God the Father is our Father in a peculiar consideration pag. 328. and therefore I need not insist longer upon this Point since the Scriptures are cleare so cleare that even very Cavillers confess this truth Christ himself as man obeyed the Father Iohn 4. 34. 2. God the Son is to be obeyed This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased heare ye him Mat. 17. 5. Heare him beleeve him obey him the Godhead of Christ is the Formall reason of our Obedience but all his benefits are sweet encouragements to us to performe our duty Be obedient as children saith the Apostle and if ye call on the Father c. passe the time of your sojourning here in feare For as much as ye know ye were not redeemed but with the precious bloud of Christ. 1 Pet. 1. 14 17 18 19. Why do the Presbyters throw down their Crowns at the feet of Christ and fall down before the Lamb but to testifie their subjection and profess how ready they are to serve and obey Jesus Christ Rev. 4. 10 11. Rev. 5. 8. Christ is the Author of Salvation to them that obey him Heb. 5. 9. The life of a Christian is a living unto Christ a life of faith love and obedience Gal. 2. 20. 2 Cor. 5. 14 15. Phil. 1. 20 21. We are made new Creatures in Christ that we may performe new obedience to Christ 2 Cor. 5. 17. He who serveth Christ is acceptable to God and approved of men Rom. 14. 18. We are under the Law to Christ. 1. Cor. 9. 21. All manner of obedience inward and outward is due unto the Lord Jesus Christ. Cursed is he that doth not prize and love Christ above all the Kingdoms of the World and glory of them above all the comforts of life and life it self 1 Cor. 16. 22. Luk. 14. 26 33. Mat. 13. 44 46. Phil. 3. 7 8 10. Col. 3. 23 24. Eph. 6. 6. 7. Eph. 5. 26 27. and Tit. 2. 14. compared together 3. God the holy Ghost is to be obeyed We are devoted to his service in Baptisme our bodies and soules are temples consecrated to his honour and service the Spirit doth conquer our carnall reason mortifie our corruptions and subdue our hearts unto the obedience of himself as well as to the obedience of the Father and the Lord Jesus We are debtors to the Spirit We are his Creatures The spirit of Elohim did forme and fashion the rude Mass out of which all things were made Gen. 1. 2. The renovation of all things by continued propagation is ascribed to the Spirit Thou sendest forth thy Spirit they are created and thou renewest the face of the earth Psal. 104. 30. Our soules are breathed into us by this Spirit of life Gen. 2. 7. Iob 33. 4. The Spirit of God hath made me and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life The soule is enabled and adorned with all abilities by the Spirit that it may be qualified for all manner of service In respect of Counsell and Government Numb 11. 25. In respect of resolution and action Iudg. 14. 6. But that which is most endearing is that the Spirit is the Spirit of Conviction Regeneration Conversion Sanctification Edification and Consolation 1. Pet. 1. 2. 2 Thes. 2. 13. Gal. 5. 22. 1 Cor. 12. 8 9. The Spirit is the God of all comfort it is his speciall office to comfort mourners The Spirit fitted the man Christ to be our Mediatour as is most evident because 1. The Spirit formed the nature of man of the substance of the Virgin after an extraordinary manner Luk. 1. 35. compared with Gal. 4. 4. for the service of the Lord Christ. 2. He sanctified the humane Nature which Christ assumed after such a perfect manner that it was free from all sin in the very moment of conception Luke 1. 35. 3. He united this pure humane nature with the divine in the same Person the Person of the Son of God Luk. 1. 35. compared with Heb. 10. 5. a body hast thou fitted unto me by the holy Ghost Our Saviour was annointed with the Spirit above measure that he might be a fit head and Mediatour for us that we and his whole Church might receive of his fulnesse graces answerable to his graces Ioh. 1. 16. Ioh. 3. 34. Ioh. 1. 14. Isa. 61. 1. Psal. 45. 7. compared together Act. 10. 38. Luk. 2. 40 52. Mat. 3. 16 17. Ioh. 7. 39. If we consider how the Spirit hath manifested his divine power in garnishing heaven and earth Iob. 26. 13. in annointing Christ and Christians 1 Ioh. 2. 27. in ordering and regulating Church-affaires and enabling Ministers for all Church-service that the Elect might be gathered converted perefected saved by the efficacy of the Spirit in all Ministeriall Dispensations we shall see reason enough to acknowledge the divine power of the Spirit by all spirituall and heavenly obedience 1 Cor. 12. 4 5 6 8 9 11 13. Isa 6. 1. 9. Act 28 25. compared If we harden our hearts against the Precepts and Exhortations of the spirit speaking in the Word if we vexe grieve resist and quench the Spirit we are in a ready way to that black and unpardonable sin of doing despight to the Spirit of grace and therefore unlesse we meane to proceed to totall and finall disobedience it highly concerns us to obey the holy Spirit and answer the many cals and motions of the Spirit by sincere obedience that our effectuall Vocation may evidence our Election and the Spirit may seale us up unto the day of Redemption for the same spirit is the Spirit of Sanctification and Adoption the spirit of Revelation Mortification Vivification Consolation The Spirit quickens moves enables enclines perswades us to beleeve in Christ and to love one another to keep all the Commandements of God Now this spirit of faith love and obedience is the Spirit of Sanctification and if you find the spirit of sanctification in you be of good comfort though the spirit of Adoption seeme to withdraw yet he is certainly present nay is not idle or silent he speaks by his reall works and sweet fruits for the spirit of Sanctification is the spirit of Adoption it is one and the self-same spirit This is his Commandement That we should beleeve on the Name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another as he gave us Commandement And he that keepeth his Commandements dwelleth in him and he in him and hereby we know that he abideth in us by the Spirit which he hath given us 1 Ioh. 3. 23 24. And hereby we know that we dwell in him and he in us because he hath given us of his Spirit 1 Ioh. 4. 13. And therefore if there be a spirit of faith love and obedience in you rejoyce in it lift up your heart to God in thankfulness for it
Soule-satiating Communion we must take delight in our converse with God enjoyment of Christ and walking in the Spirit all the day We must enter into the rest of our beloved and take a sweet complacency in the fruition of God in the glimpse of his glory in the taste of his love in the kisses of his mouth in all the testimonies of his favor in all the love-tokens sent us from heaven The joy of the Lord must be our strength and in this strength we must go forth and mortifie our corruptious resist temptations and go about our worldly business all the next week with heavenly minds I cannot stand to speak directly and fully to the particular duties of the Sabbath or extraordinary duties of Evangelical fasting and Christian Feasting for all which there should be a serious preparation in all which there must be a prudent sequestration of our minds and hearts from the world that theremay be an intire consecration of them unto God and a sincere sanctification of all these times to Father Son and holy Ghost as it becomes the Sons of God the Members of Christ and Temples of the holy Ghost We should get oyle into our vessels dress and trim our Lamps that we may meet the Bridegroome of our soules in his appointed walkes in his own Ordinances and exercises I should say something likewise of our Penitentiall meltings before God Thus in briefe then when our conscience hath been wounded by the Spirit of bondage and is renewed by the Spirit of Regeneration it will in due time be pacified by the spirit of Adoption but even then the soule will melt into teares nay then it melts most kindly and laments most affectionately O I have sinned against the tender mercies of the bowels of God I have kicked my Father upon the Bowels I have made a sport and pastime of those sins which let out the heart bloud of my dear Saviour I have grieved vexed and even quenched the holy Spirit my sweetest Comforter I have sinned against all three and so trebled all my sins I feare I have saith the Soule in its agony even done despight to the Spirit of grace and trampled on the bloud of the Son of God but I have learnt to submit and beleeve to rejoyce and tremble to weep and waite for I waite upon a Father upon him whom my soule loves the spirit of faith and love hath taught me to come with a broken heart and a bleeding conscience to a Father to a Saviour to a Comforter I desire to keep the wound open by renewed Confessions and sprinkle the clensing bloud of Christ upon it by a lively faith Oh it is soveraign bloud and must be fiducially sprinkled by a speciall application and it is the spirit which makes this speciall application and administers reviving Cordials to broken hearts and fainting soules in their swowning fits When the most Ingenuous and refined sort of unregenerate men come to see that notwithstanding all their Civility and Formality they are in the gall of bitterness by reason of their impenitence and unbeliefe their opposition to the power of godliness their undervaluing of the mercies of God the love of Christ graces and comforts of the holy Spirit and feele these sins set home upon their hearts and consciences with stinging aggravations they are even fired out of their naturall estate and by the preventing grace of the Spirit made sensible of sin and hungry after grace and mercy The dreadfull impressions of Gods infinite Majesty and damning wrath make all the sensuall impressions of sin to be remembred with proportionable and self-condemning horrour But when the most glorious treasures of Gods sweetest mercies and richest grace folded up in his fatherly bowels are opened to these ingenuous men and the Spirit hath touched their hearts to lament after Christ then this ingenuous soule will cry out Oh what restless agonies what stinging wormes what unquenchable flouds of flaming brimstone how many Hells are there treasured up in one Hell for such a wretch as I am who have undervalued the riches of Gods mercy the love and merits of Christ the graces and comforts of the Spirit heaven and earth may be astonished men and Angels amazed at my prodigious madness in undervaluing Christ and Heaven In the midst of this agony and conflict prudent astonishment and spirituall horrour the holy Spirit urges invincible Arguments which are sweetly compulsive to perswade and constraine the soule to long for Christ. For when the Spirit hath made the threats both of Law and Gospel effectual to humble us he fils the soule with despaire of mercy if it continue in its former estate in the gall of impenitence and bond of unbeliefe but withall it doth assure the soule that there is plenteous redemption and eternall salvation treasured up in Christ for penitent beleevers Then the spirit opens the mystery of free Grace contained in a Covenant sealed with the Oath of God and bloud of Christ he reveales the eternity excellency sweetness freeness fulness infiniteness of Gods mercy and grace Christs love and merits as so many motives and encouragemets unto faith and repentance The Spirit sets a Pardon and a Crown before us acquaints us with the all-sufficient righteousnes and unsearchable riches of Christ and his own free and effectuall grace unspeakable comforts and glorious joyes and then convinces us that we want this grace to sanctifie us this Pardon and righteousnesse to justifie us this Crown and these joyes to enrich and satisfie us And upon this discovery the soule is encouraged to give credit to the holy Ghost to beleeve the love of the Father to depend upon Christs satisfaction and apply his righteousnes to prize the love of the Father the merit of Christ the grace and comforts of the Spirit above a World in a word to sell all for Christ and give up all to Christ resolving to be ruled by himself and his spirit for evermore Now the soule hath a new life put into it it hungers and thirsts for a more intimate Communion with Father Son and holy Ghost and this hungry soule sucks whilest the breast is open till it hath filled it self with substantiall nourishment reviving Cordials This devout soule becomes as Chrysostome styled Saint Paul an insatiable worshipper of Father Son and holy Ghost it desires to grow in grace to presse on towards perfection to have Father Son and holy Ghost to come sup with it dwell in it rule in it that it may be enriched with the unsearchable riches of Christ and filled with all the fulness of God This converted soule doth after these Penitentiall meltings Fiduciall breathings after Christ and obedientall closing with Father Son and holy Ghost differ as much from it self when it was most ingenuous before its conversion as an Angell doth from a Divell For the most ingenuous and refined sort of unregenerate men have nothing in them which is more excellent then
