naribus ejus rest not in man whose spirit is in his nostrills and therefore least the like might be thought to be in these divine persons we find Power ascribed to the Father 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Justia Martyr in expos fideâ— Cy il l. 8 cont Jul. Wisdome unto the Son and Goodness unto the Holy Ghost wheras indeed each one of them is of the same power wisdome and goodness as the others be so we say with Justin Martyr according as God hath revealed himselfe unto us both in his word his works that the unity is understood in the trinity the Trinity is acknowledged in the unity Moreover S. Cyril saith that the Philosophers have affirmed the Essence of God to be distinguished into three subsistences and sometimes to have delivered the very name of Trinity and the Jewish Rabbins Galaâ—in de ar can fide l. v. 2. c. 11. 12 as Galatinus saith have observed this mystery out of the Hebrew names of God that there are three in one but one in three Vide. N. N n celium iâ— pâ—â—â—mio p 20. and so Hermes Trismegistus affirmed that there was one divinity or deity in the Trinity in these words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 There was an intellectuall light before the intellectuall light A mind full of light and there was alwaies an enlightned mind of the mind and this was nothing else then the unity of these and the spirit which containeth all things besides this there is no God nor Angell nor any other substance because he is the Lord and Father and God of all things and all things are under him and in him Verbum ejus â—â—â—sectam â—â—sum insâ—◠〈◊〉 natura aqua secunda prolificam fecit aquam Quae verba quia sunt in eis quaedam carminum vestigia deinde restituta qui dam Orpheo vindicarunt for his perfect word existing and being fruitfull and a worker or maker of all things fallen in a fruitfull nature hath plentifully produced all things And then having sayd these things he prayeth unto this God saying 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 O Heaven the most excellent worke of the great God I do adjure thee and I do adjure thee the voice and speech of the Father which hee first uttered and spake when hee established all the world and I beseech thee by thine only begotten word and the Father which containeth or upholdeth all things be thou favourable and mercifull unto me There is no man but he would wonder to see in this Author the very words of Saint John and yet notwithstanding his bookes were translated by the Platonists a long time before the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ And it is no marvell though we find sayings of his in diverse places which are not written in his Poemander considering that hee wrote six and thirty thousand five hundred and five and twenty Volumes that is to say Rolls of Paper Jambilicus in his 39. chap. of mysteries as Jambilicus reporteth This Hermes or Mercurius sirnamed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was the greatest Philosopher the cheifest Preist and most prudent Prince of Aegypt he flourished before Pharaoh in the time of Moses and was called Ter Maximus thrice great because hee writ of the Trinity yea Saint Augustine affirmeth Aug. l. 5. c. 3. de haeresibus that hee did compose a booke whose Title was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the perfect word and that therein hee left written Monas genuit monada in se suum reflexit ardorem which is as much as if hee had said the Father begat the Sonne or the minde begate the word and from both proceeded the Holy spirit Also Theodorus the Platonist as it is in Proclus affirmeth that there are three cheife workers whereof hee calleth the one a substantiall minde the other a mentall substance and the third the Fountain of all life and Theodoret doth affirme That Plotinus and Numenius have collected out of Plato That there are three eternities Bonum mentem universi animam Goodnesse which answereth the Father that is the Fountaine of the Deity the minde which signifieth the Son and the soule or life of this whole Universe which is the holy spirit that as in the beginning of the Creation Gen. 1.2 hee presently moved upon the Waters to sustain the same so ever since hee spireth and preserveth every living thing and so Amelius and many others are as full and as plaine in this point as may be as any man may see that will looke into Nancelius his Proem Nancel in Proem Chalcidius Avicen which hee confesseth to have taken out of Eugubinus Thus we see how the Ancient Philosophers were all of one Opinion and judgement in the Doctrine of the Trinity The Gentiles did conceive a certaine kinde of knowledge and understanding though undigested and imperfect overshadowed as it were with humane reasonings concerning this mystery wherein they had so much knowledge as not only was able I say not with Clemens Alexandrinus to bring them to salvation but to make them without excuse in the day of Tribulation because that they knowing God glorified him not as God but also as doth exceede the knowledge of many which make profession of Christianity and will no doubt rise in judgement to condemn them in the later day Yet further God â—oe and indivisible as the Philosopers have affirmed the essence of God to be distinguished into three subsistences so likewise they have acknowledged the divine Essence to be only one impartible and indivisible For First Hermes Trismegistus teacheth Although many of the Ancient Philosophers through custome did celebrate the plurality of Gods yet notwithstanding they did acknowledge buâ—â—ne only true God by nature Du. Plessis That there is but one only God That One is the roote of all things and that without that One nothing hath been of all things that are That the same One is called the only good and the goodness it selfe which hath universall power of creating all things That it is impossible that there should be many makers That in Heaven he hath planted immortality in earth interchange and universally life and moving That unto him alone belongeth the name of Father and of God and that without blasphemy those titles cannot be attributed either to Angells Fiends or to men or to any of all those whom men do call Gods as in respect of honour and not of nature He calleth him the Father of the world the Creator the Beginning the Glory the Nature the End the Necessity the Renewer of all things the worker of all powers and the power of all works the only Holy the only unbegotten the only everlasting the Lord of everlastingnesse and the everlastingnesse it selfe Vnto him alone will hee have us to offer up our prayers our praises and our sacrifices and never to call upon any other Secondly Pythagoras teacheth Alledged by Cicero Plutark Clemens
