his other names indeed are given to the creatures, but this is given onely to him. Whence I gather this point: That,. To be, or to say this, Hee is, or I am, is proper to GOD alone. It is common to no creature, with him; your cannot fay of any creature, It is and if it be the onely propertie of God to be, then you must fay of every creature, it is not; and onely, the Lord is: which is a ftrange fpeech but yet it is true,or elfe it is not proper to God onely. Doct. But you will fay, What is the meaning of that? Object. for creatures have a being, though not fo excellent a being as he hath. In comparison of him,they have no being at all, they cannot reach to his being. And therefore, what this being is, we will explaine to you by thefe five things: Anfw. What this Be ing is,cxplai ned in five things. It is an immenfe being, fuch as hath all the degrees,and kindes,and extents of being in it. The Immenfe. creatures have not fo; they have fo little of this being,that it is nothing: it is not fo much as the drop of a Bucket, Efay 40. that is,it is of fo fmall a Efay 40. being that it is no being: therefore that place is to be marked, Efay 40.17. All Nations before him Verf. 17. are as nothing, and they are counted to him leffe than nothing,ervanitie. Which place fhewes, that this phrafe of being doth not agree to the creatures: for having faid before, they were as the drop of a Bucket, hee addes, nay, they are leffe thas nothing. But you will fay, How can they bee leffe than nothing I anfwer; If I fhould expreffe it to H you, 2 you,as it is,they are leffe than that which you reckon as nothing,as you doe a dust of the ballance: fo that in refpect of the largeneffe of his being, they are nothing to him. There are divers degrees and extents of being, and hee hath them all in him as there is one being of Angels, another of men, and fo of every creature; for they are defined and you know, that definitions doe limit the being of a thing. The Angels have a large and glorious being, men have a good and excellent being;but they are nothing, in refpect of the being of God. It is the being of himselfe, hee is a spring of beOf Himfelfe. ing; whereas all the creatures are but cifternes of being,which they have but by participation from him, 48.17.28. In him wee live, move, and have our Rom. 11.36. being. Rom.11.36. In him, and for him, and through him,are all things; he onely is of himfelfe. 3 It is not only of himselfe,but it is an everlasting Everlasting being: I am the first and the last; that is, I am before any thing was,and I am the laft; every thing hath dependance of me.: Without fucceffion. It is a being without fucceffion: the creatures have not this; there is fomething to them,which was not before, and fomething hall be,which is not for the prefent: This is true of every creature, of men and Angels, but with God there is no fucceffion: and therefore it is, that these words are ufed, I am hath sent me unto you. which thewes,that there is no time past with him,there is no distination of time with him, all things are alike to him; but with the creature there is flux of time: the the creatures enjoy one thing one minute, which they doe not another:but God enjoyes all at once, and that is one part of his bleffedneffe,which the creature is not partaker of. And againe,his acts are all done at once; but the creatures doe all theirs,by fucceffion. It is fuch a being,as gives a being to all things elfe: and this is a great difference betweene him and Giving being to all things. the creatures; the Angels have an excellent being, yet they cannot give the leaft being to any thing. So that by these we may plainly fee, that he onely is; that is,he onely is of an immenfe being; that is,he is like a mightie Sea of being,that hath neither bankes nor bottome: he onely is a fpring of being,he onely is everlasting,he onely is without fucceffion of time prefent,paft,or to come, lastly, he only gives a being to every thing. Such an one he is, as all this is implied, where he bids Mofes goe and tell the people, I am that I am, is he that hath fent me unto you. But we will stand no longer hereon; onely we will labour to reduce these fpeculations to ufe,as it is faid of Socrates, he did Devocare Philofophiam de colis, bring Philofophie downe to be practifed in private houses. If we should enquire the reafon, why God did reveale his Name to Mofes; was it,that he and the Ifraelites fhould only find out argute fpeculations in his Name, as heretofore many of the Rabbins have done,and now too many Divines following them,ftill dorno furely, the end of Names,is only to make things known. But yet he fets bounds to our apprehenfions,in faying,I am that I am; as if H 2 there there were more in it, as if there were fome greater immenfity in his nature:hence the ufe is this: That there is fomething of the Effence of God, that may not be inquired into, but wee muft be content with that which is revealed, Rom, 1. 18. For that which may be known of God,is manifeft in them, for God hath fhewed it unto them: there is fomething that may be known, and fomething there is that may not be knowne: therefore, Beloved, looke not for a full knowledge of him, but onely for a fmall degree of it; as Exod. 33. My face (faith God to Mofes) thou canst not fee; which place compared with that Rom. 1.20.the meaning is this,that it is very little of God, that we can know: even as when a great traine, or glorious fhew thall paffe before us, and all is gone, we onely fee the latter end of it; fo God paffed by Mofes, and he saw but a little of him :even as when you heare the latter end of a fentence, only that which the eccho refounds, the maine we cannot know. Therefore we should learne from hence,not to be searching and prying into the counfels of God as to inquire why fo many are damned,and fo few faved; how the infallibility of Gods will and the libertie of mans will can ftand together: to aske the reafon why he suffered the Gentiles to walke in the vanitie of their owne minds fo long a time; why hee fuffers the Church to lye,as it doth at this time: for we might fay as Gedeon did, If the Lord be with us, why are mee thus and thus Why the Churches of the Grecians, thofe fanious Churches, have had the golden Candleftickes removed from Simile. from them? Thefe,and all other fuch,wee muft be content to be ignorant of; for he doth not reveale himselfe fully in this life. Thou canst not fee me, and live, faith God to Mofes: The meaning is this; The veile of mortalitie doth cover us, it hides God from us, when that fhall be laid a fide, we shall know all these things, and therefore we must be content to stay the time: till then,we are as narrow-mouthed veffels,we are not able to receive much knowledge,but a great deale will fall befide,and be loft, when as God will doe nothing in vaine: as Chrift faid to his Difciples, There are many things that I fhould reveale unto you, but you are not able to beare them, and therefore we should be contented: as a weake eye is not able to behold the Sunne,or as the School-men well fay,we cannot fee it in retâ,we cannot see the circle wherein the Sunne doth runne,but only the beames of it; no more can we see God in his Effence; but in the beames thereof,his Word and effects,we may fee him: therefore let us be content to be ignorant of these things. Let him that askes,why deales God thus with his Church why are fo many damned? remember that in Efay 45.9. woe unto him Bag45.9. that friveth with his Maker; let the Potfbeard Arive with the Potfbeards of the Earth: Shall the Clay fay to him that maketh it; what makeft thou? The meaning of it is this: Wee fhould be content to let God alone,not to enquire into all his actions, into the ground and reafon of all his workes; let the PotTheard ftrive with the Potfheards of the Earth:If thou hadft to do with man,one like thy felfe,then thou H3 |