exclude false gods but I say it doth also deny Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost to be different Gods other gods from God the Father because they are one and the same God with the Father as is evident in those two places 1 Iohn 5. 7. 20. cited before Those learned men doe well to exclude false gods the Socinians do ill to exclude the Son and Spirit who are the same God with the Father onely doth exclude every false god but the Son and Spirit are as the Father is the onely true God blessed for ever The term onely doth not exclude any Divine person but it doth exclude all and every one of the creatures because every Divine person hath the same Divine nature but no creature is capable of the Divine nature unlesse we do understand it as 2 Pet. 1. 4. is to be understood of the image of God or having such an interest in the Divine Attributes that God will exercise and put forth his wisdome power and all for their everlasting good and be himself their all sufficient reward portion and objective happinesse And it is to be observed that the termes Only and True are both applied to the same part of the Proposition namely to the Praedicate alone 5. This is life eternall to know thee But the Text saith This is life eternall to know Iesus Christ also that is this is the way and meanes for the obtaining of eternall life and this is the beginning of eternal life to know believe love and obey Jesus Christ. But eternall life is perfected by knowing of God in heaven not by faith but by sight Now eternall life doth not consist in the knowledge belief or love of any meer creature and therefore the Godhead of Jesus Christ is proved out of this very Text which they urge who deny his Godhead to justifie their blasphemy in the denial of it 6. Eternall life doth consist in knowing of Jesus Christ whom God hath sent to be our Mediatour and this eternall life will be perfected in heaven when the mediation of Christ will have an end and therefore it is the knowing of and believing in this Mediatour as God satisfying for us which makes us happy for he doth perfect the work of Mediatour as God by his eternall Spirit that is his divine nature Heb. 9. 14. and by the bloud of God Act. 20. 28. By the sufferings of the Lord of glory 1 Cor. 2. 8. for he obtained eternall redemption for us by vertue of his eternall spirit Heb. 9. 12. 14. 7. To know Jesus that is to know him as a Saviour as one that saves us from our sins is to know him as a God as one God with his Father as the true God the only God according to that which we read Isa. 43. 10 11 12 25. that ye may know and believe and understand that I am he I even I am Iehovah and beside me there is no Saviour And Isa. 45. 21 22 23 24 25. There is no God else beside me A just God a Saviour there is none beside me Look unto me and be ye saved all the ends of the earth for I am God and there is none else to me every knee shall bow in Jehovah have I righteousnesse In Iehovah shall the seed of Israel be justified Compare this with Rom. 14. 10 11 and the Socinians may as safely conclude that theâ—e is no other God but Jesus Christ as they maâ— conclude that there is no God but God the Father from the 17. of Iohn But they and we ought to conclude from these and the other Scriptures mentioned before that Iesus Christ is not a different God from his Father but is one and the same God with him These exclusive and restrictive Terms One and Alone c. doe not then exclude any of those three who are one in nature and essence though they differ in their manner of subsistence for I cannot conclude from that â—ext 1 Cor. 8. 6. To us there is but one God the Father c. that the Father only is God no more then I can conclude from the words following in the very samâ— verse and one Lord Jesus Christ that Christ only is Lord and so exclude the Father from Lordship as the Socimans would exclude the Son from the Godhead 1 Tim 6. 14 15 16. is urged by some to prove that Jesus Christ only hath immortality but they dare not conclude from thence that God the Father is not immortall I read Mat 23. 10. One is your Master even Christ but I must not conclude that the Father is not our Master for the Father teaches Ioh. 6. 45. and the Holy Ghost was Doctor Master Teacher even to the Apostles themselves Ioh. 14. 26. Ioh 16. 13. If that Text 1 Tim. 6. 15 16. be meant as some conceive it is of God the Father yet I find the same Titles given to Jesus Christ Rev. 19. 16. and therefore I conclude That both are one and the same immortall God and King 1 â—im 1. 12 16 17. 1 Joh. 5. 20. I read 1 Cor. 12. 4. That the same God worketh all in all v. 11. that one and the self same Spirit worketh all but I dare not conclude from thence that the Spirit only is God and that the Father and the Sonne work nothing at all From these and many other such like expressions we may safely conclude 1. That these terms one and only are not alwayes universally exclusive in the Scripture sense if all circumstances be duly considered and the Scriptures rightly compared 1 Cor. 9. 6. I only and Barnabas The word only doth not exclude Barnabas but include him Barnabas was joyned with Paul but Jesus Christ is more nearly joyned with the Father Ioh 8. 9. Jesus was left alone but the woman was with him all that were for her condemnation are excluded 1 King 12. 20. There are two exclusive termes There was none followed the house of David but the Tribe of Iudah only and yet the Tribe of Benjamin adhered to David as you may read in the next verse But surely the Father Son and Holy Ghost are more closely united then the Tribe of Iudah was with the Tribe of Benjamin Deut. 1. 36. None should see the good Land save Caleb but Iosuah is joyned with him v. 38. and therefore he was not excluded You see here is some union or conjunction still between the persons that are included but there is the highest union nay unity between the Father Sonne and Spirit because these three are one in nature and that nature most simply single and singularly one 2. When the term Only or any the like term is applied to the Divine nature or to any Divine Title Attribute or Work the Father Son and Holy Ghost being one in nature cannot be divided or separated by that exclusive terme though there is a personal difference between them and a speciall order
the Beasts mark they renounce the Dragon and his Angels all his pomps vanities worship and all the furniture of his worship all the errours and Idols of the false Prophets though they lose their trading the comforts of their life yea and life it selfe This is the Lambs mark 9. These Redeemed Virgins make a publike profession of their faith in and love to the Lamb and his Father they have the marke of both in their forehead and they cry aloud their voice is like the voice of Thunder Rev. 14 1 2. Rev. 5. 12. They are not ashamed or afraid to acknowledge Father Son and the holy Spirit the only and adequate object of divine Faith and Worship and the sole cause of Justification Sanctification Redemption Peace and Glory for all this is held forth to us clearly in this Book of the Revelation and there is a speciall blessing promised to such as read and heare the words of this Prophesie and keep those things which are written therein â—Rev 1. 3. And amongst other blessings they have the blessing of victory and triumph vouchsafed them they get victory over the Beast over his Image his Marke and the number of his Name Rev. 15. 2. They defie the Romane errours and Idols and are armed with faith and patience against this cruelty and Tyranny of Antichrist They cannot be enticed by any rewards seduced by any subtilties terrified by any threats to embrace any doctrine or forme of worship derogotary to the honour of the Father the Lamb or the holy Spirit for the Spirit doth in this Book teach the Churches to come in to Christ and defie the Beast and the Churches hearken to the Spirit as the Fountain of truth grace peace and glory This is the mystery of Gospel-worship we must beleeve love adore obey the Father the Lamb and the Spirit of Grace and Peace the Doctour and Comforter of all Christian Churches throughout all the foure quarters of the world East West North South that so the promise Isaiah 43. may be exactly fulfilled Rev. 7. 9 10. A great multitude an innumerable multitude of all Nations cry Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the Throne and unto the Lamb. The Kingdoms of the World must become the Kingdoms of the Lord and of his Christ. Rev 11. 15. And when the Divell and his Angels who deceive the World accuse the Brethren and blaspheme Christ are cast forth then there is a loud voice in Heaven Now is come Salvation and strength and the Kingdom of our God and the Power of his Christ for the Accuser of our Brethren is cast down c. Rev. 12. 9 10. In a word when the Redeemed Virgins and noble Conquerours come to sing their triumphant Song that Song doth contain the Scope of the Law and the substance of the Gospell for they are to sing the Song of Moses and the Song of the Lamb. Rev. 15. 3. And they who sing are such as do keep the Commandements of God and the testimony of Iesus Rev. 12. 17. And the testimony of Jesus is the Testimony of the Spirit delivered in the Word to the Churches of Christ Rev. 2. 7 11. all three persons do deliver the same testimony 1 Ioh. 5. 7. but the Son and the Spirit do most eminently joyne in delivering their testimony Rev. 2. 11 18 29. Rev. 3. 1 6 7 13 14 21 22. Rev. 19. 10. The Spirit doth encourage them to beleeve his Testimony and follow the Lambe and the Martyrs are slaine for the Word of God and for the testimony which they held Rev. 6. 9. and they overcome by the bloud of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony Rev. 12. 11. The testimony of the Spirit and the testimony of Iesus Rev. 12. 17. And when the Spirit hath encouraged them to love Christ better then their lives Rev. 12. 11. and they have overcome by the testimony of the Spirit and the bloud of the Lamb then the Spirit doth pronounce them blessed Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord yea saith the Spirit Rev. 14. 13. The Church is begotten instructed perswaded governed upheld comforted by the holy Spirit as Babylon is the habitation of Devils and the hold of every foule spirit Rev 18. 2. It is the Spirit which wooes the Church and perswades her to be the wife of the Lambe and to make her selfe ready for the marriage And the Spirit and the Bride say come Rev 22. 17. And that we may look upon this whole Prophesie as comming from the Spirit as well as the Lamb the Angel assures us that the Testimony of Iesus is the Spirit of Prophesie Rev 19. 10. The love of the Father and the grace of the Lord Jesus is communicated to us by the holy Spirit and therefore although the grace of the Lord Iesus is alone expressed in the close of this Booke of the Revelation yet the love of the Father and Communion of the holy Spirit must needs be understood according to the Prayer in the beginning of the Book Rev. 1. 4 5. Grace c. 3. The Spirit is worshipped in this Book of the Revelation Grace be to you and peace from the seven Spirits Rev. 1. 4. It is not agreeable to the Christian faith to pray unto Angels and beg grace and peace of them They do not hold the Head who worship Angels Col. 2. 18 19. Angels are our fellow servants and do forbid us to give that worship to them which is due to God only and they refuse to be worshipped because it is contrary to the Testimony of Jesus Rev. 19. 10. And I fell at his feet to worship him and he said unto me see thou do it not I am thy fellow servant and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Iesus worship God This is the testimony of Jesus Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve Mat. 4. 10. The Book of the Revelation doth containe divers cleare testimonies against worshipping of Angels I am of them saith the Angel that keep the saying of this Book worship God Rev. 22. 9. And therefore that place Rev. 1. 4. must needs be understood of the holy Spirit For God will not give his glory to another and good Angels will not take it from him but protest against this Will worship as Idolatry The Holy Ghost is called seven Spirits by an usuall Metalepsis of the effect for the cause he doth pour forth various gifts seven is a note of Perfection and the holy Spirit one and the same Spirit is given to all the seven Churches every Church hath so much of the holy Ghost as is necessary and it runs as if every one of the seven Churches had seven Spirits because every one hath enough of the Spirit for their Sanctification and Salvation The Apostle therefore begging
13 14 16 Here is the freewill of the Elect but Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Iesus Christ who hath blessed us with all spirituall blessings in heavenly places in Christ according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and unblameable before him in love c. Ephes. 1. 3 4 5. Our thankfulnesse should be shewen for this free Grace to all three Persons in our thanksgiving believing obeving as is cleare from these places and so our prayers should be answerable to our faith love and thankfulness and therefore it is observable that in the very same Chapter the Apostle makes his addresse after this modell That the God of our Lord Iesus Christ the Father of glory may give unto you the Spirit of Wisdome and Revelation in the acknowledgement of Christ Ephes. 1. 17. and so 2 Thes. 2 16. Rev. 1. 4 5. 2 Cor. 13. 14. many other places may be urged which containe the mystery of faith worship and obedience and if Christ and his Spirit be not alwaies named in them yet the benefits of Christ the gifts graces fruits comforts of the spirit which are named do direct us to both Moreover when the name of God is used indefinitely all three Persons must be understood to be comprehended in that essentiall Title because they are one and the same God Finally one Person doth subsist in another and the same honour is due to all three because all three have the same divine Nature which is single because infinite and therefore there is enough discovered to prevent all scruples in the upright-hearted and Cavils in the contrary-minded Read the third and fourth Chapters of the Epistle to the Colossians and there you will see a very pregnant proofe of this point Put on therefore as the Elect of God holy and beloved bowels of mercies kindnesse humbleness of mind above all these things put on charity let the peace of God rule in your hearts do all in the name of the Lord Iesus giving thanks to God and the Father by him What ever you do do it heartily as to the Lord. And then the summe of all their requests is That they may stand perfect and compleat in all the will of God This takes in the full scope of Law and Gospell whatever belongs to faith worship or obedience whatever is just and equall or well-pleasing unto God Col. 3. 20. Col. 4. 1. And the Epistle to the Ephesians runs parallel with this to the Colossians Ye are elected and therefore ye must be holy before all three Coessentiall Persons by whom ye were elected ye must beleeve the Word of truth as the truth is in Iesus that ye may be sealed with the Spirit and filled with all the fulnesse of God ye must bow your knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ you must study the unity of Faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God ye must keep the unity of the Spirit ye must grow up into Christ in all things ye must not grieve the holy Spirit whereby ye are sealed unto the day of Redemption but maintaine a fruitfull fellowship with God in Christ by the communion of the holy Ghost for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousnesse and truth ye must be filled with the Spirit giving thanks alwaies for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Iesus Christ ye must do whatsoever is right or equall Ephes. 6. 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 this is right just and equall Put on the whole armor of God take the sword of the Spirit the shield of Faith pray alwaies with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit Peace be to the Brethren and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity I need make no inferences the words are so plaine that they prove the point in terminis terminantibus as we use to say Consider the discourse of the Apostle in the Epistle to the Romans where the Apostle hath even lost his reader in the depth of this Mystery of the eternal counsel of Father Son and holy spirit he puts this question to all the busie disputants who hath known the mind of the Lord or who hath been his Counsellour and concludes that of him and through him and to him are all things to whom be glory for ever Amen We have mercy from him faith and repentance from him by an effectual vocation according to his purpose of election Rom. 8 28 29. Rom. 9. 