the Nature of the God-head although every person intirely holdeth his own incommunicable property and that the Holy Ghost cannot be the Father nor the son so that in a word all Three is the same Essence and yet neither of the three can be the person of the other Also from these inward actions or operations of these persons do proceed the nominall relations of the one unto the other as Father Son and Holy Ghost which do likewise make a true reall distinction of the Persons for the Father is not a name of Essence but of relation unto the Son and the Son is not a name of Essence but of relation unto the Father and so the Holy Ghost proceeding is not a name of Essence but of relation to the Father the Son therfore these names are so proper to each person that the name of the one cannot be ascribed to the other Ob. But you will say that the Son it called Father as Esa 9 6 He is said to be the Father of eternities Sol I answer that the name of Father is taken two wayes The name of the father is taken two wayes 1 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Essentially 2 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Personally First Essentially so in respect of the creatures each person of the Trinity may be rightly termed Father Secondly Personally and so the first person only is Father because he only doth beget his son How the father is the first person Mat. 28 19. Joh. 5.26 Joh. 10.30.38 Mat. 11.27 Joh. 16.14.15 And here by the way we must remember that the Father is the first person not in priority of dignity or of time but of order as being the fountain of the Trinity communicating not alienating from himselfe the whole nature essentiall attributes of the God-head to the son and with the son to the Holy Ghost Now as touching the outward actions or operations of these persons Outward operations not altogether sufficient to expresse the differences of the three subsistences and why we finde they are not altogether sufficient to express their differences for as Nazian truly affirmeth of the three persons themselves Non possum tria discernere quin subito ad unum referar nec possum unum cogitare quin trium fulgore confundar so may we say of their outward operations that although they be affirmed of one yet may they presently be referred to all three Acts 20.28 1 Pet. 1.2 Joh. 1.3 1 Cor. 1.2 Psal 33.6 Eph 4.30 Opera Trinitatis adâ—extra sunt indivisa so we find them in many passages of the holy scriptures as redemption sanctification to the father creation sanctification to the son creatino redemption to the Holy Ghost So that indeed these outward works of the Trinity are so indivisible that we cannot so properly ascribe them to any one but you see that they may likewise be ascribed to any other And besides wee must observe that whereas the inward actions of these persons are permanent and necessary Outward workes voluntary these outward operations are transient and voluntary for that God in these things is Liberrimus Agens A free Agent so that he might have chosen whether to do them or not do them and therefore in all these works Election Creation Gubernation Redemption Sanctification Glorification there can be ascribed none other cause Psal 135.6 but Quia voluit because he would For whatsoever pleaseth the Lord that did hee in Heaven and in Earth in the seas and in all deepe places And therefore I say these outward actions and so likewise those Names which are given unto these Persons in regard of these actions as Creatour unto the Father Redeemer unto the Son Comforter and Sanctifier unto the Holy Ghost are not altogether sufficient to expresse the differences of these persons because they are common to all three in one Essence And yet we finde that when any Action is determined to the Father according to the manner of his existence as Father then do the Scriptures say a quo vel ad quem from whom Jam. 1.17 Prov. 16 4. Ephes 3.21 or for whom or to whom and when any action is ascribed to the Son according to the manner of his existence as son then do the scriptures say Per quem in quo Ephes 3.21 1.3 by whom or through whom and in whom and when any action is assigned to the Holy Ghost according to the manner of his existence as Holy Ghost then do the scriptures say Quo ex quo by whom Rom. 8.14 Joh. 3.6 and of whom and in regard of these expressions of the workes of God by such Phrases Basil de spiritu sancto c. 14. Saint Basil doth expound that place of the Apostleâ— in Rom. 11 36 Of him and through him and for him are all things to be a plain distinction of the three persons by the manner of their Actions as well as their existence because all things are of the Holy Ghost by the Son for the Father as the same Author speaketh And thus you see That although the divine Essence is only One impartible and indivisible Athanâ—s 2 Dialog de Trinit yet that there are three persons in this one Essence not that the Essence begets either Essence or person but because the person of the Father begetteth the Person of the Son and both Father and son do eternally spire and send forth the person of the Holy Ghost But now if any shall further enquire of the manner how the father begetteth the son and how the father and the son do spire and send forth the holy spirit Galenus l. 15. de usu partium 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I must answer as Galenus did in a point far inferiour to this which is of infinite profundity How this is done if you enquire you will be taken for one that hath no understanding either of your own infirmity or of the power of the Creator And the fathers do often dehort us from the curiosity of explaining the manner of divine mysteries 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for that worthy Nazianzen saith Nazian Orat. 1 de Theolog. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 You heare the generation of the son be not curious to know the manner you hear the Holy Ghost proceedeth be not busie to enquire how That we should not enquire too far into the manner of divine mysteries A finite understanding not possibly able to comprehend this infinite mystery And in another place he saith Let the generation of God be honoured with silence it is much for thee to have learned that he was begotten as for the manner how we grant it not to be understood by Angells much lesse by thee So that here wee must acknowledge it impossible that a finite understanding should comprehend that mystery which is infinite in its Glory and therefore when the minde soares high to conceive the truth of the unity
mid-day there should be darkness for three houres over all the World Which thing to have beene fulfilled at the death of Jesus not only Saint Matthew doth assure us in his Gospell Matth. 27. but also Eusebius affirmeth that hee had read the same word for word recorded in diverse Heathen Writers Phlegonius a Greek Historian Phlegonius a Grecian borne in Asia recorded by Suidas of whom Suidas maketh mention reporteth for a wonderfull thing That in the fourth year of the two hundred and tenth Olimpiad which by just account was in the eighteenth year of the Raign of Tiberius and at which time our Saviour suffered there was an Ecclipse of the Sunne the very greatest that ever had beene seen or ever found to be written of and that it continued from the sixth houre untill the ninth houre And that during this Ecclipse the trembling of the Earth was so great in Asia and in Bythinia that infinite strong built houses fell to the ground It appearteh moreover that besides this Phlegonius Plin. in lib. 2. Pliny also felt and wrote of the selfe same matter for he saith In the time of the Emperour Tiberius the quaking of the earth was much greater then ever before had been Twelve Cities ruined by the Earth-quake at Christs passion By means whereof saith another twelve Cities were ruined and overthrown in Asia with infinite other goodly buildings and houses so that the Historiographers