he might be in a capacity to bestow his Spirit upon them and to conquer all their enemies for them 2. He must be Man as well as God that he might perform obedience suffer satisfie and intercede for us in our nature that he might be a merciful High-Priest and have a fellow-feeling of our infirmities 3. Both God and Man in one person that he might be a fit Mediator betwixt God and man to make up the difference betwixt them which sin had made For as sin is the only make-bate so Christ having taken our nature into union with the Godhead is the only person that is in a capacity to make peace betwixt an offended God and offending man and that he might perform in the great work of Redemption whatever was requirable of both natures jointly in one person or whatever he was to do as head of the Church A. 22. Christ the Son of God became man by taking to himself a true body and a reasonable soul being conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost in the womb of the Virgin Mary and born of her yet without sin Artic. xv Christ in the truth of our nature was made like unto us in all things sin only except from which he was clear void both in his flesh and in his spirit Artic II. The Son which is the Word of the Father begotten from everlasting of the Father the very and eternal God of one substance with the Father took mans nature in the womb of the Virgin Mary of her substance So that two whole and perfect natures that is to say the Godhead and Manhood were joined together in one person never to be divided whereof is one Christ very God and very man who truly suffered was crucified dead and buried to reconcile his Father to us and to be a Sacrifice not only for original guilt but also for actual sins of men Homil. xij As truly as God liveth so truly was Jesus Christ the true Messias and Saviour of the world even the same Jesus which was born of the Virgin Mary without all help of man only by the power and operation of the Holy Ghost Expl. 22. When it is here said that Christ the Son of God became man we are not to imagine that Christ did then lay down his Godhead or that he did cease to be God when he honoured mans nature so far as to take that upon him for though he then began to be what he was not before man yet he did not cease to be at his Incarnation what he was before namely God it being impossible altogether that the Godhead should admit of any change because of its infinite perfection for every change is either for the better or for the worse but the Godhead was infinitely as well as independently perfect and consequently without all variableness or shadow of changing so that all the change which was in Christ at his Incarnation it was in his humane nature only and that change was indeed for the better for it was for the highest advancement honour and perfection that our nature was capable of But Christ though the Son of God and therefore truly God became man 1. Not by being like unto man only in outward appearance and to the outward senses as a Phantasm an Apparition or a Ghost that doth appear in mans shape as those Hereticks of old call'd the Marcionites did fancy No he became man 2. By taking the real body of man or by taking flesh blood bones nerves sinews hands feet and all other integral parts of the very same kind with those of mans body His body was such that it did grow in stature from that of a child to that of a man and was subject to the touch or feeling 3. By taking a reasonable soul or a soul furnished with the very same powers and faculties that ours have for the kind as understanding will affections memory c. and was capable of the improvement of these as of growing in wisdom and knowledg according to his humane nature 4. By being conceived of the Holy Ghost i. e. in a manner supernatural or above nature and not in an ordinary way of natural generation but by the immediate and omnipotent operation of the Spirit the third person in the Trinity who did in a way altogether unexpressible by man and without the help of man frame the body of the holy Child Jesus in the Virgin Maries womb wherein this blessed Babe continued the space of Nine Months as other children do in their mothers womb and then was born into the world in fulness of time as they are but yet without sin as they are not A. 23. Christ as our Redeemer executeth the offices of a Prophet of a Priest and of a King both in his estate of Humiliation and Exaltation Expl. 23. By this word Redeemer we are to understand the same with Mediator and by both the second Person in the Trinity as he was upon Covenant and Contract made with the Father to mediate peace betwixt God and man and to manage the whole work of Redemption in order to the justification sanctification and salvation of the Elect and that not only whilst he was here upon earth to be our King Priest and Prophet but now that he is in heaven he ever lives to make intercession for us and doth still guide and teach and govern his Church by his Word and Spirit A. 24. Christ executeth the office of a Prophet in revealing to us by his Word and Spirit the Will of God for our Salvation Hom. xvij