11. 15. 16. 18 23 24 29 30. Rom. 10. 20. Rom. 11. 2 5 6 7 29 30 32. 36. We have mercy grace and glory from all three and therefore all honour and glory be to all three for ever Amen And the Apostle doth beseech the God of patience and consolation the God of hope and the God of peace to fill them with all joy and peace in beleeving that they may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost who is the God of hope comfort and peace for the Kingdom of God doth consist in righteousnesse and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost Rom. 14. 17. and if wee serve Christ who is God blessed for ever Rom. 9. 5. in these things we shall be acceptable to God and approved of men Rom. 14. 18. The fruits of the spirit in us are markes because fruits of our election by God The Apostle writing to the Church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ begs grace and peace for them from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ remembers their work of faith labour of love and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of God and our Father and then concludes their election of God because the Gospel came to them in power and in the Holy Ghost for they received the Word in much affliction with joy of the Holy Ghost The Apostle exhorts them in every thing to give thanks because it is the will of God in Christ Jesus and bids them beware of quenching the Spirit and beseeches the Spirit who is undeniably the God of Peace and by special office our Sanctifyer and Comforâ—er to sanctfy us wholly The very God of peace sanctify you wholly c. And the Apostle discourses in like manner in the second Epistle to Timothy God saith he hath given us the spirit of power of love and of a sound mind saved us and called us with an holy calling according to his own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Iesus before the world began And tells us that every one who doth pretend to be elected or presumes to call upon Christ and claim an interest in him must depart from iniquity be sanctifyed
that he may be meet for the masters use and prepared unto every good work I instance in some dark expressions on purpose to shew that even in them there is by interpretation an acknowledgment That we are elected by Father Son and Holy Ghost to Grace Peace and Glory and therefore ought to admire beleeve worship love obey all three Persons as one and the same God blessed for ever we must be holy before them in faith and love 2. If we consider our Creation we are created by Father Son and Holy Ghost as hath been proved and therefore we were created for the worship and service of all three The spirit of Elohim sate upon the waters hatched the world and all the beauty and glory of it 3. If we consider the vigorous providence of God all things are preserved upheld maintained ordered governed by Father Son and Holy Ghost the Holy-Ghost governs the Church and over-rules the world also 4. If we consider our fall and therein our abominable sin and the intolerable curse due unto it 1. Our sin which we committed in Adam the first sin it was a sin of cursed atheisme divellish pride unbelief rebellion apostacy a sinning sin because it did disable pollute infect poyson both our souls and bodies with originall and damnable corruption all sins against Father Son and Holy-Ghost proceed from this root of bitternesse 2. The curse due to this sin is intolerable unavoidable it is the curse of an Omniscient and Omnipotent God a temporal spiritual eternall Curse the Curse of the Father Son and Holy Ghost Men and Angels cannot help us we cannot be pardoned Redeemed Sanctified Adopted Comforted Saved but by the Father Son and Holy Ghost still this doctrine of the Coessentiall Trinunity must be preached and applyed for our spirituall and eternal good as will appeare by our following discourse 5. If we consider our effectuall vocation The father cals us in Christ by his Spirit speaking in Law and Gospel and working powerfully upon our consciences and hearts all three Persons do joyntly performe this saving work Shew which Person can be spared 6. Our Iustification is by the free-grace of the Father manifested in the Covenant of grace by the righteousnesse of Christ imputed by the Father and applyed by the Spirit our faith is grounded on the Testimony of the Spirit and wrought by the efficacy of the Spirit 7. Our Redemption is by the Father who gave us his Son by Christ who gave us himself by the Spirit who doth draw us unto Christ and puts us into the armes and bosome of our Redeemer We are redeemed from the guilt and punishment of sin more eminently by Christ but we are redeemed from the power and dominion of sin from our vaine conversation from this present evill world and tyranny of Sathan not only by the death resurrection and intercession of Christ but by the efficacy and power of the holy Ghost And it is to be observed that though Christ makes the Purchase yet the Spirit makes and gives the Assurance 8. Our Adoption is by all three The Father doth adopt us in Christ by the Spirit of Adoption 9. The Covenant of Grace is made and confirmed by all three 10. The Church is gathered instructed preserved saved by all three the Church enjoyes and maintaines spirituall and heavenly communion with all three in all Ordinances and duties 3 Cor. 13. 4 1. In hearing the word Father Son and holy Spirit do all teach us as hath beene proved at large John 6. 45. 1 Cor. 2. 13. Heb. 1. 1 2. Heb. 3. 7. 2. We are baptized in the name of all three devoted dedicated consecrated to the service of all three 1 Cor. 12. 12 13. Mat. 28. Tit. 3. 5 6. 1 Pet. 3. 21. Matth. 3. 11. Iohn 3. 5. Rom. 6. 3 4 5 6. we are adopted into the family of God that we may be married to the Son of God and made coâ—heirs with Christ in glory 3. In the Lords Supper the Father invites and entertains us gives us his Son for our Head Husband Saviour Feast and all Christ gives us his Body and Blood to nourish us and the Spirit enables us to receive this spirituall nourishment after a spirituall manner that we may thrive and grow thereby the Spirit mortifies our lusts strengthens our faith renews our repentance inflames our zeale pacifies our conscience purifies our heart assures us of the favour and love of God seals our pardon to us and seals us up to the day of redemption The love of the Father The Grace of the Son The Communion and Peace of the Spirit is so plentifully vouchsafed to experimentall Christians in this Sacrament that I may well subscribe Probatum est 4. In Prayer and thanksgiving we do manifestly hold Communion with all three First We pray to the Father in the name of Christ by the power of the spirit of supplication Ephes. 2. 18. 1 Cor. 1. 2. 1 Thes. 3. 11. Rom. 8. Gal. 4. 2 Thes. 2. 16. Rev. 1. 4. Secondly Our thankfull praises Eph. 3. 21. Ephes. 5. 18 19 20. are presented to all three 5. We keep a Sabbath to Father Son and holy Spirit all our Fiduciall breathings after God all our Penitentiall meltings before God our Obedientiall closing with God our pangs of love raptures of zeale extasies of joy do arise and spring from the beliefe and consideration of the rich grace tender mercies and sweetest love of our deare Father our beloved Saviour and our sanctifying Comforter Gal. 2. 20. Col. 1. 12. Ephes. 1. 3 5 6 11 13 17. Eph. 2. 4 5 6 8. 1 Pet. 1. 8. Every Lords day much more every Sacrament-day should be a sealing day a sanctifying day an edifying saving Sabbath God doth upon such daies take as wholy off from our own business that we might make it our only business to serve and enjoy God by maintaining an holy Communion with God in Christ by the effectuall working of the holy Ghost for a whole day together that we may in the close of the day attaine the end of our Sabbath-service which is a rest of complacency sweet content and full satisfaction in the armes and bosome of a Father a Saviour and a Comforter this this is to enjoy a Christian Sabbath The heathens knew something of a Sabbath The Jewish Holy days were Appendices to the fourth Commandement and therefore might be well taken off again the morall Commandement remaining entire For it is granted that they are taken off from the second Commandement and yet that remaines entirely morall and I beleeve it will be cleare to any man that studies the point that the Jewish holy daies did belong most properly and directly to the second Commandement Indirectly and but Reductively to the fourth because they were at most
common grace and common grace leaves them in the state of Nature under the power of sin and in the very suburbs of Hell wholly at the command of Sathan and if any man think otherwise let him take heed that very thought doth not naile him fast to that unregenerate and cursed estate for evermore Beleeve it Brethren that Historicall faith and Naturall wisdome do but excite some pang of self-self-love which makes us very solicitous how we may stop the mouth of our convinced conscience with some kind of ingenuous Civilities and outward formalities without any penitent acknowledgment of our sinfull and cursed estate any prudent esteeme of Christ whose bloud merit righteousness and grace ought to be prized above a world We never seeke Christ in earnest till he hath first sought us found us out and brought us home by his preventing quickening saving grace And when Christ dwels conquering and reigning in the soule the soule is not content with civilities and formalities with common grace or some low degree of speciall grace but it aimes at grace in perfection the heart is kindly broken by Faith and Love the soule is humble thankfull zealous mercifull diligent constant in serving Christ and Christians upon all occasions Civill and Formall men may by legall terrours be brought to some kind of Devotion they may by an Historicall saith be brought to some kind of admiration of the Gospel to many good wishes and velleities nay to a Reformation in many particulars but because they undervalue the love of the Father the grace of Christ the Communion of the Holy Ghost and consequently the power of godlinesse notwithstanding all their terrours wishes admiration reformation and hankerings after Christ and Heaven they perish in their unbelief because they never had any hungry and thirsty desires restlesse desires after Christ such as would not be satisfied without him wrought in their souls by the light of the Gospel power of the Spirit serious and seasonable offers of Christ. They never come to a deliberate choyce and thankfull acceptance of Christ to be their Saviour Husband Priest Prophet and King but did indeed choose rather to be Satans bondslaves then Christs spouse they would not make a prudent exchange of Satans fetters for Christs yoake and therefore are but dancing to hell with their fetters in the fairest path that they can possibly find to the chambers of death they could never be perswaded to be content with Christ alone as their al-sufficient portion and therefore refused to sell all for him and give up all to him but did upon mature deliberation and in coole blood reject Christ resist his Spirit refuse a pardon of sinne and Deed of Heaven purchased and sealed with the Heart-blood of God and this very consideration will sting the conscience and torment the soule of these everlasting Bedlams when they lie in chains of darknes cursing themselves to all eternity and blaspheming God for torturing of them in the angry flames of hellish brimstone But that this mystery may be yet more freely discovered take any man that is not guilty of the black and unpardonable sin of trampling on the blood of Christ and doing despight to the Spirit of grace and let him be one of the most desperate villains that ever served the devil and I dare encourage this wretch whom hell and Satan do even gape and groane for to go to Christ for preventing grace that the Holy Spirit may set home the curses of the Law and the more severe threatnings of the Gospel upon his obdurate heart in a saving way and beseech him to knock early at Heaven-gate the sooner the better because God gives Christ and his Spirit a Pardon and a Crown as Fathers give lands to their children only because they will give them he gives all Freely and Royally Christ hath gifts for the rebellious also God shews mercy and gives grace to them that do deserve neither grace nor mercy And if the spirit do open the eyes and heart of this man that the sense of his own devillish bruitishnesse may move him to enquire after God and Christ Prov. 30. 1 2 3. and gives him present support from falling under the weight of his own sin and Gods curse into despair after illumination conviction terrors before he come to hunger after Christ submit to him and close with him as an al-sufficient Saviour and an only Saviour This trembling soul may in the midst of cares and hopes and terrors be encouraged and enabled by a Spirit of Regeneration with all humility joy and thankfulnesse to accept of Christ and rest upon him for righteousnesse and life by a faith of Dependance Adherence Recumbence and to submit and melt with Evangelical repentance at a Throne of grace and when his heart is thus broken by faith and love which do cast out unbelief self-love and slavish fear which tends to despair this even now very black soule but now purified by the Spirit of Regeneration and revived by the Spirit of Adoption sprinkling the blood of Christ upon his conscience and shedding the love of God abroad in his heart will be encouraged to call God Father and Christ Saviour the Father will meet embrace adorn him wipe off his tears and filth and kisse that prodigal mouth which came from feeding with swine and kissing of harlots Christ will bid this soule welcome it shall be thrice welcome to this Co-essentiall Trinunity For God who brought his pardoning mercy preventing and effectuall grace to us when we looked not after him will surely bid us welcome when we come unto him with a prudent care a lively faith a Son-like reverence a penitent indignation against our sin and lusts melting affections and yearning bowels towards him and flaming zeale in his service and for his cause He who ran and called after us when we looked not after him will not reject us when we come unto him out of tender respect and hearty love to him and his service He that hath the Spirit shall have Son and Father also Let all churlish Nabals proud Pharises politick Gallios scoffing Ishmaels impenitent Formalists and unbeleeving Atheists consider what hath been said and look upon themselves as guilty of eternal death let them heare with wonder and amazement let them beleeve and tremble and let all the enemies of the grace of God Pelagians Papists c. know that all preparatives are wrought by the Word Spirit and that it is one great preparative to abhor the thought of all meritoriousness in all or any of those preparatives which make way for the infusion of faith for faith is the free gift of God and though there be many necessary preparatives to drive us to Christ yet there are no meritorious Qualifications in us to bribe God allure Christ or deserve grace The Spirit works when where and as he pleases and he who doth not prize the love of the Father the grace of Christ and Communion of the
