unto the Saints in the old Testament belong unto believers living under the new Testament The Promise made unto Joshua Josh 1.5 to David Psal 118.6 The Hebrews are led by the hand unto taught confidently to make use of in reference unto their present and Personal cases For he hath said I will never leave thee nor forsake thee So that we viz believers under the Gospel not onely David may boldly say the Lord is my helper I will not feare what man shall do unto mee The trueths held forth by the Prophets touching salvation by Christ concerned not onely those who lived in the times of the old but also us who live in the times of the new Testament 1 Pet 1.10 11 12. Vnto whom it was revealed that not unto themselves but unto us they did minister the things which are now reported unto you
The exemplary justification of Abraham by faith is written in the old Testament for our sakes Rom 4.23 24. Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him but for us also to whom it shall be imputed if we believe in him that raysed up Jesus our Lord from the dead The examples of the old Testament are written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come 1 Cor 10.11 Not now to labour further in the proof hereof by an induction of particulars the usefulness of the old Testament to those that live under the New we haue asserted once for all and that concerning all that part of Sacred writt Rom 15.4 For whatsoever things were written afore time were written for our learning that wee through patience and comfort of the Scripture might have hope John 5.39 The Jewes in the time of Christ are Commanded to search the Scripture which necessarily proceeds of the Scriptures of the old Testament the new as then not being extant After the time of Christ we hear the Testimony of the new Testament concernning the profitableness of the Old 2 Tim 3.16 17. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine for reproof for correction for instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be perfect throughly furnished unto all good workes Understand this as spoken of the holy Scriptures known by Timothy of a child which must necessarily be the Old Testament CHAP. 2. Of the Signal Nature of the Quakers and other false Teachers arising and prevailing among the people of God AS the Soveraigne Lord and onely wise God is both the disposer and interpreter So hath he given unto his servants to be discerners of the times The Scriptures held forth many occurrents of providence Significative of the state of religion of the respective condition of the profession thereof as also of Gods more remarkable administration unto his people whether with relation unto his Predictions permissive or comminatory or both Hence we read of signes of the times Mat 16.3 Of good times in the place cited Of evill times Mat 24.33 This trueth the Psalmist mentions as of acknowledg'd notable moment in Israel Psal 74.9 We see not our signes The not discerning herof as it is a matter of blame but how is it ye discern not this time Luke 12.56 So in the discerning thereof is a matter of praise And the Children of Issachar which were men which had understanding of the time to know what Jsrael ought to do The heads of them were two hundred and all their brethren were at their Commandement 1. Chron. 12.32 Consortative unto the good awing unto the bad was that seasonable word of an Ancient who when terror had surprised the hearts of thousands by reason of that fearfull earth-quake which in Julians time threw up the very foundation of the temple then about to be reedified by the Apostate-Emperour told them that this amazing strange accident to them was but the accomplishment of that prophecie Verily I say unto you there shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down Full of presence of Spirit in a time of Calamity was that speech where with Lupus a Bâ—shop is reported to have greeted the enemy Attilas then depopulating laying wast his countrey I rejoyce saith he that you are come safe whom I judge to be the scourge of the Lord of my God sent to chastise his people The good man howsoever others hearts might faile under their fears both of present â—â—â—e of everlasting burnings looking at the King of the Hunnes not as a weapon of destruction according to his own desire but as a rod of correction in the hand of God and choosing affliction rather then iniquity gathers meat out of the eater False Teachers and false Prophets are signal i. e they are signes that the time is come when God will inflict vindicative spiritual-justice upon the non-receivers of the Trueth in the love of it They are executioners of spiritual justice punishing the non-reception of the trueth with deception by their lyes They are instrumental executioners of Justice to punish the non-reception of the trueth dispensed by the Ministers of Christ with deception by and reception of a ly disseminated by the ministers of Satan This solemn and by reason to the iniquity of the times both awfull and seasonable trueth the Reader is desired the rather to attend the proof of Aâ—aâ— besides other sinners laden with the guilt of the escape of a blasphemous Syrian rejects the trueth in the mouth of Micaiah the Lords Prophet diswading him from going against Ramoth-Gilead This God visited by giving him up to believe a ly in the mouth of the false Prophets commissioned to perswade him to go to Ramoth-Gilead unto his destruction 1 Kings 22.19 -23. I am come in my Fathers name and ye receive me not if another shall come in his own name him ye will receive John 5.43 The