come to God but thorough him that is the way Hence it appears John 14.6 how none but a True and not a made God could be a Mediator between God and us If one Man sin against another 1 Sam. 2.25 saith Eli the Judge shall judge him But if a Man sin against the Lord who shall intreat for him No meer Man can only he that is Lord God himself * Rom. 8.3 What the Law could not do in that it was weak through the Flesh God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful Flesh and for Sin condemned Sin in the Flesh is a place worthy to take up our Serious Thoughts This sheweth first the Law could not justifie us by reason of Weakness thorough the Flesh or Humane Nature which to remedy 't was necessary God should send his own Son to relieve this Weakness and Impossibility for that wherein our Nature thorough Frailty was wanting must be helped by Divine Nature Secondly This sheweth how this help came by means of God's own Son whom God sent into the World and by a Sacrifice for Sin effected that which was impossible for any Man whatsoever to do Now if they can let them find stronger and more proper Expressions to signifie Christ Jesus to be the True Proper Natural Son of God than these in Scripture God's own Son the only begotten Son which is in the Bosom of the Father in whom the Father is well pleased Can this be said of one that is a meer Man No nor of any Angel which is a nobler Creature For unto which of the Angels said he at any time Thou art my Son Heb. 1.5 6 8. this day have I begotten thee And again when he bringeth the first Begotten into the World he saith Let all the Angels of God worship him He cannot be called the First Begotten in relation to a Temporal Generation for many other Sons of Adoption God had begotten long before Christ's appearing in the World but upon account of an Eternal take notice of what is added But unto the Son he saith Thy Throne 1 Tim. 1.1 Tit. 1.3 O God is for ever and ever not only here and in other places I already quoted he is called God but also St. Paul in two places gives him the name of God our Saviour he is God as certainly as he is our Saviour for in both places both are joyned together Now as when the Spirit of God doth in Scripture call him Man we ought to believe him to be a Man indeed so when he calls him God we must believe him to be God indeed for with St. Paul * Rom. 2.2 We are sure that the Judgment of God is according to Truth And immediately after his Conversion he began to preach the Gospel with this Fundamental Truth thereof namely That he is the Son of God Acts 9.20 And whosoever owns him not to be truly God gives God the Lye disowns him to be our Saviour and our Mediator for as the Mediator doth act the part of Man with God so with Men he is to perform the part of God he stands between two Extreams and reaches them both with filling the space though never so distant between them he immediately approacheth unto God whom he pacifieth towards Men and from him upon the account of his own Merit obtaineth for them all Gifts and Graces necessary to their Salvation All this none but a God can do for us But here I must stop for insensibly I am driven farther than I intended only few words I shall speak in relation to the most Holy and Blessed Trinity which they deny Divine Nature is most simply and singularly one yet in that one Essence are Three Persons distinguished in Number Order Manner of Acting and with Personal Names and Attributes And though the words Trinity and Persons be not in so many Letters set down in Scripture no more than the word Sacrament Symbole or Creed Lord's-Prayer c. Yet as we agree that these are contained in and deduced out of the Word of God so we may say of those now in question For Brevity sake I shall mention none of the several Proofs taken out of the Old Testament and pitch upon few of those out of the New The Baptism of the Lord Jesus doth afford a clear and strong Proof God the Father speaks * Matt. 3.16 17. This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased Christ the Son of God is Baptised The Spirit or Holy Ghost descended from Heaven like a Dove and lighted upon him Then the Apostles are commanded to * Chap. 28.19 Baptise in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost furely by any one that can reckon it will be found there are Three Hypostases or Persons for so the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is rendred in relation to God the Father for the Son is said to be * Heb. 1.3 the express Image of his the Father's Person In the following Text we also find there ‖ John 14.16 17. I will Pray the Father and he will give you another Comforter the Father I and the Comforter there called the Spirit of Truth