age do professe Faith in and obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ according to the Rules of Faith and Life delivered in the Word 3. Desire that the above mentioned Officers should be incorporated in one Eldership and joyn in all acts of Government of the Church 4. Hold the same censures of Admonition and Excommunication and do likewise receive such as have been censured into communion again as soon as they give testimony of their repentance to them Godly Independents doe acknowledg that Parochial Churches wherein Ministers and others endeavor to remove all things justly offensive that so all ordinances may be administred in purity are true Churches of Christ. 2. They retaine Communion with these Parochicall Churches by baptizing their Children and receiving the Lords Supper there as occasion serves And if occasionall Communion with us be lawfull constant Communion with us would not be sinfull 3. They receive the members of such parishes as aforesaid unto Communion with themselves in their own Congregations also occasionally 4. They professe that they are ready to give an account to such Parochiall Congregations as to Sister-Churches whensoever they are offended at any irregular administrations in Independent Churches 5. They esteem a sentence of Non-Communion passed by such Parochicall Congregations is Churches against them upon any scandall wherein they are unsatisfied as a means to humble them and as an ordinance of God to reduce them Much more might be added But it is clear from these premises that prudent and godly Independents cannot conceive themselves obliged 1. To set up other Churches with differing rules of Constitution or Worship For Presbyterians and Independents did both agree in the same Confession of Faith and Directory for Worship and resolved to practice most of the same things and those the most substantiall in respect of Government also as doth appeare by those few transactions in the Assembly and Committee for Accommodation which have been Printed 2. Nor can they say that they are enforced to gather new Churches out of true Reformed Churches for a circumstantiall difference cannot be a sufficient ground for leaving of all ordinary Communion with true reforming Churches The prudent and godly Presbyterians have set no bounds to themselves in their Reformation but the Word of God and therefore if the Independents will set forth a compleat Modell of their whole Church-way and Church-order fully freely and clearely and prove it by plaine Texts out of the holy Scriptures we shall thankfully receive whatsoever they shall convincingly impart And I shall be bold to say that there had been a judicious affectionate and practicall Accommodation between us notwithstanding some speculative differences in notionall Ideas if there had been no interposition of Statesmen or Sword-men when the Committee of Accommodation had sadly considered and reviewed all materiall Arguments on this side and on that And if you set aside all reasons of State and saecular considerations I do not see why men who agree in the substance of the Service and Worship of God in the Directory according to the Preface in the Confession of Faith set forth by the Assembly and in the Doctrine contained in the Confessions and Writings of the reformed Churches should not mind the same thing and walk by the same Rule that there might be a Practicall Communion between us in all points wherein there is a Doctrinal Agreement and we might go hand in hand to heaven together with meeknesse of wisdome and sincerity of love Let men of both perswasions beware of such a superstitious tendernesse as doth usually arise from some unconscionable errour and unmortified lust because it is no priviledge but a judgement to be given up to errour or lust and from such ensnaring liberty which is indeed perfect bondage good Lord deliver us No man is obliged to follow the Positive Praescript of an erroneous conscience in any point or case whatsoever Differences of Iudgment did not extinguish the relation of membership amongst the Romans and Corinthians And it is certaine that the Substantials of Church-Government must not be changed in every age acording to the graduall differences of light in severall persons and Congregations We humbly desire that there may be a strict and mutuall obligation condescended to in some expedient by all godly men of both perswasions for mutuall edification and for the preservation of all the Churches in these Dominions in truth godlinesse and peace that we may not passe unchristian censures upon our Christian Brethren Let all private quarrels then fall to the ground and let us mind the common interest of the Lord Iesus and seriously promote it in our respective places in faith and love And let all Statesmen beware 1. That they do not fall into the same spirituall or civill evils which they themselves have condemned in the King and Prelates 2. Beware of ERASTIANISME which doth overthrow all Church-government both Presbyterian and Independent 3. Take heed of CIVILL SCEPTICISME which doth overthrow the Fundamentals of publike Faith and publike rights and plucks up all Civill Government by the roots 4. Beware of Familisticall Polytheisme for the Familists affirme that there are as many Christs as many Gods manifested in the flesh as there are Saints on earth But to us there is but one God and one Lord Iesus Christ it is enough for blind Pagans to talk of many Gods and many Mediatours 5. Beware of Atheisme the great Monster of this Age compounded of Socinianisme Familisme Libertinisme and Antinomianisme The Ephesians complaine of none but robbers of Churches and blasphemers Acts 19. 37. But we have cause to complaine of them and Apostates Idolaters Atheists and what not 6. Beware of a Toleration of intolerable errours Reverend Mr Cotton is afraid that the Antichristian Whore will steale in at the Back-doore of a Toleration The Magistrates of England are engaged by the Oath of God to root out whatsoever is contrary to sound Doctrine and the Power of Godlinesse That man is seduced by a private Spirit as you observe well in your Orthodox Book who lusteth after envy after Sects and Divisions but the holy Spirit is a Catholike Spirit a Spirit of Catholike Faith and Catholike love an unreserved and universall Love to all that beleeve and love the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us then all hold fast the wholesome forme of sound words in faith and love For they who waver against the credit of their own testimony are not as the Civilians say to be heard or regarded because they have lost their credit We are reserved for some service in this declining Age and therefore it doth become us to be Orthodox Saints steady Christians that our Posterity may imitate us and see those glorious daies which some conceive are come already because they have attained a little vainglory in this Age of vanity The Writers of this present time who seeme to contradict one another concerning the light and glory of
Pet. 1. 21. Rom. 9. 1. Rev. 2. 23. The Holy Ghost is Omnipresent he dwels in all Saints as in a Temple he repaires adornes beautifies his Temple and acts in every single Saint as the spirit of disobedience acts in Children of wrath we cannot flie from the presence of the spirit because he is Omnipresent Psal. 139. 7. By what hath been already written it is evident that the Holy Ghost hath the titles and attributes of God he doth performe works proper to God and that devine Honour is due unto him I shall clearly prove because it is denyed by the blasphemous wits of this discoursing age The Holy Ghost who spake by Isaiah the Prophet is worshipped by the Angels of God as is most evident by comparing Isa. 6. 3. 9. with Acts 28. 25. 26 The whole Church of God is exhorted to worship the Holy Ghost as the Great God as Jehovah as our Make to how down and kneel before him that is to give him divine worship both inward and outward because he is our God as appears by comparing Psa. 95. 3. 6. 7. with Heb. 3. 7 8. 9. The Apostle gives divine Honour to the Holy Ghost when he appeals to him as to the searcher of hearts Rom. 9. 1. and the Holy Ghost who speaks to the Churches joynes with the son of God who speaks to them also in searching of the heart and reines Revel 2. 17. 18. 23. and all the Churches are commanded to hearken to both as unto God blessed for ever Our soules and bodies are said to be the Temples of God because they are the Temples of the Holy Ghost and therefore we are commanded to worship and glorify the holy Ghost with our souls and bodies for the spirit doth dwell in his Temple that he may be worshiped in his Temple The Temple is a profane place if there be no worship there and it is must be pure holy and spirituall worship and sacrifice such as the holy spirit delights in else the Temple will be defiled destroyed Compare 1 Cor. 3. 15. 16 17. 1 Cor. 6 19 20. 2 Cor. 6. 16. 18. and 2 Cor. 7. 1. The Church is blessed in the name of the Holy Ghost as in the name of God and the communion of the holy spirit is spirituall and saving as well as the speciall grace of Christ and love of the Father as appeares by that solemn Apostolicall benediction 2 Cor. 13. 14. and the beloved Disciple proclames the spirit to be the fountaine of grace and peace as well as the Father of Jesus Christ and therfore doth beg grace and peace of the Spirit of grace who doth purify and pacify our hearts for all the Churches Revel 1. 4. The holy Ghost doth regulate all Churches and Church-affaires Acts 13. 2. 4 Acts 15. 28. Acts 20 28. Baptisme is administred in the name and for the Honour of the holy Ghost Matth. 8 19 The holy Ghost doth bestow upon us and work in us those spirituall and glorious blessings which are sealed in or conveyed by Baptisme and therefore we are more especially Baptized by the holy Ghost Matth. 3. 11. Iohn 3. â— 6 for we are born of the spirit regenerated washed renewed by the spirit who purifies the soule as water doth the body Titus 3. 5 6. The violation of the Honour and worship of the Holy Ghost is most severely punished Mark 3. 29. Hebr. 6. 4 Hebr. 1â— 28. 29. and therefore there is speciall care taken in the holy Scriptures both for the preservation and vindication of the honour of the Holy Ghost we must not grieve vex resist quench the Holy Ghost that is we must not displease him we must not disobey him we must obey his dictates his motions we must be quickened taught led ruled governed by him we must attribute all the glorious Titles to the Holy Ghost given him in Scripture of which we have so largely discoursed we must acknowledge him to be the Spirit of Truth and therefore must beleeve in him the spirit of supplication the spirit of grace and holinesse and therefore love him and pray to him we must either renounce our Baptisme in his Name or else we must confesse that we are obliged to beleeve in him reverence love obey glorifie him with all inward and outward worship for we are debtours to the Spirit to live to the Spirit and glorifie the Spirit of regeneration who works in us the instrument of Justification that there may be an effectuall application of Christ to our souls though Christ make the purchase the Spirit of adoption makes the assurance he seals us up to the day of redemption and therefore good reason have we to offer up our souls and bodies in a spirituall sacrifice to him for these temples were made for sacrifice Rom. 12. 1 2. 1 Pet. 2. 5 Now if God who will not give his glory to another because he is true and just gives all this glory to the Holy Ghost it concerns us to glorifie him If there were not all this and a great deal more to be said for the honour of the Holy Ghost yet it were an invincible argument to me if I could only say that the Holy Ghost is God and therefore to be worshipped as God with Divine worship The Holy Ghost is one with the Father and the Son one God and therefore all three are to be worshipped with the same Divine worship It were enough for such men as have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost or no Acts 19. 2. to talk as the filthy dreamers and blasphemous Hereticks of this rotten age usually doe who belch out the language of Hell against the Spirit of Grace and I cannot but wonder that subtile Iesuites Arminians and Socinians who pretend to study and search the Scriptures should say that there is nothing to be found in Scripture concerning the worshipping of the Holy Ghost That the Spirit acts according to the Counsell of his Divine will hath been sufficiently proved only it must be considered that as Father Son and Spirit have but one Nature so they have but one Will. Concerning the Peculiar and Personall properties of the Holy Ghost I shall treat when I come to speak of the distinction of these subsistences For conclusion of this chapter I am to prove that the Godhead doth subsist in Father Son and Spirit all three without any multiplication of the Godhead The Father and the Son are but one God Iohn 10. 30. I and my Father are one The Father Son and Spirit all three are but one God 1 John 5. 7. There is but one God Ephes. 4. 6. Deut. 6. 4. Isa. 44. 6. 8. Isa. 45. 21. 22. Nay there can be but one God there can be but one most Perfect being one infinite Perfection the most perfect being is the most single being and therefore Father Son and Holy Ghost are all three
