now to grapple withal And this I hope I have in some measure done in one of the former Discourses Nor indeed do I see that it is any ways necessary to do more it being sufficient that God hath declared what he thought fit in this matter and that we do firmly believe what he says concerning it to be true though we do not perfectly comprehend the meaning of all that he hath said about it For in this and the like Cases I take an Implicite Faith to be very commendable that is to believe whatever we are sufficiently assured God hath revealed though we do not fully understand his meaning in such a Revelation And thus every man who believes the H. Scriptures to be a truly Divine Revelation does implicitely believe a great part of the Prophetical Books of Scripture and several obscure expressions in those Books though he do not particularly understand the meaning of all the Predictions and expressions contained in them In like manner there are certainly a great many very good Christians who do not believe and comprehend the Mysteries of Faith nicely enough to approve themselves to a Scholastical and Magisterial Judge of Controversies who yet if they do heartily embrace the Doctrines which are clearly revealed in Scripture and live up to the plain Precepts of the Christian Religion will I doubt not be very well approved by the Great and Just and by the infallibly Infallible Judge of the World III. Let it be further considered That though neither the word Trinity nor perhaps Person in the sense in which it is used by Divines when they treat of this Mystery be any where to be met with in Scripture yet it cannot be denied but that Three are there spoken of by the Names of Father Son and H. Ghost in whose Name every Christian is baptized and to each of whom the highest Titles and Properties of God are in Scripture attributed And these Three are spoken of with as much distinction from one another as we use to speak of three several Persons So that though the word Trinity be not found in Scripture yet these Three are there expresly and frequently mentioned and a Trinity is nothing but three of any thing And so likewise though the word Person be not there expresly applied to Father Son and H. Ghost yet it will be very hard to find a more convenient word whereby to express the distinction of these Three For which reason I could never yet see any just cause to quarrel at this term For since the H. Spirit of God in Scripture hath thought fit in speaking of these Three to distinguish them from one another as we use in common speech to distinguish three several Persons I cannot see any reason why in the explication of this Mystery which purely depends upon Divine Revelation we should not speak of it in the same manner as the Scripture doth And though the word Person is now become a â—erm of Art I see no cause why we should decline it so long as we mean by it neither more nor less than what the Scripture says in other Words IV. It deserves further to be considered That there hath been a very ancient Tradition concerning three real Differences or Distinctions in the Divine Nature and these as I said before very nearly resembling the Christian Doctrine of the Trinity Whence this Tradition had its original is not easie upon good and certain grounds to say but certain it is that the Jews anciently had this Notion And that they did distinguish the Word of God and the H. Spirit of God from Him who was absolutely called God and whom they looked upon as the First Principle of all things as is plain from Philo Judaeus and Moses Nachmanides and others cited by the Learned Grotius in his incomparable Book of the Truth of the Christian Religion And among the Heathen Plato who probably enough might have this Notion from the Jews did make three Distinctions in the Deity by the Names of essential Goodness and Mind and Spirit So that whatever Objections this matter may be liable to it is not so peculiar a Doctrine of the Christian Religion as many have imagined though it is revealed by it with much more clearness and certainty And consequently neither the Jews nor Plato have any reason to object is to us Christians especially since they pretend no other ground for it but either their own Reason or an ancient Tradition from their Fathers whereas we Christians do appeal to express Divine Revelation for what we believe in this matter and do believe it singly upon that account V. It is besides very considerable That the Scriptures do deliver this Doctrine of the Trinity without any manner of doubt or question concerning the Unity of the Divine Nature And not only so but do most stedfastly and constantly assert that there is but One God And in those very Texts in which these three Differences are mentioned the Unity of the Divine Nature is expresly asserted as where St. John makes mention of the Father the Word and the Spirit the Unity of these Three is likewise affirmed There are Three that bear record in Heaven the Father the Word and the Spirit and these Three are One. VI. It is yet further considerable That from this Mystery as delivered in Scripture a Plurality of Gods cannot be inferred without making the Scripture grosly to contradict it self which I