amongst the Gentiles albeit they knew not the cause did not forbear to write of the miracles of Christ Orig. cont Cels lib. 6. Furthermore Aesculus an old Astronomer doth prove by the scituation and constitution of the Sun and Moon at his Passion that no Ecclipse could then be naturally and therefore it was very miraculous contrary to the Order of Nature Dionysius was 25 years old at the death of our Saviour and lived a long time after with the Apostles as himself records in the 11. Epistle Apollophanes and only done by the omnipotency of God who deprived the sun of his light for all that space of time Dionysius Areopagita being on that day in Athens and beholding the Sun to be so strangely obscured knowing also as a man learned and skillfull in Arstology and the Celestiall courses that this Ecclipse was contrary unto the rule of Nature he cryed with a loud voice saying Aut Deus Naturae patitur aut mundi Machina dissolvetur either the God of Nature doth now suffer or the Frame of the whole world shall be dissolved And to another hee spake of that Ecclipse in these words Ignotus in carne patitur Deus Michael Syngellus in Encomio S. Dionysij cujus gratia rerum universitas densa hac caligine obscurata est atque concussa God unknown in the flesh did suffer for whose sake the universe was struck and covered with thick darknesse S. Dionys in Epis ad Polyc. And this Dionysius in an Epistle written to Polycarpus being asked what this great Ecclipse might portend said That it shewed a change and a great alteration and that hee did seriously observe the day and houre The other Miracle Joseph in l. 2. de antiq of the Vayle of the Temple which rent in sunder Josephus also giveth faithfull testimony thereof Finally I will conclude this discourse with the authority of learned Philo who doth plainly confesse the Deity of Jesus Christ and the necessity of his suffering This man that was the learnedst among the Jewes made a speciall booke of the banishment of his country-men where hee hath this discourse ensuing Philo lib. de exulibus What time may be appointed saith he for return home of us banished Jewes it is hard to determine For by tradition we have that we must expect the death of an high Preist But I am of opinion that this high Priest shall be the very word of God which shall be void of all sinne both voluntary and involuntary Whose Father shall be God and this word shal be the Fathers wisdome by which all things in this world were created His head shall be anointed with Oyl and his Kingdome shall flourish and shine for ever This wrote Philo Judaeus at that time when hee little imagined the same high Priest whom he so much expected and the same word of God whose Kingdome he describeth was now already come into the world Fourthly As Jesus Christ did declare himselfe truly to be the Son of man by yeilding unto Death so hee did declare himselfe mightily to be the Son of God by his Resurrection from the dead And this Resurrection of him was exactly foretold not only to the Jewes but also to the Gentiles for these are the words of Sibylla Hee shall end the necessity of death by three dayes sleep Lactan. lib. 4. inst Div. c. 19. and then returning from death to light again he shall be the first that shall shew the beginning of Resurrection to his chosen for that by conquering death he shall bring us life What thing can be more plainely described then this but now to prove the truth and certainty of his Resurrection Our first and most evident testimony shall be derived from our greatest enemies among which number is Josephus that learned Jew Joseph in lib. 2 de Antiq. whose words are these Although hee was accused by the principall men of our faith and crucified yet he was not abandoned of them which had formerly followed him but three days after his death he appeared alive again unto them according as the Prophets inspired of God had foretold and prophesied of him Which express plain resolute words we may in reason take not as the confession only of Josephus but as the common judgment opinion sentence of all the discreet and sober men of that time laid down and recorded by this Historiographer In whose dayes there were yet many Christians alive that had seene and spoken with Jesus after his Resurrection and infinite Jewes that had heard the same protested by their Fathers Bretheren Kinsfolks and freinds who had been themselves eye witnesses thereof Ignatius was twelve years old when our Saviour suffered and for certainty that he did see Christ after his Resurrection take his owne words Ego verò In Ep. ad Smyr ad Polycarp post Resurrectionem in carne eum vidi credo quia sit And truly I did see him after his Resurrection in the flesh and I do beleeve that it is he yea he sets down the time and persons when and before whom it was Et quando venit ad Petrum ad eos qui cum Petro erant And when he came to Peter to those that then were with him he sayd Touch and see for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as you see me have and they touched him and beleived so that his own words are sufficient proofs but yet it is the consent of all the Church-Historians as Eusebius Saint Jerom
Ruffin cap. 6. and Ruffinus testifie Moreover Dionysius the Areopagite Saint Bernard and others report a famous saying of Saint Ignatius which he uttered with sighes and is extant in his Epistle to the Romans and it is this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Amor meus crucifixus est that is My Love is crucified Indeed this holy and pious Bishop Mirandula de motre Christi l. 1. c. 10. did so continually meditate upon those great things which Christ had done and suffered for him that he was thereby brought so intirely to love him as when he was demanded why hee would not forsake and forget Christ rather then suffer himself to be torne and devoured of wilde and savage Beasts He answered The story of Ignatius at his Death that hee could not forget him because the sufferings of Christ were not only words transient in his mouth or removeable objects before his eyes but they were indeleble characters so engraven in his heart that all the Torments of the Earth could never rase them out And therefore being commanded by that bloudy Tyrant Trajane to be ript and unbowelled they found Jesus Christ written upon his Heart in Characters of Gold He is stiled Divinus Ignatius Biblioth Patrum Tom. 1. pag. 76. Inclytissimus ferventissimus Martyr Divine Ignatius a most famous and fervent Martyr Nay Nicephorus goes beyond that title and calls him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 one that saw God and one that was carried of God for when hee was a child Niceph. Hist li. 2. cap. 35. Nicephorus reports that our Saviour would take him up in his arms and shew him to his Disciples And it may be that this was one of those little children that were brought to Christ to touch them or that little child whom Jesus took and set in the midst of them to learn them humility Aug. de vera religione Indeed as Saint Augustine saith Tota vita Christi in terris per hominem quem gessit disciplina morum fuit The whole life of Christ which he spent here on earth was and is a pattern for all Christians Christ despised all worldly vanities Nam omnia bona mundi contempsit for he despised all the pompe and vanity of this world to teach us In his mundanis faelicitatem