awfull trueth contained in this text will be the better seen by resolving it into four propositions 1. Christ came unto sinners i. e. tendered himself to them according to the Covenant of grace and that according to the appointment of the Father an external unparallelled mercy But last of all he sent unto them his Son saying surely they will reverence my Son 2. They received not the Son though sent unto them in the Fathers name As the Gospell is the great command so the rejection of the Gospel is the great sin If I had not come and spoken unto them they had not had sinn but now they have no cloak for their sin John 15.22 3. Upon the rejecting of the Doctrine of the great Teacher there are teachers supposed to come in their own name A famine of the word of trueth is a sore judgment Amos 8.11 But these teachers are worse then no teachers Accursed ominous 4. That those who received not Christ comming in his Fathers name will receive teachers comming in their own name No better Teacher no such teacher no other teacher then he was whom they refused Scarce any if any worse teachers then those whom they received T is not so ready to say whether their unbelief or belief was more dreadfull Wofull is their condition when the teacher is accursed Gal. 1.9 and the hearer bewitched Gal. 3.1 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusions that they shall believe a ly that they all might be damned who believed not the trueth but had pleasure in unrighteousness 2 Thes 2.11 12. See here the non receivers of the trueth in the love of it punished both with a penal and effectual mission of deceivers That this tremendous dispensation may have the deeper impression upon our hearts we find the Vindictive hand of God upon the contempt of the Gospel mentioned thrice in one chapter and that also sometime as a forerunner of the
The question is not concerning God's Power but concerning his Will God can preserve his Truth immediatly without any external meanes but his pleasure is ordinarily to doe it mediately Hence he surrounded the Arke according to divine Institution with a double fence both Ecclesiastical and Civil God can also save man immediately from evils committed against the second Table but hee ordinarily effects it by the helpe of the magistrate The injurie done unto the trueth hurteth man whose welfare depends upon the imbracing of it It hurts not God nor the Trueth in it self but only in the estimation of man As Satan is permitted to raise up men to be offendors so Christ raiseth up men to be defenders thereof to manifest that through Grace the Trueth hath even amongst men as great lovers as it hath haters When there was no Christian Magistrate God watched over the cause of Religion in an extraordinary manÌ„er The continuance of the gift of miracles together with the then recent fresh memory therof conducing not a little for that end But extraordinarie gifts ceasing and the Christian Magistrate succeeding God now expects the Civil power in an ordinary way of Providence to be subservient therunto God can bring up his sons daughters without making any use of Civil power but it hath pleased him to appoint Kings to be nursing Fathers and Queens to be nursing Mothers unto them They are but ill nurses who seing the danger of those committed to their trust so much as in them lyeth save not their nurse-lings from the poyson of the destroyer A late memorable testimony of Gods owning blessing Civil Authority in the defence of Religion who so consulteth History shall find in the many flourishing Citties and Churches with other places of name in upper Germany Helvetia lower Germany and else where Saved from the pestilence of the Heretical and blasphemous sectaryes of the last Centurie then destroying at noone-day with and not without the interposal of Civil-Authority and that not once nor twice but frequently by the very sentence of Banishment Lysander's counsel of old was when the lions skin will not hold out to piece it with a fox-skinne Why should it seeme strange that men speaking doctrines of devils and lies in hypocrisie having their Conscience seared with an hot iron and therefore past feelling of spiritual weapons object may that serve their turn against obnoxiousnes to Civill weapons of which they remain only sensible that so priviledged with impunity they may proceed in their madness without all restraint That ancient stratagem of destroyers otherwise often frustrated in their attempts to open their way unto their flock by endeavouring the removal of the keepers is famously notable from Demosthenes's recital of the folly of the sheep sometimes delivering up the doggs that kept them at the motion of the wolves Whereby he stayed the Athenians from delivering up their Orators unto Alexander upon his proposal out of whose hands they had been instrumental to save the City Should the People not of Athens but of Sion suffer themselves to be abused by heretical deceivers destroyers into a persuasion that whil'st it is Lawfull for them under a praetence to invade it is unlawfull for Civil power to defend Religion they would render themselves more like those sheep in the Fable then men of understanding in Israel not to make regular seasonable use of the meanes instituted blessed unto such an end in time of danger is to Tempt not to Trust God That God makes use of Civil power consequently of man is not from his need of him but his favour to him Not from defect of power but abundance of Goodness Notwithstanding God could save his people without the assistance of man and both could and did save them