4. 8. and not by the meere favour of any one or more of the Coessentiall persons And therefore both the generation of the Son and breathing forth of the Spirit must needs be Eternall because both are Naturall for whatsoever is Naturall unto God must needs be Eternall but because the Father is the first Personall Principle of subsisting life all is from him by the Son 1 Cor. 8. 6. and all is referred back again to him as the first Personall Principle even by the Son Iohn 5. 19. in regard of the Fathers Self subsistence his order of subsisting and his communicating f subsistence to the Son and Holy Ghost though all things in the world are wrought by the Spirit also as hath been shewen And hence it is that the Name of God is most familiarly given to the faâ—ther both in the Old and the New Testament â—hough Father Son and Holy Ghost are all equally God nay are one and the same God who is the only true God blessed for ever We may then look upon the Son admire and blesse the Father look upon the Father and blesse the Son look upon Father and Son and blesse the Spirit look upon all three admire and blesse adore and love know beleeve and obey all three coequal persons subsisting in the same most single Godhead and have accesse to the Father through the Son and by the Spirit with reverence and confidence zeal and love CHAP. VI. The Divine Subsistence being the most excellent Subsistence that is or can be the word Subsistence or Person cannot be attributed after the same manner to God Angels and Men. IT is not my businesse at this time to make any Metaphysicall distinction between the Persons of Men and Angels bâ—â— I desire to distinguish between created anâ— uncreated Persons because uncreated Persons subsist in one single and infinite essâ—nce It may seem strange to some Metaphysical wits that one Person and much more thâ—â— three distinct Persons should subsist in oâ—â— single and undivided essence but these discoursing wits do not distinguish betweeâ— created and uncreated Persons 2. 〈◊〉 ground their faith on scholastical subtiltieâ— 3. Do not study the Holy Scriptures wiâ—â— humility and faith and beg a blessing oâ— their studies by fervent Prayer For they might read in the Scriptures of a divinâ— Person subsisting in the divine nature Phil 2. 6. Being in the forme of God c. That is subsisting in the Nature of God because it presently follows that therefore he thought it no robbery to be equall with God for Persons that are coessentiall 〈◊〉 needs be coequall Christ and his Father do both subsist in the same divine essence for Christ is the expresse image of his Fathers subsistence and he and his father are one one in essence Iohn 10. 30. Heb. 1. 3. We find this interpretation was received in the time of Iustinian the Emperour and therefore it is not an interpretation lately coined Because it is said who being in the forme of God the Holy Ghost doth demonstrate the Hypostasis or Subsistence of the Word in the Essence of God And because it is said that he took upon him the forme of a servant it signifies that God the Word that is God the Son is united with the Nature not the Subsistence or Person of man He did subsist in the nature of God but he did assume the nature of man and therefore Christ hath a divine subsistence no humane Person no humane Person subsists in the nature of man nor doth the Person of an Angel subsist in the nature of an Angel but the divine Person of Christ doth subsist in his Divine Nature nay all the three Persons do subsist in the single and infinite nature of God From whence I conclude that there is not onely a manifest but an infinite difference between created and uncreated Subsistences or Persons And I speak of Persons rather then Personalities because those abstract notions are not very well understood by the most discoursing men for even they acknowledge that Abstracts are not well or not happily understood unlesse you descend to the consideration of their subjects My purpose therefore upon most mature deliberation is 1. To distinguish between created and uncreated Persons 2. To treat of uncreated Persons rather then Personalities that is to treat of the three Persons not abstracted from but subsisting in the divine nature I will not speak simply of the Son as a Son in that abstract relation or of the Son as a Person or as the second Person by abstracting his Personality from the Divine Nature in which he subsists but I desire to speak of Iesus Christ as subsisting in the nature of God according to that expression of the Apostle Phil. 2. 6. who subsisting in the nature of God For I am resolved to follow the Scripture and I do not think it safe to abstract the incommunicable Subsistence of Christ from the Divine nature in which he subsists least I fall into vain speculations as many learned men have done Now if you take in the Divine Nature of Christ and there is the same reason of all three Persons because all have the same Divine Nature there will be I say not only a manifest but an infinite difference between the Person of Christ and the Person of the most glorious Angel in Heaven They who have long studied the most refined and curious part of Metaphysicks when they come to discourse of the distinction between a singular Nature and a Person are forced to confesse that they do confine their speech to created Natures and Persons because there is even almost nothing evident to them by the light of reason concerning the Divine nature and uncreated Persons And therefore on the other side it well becomes me to confine my discourse to uncreated Persons because there is so vast a difference between them and the most excellent of all created Persons only something I must say of created Persons that by comparing them with uncreated Persons I may demonstrate wherein they agree and wherein they differ Boetius relates that when there was an Epistle of the Councell of Chalcedon read in which there was this Orthodox Position That Iesus Christ is a single Person and yet there are two distinct natures in his single Person Boethius desired the learned men then present to assigne the difference between a singular Nature and a Person and no man saith he was able to tell me the difference or to declare what a Person was But though Boethius smiled at the ignorance of others yet he was not wise enough to conceal his own for he defines a Person thus A Person is the undivided substance of a rationall nature I am not at leasure to reckon up the defects of this imperfect definitioÌ„ Vasquez is bold to say that Aristotle knew not how to distinguish a Person from a singular nature And
not serve the turn we reject it for its impertinâ—ncy and dissimilitude Christ is the only begotten Son of God he is Absolutely and Simply considered his only begotten Son and not only in some respect as Isaac was the only son of Abraham Christ as Gregory Nazianzen said is truly the Son of God he alone is the Son and the only Son of the Father and his son in an only or singular way and he is the son only he is not the Father also or the holy Ghost Jesus Christ is the proper Naturall true son of God begotten by the Father without a mother in the unity of the Godhead from all eternity equall to the Father one and the same God with the Father as the Scripture sets it forth and therefore we conclude that he is simply and absolutely the only begotten Son of God a more excellent son then all the other sons of God not only more excellent in degree for gradus non mutat speciem but a super-excellent son who doth differ from all his other sons plusquam genere aut specie because he is one God with the Father Iesus Christ is truly the Son of God because he is the true God 1 Iohn 5. 20. begotten of the Father Heb 1 5. begotten without a mother Hebr. 7. 3. begotten from the dayes of eternity Micah 5. 2. a son equal to his Father who begot him Iohn 5. 18. Phil. 2. 6. The Son of God Matth. 16. 16. the first begotten and the only begotten Son of God the naturall and proper Son of God for he is as the Father is God by nature Gal. 4. 8. and therefore naturally necessarily eternally begotten of the Father in the unity of the Godhead and therefore there is more then a graduall nay more then a specificall or genericall difference between this and all other sonnes of God we see by all these various expressions and by those divine and glorious Attributes which are ascribed to Christ in Scripture that God hath wonderfully declared his love to us in sending his only begotten to redeeme us according to that of the Apostle 1 Iohn 4. 9. In this was manifest the love of God towards us because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him When our Saviour called God his Father the Iewes did very well understand that he meant it in a proper and peculiar sense and therefore told him that he did make himself equall with God Iohn 5. 17. 18. and that being but a man he made himself God Iohn 10. 33. And though the Jewes accused him of blasphemy and endeavoured to stone him as they pretended for his blasphemy yet our Saviour doth not excuse his speech or say he meant it in a Metaphoricall sense but doth defend it by many arguments both in the fifth and in the tenth chapters of Saint Iohn though he did thereby endanger his life he saith he is equall to the Father nay one with the Father Iohn 5. 18. Iohn 10. 30. and when the High Priest asked him whether he was the Son of the blessed Mark 14. 61. our Saviour answers I am there 's a punctuall and positive affirmation of it v. 62 63. and you may easily know in what sense the High Priest meant it by his renting of his clothes and condemning our Saviour to death for blasphemy v. 64. And yet our Saviour did not endeavour to allay their heat and rage with any retractation he would not say that he spake Metaphorically for he spake properly he meant that he was the proper and naturall Son of God who had the same nature and power with the Father and therefore was able to do and actually did the same works with his Father And the Iewes did understand him so and therefore urged the Law against him and condemned him to death for blasphemy Iohn 19. 7. The Iews answered him We have a Law and by our Law he ought to die because he made himself the Son of God Mark the reason because he made himself the Son of God If our Saviour had not meant that he was the proper and naturall Son of God a Son equall to the Father one God with the Father the Iews would not have accused him of blasphemy Moreover the Iewes do generally hold that those words of the second Psalme This day have I begotten thee are meant of the Messiah as Rabbi Salomon doth acknowledge in his commentary upon the place Whatsoever saith he is sung in this Psalme our Masters have interpreted of King Messiah but saith he and he whispers it as a secret in regard of the sound of the words and for the refutation of Hereticks for so the Iew calls us Christians we think fit to expound it of David himself Here 's a Iew would faine conceal a confessed truth from Christians and there are some others it seems that would conceal this malitious concealment for these words are expunged out of the great Hebrew Bibles set forth at Basil but they are to be found in the Hebrew Bibles set forth with the Commentaries of the Rabbins at Venice by Bombergius or else I had not insisted upon the words I hope the detecting of this fraud may be very usefull but I must hasten to some other arguments The Socinians tâ—ll us that there are five Causes of Christs sonship assigned in Scripture which arr all temporall causes and therfore they see no reason why we should assert or they beleeve this eternall generation of the Son of God since Christ may be called the Son of God upon another and farre different account We desire to know whether every one of these five causes be totall or perpetuall causes if they be every one a totall cause then there will be as many sonships as there are causes no lesse then five sonships for that rule is certaine where there is a totall and sufficient cause in act there the effect must needs follow If they be partiall causes then the causes which succeed in order do not produce their complete effect untill the last cause be in act this we premise that the vanity of this invention may be more evident in the whole contexture of their discourse I shall now give them leave to speak their mind freely and fully 1. The first Cause of this Divine sonship is as they conceive the Conception of Christ by the Holy Ghost whereby say they Christ is said to be begotten of God in an excellent and peculiar way and they urge that testimony of the Angel which stands upon Record Luke 1. 35 to make good their conceit And the Angel answered and said unto her The holy Ghost shall come upon thee and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee therefore also that holy thing which shall be borne of thee shall be called the Son of God These words of the Angel have reference to the prophesie of Isaiah mentioned in the 31. verse of this first of Luke The words
brings in a Christian Catechising the heathens in the Doctrine of the Trinity 3. The forme of Baptism strictly observed in the Churches notwithstanding the great ignorance and contention in the East and the grand Apostacy in the West doth sufficiently prove that this Doctrine of the Trinity had taken deep root in the minds of men and that they were by the providence and speciall grace of God very diligent and faithfull in communicating of it to their posterity from time to time 4. The Doxology or as some call it the Hymn of glory doth evince the same and therefore the Arrians endeavoured to make an alteration in the Doxology and instead of saying Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy-Ghost they said Glory be to the Father By the Son and In the Spirit from whence we may observe by the way that if we suffer the Fundamentall Doctrine of our Faith to be corrupted we shall not be able to preserve the Fundamentals of our worship pure and uncorrupt 5. The Form of Apostolicall Benediction which stands upon record 2 Cor. 13. 14. doth cleerly hold forth the Doctrine of the Trinity to be a Fundamentall both of Faith and Worship And all who desire the grace of our Lord Iesus Christ the love of God the communion of the Holy-Ghost for their everlasting comfort salvation must beleeve and adore all three as onâ— God blessed for ever 6. All who beleeve in God are commanded to beleeve in Christ as God as one and the same God with the Father Ye beleeve in God beleeve also in me Joh. 14. 1. They are commanded to honour the Son as they honour the Father Joh. 5 23. And therfore the Doctrine of the divine person of Christ as Coessential with his Father is a Fundamentall both of Faith and worship 7. The Doctrine of the incarnation of the Word the naturall and proper Son of God the Doctrines of Christs satisfaction of our Redemption and justification by Christ as an all-sufficient Saviour are Fundamentall Doctrines necessary to be known beleeved and embraced for our eternall Salvation for we know the blood of a meere man cannot give satisfaction to the justice of God for those grosse affronts injuries and abuses which have been offered by man to the infinite Majesty of God The Church of God is purchased with the blood of God Act. 20. 28. And if Christ hath not redeemed the Church with the blood of God then the Church is not redeemed your Faith and our preaching are both vain because you and we are yet in our sins for then God hath not received satisfaction for our sins nor a sufficient ransome for our souls If the Son of God did not take flesh then was not God manifested in the flesh then the whole mystery of godlinesse which should be without controversie great and precious in the eyes of Christians will be cheap and vile and of no account for the whole mystery of godlinesse 1 Tim. 3. 