uon reponere that we should not greedily seek nor childishly place our delight in these vain and worldly toyes hee suffered all the sorrowes of this world Christ suffered all miseries hunger thirst cold nakedness lyings slanders spittings mockings whippings death it selfe to teach us ut nec in illis quaereretur faelicitas ita nec in istis infaelicitas timeretur that as we should place no felitity in the vanities of this life so we should not fear all the miseries of this world Judg. 6.12.14 but to say with Deborah March valiantly O my Soul with the Angell unto Gideon Go on thou mighty man of War and passe through all the ranks of miseries To be breife if we do but seriously look into the life of Jesus Christ we shall easily find that as St. Bernard saith True Wisdome is found in his doctrin Bernard Ser. 2. super Cantic Prudâ—ntia vera in ejus doctrina justitia in ejus misericordia temperantiae in vita fortitudo in ejusdem passione reperiuntur Righteousness in his mercy Mercy in his Justice temperance in his life truth in his words fortitude in his sufferings all vertues in all his actions all the Ethicks of Aristotle all the morality of Seneca and all the wisdome of Greece can no ways describe vertue so perfectly as we see it expresly pourtraied in the lively example of our Saviours life yea such was the piety of Jesus Christ that even his greatest enemies were forced to acknowledge confess it Suidas upon the word Iesus for the talk of one Theodosius a Jew with a christian merchant man named Philip in the time of the Emperour Justinian is here worthy to be noted In the Temple of Hierusalem sayd the Jew there were two and twenty ordinary Preists and as soone as any of them dyed the residue chose another in his place Christs Piety is acknowledged and confessed by a Jew Now it hapned that Jesus for his singular Piety and Doctrine was chosen by them And to the intent they might know the name of his Father and Mother and inregister it according to their custome they sent for them and Mary came thither alone Joseph dyed before the Virgin Mary because Joseph was then dead She being asked the name of the Father of Jesus answered upon her Oath that she had conceived him by the holy Ghost and reported to them the words of the Angell Moreover shee told them the names of the women that came to her labour unlooked for upon due inquisition whereof when all things were found to fall out true they registred his Name in the Register of the Preists in these words Jesus the Son of the living God and of the Virgin Mary A proof of Christs Divinity And this Register sayd Theodosius was saved at the sacking of Hierusalem and afterward kept in the City of Tyberias where it is preserved in secret and I have seen it as one of the cheif among the Jews and as one from whom in respect of my degree nothing was restrained And I beleeve thereby that it is not ignorance that holdeth me in the Jewish Religion Why Theodosius the Jew would not imbrace Chrâ—st but the honour which I have among my countrymen the like whereof I could not have elsewhere Thus we see that the Jews themselves were forced to acknowledge and declare the Piety and Deity of Jesus Christ And as for the family from whence he descended it remaineth registred in the Jews Thalmud that Jesus of Nazereth Crucified Thal. Tact. San. ca. Nigmar had was of the Blood Royall from Zorobabell of the house of David Thus much by way of digression But now to return to the foregoing Subject of our discourse namely the Resurrection of Jesus Christ although the Testimony of Josephus and Saint Ignatius might suffice to prove the truth and certainty hereof against all the Atheists of the World yet hereunto I will add some other testimonies and circumstantiall proofes that do infallibly prove the Resurrection of Christ and so consequently that Jesus is the Son of God the true and promised Messias 1. atth 28.1 The Angells testifie the resurrection of Christ Luke 24.4 First the Angell said unto the women why seeke yee the living among the dead hee is not here but he is risen Et si non credideritis Oraculo credite oculo and if you will not beleive us beleeve your own eyes for you may see the place where he lay 2. That Christ appeared twelve severall times after his resurrection 2. Truth it self confirms this truth unto us by those manyfold apparitions that he made after his resurrection
the time of his Resurrection He alledgeth also the appearing of two Angells among all the people for testimony whereof Likelyhoods of truth Hee nameth the day and place when and where it happened He recounteth the very words that Jesus spake at his Ascention He telleth the manner how hee ascended and how a Cloud came down and received him out of their sight He declareth what the Multitude did whither they went and in what place they remained after their departure thence And finally hee setteth downe so many particulars as if it had beene the easiest matter in the world for his enemies to have refuted his narration if all had not been true Wherefore to conclude this Discourse of the Birth Life Death Resurrection and Ascention of Jesus seeing nothing hath happened in the same which was not foretold both to Jew Gentile nor any thing fore-shewed concerning the Messias which was not fulfilled most exactly in the person of Christ as have been proved by the foregoing testimonies we may most certainly assure our selves and confidently affirm against all the unbeleiving Jewes and wretched Atheists of the world that Jesus is the son of God the true and promised Messiah Moreover Touching the excellency of this Person I shall yet further prove first That for time he is God co-eternall with his Father and this both apparent scriptures That Christ is a true God is proved and unanswerable reasons drawne from thence do make plain For First First from the Scriptures The scriptures call him the true Jehovah as wee may see by the collation and comparing of these places viz. Exodus 3.2.13.4.14.24 20.2 And Acts 7.30.32 1 Cor. 10.4.9 c. And so the scriptures call him God as Gen. 32.28 Psal 45.7 Isa 7.14 Matth. 3.3 Heb. 1.8 1 Tim. 3.16 Joh. 1.1 Acts 20.78 And therefore saint John saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And the word was God Also Thomas saith unto Christ My Lord and my God 1 Joh. 3.16 1 Joh. 5.20 And so we finde the same truth expressed in many other places of the Scripture Secondly by unanswerable reasons drawn from scripture Secondly Wee may shew the same by infallible and unanswerable reasons drawn from scripture As First From those incommunicable properties of the Deity which are properly ascribed unto him as 1. To be omnipotent Joh. 3.31 Heb. 1.3 Phil. 3.21 Apo. 1.18 Mat. 16.11 Mat. 28.20 Joh. 16.15 2. To remit sins Matth 9.6 Mar. 2.5.7.9 Luke 5.20 Joh. 20.23 3. To be in many places at the same instant Matth. 