and in the next Chapter 't is said * Chap. 15.26 But when the Comforter is come whom I will send to you from the Father again here they be Three St. Paul also mentioneth them * 2 Cor. 13.14 The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ The Love of God that is the Father and the Communion of the Holy Ghost This I shall conclude with that of another Apostle * 1 John 5.7 For there are Three that bear record in Heaven the Father the Word and the Holy Ghost and these Three are One. I think from the word Three that of Trinity may well be derived Here is proved the Trinity of Persons and the Unity or Oneness of Essence or Nature The Trinity of Persons doth not multiply the Nature without any Contradiction a Subject may in one respect be one and manifold in another This is clear out of several Instances in Nature Man hath a Soul this Soul hath three several distinct Faculties the Mind Will and Memory the Mind is not the Will nor the Will the Memory these are three different Faculties yet but one Soul In the Sun are three things the Body the Light and the Heat of the Sun yet not many Suns yet only one A Father hath a Son the Father and the Son are two different Persons yet they have the same Nature and both are Men. There are many more such Instances which I now forbear to mention to shew how in created Substances Trinity or Multiplicity doth not destroy Unity so we may reasonably infer that in the Godhead the Trinity of Persons is no Prejudice to the Unity of Essence or Nature But for all this they will deny the Divinity of the Son and of the Holy Ghost the first I proved and I think 't
is fit I should say something to the last but as shortly as I can In order to it I shall resolve all into one Argument as before I did about Jesus Christ The Syllogism is this He is True and Eternal God whom Scripture gives to the Names Attributes Works and Worship of God but all these Scripture attributeth to the Holy Ghost therefore the Holy Ghost is True Eternal God To begin with the first I say the Names of the True God are simply and absolutely given to the Holy Ghost * 1 Cor. 3.16 Know ye not saith Paul that ye are the Temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you The latter part explaineth the first the dwelling of God alone doth make and constitute the Temple of God and those very same whom he calleth the Temple of God he calleth the Temple or Dwelling of the Holy Ghost We have another when Paul said to Ananias * Acts 5.3 4. Why hath Satan filled thy Heart to lie to the Holy Ghost and in the next Verse Thou hast not lied to Men but unto God Whom he before called the Holy Ghost he now called God these last words tend to exaggerate and aggravate the greatness of his Sin The name of Jehovah is also attributed to the Holy Ghost for the Lord said * Numb 12.6 He will make himself known to and speak by Prophets Now if we compare this with what Peter saith * 2 Pet. 1.21 Holy Men or Prophets of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost we shall find that Jehovah who promised to speak by Prophets is the Holy Ghost which moved them to speak The Attributes of the True God do also belong to the Holy Ghost as first Eternity 't is said * Heb. 9.14 Christ thorough the Eternal Spirit offered him so doth Omniscience for the Spirit searcheth all things yea the deep things of God also Omnipresence he is every where * Psal 139.7 Whither shall I go from thy Spiri c. That is I can go no where from it and the Spirit of God dwelleth in you so he doth in every Believer for * Rom. 8.9 he that hath not the Spirit of Christ is none of his as for Almightiness all his Works do demonstrate it Also the Works of the True God are attributed to the Holy Ghost as the Creation of the World * Psal 33.6 By the Word of the Lord were the Heavens made and all the Host of them by the Breath Spirit of his Mouth and * Job 26.13 By his Spirit he hath garnished the Heavens the Preservation is represented by his ‖ Gen. 1.2 moving upon the face of the Waters or laying upon as a Hen doth to preserve her Chickens But as the proper Attribute of the Holy Ghost is to be Holy and Sanctifier the great Actor in the high Mystery of Regeneration and applying of Salvation the Work whereof is altogether Divine so to clear it we shall come to some Particulars as teaching of the Prophets who by him were moved as already observed out of St. Peter Now 't is said * Heb. 1.1 God spake unto the Fathers by the Prophets then the Spirit that spoke by them is God ‖ 1 Cor. 12. from Verse 4 to 12. The diversities of Gifts are of the same Spirit the difference of Administration of the same Lord and the diversities of Operators of the same God Now this distribution of Gifts