charitably suppose the Socinians would be as loth to admit as we our selves are And if either Councils or Fathers or Schoolmen have so explained this Mystery as to give any just ground or so much as a plausible colour for such an Inference let the blame fall where it is due and let it not be charged on the H. Scriptures but rather as the Apostle says in another Case Let God be true and every Man a liar VIIthly and Lastly I desire it may be considered That it is not repugnant to Reason to believe some things which are incomprehensible by our Reason provided that we have sufficient ground and reason for the belief of them Especially if they be concerning God who is in his Nature Incomprehensible and we be well assured that he hath revealed them And therefore it ought not to offend us that these Differences in the Deity are incomprehensible by our finite understandings because the Divine Nature it self is so and yet the belief of that is the Foundation of all Religion There are a great many things in Nature which we cannot comprehend how they either are or can be As the Continuity of Matter that is how the parts of it do hang so fast together that they are many times very hard to be parted and yet we are sure that it is so because we see it every day So likewise how the small Seeds of things contain the whole Form and Nature of the things from which they proceed and into which by degrees they grow and yet we
arbitrary and precarious a Supposition that I must confess my self not a little out of countenance for them that men of so much Wit and Reason should ever be put to so sorry and pitiful a shift For can any man imagine that in so exact a History of our Saviour's Life written by several Persons the Relation of so important a matter as this and of the circumstances of it should be wholly omitted That we should have a particular account of his being carried into Egypt in his infancy and of the time when he was brought back from thence Of his disputing in the Temple with the Jewish Doctors and putting them to silence when he was but twelve years of Age A punctual Relation of his being baptized by John and how after that he was led by the Spirit into the Wilderness to be tempted of the Devil and was carried by that evil Spirit from one place to another But not one word of his being taken up by God into Heaven and of his coming down again from thence not the least intimation given either of the Time or any other circumstance of so memorable a thing upon which according to the Socinians the Authority of his Mission and the Divinity of his Doctrine did so much depend When so many things of so much less moment are so minutely and exactly reported what can be the reason of this deep silence in all the Evangelists concerning this matter But above all it is to be wondred that St. John who wrote his Gospel last and as Eusebius tells us on purpose to supply the omissions of the other Evangelists should give no account of this thing and yet as the Socinians suppose should so often take it for granted and refer to it as when it is said that he came forth from God and was sent from God and came down from Heaven besides several other Expressions to this purpose Who can believe this And can it then be reasonable to suppose such a thing And this without any ground from the History of the Gospel only to serve an Hypothesis which they had taken up and which they cannot maintain unless they may have leave to make a Supposition for which they have nothing in truth to say but only that it is necessary to defend an Opinion which they are resolved not to part with upon any terms This is so inartificial not to say absurd a way of avoiding a difficulty to take for granted whatever is necessary to that purpose that no man of common ingenuity would make use of it And there is no surer sign that a Cause is greatly distress'd than to be driven to such a shift For do but give a man leave to suppose what he pleases and he may prove what he will and avoid any difficulty whatever that can be objected to him Besides that according to this device the Son of God did not first come from Heaven into the World as the Scripture seems every where to say but first was in the World and then went to Heaven and from thence came back into the World again And he was not in the beginning with God but was first in the World and afterwards with God whereas St. John says that the Word was in the beginning and then was made flesh and dwelt among us But they say that he first was made flesh and then a great while after was in the beginning with God A supposition which is quite contrary to all the Texts which I have mention'd Nor do the several parts of this interpretation of theirs agree very well together In the beginning that is say they when the Gospel first began to be publish'd was the Word and then that is in the beginning he was with God that is in Heaven to receive from God that Doctrine which he was to deliver to the World But if by the beginning be meant the first publication of the Gospel he was not then with God but had been with him and was come back from him before he entred upon his publick Ministry which they make to be the meaning of the beginning And in the