Holy Ghoft proceedeth from the Father in the fame nature with him, the Word proceedeth from the fame person in the fame fimilitude of nature alfo; but the Word proceeding is the Son, the Holy Ghoft is not, because the firft proceffion is by way of Generation, the other is not. As therefore the Regeneration and Adoption of Man, fo the Proceffion of the Holy Ghoft doth no way prejudice the eternal Generation, as pertaining folely to the Son of God. Seeing then our Saviour Jefus Chrift had a real being and existence before he was conceived by the Virgin Mary; feeing the being which he had antecedently to that Conception was not any created, but the one and indivifible Divine Effence; feeing he had not that Divinity of himself originally, as the Father, but by communication from him; feeing the communication of the fame Effence unto him was a proper Generation; we cannot but believe that the fame Jefus Chrift is the begotten Son of God and feeing the fame Effence was never fo by way of Generation communicated (k) unto any, we must also acknowledge him the Only-begotten, diftinguished from the Holy Ghost, as Son; from the adopted Children, as the natural Son. The neceffity of the belief of this part of the Article, that Jefus Chrift is the proper and natural Son of God, begotten of the fubftance of the Father, and by that fingular way of Generation the Only Son, appeareth firft in the confirmation of our Faith concerning the Redemption of Mankind. For this doth fhew fuch an excellency and dignity in the perfon of the Mediator as will affure us of an infinite efficacy in his actions, and value in his fufferEb.x. 4. ings. We know it is not poffible that the blood of bulls and goats fhould take away fins: and we may very well doubt how the blood of him, who hath no other nature than that of Man, can take away the fins of other men; there appearing no fuch difference as 23. will fhew a certainty in the one, and an impoffibility in the other. But fince we may be bought with a 1 Cor. vi. price, well may we believe the blood of Chrift fuf- 20. & vii. ficiently precious, when we are affured that it is the 1Pet. i. 19. blood of God: nor can we question the efficacy of it Acts xx. 28. in purging our confcience from dead works, if we believe Heb. ix. 14. Chrift offered up himself through the Eternal Spirit. If we be truly fenfible of our fins, we must acknowledge that in every one we have offended God; and the gravity of every offence muft needs increase proportionably to the dignity of the party offended in refpect of the offender; because the more worthy any person is, the more reverence is due unto him, and every injury tendeth to his difhonour: but between God and man there is an infinite difproportion; and therefore every offence committed against him must be esteemed as in the highest degree of injury. Again, as the gravity of the offence beareth proportion to the perfon offended; fo the value of reparation arifeth from the dignity of the perfon fatisfying; because the fatisfaction confifteth in a reparation of that honour which by the injury was eclipfed; and all honour doth increase proportionably as the perfon yielding it is honourable. If then by every fin we have offended God, who is of infinite eminency, according unto which the injury is aggravated; how fhall we ever be fecure of our reconciliation unto God, except the perfon who hath undertaken to make the reparation be of the fame infinite dignity; fo as the honour rendered by his obedience may prove proportionable to the offence and that difhonour which arofe from our difobedience? This fcruple is no otherwise to be fatisfied than by a belief in fuch a Mediator as is the Onlybegotten Son of God, of the fame substance with the Father, and confequently of the fame power and dignity with the God whom by our fins we have offended. Secondly, The belief of the eternal Generation 23. of the Son, by which he is the fame God with the Father, is neceffary for the confirming and encouraging a Christian in afcribing that honour and glory unto Chrift which is due unto him. For we are commanded to give that Worship unto the Son which is truly and properly Divine; the fame which John v. 22, we give unto God the Father, who hath committed all judgment unto the Son, that all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. As it was Rev. v. 13. represented to St. John in a vision, when he heard every Creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and fuch as are in the fea, and all that are in them, faying, Bleffing, honour, glory, and power be unto him that fitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever. Again, we are comDeut. x. 20. manded to fear the Lord our God, and to (1) ferve him; and that with fuch an emphasis, as by him we Ch, vi. 4. are to understand him alone, because the Lord our God is one Lord. From whence if any one arose among the Jews teaching under the title of a Prophet to worship any other befide him for God, the judgment of the