16. depends upon the manifestation of God in the flesh Now the divine person of the Son took flesh the person of the Father was not incarnate 8. It is not enough to beleeve that the Son of Mary is risen from the dead we must beleeve that the Son of God is risen Rom. 1. 3 4. It is Iesus our Lord that rose for our justification Rom. 4. 24 25. Rom. 10. 9. 9. It is not sufficient to beleeve that there is a man sitting at the right hand of God we must beleeve that Iehovah sits there Psal. 110. 1. Mat. 22. 43 44 45. And the like must be said of our Advocate he must be such a one as can plead the worthinesse of his person the merit of his obedience and sufferings one who is able to save us to the uttermost Heb. 7. 25. 1 Ioh. 2. 1. 2 One who can plead with some Authority Majesty Father I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am Ioh. 17. 24. He speaks with Authority I will he speaks like a Coessentiall and Coequall person and it is for the glory of the Father to beleeve that the Father is in the Son and the Son in the Father that the Son is Lord equal to the Father Ioh. 14. 10 11. Phil. 2. 6 11. Many arguments more might be collected from divers places of Scripture cited above in the fourth chapter of this book and I shall enlarge upon this argument in the ninth Chapter 10. The Holy Ghost is the same God with the Father and Son the same object of divine Faith and Evangelical worship the same Author of the Scriptures and all-saving Grace Mat. 28. 19. 1 Cor. 12. 6. 11. 2 Cor. 13. 14. Through the Son and by the spirit we have accesse to the Father Eph. 2. 18. All Church administrations are to be performed in the power of the Holy Ghost and are made acceptable by the merit of the Lord Iesus Christ. If we will heare the Spirit speaking in the Scriptures to the Churches if we feel the Spirit Sanctifying of our hearts if we do not desire to undermine the foundation of the Christian Church and so overthrow the Church of Christ if we do not renounce our Christian Faith and our Baptisme the Sacrament thereof if we do not reject the fundamentall blessing the best portion of our selves and little ones the grace of Christ the love of God and communion of the Spirit why then I beseech you as the Apostle doth for the Lord Iesus Christs sake and for the love of the Spirit Rom. 15. 30. and for the glory of God the Father Phil. 2. 11. that you will beleeve adore embrace love and obey the Father Son and Holy Ghost as three Divine and Coessentiall Subsistents in the single God-head as one God blessed for ever the adaequate object and Authour of your Faith hope love and happinesse I do not desire to obtrude any thing upon the acutest disputant as Fundamentall that is curious or unnecessary Nay there are many things necessary for the maintenance of â—his truth and refutation of contrary errors when we are to deal with subtile Hereticks which I do not set before the common people as food fit to nourish them and for that reason I do desire them that they will look upon much of my sixth chapter and of some other chapters in this booke as â—t for the direction of young Scholers in this weighty point for I find young wits apt to be seduced by Logicall subtilities or rather fallacies Metaphysical notions Poetical raptures nice distinctions and vaine curiosities from the simplicity of the Gospel of Christ and therefore I have taken some pains in divers chapters but specially in the margine for the direction of hopefull youths who have been too often entangled and ensnared by Socinian fallacies and at last tempted into loud and hideous blasphemies We do therefore lay down these plain truths as necessary to be known and beleeved for the
and perseverance victory and triumph This is the life of God or that godly life to which the Ephesians were all strangers till they had learned the truth as it is in Iesus Ephes. 4. 20 21. And how come we to be quickned to this Godly life but by being begotten of the Father Iam. 1. 17 18. borne of the Spirit Ioh. 3. 6. and hearing the voice of the Son of God Ioh. 5. 25 26 When we have learnt of the Father and are drawne by the Spirit we come unto the Son who is the way the truth and the life Ioh. 6. 44 45. Ioh. 14. 6. And how is this Spirituall life maintained but by the Supply of the Spirit of Iesus Christ Philip. 1 19. Let us take the whole frame of a godly life to pieces and view every part and Spring and wheel and pin and then put it together againe and then we shall be able to judge what effectuall influence these three Coessentiall persons considered as one and the same God or as three distinct persons subsisting in the single God-head have into the Practicall Mystery of Godlinesse and Power of Religion The Doctrine of Godlinesse containes 1. Our Faith in God 2. Worship of God 3. Obedience to God 1. Our Faith in God I have spoken of this grand Mystery of Faith and shewn that it is necessary to be known and beleeved in the eight Chapter at large But I shall now treat of it in a more practicall way Adam in his Innocency was bound for to beleeve in the Father Son and Holy Ghost who are one Almighty God Creator Upholder and Governour of Heaven and Earth Self-sufficient and All-sufficient blessed in and of himselfe the only cause and adaequate object of the blessednesse of his creatures Adam was created by all three after the Image of all three for God said Let us make man in our Image after our likenesse Gen. 1. 26. and therefore we cannot conceive but that all three were revealed to Adam that he might know and beleeve in all three surely Adam was better Catechized then Jews Turkes and Pagans are in this great point and therefore did know beleeve and Worship all three There is no question but he entred into Covenant with all three and therefore beleeved in all three I cannot beleeve that two of the Divine Persons had no worship or service from Adam their creature before his fall And doubtlesse Adam knew whom he beleeved and whom he worshipped as his Almighty Creator and All-sufficient God Adam under the first Covenant was bound to beleeve in the second Person as God but not as God-man the Mediatour betwixt God and sin full man Adam did owe the right of subjection to all three from whom he received the Honour of Dominion The world was made for man man for the honour and glory of Father Son and Holy Ghost Adams originall righteousnesse did incline and enable him to beleeve in all three and surely Adam understood that severe rebuke which was given him presently after his fall Gen. 3. 22. And the Lord God said Behold the man is become as one of us But because I will forbeare disputes I will not proceed further upon this Argument The Faith of Christians delights to exercise it selfe upon God the Father Son and holy Spirit God the Father is pleased to be our Tutor to condescend so far as to teach us and oportet discentem credere Schollers must beleeve their teachers It is written in the Prophets and they shall be all taught of God Every man therefore that hath heard and hath learnt of the Father cometh unto me Ioh. 6. 45. We must beleeve the Record that God the Father gives of his Son 1 Ioh. 5. 10. When we look upon God as the father of our Lord and Saviour Iesus Christ look upon him as our God and Father in Christ these neer and deare relations do encourage us to beleeve him and beleeve in him to beleeve his truth to beleeve his love his fatherly tender bowels do perswade and even constraine us to fix our beleife and place our confidence in God the Father The heires of Promise have good encouragement to beleeve their Father who gives them all they have and hope for when he declares the immutability of his Counsell in a faithfull promise and confirmes it by an unchangeable Oath Heb. 6. 17 18. Surely the Father will not deceive his owne children of their Inheritance which he hath made over to them by promise and Oath this is the ground of all our hope and comfort we may safely cast Anchor here Heb. 6. 18. 19. In the Old Testament the Covenant runs in the names of Abraham Isaac and Iacob but in the New Testament it runs in the name of Christ there we read the God of Abraham Isaac and Iacob but here we read God our Father the God and Father of our Lord Iesus Christ that is our God and Father in Christ and for Christ our Father because Christs Father Grace be to you and peace from God our Father and blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Iesus Christ who hath blessed us with all Spirituall blessings in heavenly things in Christ Ephes. 1. 2 3. We cannot but look up with Faith and confidence to the Father of our Lord Iesus Christ and our Father as the fountaine of all blessing the fountain of grace and peace and glory This deare Fatherly relation of God to Christ and in Christ to us is sometimes darkly intimated and but hinted and sometimes cleerly fully expressed to encourage our Faith The Disciples were very sad because they heard our Saviour speak of going to his Father go saith Christ to my brethren and say unto them Ioh. 20. 17. What should Mary say for their consolation was it enough to tell them my Lord is alive and calls you his brethren no that were too darke an intimation and therefore our Saviour gives her her message in words at length Go to my brethren and say unto them I ascend unto my Father and your Father and to my God and your God Joh. 20 17. here 's an Evangelical ground of faith hope and comfort in the time of the saddest distresse The great Argument used to encourage poor trembling beleevers to come to Christ when they have interrupted their fellowship with God the Father Christ and the Holy Comforter by any grievous wounding sinne is this If any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father Iesus Christ the Righteous God is a Father both to us and our Advocate therefore renew the sense of your justification by faith at a Ihrone of Grace you see our faith is encouraged in the saddest tryals by this Argument The Father of our Lord Iesus Christ is the Father of mercyes and the God of all comfort 2 Cor. 1. 3. the fountaine of grace and peace Rom 1. 7. Gal. 1. 3. Iesus Christ make it his oâ—â—inesse to perswade poor tempted soulâ—s to beleeve that
what I should disallow Phil. 1 9 10 19. I must choose what the Spirit approves and then prosecute what I have chosen with care hope desire and embrace what I attaine to with love and delight and in a word rest satisfyed with the love of the Father the grace of the Son and the communion of the Spirit as my al-sufficient and satisfactory portion for evermore Psal. 17. 15. Psal. 63. 5. Faith is that Grace which enables and enclines us upon the divine testimony of the Spirit to depend on Christ for righteousnesse and life according to the tenour of the Covenant of Grace The divine Testimony of the Spirit is the true ground of justifying Faith but Historicall Faith which may be in Devils Jam 2. and Temporary Faith which may be in Reprobates Luke 8. are not truly grounded on the Testimony wisdome Authority Revelation or demonstration of the Spirit We read of a Revelation of flesh and blood Mat. 16. 17. And the demonstration and Revelation of the Spirit 1 Cor. 2. 4. 10. 14 15. Ephes. 1. 17. A man who hath nothing but sense and Reason in him may have an Historicall or a Temporary Faith but he who doth upon the divine Testimony of the Spirit beleeve that Iesus is the Christ he is born of God of the Spirit of God and hath the witnesse in himself 1 Joh. 5. 1. 6 10. For the regenerate and they only have a spirituall understanding in them to know him that is true when he is revealed unto them by the Spirit of truth 1 Joh. 5. 20. 1 Cor. 2 14 15. Deut. 29. 4. For the Demonstration of the Spirit is not understood by us untill we are renewed in the spirit of our mind so that we can look upon the Divine truths testifyed by the Spirit with a spirituall eye and discern them after a spirituall manner 1 Cor. 2. 14. And therefore the Testimony of the Spirit is not received but by our renewed Spirits Rom. 8. 16. Before we are Regenerate we receive divine truths only because we judge them reasonable or because we find them in the Scriptures and we beleeve the Scriptures upon an Humane Testimony and therefore only with an Humane not a Divine Faith But the Spirituall man beleeves all upon the testimony of the Spirit and doth constantly beg the direction of the good Spirit O thy Spirit is good saith David teach me lead me quicken me by thy Spirit Ps. 143. 10 11. Finally this good spirit discovers to a man before he beleeves 1. His want of Christ 2. The worth of Christ. His want of Christ by reason of 1. His hainous sins which are inexcusable damnable 2. His Spirituall wants which are innumerable 3. His present misery and slavery which are unspeakable unsupportable The worth of Christ because he is an All-sufficient Saviour and only Saviour the Spirit discovers the treasures of Free grace the mysteries of Divine Faith which even Angels admire the unsearchable riches of Christ the fulnesse of God able to satiate the soule with heavenly glorious everlasting happinesse and even infinite content Then the soule is convinced by the Spirit of God not onely of the truth but goodnesse of the Covenant made by God with man in Christ and that there are better things laid up for beleevers in Christ then any are or can be bestowed by Sathan upon his greatest Agents and dearest favourites the darlings of the flesh and world and upon this account the soule is perswaded by this demonstration of the spirit to close with Christ and deny itself to have no ability wisdome righteousnesse will of its own but to seek wisdom Righteousnesse Sanctification and Redemption in Christ. 1 Cor. 1. 30. In a word to deny its own will and take the will of Christ for its rule and compasse to do or suffer any thing for Christ to lose or sell all for him The good spirit perswades us 1. To prize Christ highly even above all the kingdomes of the world and glory of them 2. To beleeve in Christ stedfastly 3. To love Christ deerly better then our selves or dearest friends better then worldly treasures sensuall joy or any carnall contentments whatsoever 4. To follow Christ fully that we may enjoy him eternally as our Crown our happinesse our heaven And to this end and purpose to set up the word of God in our Consciences as our only rule for to direct us 1. In all points of Faith 2. In all parts of worship 3. In all passages of our life and conversation that we may cast out the world the Devil nay flesh and self and all to make roome for Christ. Now when the Spirit hath by its own evidence testimony authority wisdome and efficacy wrought Faith in the soule to carry it into the armes of Iesus Christ Christ doth bid it welcom embraces kisses it and takes this young beleever by the hand and puts him into his Fathers bosome And when we are thus brought to beleeve in Father Son and Holy Ghost then we are fitted and prepared to worship and obey all three glorious persons as one God blessed forever And therefore I may now proceed to speak of the worship of all three and then of our obedience to all three 2. This grand Mystery of Faith hath an effectuall influence into our Gospel-worship He takes the name of Father Son and Holy Ghost in vain and doth not make that Holy use which he should of the Titles Properties workes and Ordinances of all three who doth not with Knowledge Faith Reverence sincerity and spirituall joy worship all three for this is true Gospel-worship And therefore I would intreat my Reader diligently to consider what I have delivered in the fourth and fifth chapters of this Treatise concerning the divine Nature Titles Properties works of all three in order to worship for the glory of the thrice illustrious and yet single God head and then if he will study the scope of the first Table of the Holy Law of God and the substance of Gospel-worship he will acknowledge that every one who beleeveth in all three persons will find his Faith obliging and inclining him to worship al three glorious persons as one God blessed for ever 1. God the Father is to be worshipped under the Gospel as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and our Father in him I have touched this point already and because it is not much controverted by our grand enemies I shall not insist long upon it All the knowledge of God which we gain by the Scriptures of truth is revealed to us on purpose for our direction in the worship of God we must not worship God according to our own devices but according to that discovery which God hath made of himselfe to us in his Holy word not onely in respect of his divine nature as when our