without Meroz yet curse yee Meroz said the Angel of the Lord curse ye bitterly the Inhabitants thereof because thy came not to the help of the Lord to the help of the Lord against the mighty Judg. 5.23 If Esther seeth her opportunity and that she is come to the Kingdom for such a time Good But if she altogether hold her peace God can cause enlargement and deliverance to arise to the Jewes from another place Albeit as the Heterodoxie of the Sectaries pre-mentioned in the last Centurie was universal corrupting the whole body of Religion so also Quakerism as to the substaÌ„ce therof their geniune offspring be in like manner a total heresie yet both because the former is legible in many Authors and the latter obvious from the penns and tongues of the present Dogmatists and because the scope of this discourse is chiefely practical the Reader may soon perceive way other errors omitted the principal heads of their doctrine are herein onely considered It remaineth that all orders persons amongst us respectively Sanctifie God according unto the prescript of Scripture and that at such a time in the regular excercise whereof wee may secure our selves of a greater blessing then the adversary threatens trouble Vnto former trials of our love unto the trueth by leaving of our countrey kinred and Fathers house and by the sufferings of this wilderness God in his wisdome now addeth this of trying us by false doctrine That this divine fatal season appointed for the revealing of the thoughts of many hearts through the judicial discovery of not a few who have had a name that they lived by their defection to heresie may amongst the rest of the Saints be also through Grace New-Englands manifestation to be approved That the evill example of the Apostacie of formerly fellow-professors may as sometimes the like did with the Apostles John 6. bring forth so much the more zealous luculent a confession of the Trueth As the enmity of opposers increaseth so the testimony of the witnesses increaseth Though the Beast blasphemeth the witnesses overcome Ye are of God little children and have overcome him because greater is hâ—e that is in you then he that is in the world 1 John 4.4 The Apostacie of Adam ends in the confession of Adam The apostacy of both reprobate Angels men ends in the confession of the Elect. The Apostacy from the Covenant of workes ends in the most Illustrious confession of the Covenant of Grace The greatest Apostacie in a farr greater confession The threatning example of the revolt of many disciples with that of Judas foreseen superadded notwithstanding Christ well knowing how to improve the apostacy of hypocrites unto the furtherance of his interest in the very height of the scandal put forth that question triumphantly not timerously Then said Jesus unto the Twelve will yee also goe away The Rule of doctrine discipline and order is the Center of Christianitie Sincere and grave spirits are like grave bodies they cannot rest out of their Center i e. the Rule Religion admitts of no eccentrick motions Doctrine and actions not according to Rule when quickened with erroneous zeal are but runÌ„ing so much the faster out of the way This people bought the trueth with Realities Countrey Relations Estates oportunities as to the things of this life were Realities should wee now sell it for that which is not Bread yea for Fanatick Frantick worse then sick ImaginatioÌ„s What advantage will it be to have departed from praelacie to ataxie From the Tradition of man unto delusions not onely contrarie to Scripture but also unworthie rational men Many momentous are the peculiar considerations whereby wee are engaged in our respective stations to own our profession stand in the regular and effectual defence of the trueth with perseverance unto the end in both It concerneth N. -E alwayes to remember that Originally they are a Plantation Religious not a plantation of Trade The profession of the purity of doctrine worship discipline is written upon her forehead A spot of this vast Jeshimon converted into Corn-fields Orchards streets inhabited and a place of Merchandize cannot denominate New-England All these notwithstanding if shee fall away from her profession call her Ichabod the Glory is departed In such case what was said of Samnium sometime a famous Citty in Italy viz that they could not find Samnium in Samnium will be verified concerning these Churches viz that N. -E is not to be found in N. -E God forbid that after N. -E hath now shined twenty years and more like a light upon an Hill it should at last go out in the snuff of Morellianism The converting of these and the like meditations into so many Nayles Goades is not the least part of the scope of this poor Script but the work of that one Shepheard in the effectual looking unto whom for wisdom faithfulness in such a season the welfare of his few â—heep in this wilderness doth in a great degree depend That wheresoever the Trueth lyeth in the points now controverted between the godly-Orthodox of the Presbiterian and Congregational way which the day will declare We may yet when we shall ly in dust leâ—ve this report to posterity that as we renounced the pollutioÌ„s under Episcopacie on the one hand So we kept far from the Tents of Morellianism Scepticism and confusion on the other hand And also that having given in our Testimonie against the Heterodoxies Heresies and Blasphemies of this Generation We both lived and dyed in the FAITH and ORDER of the Gospel Err. page 33 l. 17. Read Pastors Teachers are to continue c Pastors Teachers are Church-Offic erg FINIS