By this our heavenly Mediator do we know the favour and mercy of God the Father by him know we his will and pleasure towards us for he is the brightness of his Fathers glory and a very clear image and pattern of his substance It is he whom the Father in heaven delighteth to have for his beloved Son authorized to be our Teacher whom he charged us to hear saying Hear him Expl. 24. When Christ is here called a Prophet we are not to restrain this part of his Office only to his foretelling all such things as should befall his Church or the enemies thereof though this he has done in Prophetical Scriptures so far as he thought necessary for the good of his Church But he is principally called a Prophet and that Prophet because of that power commission and ability which he has and doth exercise in revealing and declaring both outwardly by his Word and inwardly by his Spirit the whole mind and will of God which was necessary to be known by man in order to salvation And for this reason he is called in Scripture the Word and the Word was made flesh and his name is the Word of God because that as a man does make known what his mind and will is by his words either written or spoken so God the Father doth make known unto man by Christ what
Building by this Rule he must square all his thoughts words and actions by this Line and Level and thereby he may come to know what is right and what is wrong what is sin and what is duty what is true and what is false and so accordingly may cease to do evil and learn to do well believe that which is true and reject that which is false nor is the Old Testament alone this Rule nor the new Testament alone but both together and both together they are the only Rule of Christianity neither is there any other ordinary sufficient Rule to direct a Christian either how he may serve God acceptably or enjoy God eternally but this written Word 1. The Pagans Rule or Light of Nature or what may be known of God by the things which are made is not sufficient to this end because it cannot discover Christ to us which is the only means of salvation 2. The Papists Rule of Tradition is no good Rule because fallible and contradictory in many things to the Rule of Scripture And 3. for the very same reason the Quakers Rule is no good Rule I mean their Light within because opposite to the light of the Word without and therefore it remaineth that the written Word is the only Rule A. 3. The Scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God and what duty God requireth of man Artic. vi Holy Scripture contains all things necessary to salvation so that whatever is not read therein or prov'd thereby is not to be required of any man that it should be believed as an Article of Faith or be thought necessary or requisite to salvation Homil. 1. In holy Scripture is fully contained what we ought to do and what to eschew what to believe what to love and what to look for at Gods hand at length Expl. 3. There are two things principally which man is to believe concerning God and they are the two main foundations of the Christian Religion in the practice of it 1. That God is or that there is such a being who is in and of himself absolutely perfect and who gives Being to all his Creatures 2. That he is a rewarder of those that diligently seek him namely in and through Christ Heb. 11.6 or that it is not in vain to love serve and obey this God And there is but one thing in the general which God requires of man namely a free and full compliance with his will whether in the doing or suffering part of Religion A. 4. God is a Spirit Infinite Eternal and unchangeable in his Being Wisdom Power Holiness Justice Goodness and Truth Homil. xvij It passeth far the dark understanding and wisdom of a mortal man to speak sufficiently of that Divine Majesty which the Angels cannot understand Considering the unsearchable nature of Almighty God to reverence and dread his Majesty excellent Power incomparable Wisdom inestimable Goodness to take him for God Omnipotent Invisible Expl. 4. A Spirit i. e. A Being which has not flesh and bones as we have Luk. 24.39 has not hands or feet or any bodily parts no nor any bodily properties neither as length breadth heigth depth thickness shape or colour such a Being as is not cannot be as God the object of any of the Five Senses for no man has seen God at any time c. but is invisible and absolutely perfect because he does not depend upon any thing else either for what he is or for what he does Infinite i. e. without any limits or bounds to his perfection an unconfined Essence absolutely free from all measure or determination of time place or degrees Eternal i. e. without beginning or end of days or succession of duration always the same before and after time ever present infinitely above all circumscription of motion according to former and latter Vnchangeable i. e. he can never cease to be what he is the true God nor can he alter at all so as to be more or less God than he is nor more or less perfect for saith he I am God I change not In his Being for when the Son of God who is very God became man he did not cease to