18.20 4. To have the same equall power with the Father Joh. 5.17 5. To raise himself from the grave Rom. 1.4 Joh. 10.18 6. To send forth and to give the Holy Ghost Zach. 12.10 Joh. 16.7 2. From those Epithites which are ascribed unto him and are only agreeable to the divine nature as Joh. 13.18 Joh. 1.9 Mat 9 4.5 Joh. 14 14. To be the Author of our Election To illuminate us To know the secrets of our hearts To hear the prayers of them that call upon him To judge the quick and the dead To give unto his servants everlasting life To be truly rich and so able to do Joh 5.22.24 2 Cor 8.9 Psal 50.12 and to bestow these great rewards upon his servants Joh. 16.15 Thirdly From those relations that he hath with God as to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 J h. 1.18 Heb. 1.3 the only begotten son of God the brightness of his glory and as the Poet saith If God had once no son then once must he Without the brightness of his glory be Also to be the arme of God Isa 53 1. Joh. 14.7.8 9. Phil. 2.6 which the Fathers do expound of Christ to be the Image of the Father 2 Cor. 4.4 Col. 1.5 and to be the very form of God which is most simple and essentiall not compounded or accidentall for that in God there is no composition no accidents Et nihil est in Deo quod non sit ipse Deus nor any other thing which is not God because the Divine Essence Identificat sibi omnia que sunt in Divinis doth identifie Gabriel â—iel super 1. sentent dist 1. q. 5. or deifie all things that are in the Deity 4. From the universall effects Gen. 1.1 Pal 45.6 Psal 102.25 Joh. 1 2.3 Col 16 17. Heb. 1 2 3. Joh. 5.17 and proper works of God for he that created preserveth and governeth all the things that are created is the true and everlasting God but Christ created all things doth still sustaine and govern all things and therefore hee must needs be the true and eternall God To be breif He is the Son of the Father the Wisdome and the Power of God A Proof of the co-eternity of the Son with his father and therefore either the Father was without a Son and then he could be no Father and God was without his Wisdome and without his strength or else hee was never without his Son but to say that God was without his wisdome or without his strength is most absurd Ergo non ex tempore genitus est qui cuncta tempora condidit therefore hee was not begotten in time which created all times Aug. Ep. 6.6 saith Saint Augustine That Christ is co-essential with God is proved Secondly it followeth that I should prove and shew how for Nature he is co-essentiall with his Father touching which point Athanasius saith Non res quaepiam extrinsecus ad inventa est filij substantia neque ex nihilo inducta est sed ex Patris essentia nata est The substance of the son is no outward thing either found or created but begotten of the very Essence of his Eather even as you see the brightness springing from the Light or the Vapour from the Water Neque enim splendor neque vapor est ipsa aqua aut ipse sol neque res aliena For neither the light is the Sun it self nor the vapour the water it selfe and yet they are none other things of another kind then be the Substances from whence they spring even so the Son issueth from the substance of his Father Et tamen Patris substantia non perpessa est partitionem And yet the substance of the Father admits no partion for as the Son remaineth still the same and is no way lessened or diminished Athanas in Ep. Cont Eusebium in respect of those beams that flow from him so the Father suffereth no mutation by having and begetting Suam ipsius imaginem filium this his Son and eternall image but remaining still the same he begetteth his Son of the same Essence and wee find not only all the Orthodox Fathers but also the scriptures are plain enough to confirm the same truth for our saviour saith Joh. 10.30 I and my Father are one and so saint John having spoken of the Father the Word and the spirit saith That these three are one 1
Jewes themselves were willing to rejoyce for a season as our Saviour witnesseth yet Christ needed not to receive testimony from man Joh. 5.36 because hee had a greater Witnesse then that of John even the Father himself which sent him hee bare witnesse of him and with an audible voice hee proclaimed the same twice from Heaven Mat. 3.13.17 saying first at the river Jordan and then on Mount Thabor Matth 17.5 That hee was his beloved Son in whom he was well pleased So that these are sufficient witnesses Quia dicta Jehovae dicta pura Because the words of the Lord are pure words as the Psalmist saith And lastly That Christ appeared diverse times before his incarnation Christ himselfe confirmes this truth unto us by those manifold apparitions that hee made before his incarnation For it is most certain that hee appeared and conferred with the Fathers in the visible forme and shape of man Et praestantissimi theologorum dicunt quotiescunque Deus immortalis hominibus apparuit Petrus Cunaeus de re pub Heb. l. 3. c. 3. p. 406. apparuisse personam secundam id est filium quod sane ab illis recte existimatum est saith Cunaeus the most excellent Divines do say That whensoever the immortall God hath appeared unto mortall man it was the second person of the Trinity that is the son of God Christ Jesus that did appeare which in truth is most rightly said of them in the judgement of that learned man and therefore it is not improbable nor to any men incredible that he assumed upon him the forme and shape of man when hee created man and so made him not only in his own Image which he had as God That Christ diverse times assumed the form of a man before he was made man that is in holinesse and true righteousnesse but also like unto himselfe in respect of that forme and shape which he then assumed and which hee intended to be made himselfe thereafter And this may be collected out of Moses where he saith Gen. 3 8. That Adam heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the Garden For God as he is a God hath neither voice to speake nor feet to walke but assuming the forme and shape of a man he did both walke and talke with him and in respect of this bodily presence of God the man did specially seek to hide himself among the trees of the Garden when hee heard his voice and not before But to Abraham it is apparent that he appeared Gen. 18.13.20 vers 25. First In the Plaine of Mamre for Moses saith not only that the Lord talked with Abraham but hee saith also that Abraham calleth him The Judge of all the world which can be ascribed to none but Christ which is the Judge of quick and dead Secondly It is the opinion of some that he appeared unto Abraham in his returne from the conquest of the four Kings for though some of the ancient Iewes in their idle fancies have imagined him to be such a person Illegitimus as is much derogatory to the Majesty of so glorious a Priest and such a super-excellent King because he is only named by Moses Hiâ—ron in Epist ad Evagrium Petrus Cunaeus de repub Heb. l. 3. c. 3. p. 396. without any mention of his Discent and saint Hierome with divers others old and new writers of good esteem in the Church of Christ do reject the judgement of one which in Saint Hieroms time did say that Melchisedech which met Abraham and blessed him was the Son of God and though some of our latest Divines have imagined him to be Sem the son of Noah yet some learned men agree with him in Saint Hierome That Melchisedeck was the son of God whose name he doth not set downe and whose arguments to confirme his speech he doth neither relate nor confute that it is most probable unto them and most agreeble to the Apostles mind that hee was none other then Jesus Christ the Son of God First Because the Apostle saith Heb. 7.7 That hee was greater then the Patriarch Abraham who is sayd to be the Father of the Faithfull which Epithete with the