beginning he was God that is say they not God by Nature but by Office and Divine constitution And yet in this again they fall foul upon themselves for they say he was not declared to be God till after his Resurrection and his being advanced to the right hand of God So that he was not God in their sense of the beginning that is when he entred upon his publick Ministry and began to preach the Gospel Secondly As to some other Texts which speak of his existence before his Incarnation as that he was glorified with his Father before the World was and before Abraham was I am These they interpret thus that he was glorified with his Father before the World was and that he was before Abraham was viz. in the Divine foreknowledg and Decree But then surely they do not consider that this is nothing but what might have been said of any other man and even of Abraham himself that before he was that is before he had a real and actual existence he was in the purpose and Decree of God that is before he was God did intend he should be Which is a sense so very flat that I can hardly abstain from saying it is ridiculous For certainly our Saviour did intend by saying this of himself to give himself some preference and advantage above Abraham which this sense and interpretation does not in the least do Because of any other man as well as of our B. Saviour it may as truly be said that he was in the foreknowledg and Decree of God before Abraham was born And I cannot but observe further that our Saviour does not say before Abraham was I was but before Abraham was I AM Which is the proper Name of God whereby is signified the eternal duration and permanency of his Being In which sense he is said by the Apostle to the Hebrews to be the same yesterday to day and for ever And so likewise he describes himself in St. John's Vision I am 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the beginning and the ending saith the Lord which is and which was and which is to come the Almighty And that this is spoken of the Son you may see in the same Chapter where he says of himself I am the first and the last And so likewise he describes himself again I am 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the beginning and the end the first and the last And that we may not doubt who it is that thus describes his own Eternity he continuing still to speak in the same Person says I Jesus have sent mine Angel c. After this I shall only observe that all these expressions are the common Description which the Scripture gives of the Eternity of God whose Being is commensurate to all the several respects of
men the Man Christ Jesus by whom we are to offer up our Prayers to God And that we need not look out for any other since the Apostle to the Hebrews tells us that he is able to save to the uttermost all those that come to God by him seeing he lives for ever to make intercession for us And for this reason the Church of Rome is altogether inexcusable in this Point for introducing more Mediators and Intercessors more Patrons and Advocates in Heaven for us And this not only without any necessity for who can add any vertue and efficacy to the powerful and prevalent intercession of the Son of God but likewise in direct contradiction to the express Constitution and appointment of God himself who says there is but one Mediator between God and men and they say there ought to be many more not only the B. Virgin but all the Saints and Angels in Heaven Besides that by this very thing they revive one notorious Piece of the old Pagan Idolatry which God so plainly design'd to extinguish by appointing One only Mediator between God and Men. By this Condescension likewise God hath given us the comfortable assurance of a most powerful and a perpetual Intercessor at the right hand of God in our behalf For if we consider Christ as Man and of the same Nature with us bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh so very nearly allied and related to us we may easily believe that he hath a most tender care and concernment for us That he sincerely wisheth our happiness and will by all means seek to procure it if we our selves by our own willful obstinacy do not hinder it and resist the kindness and the counsel of God against our selves For if we be resolv'd to continue impenitent there is no help for us we must die in our Sins and Salvation it self cannot save us But to proceed it cannot surely but be matter of greatest consolation to us that the Man Christ Jesus who is now so highly exalted at the right hand of God and who hath all power in Heaven and Earth committed to him is our Patron and Advocate in Heaven to plead our Cause with God Since we cannot but think that He who was pleased to become Brother to us all does bear a true affection and good will to us And that He who assumed our Nature will heartily espouse our Cause and plead it powerfully for us and will with all possible advantage recommend our Petitions and Requests to God But then if we consider further that He did not only take our Nature but likewise took our infirmities and bore them many years in which he had long and continual experience of the saddest sufferings to which human Nature is subject in this World and