and Ordinances as he himself should from time to time appoint The due acknowledgement of Gods immensity and infinite Majesty in our attendance on the Instituted means of worship is clearly opposed to the Image-worship in the 40th Chapt of Isaiah and first Chapter to the Romans and therefore the inside and compass of this second Commandement is spirituall though the words of it are so comprehensive as to take in ceremoniall as well as Evangelicall worship For Reverend Divines have made it cleare that though the second Commandement be morall in regard of its substance and generall nature which containes the immutable Law above mentioned yet in regard of its particular application to those significant Ceremonies Sacrifices and Sacraments which God did appoint we say all Ceremoniall Institutions are referred unto and comprehended under the second morall Commandement of God See Mr. Shepheard in his excellent Treatise of the morality of the Sabbath pag. 24. 40 41. 3. The third Commandement prescribes a reverend use of all the Titles Properties Works and Ordinances of God with Spirituall understanding and affection with faith reverence love joy sincerity and thankfulnesse in thought word and life 4. In the fourth Commandement we are not only required to rest but to sanctifie a rest to Jehovah If then we find the Titles Properties Works of Jehovah given to Christ and his holy Spirit in the Old and New Testament we must conclude that Christ and his holy Spirit are to be worshipped in the same Ordinances with the same spirituall and divine worship which is due to God the Father The scope of Law and Gospell is to bring us unto God by the Mediation of Christ and assistance of the Spirit that we may rest upon Christ for justification walk and grow up in Christ in the progress of our sanctification for our everlasting satisfaction Our business therefore is to avoid those two dangerous Rocks upon which so many split and suffer shipwrack in this tempestuous age namely the Rock of neglecting duties in the course of our sanctification and the Rock of resting in Duties which overthrows our justification We must labour by all means appointed by God to gaine a spirituall Practicall experimentall knowledge of the love of Iesus Christ a knowledge which surpasses all intellectuall knowledge an affectionate knowledge which is felt in the heart but cannot be comprehended in the braine This is the right Evangelicall knowledge which prepares a man for spirituall and Evangelicall worship for heavenly Communion with Father Son and holy Ghost in all Gospell dispensations and Gospell-Conversation that he may come to be enriched with the unsearchable riches of Christ and filled with all the fulness of God For this Cause saith the Apostle and well he might I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Iesus Christ mark the strain it is purely Evangelicall that he would grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with might by his Spirit That Christ may dwell in your hearts Here are all the three co-essentiall Persons but how may this be obtained And to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge to know it in my heart to beleeve it with my heart to feele it in my heart because the love of God is shed abroad in my heart by the holy Spirit But what shall I gaine by this Why the Apostle goes on That ye may be filled with all the fulness of God Ephes. 3. 14 16 17 19. The great design of the Apostle was to be found in Christ having the righteousness which is of God through the faith of Christ without pleading his own righteousnesse which is of the Law for his justification And to have a Spirituall and Practicall knowledge of Christ grounded upon a deep and affectionate experience of the vertue of Christs Death and Resurrection in his own soule Phil. 3. 9 10. that he might be thereby encouraged and provoked to press forward in the course of Sanctification toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Iesus v. 14. that his faith might act in all holy services Iustifying faith is the Principle of Evangelicall Worship and Gospell-conversation Grace be to you and peace from him which is which was and which is to come and from the seven spirits which are before his throne and from Iesus Christ who loved us and washed us from our sins in his own bloud And hath made us Kings and Priests unto God and his Father to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever Amen Rev. 1. 4 5 6. The hearts of true beleevers are golden vials full of odours and incense faith and love sincerity and zeale selfe-denyall and thankfulnesse humility and godly reverence and the beliefe of their redemption by the blood of Christ moves them to acknowledge the divine power of their Redeemer and to give him divine worship The Angles Elders People all joyne even ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands in this acknowledgement Worthy is the Lamb that was slaine to receive â—â—wer and riches and wisdome and strength and honour and glory and blessing And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea and all that are in them heard I saying Blessing glory honour and power be unto him that sits upon the Throne and unto the Lamb for ever and ever And the foure beasts said Amen And the foure and twenty Elders fell down and worshipped him that liâ—eth for ever and ever Rev. 5. 8 9 10 11 12 13 14. We must be brought to the knowledge and faith of the Son of God before ever we can be wise unto Salvation 2 Tim. 3. 15. Isa. 53. 11. Ioh. 3. 14 15. Gal. 2. 20. When once we come to beleeve the love of Christ then we love adore obey Father Son and holy Spirit after an Evangelical manner All the Fundamentall Articles of our faith have reference unto Christ as the Foundation because they are all such as concern his Father his Spirit his Incarnation Mediation or his Church and the benefits which the Church receives from him And in like manner all our worship is directed unto Father Son and Spirit as one God by the Mediation of Christ and assistance of thâ— Spirit Eph. 2. 18. 2 Cor. 13. 14. 1 Pet. 2. 5 1 Ioh. 1. 3 4. Ephes. 4. 15. It is our happiness our heaven upon earth to beleeve adore anâ— live to Father Son and holy Spirit by maintaining an holy Communion with all three aâ— one God and our God in the use of all Ordinances and Duties required of us This is the mystery of Godliness the Art of living unto God this is the Lesson which all Members of the Church universall must learne the foure beasts who joyne with Angels and Presbyters in adoring the Lamb are as
God be thanked that ye who were the servants of sin have obeyed from the heart that for me of Doctrine which was delivered unto you by the holy spirit Rom. 6. 17. Be much in supplication and thanksgiving and the spirit of Supplication will be a spirit of Adoption an oile of gladnesse Heb. 1. 9. The spirit will teach you to cry Abba Father with comfort Gal 4. Rom 8. The spirit will fill your soules with all joy and peace in beleeving and in obeying the joy of the spirit shall be your strength the comforts of the Almighty even all the comforts of the Kingdom of God which consists in righteousnesse and peace and joy in the holy Ghost shall be all-sufficient to revive and support your dejected spirit All your fears and discomforts shall be dispelled your wants supplyed your wound soares infirmities healed and you at last filled with all the fulnesse of God Mal. 4. 2. Eph. 3. 19. Beleeve in the spirit obey the spirit and ye shall be sealed with the spirit Eph. 1 13. I beseech you by the tender mercies of God by the meekness and gentleness of Christ by the joy and for the love of the Spirit that you consider what hath been said that ye receive this wholesome Word as it is in truth the word of God the word of the Father Son and holy Ghost but testified after a more especiall and immediate manner by the Holy Ghost that it may worke effectually in all you who beleeve it 1 Thes. 2. 13. Even unto spirituall and sincere obedience to Father Son and Holy Ghost and that it may be so we must have a care to obey after the right manner for Amazia was too blame though he did that which was right in it self because he did it not with a perfect heart 2 Chron. 25. 2. Let us imitate our Saviour who did all as he was commanded Ioh. 14. 31. Let us have 1. High thoughts of the Majesty and greatnesse of God 2. Sweet thoughts of the rich grace and infinite goodnesse of God 3. An intire and an universall respect to all the commands and every work of God Ioh. 6. 28 29. Every work which God hath given us to do Ioh. 17. 4. and ordained for us to walk in Eph. 2. 10 For every command of God must have a divine authority over our consciences and hearts Psal. 119. 6. and then Christ will account us his friends Iohn 15 14. 4. A more especiall respect to the weightiest and greatest duties of Religion such as God hath more especially enjoyned for instance 1 The duties of inward worship and obedience Mat 22. 37 38. the most reserved and intimate duties of Religion 2. Duties of judgment mercy and fidelity towards all men Mat. 23. 23. Love to our enemies Mat. 5. 44. 45. 3. Duties of our particular callings and speciall relations publique duties and family duties especially such as are most private Mat. 6. 6. Zach 12. 12. 4. The great work of Faith which is the summe of both Testaments because all judicious and zealous love all sincere and uniforme obedience springs from faith Iohn 6. 29. This is the worke of God and unbeliefe is the work of the Devill faith purifies our heart by applying the bloud of Christ to our soules Heb. 9. 14. The weighty matters of Law and Gospel may be referred to those foure Heads above mentioned observe that excellent Scripture God hath chosen the poore of this world rich in faith and heires of that kingdome which he hath promised to them that love him Iam. 2. 5. Faith and love will make us constant in the performance of all the other weighty matters required of us both in Law and Gospell and we have proved at large that faith and love is due to all three Persons We must performe all our duties 1. As to a Father a divine Father as hath been proved 2. In the name of Christ. 3. In the strength of the spirit 4. At the command and for the glory of all three co-essentiall Persons for all things are of the Father by the Son and through the spirit 5. With a willing mind a perfect heart a good conscience and faith unfeigned 6. With all self-denyall diligence constancy 7. With an humble desire that we and our obedience may be accepted in and for Christ according to the tenour of the Covenant of grace Let us now put all together again and observe what a sweet harmony exact Symmetry and glorious uniformity there is in this whole mystery of Faith this mystery of the Co-essentiall Trinunity as reduced to practice by its effectuall influence into the mystery and power of godlinesse Beloved Christians I look upon my self as the least of Saints and greatest of Sinners unworthy to be accounted a Member but far more unworthy to be a Minister of Jesus Christ because I know more evill by my self then I know by any member of Christ but I thank God our Father Christ Iesus our lord and the co-essentiall Spirit the same God who worketh all in all 1 Cor. 12. 6. that I have obtained mercy and ability of all three for to be faithfull and to be counted faithfull by them all for they have all three in some measure enabled me for that they counted me faithfull putting me into the Ministry for I am a Minister of that Gospell which is revealed from heaven by Father Son and Holy Spirit and I am a Minister accordidg to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectuall working of his power unto me I say who am lesse then the least of all Saints in this grace given that I should preach the love of the Father the grace and unsearchable riches of Christ the sweet Communion peace and joy of the holy Ghost which is unspeakable and full of glory Be pleased then to take a view of the whole mystery of faith and godlinesse and observe how this Co-essentiall Trinunity of Father Son and holy Ghost who are one God blessed for ever is the adequate Object Author End of all Religion 1. Look upon the Grand Mystery of our Election unto Grace Peace and Glory and observe what practicall inferences may be drawn from thence to raise our hearts to admire beleeve love worship obey Father Son and holy Ghost Elect according to the fore-knowledge of God the Father through sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience and sprinkling of the bloud of Iesus Christ grace unto you and peace be multiplied Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Iesus Christ c. 1 Pet. 1 2 3 4. God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the spirit and beliefe of the Truth whereunto he called you by our Gospel to the obtaining of the glory of the Lord Iesus Christ Now our Lord Iesus Christ himself and God even our Father c. 2 Thes. 2.