words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 do sufficiently shew him to be Divinioris cujusdam naturae of a far more excellent and diviner nature then Abraham was Secondly Because the Apostle going to speake of this Melchisedeck saith Heb. 5.11 That hee had many things to say concerning him which were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hard to be explained which certainly he would never have said had hee not understood this Melchisedech to have been some excellent and ineffable person Thirdly Because the Apostle saith not whose death is not mentioned by Moses for so he might be dead though his death is not spoken of but he saith that David testifieth of him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that he liveth to shew the difference betwixt this Priest and those Leviticall Preists which dyed yea they say he can be none other then Christ because he was of an endlesse life or else the similitude doth not hold that Christ was of an endlesse life 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 after the likenesse of Melchisedech Heb. 7.3 Fourthly Because he saith That this Melchisedech was like unto the son of God even as Nebuchadnezzar saith Dan. 3.25 That the fourth man which walked with the three children in the fiery furnace was like unto the son of God so here the Apostle saying that he was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 like the son of God meaneth that hee assumed a body of the same likenesse and habit and countenance as afterward he meant to unite personally unto himselfe Fifthly Heb. 7.2 Because Abraham did give unto him Tythe of all as perceiving under that visible forme and shape of man an invisible Deity to subsist to whom Tythe is only due and everlastingly due because he is an Everlasting Priest Sixthly Because all they which do affirm this Melchisedech to be either Shem or any other King of Salem and a mortall man Fateri coguntur ea omnia quae de illo Apostolus dixit etiam Messiae convenire are compelled to confesse that all those things which the Apostle speaks of Melchisedeck do very wel agree with Christ And therefore they say that this Melchisedeck was no mortall man but the immortall son of God which assuming this visible shape did appear unto Abraham and offered as a Type of our blessed Sacrament of the Lords Supper Bread and Wine unto him after his victory over his enemies And it may be that our Saviour had respect hereunto when he said Joh. 8.56 that Abraham saw his day and rejoyced that is Not onely with the eyes of faith as all the rest of the Patriarchs and Prophets did but also in a visible shape which he assumed like unto that whereunto hee was afterward to be united But that man which wrestled with Jacob was none
of shamelesse sinners to this saint Bernard frameth this witty answer That as in the creation of man God did as it were consult with his wisdome how to make him when hee said Gen. 1.26 Let us make man in our image so after the transgression of man there was as it were a consultation in heaven what should become of man for Truth and Justice stood up against him and said that man had sinned Cap. 2.27 and therefore man must dye but Mercy and Peace rose up for man and said Quo quisque est major magis est placabilis ira Regia crede nobis res est succurrere lapsis it is a royall thing to releive the distressed and the greater any one is the more placable and gentle he should be and that God himselfe had said hee was the God of Peace and the Father of mercies and therefore they concluded that although man had sinned yet man must be pardoned or else abandoned therefore the wisdome of God became an umpire and devised this way to reconcile them that as one man had sinned and thereby destroyed all men so Vnus homo nobis patiendo restituet rem Bosquier de pass Dom ser 13. p. 793. one righteous man should suffer for all men and so Justice should be satisfied and then all that beleived in that man should be pardoned and so mercy should be shewed then all thus contented God looked down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there were any that would understand and seeke after God Psal 14.2.3 but they were all corrupted and therefore the Wisdome of God that had found out this way was contented to performe this worke himselfe and to be made man that mercy might be extended and to suffer death for man that Justice might be satisfied and so in him mercy and truth met together Psal 85.10 righteousnesse and peace kissed each other Aug. de Trinit l. 13. c. 10. Gregor Moral l. 20. c. 26. But Saint Augustine and Saint Gregory do more solidly answer saying Omnia Deus poterat si voluisset That in regard of his Wisdome God could have devised another way and in respect of his Power hee could have performed the salvation of man without the incarnation of his son but if hee had done it otherwise it would no doubt have likewise displeased our foolishnesse for God appeared visibly saith Saint Augustine that hee might prepare us to invisible things How hard it is for the wisdome of God to please foolish men and therein hee displeased the covetous man because hee brought not a body of Gold he displeased the lascivious because hee was borne of a woman hee displeased the Jewes because hee came so poor and hee displeased the wise men of this world because hee erecteth his Kingdome by the foolishnesse of Preaching and so hee should have displeased man what other way soever hee had invented for to save him And therefore Aug. de Annunt Dom. ser 3. Sic voluit ruinam vasis fragilis reformare ut nec peccatum hominis dimitteret impunitum quia justus erat nec insanabile quia misericors so God would repaire the ruine of fraile and fickle man that neither the sin of man should escape unpunished because God is just nor yet miserable man remaine uncured because hee is mercifull and although hee could otherwise have saved man Quantum ad potentiam medici in respect of the power and skill of the Physitian yet hee saw there was no fitter way to do it Quantum ad medicinam aegroti quantum ad Justitiam Dei in regard of the state of the Patient to free him from sin and to satisfie the Justice of God for it behoved the Mediator between God and man Ne in utroque deo similis longe esset ab homine aut in utroque homini similis longe esset a Deo to have something like unto God and to have something like unto man least that in all things being like unto man hee might be so too far from God or being in all things like unto God he might be so too far from man and therefore Christ betwixt sinfull mortall men and the just immortall God did appear a mortall man with men and a just God with God and so the mediator betwixt God and men 1 Tim. 2.5 was God and man Christ Jesus That in Christ there are two distinct natures Rom. 14.19 The distinction of these two natures the Deity and the humanity of our Saviour Christ is most excellently shewed by saint Paul where hee saith that Christ was made man 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 according to the flesh and declared mightily to be the son of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 according to the Spirit of Sanctification for that according to his humane nature only he was made of the seed of David which according to his Divine nature was declared still to be the eternall Son of God so that here saint