was tempted in all things like as we are This gives us still greater assurance that he who suffer'd and was tempted himself cannot but be touched with a lively sense of our infirmities and must have learn'd by his own Sufferings to compassionate ours and to be ready to succour us when we are tempted and to afford us grace and help suitable to all our wants and infirmities For nothing gives us so just a sense of the Sufferings of others as the remembrance of our own and the bitter experience of the like Sufferings and Temptations in our selves And this the Apostle to the Hebrews doth very particularly insist upon as matter of greatest comfort and encouragement to us that the Son of God did not only assume our Nature but was made in all things like unto us and during his abode here upon Earth did suffer and was tempted like as we are For verily says the Apostle he took not on him the nature of Angels but of the seed of Abraham Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his Brethren that he might be a merciful and faithful High-Priest in things pertaining to God For in that he himself suffered being tempted he is able to succour them that are tempted And again exhorting the Jews who were newly converted to Christianity to continue stedfact in their Profession notwithstanding all the sufferings to which upon that account they were exposed he comforts them with this consideration that we have at the right hand of God so powerful an Advocate and Intercessor for us as the Son of God who is sensible of our Case having suffered the same things Himself and therefore we cannot doubt of his compassion to us and readiness to support us in the like Sufferings Seeing then says he that we have a great High Priest that is passed into the Heavens Jesus the Son of God let us hold fast our Profession For we have not an High-Priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities but was in all points tempted like as we are yet without Sin From whence he concludes that having such an Intercessor we may with great confidence and assurance address our Supplications to God for his mercy and help in all our wants and weakness to supply the one and to assist the other Let us therefore says he come boldly to the throne of Grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 grace for seasonable relief So that our B. Saviour and Redeemer now that he is advanced to Heaven and exalted to the right hand of God is not unmindful of us in this height of his Glory and Greatness but with the tenderest affection and compassion to Mankind doth still prosecute the Design of our Salvation and in vertue of his meritorious Obedience and Sufferings which he presents to God continually he offers up our Prayers to Him and pleads our Cause with Him and represents to Him all our wants and necessities and procures for us a favourable answer of our Prayers and supplies of grace and strength proportionable to our temptations and infirmities And thus by vertue of this prevalent intercession of his with God for us our Sins are forgiven and our Wants supplied and our Requests granted and the gracious assistance and supports of God's H. Spirit are seasonably afforded to us and we are kept by the mighty power of God through Faith unto Salvation In a word all those Blessings and Benefits are procured for us by his Intercession in Heaven which he purchased for us by his Blood upon Earth So that in this Method of our Salvation besides many other gracious Condescensions which God hath made to the weakness and prejudices of Mankind our B. Saviour hath perfectly supplied the two great Wants concerning which Mankind was at so great a loss before namely the Want of an effectual Expiatory Sacrifice for Sin upon Earth and of a prevalent Mediator and Intercessor with God in Heaven And he hath in great Goodness and Condescension to our inveterate Prejudices concerning these things taken effectual care fully to supply both these Wants having appeared in the
Church which is every whit as good But is this equal to demand of us the belief of a thing which hath always been controverted not only between us and them but even among themselves at least till the Council of Trent And this upon such unreasonable terms that we must either yield this Point to them or else renounce a Doctrine agreed on both Sides to be revealed in Scripture To shew the unreasonableness of this proceeding Let us suppose a Priest of the Church of Rome pressing a Jew or Turk to the belief of Transubstantiation and because one kindness deserves another the Jew or Turk should demand of him the belief of all the Fables in the Talmud or in the Alchoran since none of these nor indeed all of them together are near so absurd as Transubstantiation Would not this be much more reasonable and equal than what they demand of us Since no Absurdity how monstrous and big soever can be thought of which may not enter into an Understanding in which a Breach hath been already made wide enough to admit Transubstantiation The Priests of Baal did not half so much deserve to be exposed by the Prophet for their Superstition and folly as the Priests of the Church of Rome do for this sensless and stupid Doctrine of theirs with