holy in life We can never understand the Presence Institution and mind of Christ in this Ordinance unless we beleeve the cursed condition of men in their naturall estate the divine nature and person of Christ the greatness of the price that was paid for the satisfaction of Gods justice and appeasing of Gods wrath who did not spare his own Co-essential Son but manifested his hatred against sin and love to his Elect in not sparing his Son but breaking his body and shedding of his bloud that we might be redeemed by the bloud of God this is the mystery which is made sensible in the Sacrament and is really evident to the eye of faith Gal. 3. 1. And whosoever looks upon these great mysteries of the Gospel as fancies and doth not beleeve them to be reall things truly exhibited really presented to beleevers in a Sacramental mystical spiritual way in this Ordinance hath not yet learnt the truth as it is in Jesus and is not prepared for such high Communion We Christians do not come with hungry and thirsty soules longing after farther Communion with Christ for mortifying of our lusts and encrease of all our graces by his spirit untill we beleeve this grand mystery of Faith and we are then experimentally acquainted with the mystery of Godliness when we have been made drink into one Spirit with Christ and his Members when we look upon him whom we have pierced by our sins and acknowledge him to be the natural and Co-essential Son of God there can be none of those fiduciall breathings after Christ Penitential meltings before him or obediential closings with him as is evident by our ninth Chapter untill we do in some measure beleeve this mystery of Faith and understand the substance of the Covenant of grace which is sealed in this Sacrament by God and must be actually renewed by every good Communicant our Meditations Faith Love Repentance Joy Thankfulness will not be rightly placed or exercised if this grand mystery of Faith and Godliness be rejected by us 6. I might argue from all the Offices of Christ they who do not beleeve the divine nature of Christ do utterly disable Jesus Christ from being a Mediatour a Priest a Prophet a King for the saving of his people to the uttermost They who deny the divine Essence and Person of Christ do deny his satisfaction to be all-sufficient in our behalf They depose Christ from that spirituall and heavenly kingdom which he hath by Nature and render him uncapable of that Mediatory Kingdom which is delegated to Christ God man by the Decree of the Co-essentiall Trinunity But I have said enough of that in the former part of this Book I pass on to enquire what civill respect is due to such as do deny the divine Nature of Christ and his holy Spirit That one Text to my apprehension 2 Ioh. 9. 10 11. containes a very full and satisfactory answer Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God he that abideth in the doctrine of Christ he hath both the Father and the Son If there come any unto you and bring not this doctrine receive him not into your house neither bid him God speed For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evill deeds But that this point may be more clearly stated and all mistakes prevented be pleased to consider 1. That such Points of Religion and Worship as are necessary to be known and beleeved for the maintenance of Christian spirituall saving Communion with Father Son and holy Ghost are clearely delivered in the holy Scriptures of truth 2. That if men who were formerly unblameable in their life and conversation be seduced into any errour which doth contradict or subvert such Fundamentall Points they ought to be instructed with the spirit of meekness in a Christian and brotherly way 3. They are to be admonished with all faithfulness and meekness of Wisdom twice or thrice that they may understand the importance of the truth which is denyed the danger of the errour maintained the sad consequences of both that if their conscience be not feared they may return from their beloved and damned errours 4. If after all this meekness patience and forbearance all Christian instructions and brotherly admonitions they do as men that are judicially blinded for sinning against conscience 1. Persist in their errour 2 Reject and revile the truth of God in these high and necessary Points 3. Fall from the grace of God frustrate the grace and Covenant of God evacuate the death of Christ depose Christ and his Spirit from their Throne and Godhead 4. Seduce and poyson others Mat. 21. 38. 5. Deny and overthrow the foundation of divine Faith Hope Love and Justification by Faith and the Adequate object also of all Christian Faith Evangelicall Worship and sincere Obedience These bold Atheists for they deny the only true God Father Son and holy Ghost may without any scruple be rejected from Christian Communion For there is certainly some lust or other which hinders them from seeing the truth or professing that they do see it and therefore it may be taken for granted that these men are obstinate self-condemned men men that combine with their Wills and Lusts against their own conscience and cleare shining Scriptures And therefore these men cannot complaine that they are punished for their conscience when they are indeed punished for sinning against their conscience because they are condemned by their own conscience But it will be said that there are scarce any such men to be found as I have described To which I answer Be pleased but to consider what hath been delivered in this very Chapter already and compare it with the foregoing Chapters and with the many blasphemous Pamphlets which do pass up and down without controule in this licentious Age in which men adventure upon the very language of hell under pretence of exercising their Christian Liberty and speaking according to their New Light and this Point will be too cleare For we do already grant that no man ought to be troubled for following the dictates of his conscience rightly enformed but for following of pernicious errours which are contrary to his own conscience unless he be judicially blinded by God for his customary sinning against light of conscience in former times 2. Nothing is more common then for men to speak out of the abundance of that naturall Atheisme which lurkes in their hearts contrary to the dictates of their naturall conscience 3. Though conscience may be quiet whilst men are exercising their wits to maintaine some errour which is contrary to those mysteries of faith which transcend naturall reason and are repugnant to the corruption of reason especially if they are engaged in multitudâ— of business connived at by such as sit at sterne and do thrive and prosper in the world Yet conscience will find a time to speak when it may
Holy Ghost above a world is not as yet acquainted with the mystery of Faith or the Power of Godliness he hath neither Father Son nor Spirit in him CHAP. X. Christians who have a lively sense and sweet experience of this grand mystery of Faith and practicall mystery of Godliness are afraid to hold Communion with such as pretend to be Spirituall Christians and yet deny the divine Nature and distinct subsistences of Christ and his holy Spirit IT is observed by a great States man That he who follows Truth too neere at heeles may have his Teeth heat out but I had rather lose my teeth than not teach and profess the truth He who presses this point in this Licentious Age wherein Scepticks in the highest points are called Seekers and Hereticks good Christians had need beg the promise of the Father that he may be endued with vertue from on high that is a magnanimous and more then an Heroicall spirit to preach the truth We must not feare the face of man in the cause of God if the Devill might set up his Church in England wherein Heresie is instead of a Preacher profaneness and ungodliness instead of Ruling Elders yet I must be bold to say that these Seekers whom the Reformers called Libertines are as the Fathers called them but Nullifidians and Atheists professed Atheists for They are Atheists who will not beleeve and adore the only true God Father Son and holy Ghost and such are the Seekers whom I am to deale with who deny the Lord Christ to be God and I shall easily discover that this is Atheisme whether reigning Atheisme or no let the Socinian Seekers and Deifyed Atheists judge Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the Doctrine of Christ hath not God he who abideth in the Doctrine of Christ he hath both the Father and the Son The second Epistle of Iohn the ninth verse Who is a lyar but he that denyeth that Iesus is the Christ He is Antichrist that denyeth the Father and the Son Whosoever denyeth the Son the same hath not the Father 1 Ioh. 2. 22 23 24. He who hath not the true God Father Son and holy Ghost for his God is an Atheist for if he do acknowledge a false God a false God being no God it must still bee granted that no man can bee excused from Atheisme by his acknowledgment or worship of any thing that is not God I speak of such speculative Atheisme as doth commonly run into practical Atheism and may consequently end in direct and down-right Atheisme or at least such affected Atheisme as will permit that Radicall and Seminall Atheisme which was borne with them to sit quietly in their hearts as on a Throne so that they have no actuall belief of the true God which doth amount to an historicall beliefe much lesse any that can effectually over-power or dethrone their natural Atheisme And yet I beleeve these Atheistical Libertines can never fully blot out all the natural notions of a Godhead written in their hearts by the finger of God though many of them have made a very unhappy progress in this devillish study for the devils themselves have not attained to any Atheistical 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Devils beleeve and tremble but enough of that the Socinians are Atheists Interpretativè at the least It is not enough for Christian Communicants to attaine to the first principle of natural Theology and confess that there is a God but they must acknowledge the first principle of Christianity which is indeed Supernatural Divinity and acknowledge that Father Son and holy Ghost are the only true God for else we go no farther then Pharaoh that grand Seeker did when he asked who is Iehovah that I should obey his voice Exo. 5. 2. or then the Samaritans and Athenians did who worshipped they knew not what Ioh. 4. 22. Act. 17. 23. The Turks the Pagans the Jews do acknowledge that there is a God unless then we do intend to hold Church-Communion with Pagans Jews Mahumetans we must require somewhat more of those whom we admit unto Christian Communion than a bare acknowledgment that there is a God or that the Father is God For he who doth deny the Godhead of the Son doth deny the Father also and consequently hath no God at all for his God as hath been proved already from the ninth verse of the second Epistle of Iohn and 1 Iohn 2. 22 23 24. He that honoureth not the Son as highly as he honoureth the Father he doth not honour the Father who sent his co-equall Son to give us life Ioh. 5. 21 23. We must acknowledge the Son to be equall to the Father for this redounds to the glory of God the Father Phi. 2. 6. 11. We can have no Christian and spiritual Communion with God the Father but in his natural Son and by their Coessential Spirit as is manifest by comparing these Texts together 1 Ioh. 1. 3. 1 Cor. 1. 9. 2 Cor. 13. 14. Rev. 1. 4 5. Mat. 28. 19 20. Ephes. 2. 18 22. 1 Cor. 12. 3 6 8 11 13. and by the full scope of all my practical Discourse in the ninth Chapter of this Treatise This is life eternal c. Iohn 1 7 3. 1 Iohn 5. 6 7 11 12 13 20. When Saint Paul doth enlarge the bounds of Christian Communion as far as he can he writes thus Vnto the Church of God which is at Corinth to them that are sanctified in Christ Iesus called to be Saints with all that in every place call upon the name of Iesus Christ our Lord both theirs and ours 1 Cor. 1. 2. We cannot maintaine any Christian Communion with such as deny the Godhead of Christ for they must as Francis David and David George c. did deny that Christ is to be worshipped with divine faith and love because as they blaspemously said he hath not the same divine nature with God the Father or else they must say as Socinus who wrote against Francis David said that Christ is to be worshipped with divine worship and then they will if you put their principles together as you may see them together in that Racovian Alcoran the Racovian Catechisme be found to be even the very best o◠them but a pack of Blasphemous Idolaters With whom We ought not to hold Communion For whilst they do blasphemously affirme that Christ is a meere man in glory and the Son of God only in a metaphoricall not any proper sense We must draw these conclusions The best of the Socinians maintaine 1. That Jesus Christ our Lord is but a meere man in glory a very Creature and no more and therefore they are blasphemers and so are all they who say that they are as much God as Iesus Christ for these are high swelling blasphemies such as the Deified Atheists of the Family of love with whom I feare Mr. Fry hath had too