Rabbins was, that notwithstanding all the miracles which he could work, though Seder Ze- they were as great as Mofes wrought, he ought immediately to be strangled, because the evidence of this truth, that one God only must be worshipped, is above all evidence of fenfe. Nor must we look upon this precept as valid only under the Law, as if then there were only one God to be worshipped, but fince the Gospel we had another; for our Saviour hath commended it to our obfervation, by making use of it against the Devil in his temptation, faying, Mat. iv. 1o. Get thee hence, Satan, for it is written, Thou shalt Mofes Præf. in raim, worship the Lord thy God, and him only fhalt thou ferve. If then we be obliged to worship the God of Ifrael only, if we be alfo commanded to give the fame worship to the Son which we give to him; it is neceffary that we should believe that the Son is Heb. i. 6. the God of Ifrael. When the Scripture bringeth in the the firft-begotten into the world, it faith, Let all the Angels of God worship him; but then the fame Scripture calleth that firft-begotten (m) Jehovah, and the Lord Pfal. xcvii. of the whole earth. For a man to worship that for 5. God which is not God, knowing that it is not God, is affected and grofs Idolatry; to worship that as God which is not God, thinking that it is God, is not the fame degree, but the fame fin: to worship him as God who is God, thinking that he is not God, cannot be thought an act in the formality void of Idolatry. Left therefore, while we are obliged to give unto him Divine worship, we fhould fall into that fin which of all others we ought moft to abhor, it is no lefs neceffary that we should believe that Son to be that eternal God, whom we are bound to worship, and whom only we should serve. and viii. 32. I Thirdly, Our belief in Chrift as the eternal Son of God, is neceffary to raise us unto a thankful acknowledgment of the infinite love of God, appearing in the fending of his Only-begotten Son into the world to die for finners. This love of God is frequently extolled and admired by the Apoftles. God fo loved Johniii. 16. the world, faith St. John, that he gave his only-begotten Son. God commended his love towards us, faith St. Rom. v. 8. Paul, in that while we were yet finners Chrift died for us; in that be spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all. In this, faith St. John again, was manifefted John iv. the love of God towards us, because that God fent his 9, 10. only-begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and fent his Son to be the propitiation for our fins. If we look upon all this as nothing elfe but that God fhould caufe a man to be born after another manner than other men, and when he was fo born after a peculiar manner, yet a mortal man, fhould deliver him to die for the fins of the world; I fee no fuch great expreffion of his love in this way of redemption, more than would have appeared if he had redeemed us any other way. It is true indeed, Q4 that that the reparation of lapfed man is no act of abfolute neceffity in refpect of God, but that he hath as freely defigned our Redemption as our Creation; confidering the mifery from which we are redeemed, and the happiness to which we are invited, we cannot but acknowledge the fingular love of God, even in the act of Redemption itself; but yet the Apostles have raised that confideration higher, and placed the choiceft mark of the love of God in the choofing such means, and performing in that manner our reparation, by fending his Only-begotten into the world; by not fparing his own Son, by giving and delivering him up to be fcourged and crucified for us; and the estimation of this act of God's love muft neceffarily increafe proportionably to the dignity of the Son fo fent into the world; because the more worthy the person of Chrift before he fuffered, the greater his condefcenfion unto fuch a fuffering condition; and the nearer his relation to the Father, the greater his love to us for whofe fakes he fent him fo to fuffer. Wherefore to derogate any way from the Perfon and Nature of our Saviour before he fuffered, is so far to undervalue the love of God, and confequently to come short of that acknowledgment and thanksgiving which is due unto him for it. If then the fending of Chrift into the world were the highest act of the love of God which could be expreffed; if we be obliged unto a return of thankfulness fome way correfpondent to fuch infinite love; if fuch a return can never be made without a true sense of that infinity, and a fense of that infinity of love cannot confift without an apprehenfion of an infinite dignity of nature in the perfon fent; then it is abfolutely neceffary to believe that Chrift is fo the Only-begotten Son of the Father, as to be of the fame fubftance with him, of Glory equal, of Majesty co-eternal. By this difcourfe in way of explication every Christian may understand what it is he fays, and exprefs his mind how he would be understood, when he maketh |