Paul sheweth two Natures to be in Christ that is his divine and his humane Nature still remaining entire after his incarnation because as he was made only of the seed of David in respect of his manhood for that his God-head was not made of the seed of David so was he declared only to be the Son of God in respect of his God-head for that his Manhood was not the omnipotent and the eternall son of God This truth of the two natures of Christ Two natures in Christ proved may be confirmed by most apparant and unanswerable arguments for the Jewes said Joh. 5.18 that he did not only break the Sabbath but also sayd that God was his Father making himselfe equall with God And Christ himselfe said Joh. 10.30 I and my Father are one and therefore the Pharisees did rightly collect that Christ by these words had affirmed himselfe to be a God and yet he saith Joh. 14.28 My Father is greater then I but it cannot possibly be that Christ according to the same Nature should be equall nay one with the Father and yet inferiour to the Father and therefore it must needs follow that hee hath one nature according to which hee is equall to his Father and another nature in respect whereof he is inferiour to him Joh. 8 58. Besides our Saviour saith Before Abraham was I am and yet saint Luke saith Luke 2.7 He was born in the dayes of Augustus Caesar but it cannot be that Idem secundum idem the same one in the same respect should be before Abraham and after Abraham And therefore hee must needs have two natures in him according to one whereof he was before Abraham and according to the other hee was after him And further wee finde the same confessed by all Antiquity All orthodox Antiquity confessed two natures to be in Christ Vigil l 2. cont Eutych Philip. 2. mirum est c. for Vigilius writing upon those words of the
Felle caret Rostro non laedit Optimum granum elegit Gemicum pro cantu habet Juxta flumiâ—a aquarum sedet Innocentia valet Volatu praestat Thom. Aquin. de proprietat columbae she wanteth Gall shee hath no bitternesse in her shee never hurts with her bill nor clawes she is full of Love and yet shee never sings any wanton tune but woo woo is her matutinus vespertinus cantus her mournfull morning and evening song and therefore the holy Ghost descended on Jesus Christ like a Dove to shew these dove-like qualities of this Lambe of God and to teach that we must be thus qualified like Doves if we should have and enjoy the sweet and comfortable presence of this Heavenly Dove this holy spirit of God Joh. 14.16.17.18.26 Rom. 8.15.16 Joh. 16.13 Eph 1.13 4 30. Rom. 8.23 who is in the hearts of the elect as the pledge of Christs presence the witnesse of their adoption the guide of their life the comforter of their soule the seale of their redemption and the first fruits of their salvation Secondly like cloven tongues of fire Secondly He appeared like cloven tongues of fire First Like tongues because as a Father saith Symbolum est lingua spiritus sancti a Patris verbo procedentis The tongue is a symbole of the holy Ghost proceeding from the word of the Father for as the tongue hath the greatest cognation 1. Why the holy Ghost appeared like tongues and the neerest affinity with the word and is moved by the word of the heart to expresse the same by the sound of the voice saith Saint Gregory so the holy Ghost hath the neerest affinity that may be with the word of God and is the expressor of his voice and the speaker of his will Joh. 16.14 that receiveth of him and revealeth all unto us Secondly Like cloven tongues 2. Why he appeared like cloven tongues because all tongues and all languages are alike knowne and understood of God and because this holy spirit can teach all men all Languages and the gift of tongues is a gift of God Thirdly 3. Why he appeared like cloven tongues of fire He appeared like cloven tongues of fire because the spirit of God delighteth rather in the zealous and the fervent tongues of saint Paul and Apollo's that warme the heart then in those eloquent tongues of Cicero and Demosthenes that delight the eares for this is the desire of Gods spirit to kindle the hearts of men and to set them on fire with the love of God and to make them zealous in all good things Indeed zeal derived 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is a word that 's framed from the very sound and hissing noise that hot burning coales do make when they meet their contraries in any moystned substance and so zeal expresseth heat and zealous men are said to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 such as burn or such as waxe fervent in spirit Acts 18.25 Psa 39.3 so as the Prophet saith The fire kindled and at the last I spake with my tongue zeal is the highest degree of affection good or bad therefore he that doth any thing moderately though hee may be called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Lover of that thing yet he cannot be called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because a Zelot is so intensive Vt quicquid vult valde vult as that to all the objects of his affections he is excessively disposed Omnis animi impetus a ratione vel recta vel perversa proveniens ad destruendum vel ad sâ—uendum aliquid sub hoc verbo zelus significatur and most earnestly stretching himself to the very height of his abilities his love is fervent his desire eager his delights ravishing his hopes longing his hatred deadly his anger fierce his greif deep his feare terrible and so of all the rest of his passions he hath them all in the highest pitch so that such a man all the men in the world had most need to have his biasse right and to be furnished with that most necessary paire of spirituall endowments namâ—â— Wisdome and understanding Of wisdome understanding by way of digression first what they are two excellent graces and gifts to be desired above all the wealth of this world if wee would but consider the difference betwixt a Wise man and a foole that is void of understanding Now there are two sacred scriptures which do tell us what is Wisdome and Understanding for in the Book of Job it is sayd Job 28.28 Behold the feare of the Lord that is Wisdome and to depart from evill is understanding Deut. 4.4 5 6. And Moses sheweth the same also saying Behold I have taught you statutes and judgements c. Keepe therefore and do them for this is your Wisdome and your Vnderstanding in the sight of the Nations which shall hear all these statutes and say surely this great Nation is a wise and understanding people Moreover Sap 7.22 concerning wisdome the wise man sayth that in her is an understanding spirit 2 Of the sundry properties in wisdome holy one only manifold subtill lively clear undefiled not subject to hurt plain loving the thing that is good quick which cannot be letted ready to do good Kinde to man Sap. 7.23 stedfast sure free from care having all power overseeing all things and going through all understanding pure and most subtill spirits For wisdome is more moving then any motion Sap. 7.24 shee passeth and goeth through all things by reason of her pureness 25. For she is the breath of the power of God and a pure influence flowing from the glory of the Almighty Therefore can no defiled thing fall into her 26. For shee is the brightnesse of the everlasting light the unspotted mirrour of the power of God and the image of his goodnesse 27. And being but one she can do all things and remaining in her lelf she maketh all things new and in all ages entring into holy soules shee maketh them freinds of God and Prophets 28. For God loveth none but him that dwelleth with wisdome 29. For shee is more beautifull then the Sun and above all the order of the stars being compared with the light shee is found before it so that as Menander saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Wisdome is a more precious possession then all riches and therefore Nihil sapientiâ ardentius diligitur nihil dulcius possidetur nothing is loved nothing is desired more than Wisdome and though one man affecteth honour another desireth wealth and a third loveth his pleasure Aristot Meâ—a l 1. yet all men affect wisdom which as Aristotle saith is Cognitio primarum altissimarum causarum Cicero Tusc l 4. or as Cicero defines it Sapientiae est divinarum humanarum rerum scientia and it is the greatest glory and eminency of any man because a wise man in raggs is more to