be God In his Power for this being infinite it is not capable of an alteration either by adding to it or taking from it And the same may be said concerning his Wisdom for the very same reason for how can he be more or less wise than he is who is infinite in Wisdom and Knowledg In his Holiness i. e. he cannot be more or less holy than he is or be more or less inclin'd or obliged to act suitably to the perfection of his own nature than he is already In Iustice Goodness and Truth i. e. he cannot be more just good and true than he is nor less just good and true than he is because he is Justice Goodness and Truth it self and is all these and has all these in infinite and absolute perfection and therefore he is unchangeable in these A. 5. There is but one only the living and true God Artic. I. There is but one living and true God everlasting without Body Parts or Passions of infinite Power Wisdom and Goodness the Maker and Preserver of all things both visible and invisible Expl. 5. i. e. There is but one only absolutely supreme and perfect Being who is the Maker and Governour of all things for as for Magistrates though they be called gods I have said ye are gods Psal. 82.6 yet they are so only by way of representation only because they do represent God in his Authority and Government And for Idols though they be called gods as there be of this sort gods many yet these gods of the Heathen they are false gods and upon that account are every-where disparaged in Scripture And though the Devil himself be called the god of this world yet 't is only because he is Gods Ape ruling and working in the children of disobedience Eph. 2.2 but by Gods permission as God does in his own children So that it still holds good that to us there is but one God of whom and by whom are all things 1 Cor. 8.6 A. 6. There are three persons in the Godhead the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost and these three are one God the same in substance equal in power and glory Artic. I. And in unity of this Godhead there be three persons of one substance power and eternity the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost Expl. 6. In this A. there are three things to be explained as 1. The meaning or nature of a Divine person 2. How they are said to be three persons 3. How distinguisht from each other For the understanding of the first we are to know that by a person in the general we mean a substantial compleat Being whether visible or invisible having
sort as he had given them in charge and commandment and also that he should declare himself thankful c. Expl. 10. God created man male and female i. e. in both Sexes man out of the dust of the earth and the woman of the Rib that he took out of the mans Side which creation is to be understood concerning the bodies of both not of the soul of either of them for the soul was not made of any materials at all but the reasonable soul was immediately infused into their bodies when God breathed into them the breath of life so that the soul is q.d. the breath of God There is a twofold image of God 1. That which is in God and so Christ the Second person in the Trinity is said to be the express image of the person of God the Father because in him the fulness of the Godhead dwells bodily 2. There is the image of God which is out of God or external to him and such an image of God was man in his first Creation 1 st In respect of his soul and that more generally in the nature of it God is a Spirit and so is mans soul God's immortal so that But more particularly 1. In knowledg of what was necessary to be known by him in order to Gods glory or his own happiness 2. In righteousness or uprightness i. e. his will did freely and fully comply with the will of God the Law of God being written in his heart 3. In holiness or with a power to do Gods will perfectly 2 dly In respect of his body wherein he did resemble the majesty not the spirituality of God for there was so much of majesty especially in mans countenance that the inferior creatures did stand in awe of him 3. In respect of the whole man because in his dominion over the creatures he did resemble his Creator in his dominion over the world A. 11. Gods works of Providence are his most holy wise and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures and all their actions Homil. xvij Conservation and governance of the world of liberal goodness which he daily bestoweth on us his reasonable creatures for whose sake he made the whole universal world with all the commodities and goods therein Take him for God omnipotent invisible having rule in Heaven and Earth having all things in subjection and will have none in counsel with him nor any to ask the reason of his doing for he may do what liketh him and none can resist him Dan. 11. For he worketh all things in his secret judgment to his own pleasure yea even the wicked to damnation saith Solomon Prov. 16. God hath not so created the world that he is careless of it but he still preserveth it by his goodness he still stayeth it in his creation To make our humble suits in prayers to his fatherly Providence Expl. 