whither of Wisdom of Knowledge of Faith working of Miracles of Pongues c. all these worketh that self-same Spirit dividing to every Man severally as he will 't is all his Free Gift and that there may be no mistake about the word Spirit the Apostle in that place V. 3. calls him the Holy Ghost The Government of the Church which is the Work of God is also attributed to the Holy Ghost for * Acts 13.2 the Holy Ghost said Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the Work whereunto I have called them which Institution of Ministers in the Church made by the Holy Ghost is also mentioned in another place * Chap. 20.28 Take heed therefore unto your selves and to all the Flock over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you Overseers that Commission is in the Name and by the Power of the Holy Ghost Thus also the Works of the True God are attributed unto the Holy Ghost when he is called * John 15.26 the Spirit of Truth ‖ Rom 8.15 Spirit of Adoption †Chap. 1.4 Spirit of Sanctification or of Holiness and the * Tit. 3.5 Spirit of Regeneration our Blessed Saviour himself owneth that ‖ Matt. 12.28 he cast out Devils by the Spirit of God Thus Honour and Worship due to the only true God is also rendred to the Holy Ghost Thus St. Paul calls * Rom. 9.1 upon him as a Judge of his Conscience and Searcher of his Heart In ‖ Matt. 28.19 Baptism he is called upon as well as the Father and the Son and that which in Scripture is said about * Chap. 12.31 Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost which shall never be forgiven and ‖ 1 John 5.16 which we are forbidden to Pray for doth sufficiently convince how the Holy Ghost is to be worshipped with no less Piety Honour and Adoration than are the Father and the Son This short Scheme which upon occasion may be enlarged I at this time have drawn against the Blasphemous Heresies of Socinians that by the Paw the Reader may know the Lyon and so to give People warning of the Danger and Nature of the Poison which strikes at no less than to overthrow the Fundamentals of True Christian Religion Thus if Men having been forewarned stand upon their Guards they may by the Grace of God be able to avoid the Evil and Occasion of it As to the other Points wherein they Err especially about Matters of Grace as that the Causes of Predestination are not in God but in us that he doth not predestinate to Salvation any particular or certain Persons and that Predestination is mutable and may be frustrated These and others I now omit only give this hint to shew how they are broke loose against the Person and Grace of our Blessed Saviour in them we find united and concentered the Damnable Errors of the two great Heresiarks Arrius and Pelagius even against Scripture Reason and Authority the Belief of the True Christian Primitive Church That which now remaineth for me to do is directly to address my self to several sorts of Persons First To the Clergy-men both to the Sound and Unsound part thereof whom God hath set to be Watchmen over Israel his People they cannot be Ignorant of God's Charge to them and how strictly God will require at their Hands the Blood of those that shall Perish thorough their Faults It is the Duty of them all whither Superior or Inferior and ought to be their diligent Care
now he knew every thing * John 21.17 Lord thou knowest all things saith Peter unto him ‖ Ch. 2.24 25. he knew all Men and needed not that any should testifie of Man for he knew what was in Man There was no Dissembling before him * Heb. 4.13 14. for all things are and were naked and open unto the Eyes of him with whom we are to do even Jesus the Son of God who when upon Earth knew ‖ John 6.70 and 13.11 which of the Twelve was a Devil for he knew who should betray him This Record he bears of himself and we know his Record is true * Rev. 2.23 All the Churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the Reins and Hearts All this is very plain In the Word of God our Saviour is declared to be Almighty for ‖ John 5.19 whatsoever things the Father doth these also doth the Son likewise and †Heb. 1.3 he upholdeth all things by the word of his Power In the fore-quoted place of Rev. 1. he calls himself the Almighty Christ Jesus is also present every where another Attribute of an Infinite Being * Matt. 18.20 Chap. 28.20 Where two or three are gathered together in my Name there I am in the midst of them and Lo I am with you always even unto the end of the World But not only all these forenamed Attributes incommunicable to the Creature such is every meer Man are applied unto the Lord Jesus also Divine Works are as the Creation of the World ‖ John 1.3 All things were made by him and without him was not any thing made