of Orphaeus who is called the Author of the plurality of the Gods Also Phocilides Phocilides followeth him in these words There is but only one God mighty wise and happy And again Honour the only God And so Theognis Homer Hesiodus Sophocles Euripides Aratus and many others have delivered the same truth And as touching the Latins Ovid Ovid. in his Metamorphosis attributeth the Creation of the world and of all things therein unto the only one God Virgil in his fourth booke of Husbandry and in other places And Virgil doth ordinarily call him the King of Gods and men and he describeth him shedding forth his power to the uttermost Coasts of Heaven and earth and with his virtue quickning the world and all that is therein Thus we see that the Gentiles did conceive a certain kinde of knowledge and understanding though undigested imperfect overshadowed as it were with humane reasonings concerning God and that although through custome they did celebrate the plurality of Gods yet notwithstanding they did acknowledge but one only true God by Nature This Truth of the unity of the God-head The unity of the God-head proved from Scripture may be yet further proved and confirmed by expresse testimonies of sacred Scripture as heare O Israel the Lord thy God is one God Deut. 6.4.32.39 Isa 44.6 7 8. and therefore know you that I am God alone and besides me there is none other saith the Lord himselfe to shew the truth and certainty of the unity of his Essence also Saint Paul saith 1 Cor. 8.4 6. We know that there is none other God but one and so wee finde the same truth expressed in many other places of the Scripture as Deut. 4 35 1 Sam 2 2 Psal 18.31 Isa 37 16 45 5 21 46 9 Hos 13 4 Mal 2 10 Mark 12 29 32 Rom 3 30 Gal 3 20 Ephes 4 5 1 Tim 2 5 Jam. 2 19. Reason sheweth that there can be but one God c Besides reason it selfe sheweth that there can be but one God for if there were more Gods then one then they must be either all without beginning or one must proceed from other either by creation or generation That they should be all without beginning is impossible for then it must needes follow that there should be multa principia prima dispâ—rata in una voluntate non convenientia many first causes and unequall beginnings that could never agree and be of the same minde and will and therefore to say they should be all without beginning is most absurd An unaswerable argument that there is but one God If one be from the other by Creation then is the second a creature and therefore but one God uncreated if one be from the other by generation then the first gave the second either a part or his whole substance if a part then is God partible and may be divided which cannot be said of such a spirituall indivisible substance if the first gave the rest his whole essence then have all the same deity and so all must be the same God-head Secondly There can be but one infinite God is infinite and therefore but one because that which is infinite comprehendeth all things within the circle of it self Thirdly Deut. 6.4.5 Mark 12.29.30 we are charged to give unto God all our heart all our strength and all our soul if one must have all there is none left for any other Fourthly there is but one first cause of all things God is that first cause therefore he is but one Fiftly But one first cause Acts 17 28. Exod 3.14 God is summum ens the first and cheifest being as himself professeth I am that I am we have learned that of the Prince of Philosophers that there can be but one cheifest Being But one cheifest being Quia ens unum convertuntur because that being and one are all one Lastly It is impossible there should be many Gods for seeing it is absolutely necessary that hee who is God Why there can be but one God have all perfection of being in himself to make many Gods were to make them all imperfect and so they can be no Gods To allow of Polutheism then is to admit of Atheisme he cannot worship any God who acknowledgeth many Gods seeing there can be but One most perfect But one most perfect Tertul. l. contra Hermog c. 17. as but one first mover one first efficient and therefore this one God is so absolutely One that he is One alone besides whom there can be none other for we deny all number in the Deity Or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Only one unlesse you mean in the personall proprieties And therefore Gregory Nyssen saith well Quod in multitudinem extendere numerum Deitatum eorum duntaxat est qui laborant multitudinis deorum errore Nâ—ssen ad Eustach l. de Trin. Basil ep 141. ad Caesarium That to extend the number of the Deities into a multitude belongs only unto them which do erroneously maintain a multitude of Gods for the Catholick Faith is this That we should worship the Trinity in Vnity and the Vnity in Trinity that is The Trinity of Persons and the unity of Essence because all number is to be rejected from the Essence of God saith Saint Basil for the divine Essence is so simple and so numerically one that no diversity can be given The father the Son and the holy Ghost are one by nature whereby the very Persons do differ in regard of the Essence so that whatsoever the Father essentially is the Son is the same and the Holy spirit is the same How the persons are distinguished But now here wee must observe that although the God-head cannot be divided in its Essence yet the persons may be distinguished by their properties Quia hoc est proprium Patris quod solus est Pater quod ab alio non est nisi a se hoc est proprium Filij quod a Patre genitus est solus a solo hoc est proprium spiritus sancti quod nec genitus nec ingenitus est sed a patre filio aequaliter procedens for this is the property of the Father That he alone is the Father and that hee is not from any other but only of himself and this is the property of the Son that he alone is begotten of the Father alone co-equall unto him and co-essentiall and this is the property of the Holy Ghost to be not made not begotten but from the Father and the Son equally proceeding And therefore wee say that these incommunicable and proper operations of the persons do so make the true and reall distinction of the Persons that the Father cannot be the Son nor the Holy Ghost that the Son cannot be the Father nor the Holy Ghost That the distinction of the persons hindreth not the unity of