11. By Gods actual Providence we are to understand his ordering of all things in time according to his eternal purpose or the counsel of his own will or in plain English 't is his doing what he will in the world whether it be in Heaven or Earth For further explanation of this matter we are to know 1 st That according to our apprehension there are these distinctions and kinds of Providence 1. We have his eternal Providence or his decreeing purposing designing Providence which is nothing else but that frame method or order of government which was in the mind of God from everlasting before there was a world or any creature in it to be govern'd and of this was spoken before 2. His actual Providence which he hath exercised ever since he made the world as 1. In the conservation of things in their beings so that of all the species or kinds of creatures which he made he has lost none Individuals indeed do dye and perish and return to their dust but the species or kinds of creatures do not men dye this and that and t'other individual person in reference to their bodies but man does not or rather mankind does not 2. In the actual government of all things by his wisdom which he doth preserve by his infinite power for God does not do by the World as the Ship-Carpenter by the Ship build and leave it and never look after it more but he doth look after the preservation of it as the Owner and the government of it as the Pilot. Other distinctions there are of Providence as 2. That it is either mediate and ordinary as where God makes use of means and second causes and therein does observe the order which he has set in nature as Hos. 2.22 and this order in nature is called the Law of nature Or else immediate and extraordinary when in the works of Providence as well as of Creation he works without means as in the preserving of Daniel in the Lyons Den. 2 dly For the matter and extent of Providence it reaches to all creatures even to the Sparrows and to the hair of the head 3 dly For the manner and this 1. Holy or most perfect or in a way suitable to the perfection of his nature 2. Wise for he does not only do all in the best way but for the highest end 3. Powerful for he brings to pass what he will have done with an almighty easiness and without any difficulty to himself A. 12. When God had created man he entred into a Covenant of life with him upon condition of perfect obedience forbidding him to eat of the tree of the knowledg of good and evil upon pain of death To. 2. Homil. xxi God as soon as he had created man gave unto him a certain Precept and Law which he being yet in the state of innocency and remaining in Paradise should observe as a pledg and token of his due and bounden obedience with denunciation of death if he did transgress and break the said Law and Commandment In the which obedience if man had continued still there had been no poverty no diseases no sickness no death c. Expl. 12. The wise and gracious Creator having made man a reasonable creature and having also stampt his own image upon him and thereby rendered him fit for and capable of happiness in the enjoyment of himself and there being no other way to this enjoyment but by union and communion with himself he was most graciously pleased in order thereunto to make a Covenant with man giving a Law to him as soon as he had made him and in him with all his posterity wherein he promised life to him and in him to all mankind upon condition of perfect and personal obedience And that God might try him how he would carry it being now brought within the bounds of this Covenant he was pleased to lay this particular positive Precept upon him That he should not eat of the tree of knowledg of good and evil c. upon pain of death which Precept he
e. they became mortal and subject unto death having in themselves nothing but everlasting damnation both of body and soul. O what a miserable and woful state was this that the sin of one man should destroy and condemn all men that nothing in all the world might be lookt for but only pangs of death and pains of Hell Expl. 19. Concerning this A. 't is observable in the general That mans losses by the sall do reach as far as the guilt of that first disobedience whereby he fell namely to all mankind yet more particularly 1 st Adam lost and we in him and with him communion with God and the loss of this is a treble loss 1. Of Gods sweet and gracious presence and company and that in a most immediate manner as one friend is personally present with another 2. Of converse with God for whilst God and man were together in Paradise and man continued innocent their society was not like that of the Quakers in their Silent-Meetings but there would have continued such familiarity betwixt them as is betwixt two loving friends they would have walked together and talked together for if God did use that familiarity with Moses Exod. 33.11 since the fall much more would he have continued it with Adam and his posterity if they had never fal'n 3. From this sweet company and converse would have sprung up in the heart a continual satisfaction and delight to the soul of man