that was made Which St. Paul confirmeth * Colos 1.16 For by him were all things created that are in Heaven and that are in Earth visible and invisible whether they be Thrones and Dominions or Principalities or Powers all things were created by him and for him We know the Work of Creation is peculiar to God he never imparted it to any Creature for none is capable of it only an Infinite Being and Power can fill up an infinite distance between an ens and non ens a real Being and nothing between these two is an unpassable Gulf for any Creature an Abyss that can be filled up by no Man nor Angel To create is God's incommunicable Work the Name of Creator or Maker of something out of nothing belongs to God alone and seeing the World was created by the Word and that Christ is the Word that was made Flesh it followeth that Christ is God Heb. 1.2 God by his Son made the Worlds So he Rules and Preserves the World as in the fore-quoted place Heb. 1.3 He upholdeth all things by the Word of his Power He saith himself ‖ John 14.11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me or else believe me for the very Works sake He is one of the Elohim that created the World Gen. 1.1 It is also a Divine Work to raise Men from the Dead this also belongs to Christ for as the Father raiseth up the Dead and quickneth them even so the Son quickneth whom he will The words as and so do shew an Equality in the Acts our Saviour raised Jairus his Daughter Lazarus c. nay he raised himself by his own Power * John 10.18 I have Power to lay down my Life and take it up again Can any one but God give Eternal Life But ‖ Chap. 10.20 Christ gives his Sheep Eternal Life Who can forgive Sins but God only The Jews were in the Right according to their Primciples to call it Blasphemy because they believed him to be a meer Man and not God as he was * Mark 2.7 10. Why doth this Man thus speak Blasphemies who can forgive Sins but God only Whereupon immediately our Saviour to shew he was God said That ye may know that the Son of Man hath power to forgive Sins c. he proveth it with a Miracle The raising of the Dead and other Miracles done by the Apostles were not in their Names and by their Power as all Christs were * Acts 3.6 but in the Name and by the Power of Jesus of Nazareth Lastly Divine Worship and Honour is and ought to be rendred to our Saviour by Angels and Men and ‖ Heb. 1.6 let all the Angels of God worship him and * John 5.23 that all Men should Honour the Son even as they Honour the Father that is alike that signifies in the same Nature Manner and Degree but God declares ‖ Isa 42.8 he will not give his Glory to another Wherefore Christ must needs be the same as the Father of the same Nature and not a Titular God as they would make of him So they who deny him truly to be the Son of God in that are worse than the Devils which owned him to be such Matt. 8.29 which Truth hath been sealed with the Blood of Millions of Martyrs And to come to Particulars * John 3.15 16 we must believe in him we must ‖ Matt. 28.19 be Baptised in his Name and * Phil. 2.10 at his Name every Knee should bow If Christ were not God it were Idolatry to worship him yet our Blessed Saviour who was no Friend to Idolatry would not have suffered the Man in the Gospel to have worshipped him but far from forbidding he encouraged him to it and under what Notion as Son of God for he asked him ‖ John 9.35 36 37 38. Doest thou believe on the Son of God The Man answered Who is he Lord Christ replied Thou hast both seen him and it is he that talketh with thee Can we desire a plainer Declaration that Christ is the Son of God and ought to be worshipped and if he were not the true Son of God of the same Nature it had been Idolatry and Blasphemy in Thomas to call him * John 20.28 My Lord and my God God foreseeing the Devil would raise his strongest Batteries against his Son who came to destroy the Works of the Devil which therefore would have cut him off in his very Cradle and stirred up the whole Malice of Earth and Hell and to Discredit his Doctrine that Father of Lies found Instruments that defamed his Person and said he was a Samaritan a Friend to Publicans and Sinners that had a Devil and did cast out Devils by Belzebub he was the Carpenter's Son such a Fellow as they knew not from whence he was a Seducer Deceiver and Impostor I say God fore-knowing all this provided sufficient Remedies and by his Holy Spirit in his Word gave such clear and full Evidences as none but those in whom the God of this World hath blinded the Minds could doubt of or call to question this Truth of the Gospel * John 3.16 Chap. 1.18 That God sent his own Son into the World Moreover His only begotten Son which is in the Bosom