a hard Name I shall only add this one thing more That if this Doctrine were possible to be true and clearly prov'd to be so yet it would be evidently useless and to no purpose For it pretends to change the substance of one thing into the substance of another thing that is already and before this change is pretended to be made But to what purpose Not to make the Body of Christ for that was already in Being and the Substance of the Bread is lost nothing of it remaineth but the Accidents which are good for nothing and indeed are nothing when the Substance is destroy'd and gone All that now remains is to make some practical Inferences from this Doctrine of the Unity of the Divine Nature And they shall be the same which God himself makes by Moses which Text also is cited by our Saviour Hear O Israel the Lord thy God is one Lord and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind and with all thy strength And thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy self So that according to our Saviour the whole Duty of Man the love of God and of our neighbour is founded in the Unity of the Divine Nature I. The love of God The Lord thy God is One Lord therefore thou shalt love Him with all thy heart c. this is the first and great Commandment And it comprehends in it all the Duties of the first Table as naturally flowing from it As that we should serve him only and pay no Religious Worship to any but to Him For to pay Religious Worship to any thing is to make it a God and to acknowledge it for such And therefore God being but One we can give Religious Worship to none but to Him only And among all the parts of Religious Worship none is more peculiarly appropriated to the Deity than solemn Invocation and Prayer For he to whom men address their Requests at all times and in all places must be supposed to be always every where present to understand all our desires and wants and to be able to supply them and this God only is and can do So likewise from the Unity of the Divine Nature may be inferr'd that we should not worship God by any sensible Image or Representation Because God being a singular Being there is nothing like Him or that can without injuring and debasing his most spiritual and perfect and immense Being be compared to Him As He himself speaks in the Prophet To whom will ye liken me saith the Lord and make me equal And therefore with no Distinction whatsoever can it be lawful to give Religious Worship or any part of it to any but God We can pray to none but to Him because He only is every where present and only knows the Hearts of all the children of men which Solomon gives as the reason why we should address our Supplications to God only who dwelleth in the Heavens So that the Reason of these two Precepts is founded in the Unity and Singularity of the Divine Nature and unless there be more Gods than One we must worship Him only and pray to none but Him Because we can give Invocation to none but to Him only whom we believe to be God as St. Paul reasons How shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed II. The love likewise of our Neighbour is founded in the Unity of the Divine Nature and may be inferr'd from it Hear O Israel the Lord thy God is One Lord therefore thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy self And the Apostle gives this reason why Christians should be at unity among themselves There is One God and Father of all and therefore we should keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of Peace that is live in mutual love and peace The Prophet likewise assigns this reason why all Mankind should be upon good terms with one another and not be injurious one to another Have we not all One Father hath not One God created us Why do we then deal treacherously every man against his brother And therefore when we see such hatred and enmity among Men such divisions and animosities among Christians we may not only ask St. Paul's question Is Christ divided that we cannot agree about serving him either all to serve him in one way or to bear with one another in our differences I say we may not only ask St. Paul's question Is Christ divided but may ask further Is God divided Is there not One God and are we not all his Offspring Are we not all the Sons of Adam who was the Son of God So that if we trace our selves to our Original we shall find a great nearness and equality among men And this equality that we are all God's creatures and Image and that the One only God is the Father of us all is a more real ground of mutual love and peace and equity in our dealings one with another than any of those petty differences and distinctions of strong and weak of rich and poor of wise and foolish of base and honourable can be to encourage men to any thing of Insolence injustice and inequality of dealing one towards another Because that wherein we all agree that we are the Creatures and Children of God and have all One common Father is essential and constant but those things wherein we differ are accidental and mutable and happen to one another by turns Thus much may suffice to have spoken concerning the first Proposition in the Text There is one God To Him Father Son and H. Ghost be all Honour