for man yet continuing like God he could not but love him and delight himself in this sweet intercourse 2 dly The sinful posterity of Adam till interested in Christ are actually under the wrath of God for God is angry with the wicked every day and actually under the curse because under the Law not under Grace 3 dly Man in this state is continually liable to have the curse executed upon him every moment and has no protection at all either against the miseries of this life or the pains of hell A. 20. God having out of his meer good pleasure from all eternity elected some to everlasting life did enter into a Covenant of Grace to deliver them out of the estate of sin and misery and to bring them into an estate of salvation by a Redeemer Artic. xvij Predestination to life is the everlasting purpose of God whereby before the foundations of the world were laid he hath constantly decreed by his counsel secret to us to deliver from curse and damnation those whom he hath chosen in Christ out of mankind and to bring them to everlasting salvation as vessels made unto honour Homil. xij Behold the goodness and tender mercy of God he ordained a new Covenant and made a sure promise thereof namely that he would send a Messias or a Mediator into the world which should make intercession and put himself as a stay between both Parties to pacifie the wrath and indignation conceiv'd against sin and to deliver man out of the miserable curse and cursed misery whereinto he was fal'n head-long by disobeying the will and commandment of the only Lord and Maker Expl. 20. In which A. we have 1 st Gods eternal purpose and absolute decree whereby he hath singled out or chosen some of mankind upon whom he is resolved to bestow eternal life and that out of his meer free grace without any foresight of faith obedience perseverance or any other condition as a cause or motive inducing him to make this choice nay the decree it self is not founded in the merits of Christ but purely in the love of God though as for all the blessed effects of this decree as reconciliation pardon justification adoption sanctification salvation c. are actually received and enjoyed by the elect only upon the consideration of the merits righteousness and satisfaction of Christ. Yet more distinctly and for order sake we may conceive of these two things in Gods decree of Election 1. Gods most wise design to advance the glory of his free-grace in bringing many sons to glory 2. That God of his free grace had singled and culled out a certain distinct number of persons for the enjoyment of this glory Now this very act of Gods picking and culling out those particular persons whom he designed to save is that we call very properly Election Neither did this grace of God only appear in making this choice and then in leaving his chosen ones to get eternal life and heaven as they could but 2 dly He did also pitch upon an effectual means or contrive a way whereby his chosen people should effectually and infallibly obtain eternal life and this was by entring into a Covenant of Grace with Christ the second Adam and the Mediator of the new Covenant and in Christ with all believers that whosoever should believe on the Son of God he would give unto them eternal life and that they should never enter into condemnation Hence I infer 1. That it is the free grace of God and not the free will of man that maketh one man to differ from another Paul from Iudas 2. That the praise and glory of this difference is to be ascribed not unto man but unto God Not unto us O Lord c. A. 21. The only Redeemer of Gods Elect is the Lord Jesus Christ who being the eternal Son of God became man and so was and continueth to be God and man in two distinct natures and one person for ever Artic. xviij They also are to be had accursed who presume to say that every man shall be saved by the Law or Sect which he professeth so that he be diligent to frame his life according to that Law and the light of Nature For the holy Scripture doth set out unto us only the name of Jesus Christ whereby men must be saved Hom. x. p. 2. Reprobates perish through their own default Christ Jesus as he is a rising up to none other than those who are Gods Children by Adoption so is his word yea the holy Scripture the power of God to salvation to them only that do believe it Expl. 21. There are three things to be noted in this A. 1. That the Redeemer of Gods Elect is God as well as Man 2. Man as well as God 3. Both God and Man in one person 1. He is God for he is the Son of God not by Creation as Adam was nor by natural generation as we are all the Children of Adam but by eternal generation so as that God the Father who begat him was not before him in time And he was God that his Godhead might keep his humane nature from sinking under infinite wrath when he suffered for our sins that he might have power to raise himself from the grave and rescue himself out of the jaws of death that the dignity of his person might render his sufferings obedience intercession and satisfaction of infinite value and efficacy for the procuring of eternal life for his people and that