| OCR Text |
Show The Chriftian Quaker, an~ hi. VoL. I. 167'. Firft, Then from their own Aut~orides I am ta~ght to affirm, Tbut the ~ Gentiles Believe in One Holy, lnfinue and ~ternal God. . . Chap. VII. SecondlJ, That they did therefore fo behove, becaufe God had unpnnred the Knowledge of himfelf on rhe1~ ~ean~; or 1~ o~r Language, that he had Lighted AU MankiRd with a D1V1nt Ltgbt, wb1cb if ohq'd., woujd lead to Ercrnal Happincfs. . . . . Third I)' That they held and prachfed b1gh Sanfhty of L1fe. Four~b& That they affirmed the ~mmorra/iry of the_ Soul, ;md Ettrnal Rewards ;j Felicity, or .Mifcrb according to ¥an's Obechence. to! c.or Rebel· lion againft the Eternal God hiS C~e3t?r : Whtch excellent. Pnnctples, uue and clear, being the Refulr of th~tr Dtfco_u~fe. on thofe_ SubJeCts, c;lo wor~hily deferve, in my Efteem, the Sttle of Ptvtmty; wh1c~ IS _the _Venomzna· tion, I hope, I may, wi~hout Offence, beftow u_pon them ln th1s D1fcourfe. That the Gemiles dld acknowledge and believe, There wat bur One Su· prcme Being., tbot made ali Tbings, wbo ir lnfiniu, .Almighty, Omnipreftnt, Hoi)' d11d Good for roer. I !hall produce fome of thofe many Auth<· rities that affert the fame, and by divers Scriptures underneath, of the like Tendency (tho' of Higher Authority) ~ow their ilgreeab!enefs to Di .. vine Revelation, in which 1 have the Pra€hce of very Ancient :Fathers of the Church to juftify me. Clem. Alex. I. Orphem. One Thouf.:md Two. Hundred Years before Chrifl, thus ex~ Strom. I.~· prelfeth his Belief of God: (a) Hu Hand reacher to the Et~d of the Sea, his Right-band is every where, and the Eanh is ~nder his Fen. He is Only One, begot of himfel/, and of Him n/o11e are ali Th1ngs begot ; and God i.r the Fhit and 1he Lail. Hereby not only telling us, there was a God, but att-ributing that Al· mighty Power and Omnipr.efence, which Chows he meant no Statuary· Deily, but God that made the Heavens and the Earth. Clem. Alex. . Il. Hefiod, (b) Of all, n.hich do not Dy~, tholl art King and Lord: Non. Strom.l. ~· cnn contend with Thu concerning thy Power. ' th!:~ei~f.hatically proyes,God to have been but One, and Omnipotent, in Clem. Ale:r. JII. Tbalu, a very Ancient Greek Philofopher te1Is us, (c) That there;, Strom. I. 5· b11t One GoJ1 t hat lie is Gloriorn for ever and ever: And he openly confef· ferh, That He is caUed 'Uflu~""'"• HE WHO KNOWS HEARTS. nf~~ess'Eb'f'ifNIN~·~o~\~iwas, That (fairh he) wbicb btU NEI-Another afking, Jf a Jlltm might Jo ill, and con.ceal it from G(id ? How, (fai1h he) WHEN A MAN THAT THINKS IT CANNOT. Men ought. to believe, faith Jf. Cicero, in his Name~ tht1t GoJ fees all T bmgs. Clem. Alex. IV. Siby11a, (d) There H One God, who alone i.t Infinite, and without Str8ni, J. S· Brginning - Again, (e) Who cnn fee . with Flejhly Eyes the Heavenly, True and Immortal God, wbof e Sent is in the Higbeft Heavens ? · This Sib)'! is Aged above TI'/Q Th,oufiiUd ·y evs. The Que!lion implies her ~airh, thai God was a Spirit, as Chri!l himfelf alfo tetl(fies. ( •) He fl:retcheth out his Hind over the Sea, lfo· 2~. 1 ,.· .. •• For t,he lo.~cl y.oqr GOji, he i~ God in Heuen above and in the',£arthbeneath, ~Jb. 2.11. 11111 AlpbJ •nd Omt..£•• the Be· :inning •nd fh End, tbe Fir{t •nd. tbe LAP, Rev. 22. 13. ' ' ( b J God is not the God of the Dead, butohhe Livinr;, Mllf• 221 r• . -· Th.e l-ord is ~~s~~ e~~. ~!":;.~~l:~r Gtj ~gi:~;ee~~~~s~~:~,lpfr.~~~ t.lngJ, and Lofll of ( t ) Gloriousjn Holinefs, 1!~1 •'i· 41 - ·- God had Glory_ befC?re dle W.O~ld bc~an, See '111lm 17. ~·-:.~the l.4rd fearcii'"lKe fleart, I try the "Reins. fer, 17~ ao. - •• He deduetl\ ~{!?m ~a'n 2~is Thoughts, .Am111 4: 13, - • • God is from Eve~l.~ftlng to Everl.ifting God, (d) Thou art God alope, Pf. 86. 10, Befides Me there isnoGo4, Jfo.44•6. There: isbu' One God, 1 Cor, 8. '' 6. ( t ) No Man has fttn God at any time, 1 'folm 4• 12. Heaven is my Throne, Alls 1· d· The Lortl's Throne is in Heaven, Pf. II· 4· And hear thov in Ht'ilven thy Dwelling·PJace, I z:J"ll 8, 30o ' Teftimony Stated and Vmdicated: H3 V. Pytbag,,·,u, 1 modofi, but diligeln and retired Man in his Se.uch af- 167; te.r Heavenly _T.hings, f::tith (f) .Tbat it is JUan'J Duty ro'believe of the Di- ~ 'l.Untty, that If u, and that 11 u m Jt~ cb n il1anner, tU to Mattkind that it Chap. Vf[ overlooks them, and neg!crtr tbetn not: For we have need of fu;h a Go- ]amblich. ,~ernmcn r, tU rcc ought not in any Thing to contraditl; fuch is that which proceedJ froJ!l the Divinity: For the Divinity i.r fucb, that to it doth of Rigbt belong the Dominio~ of all._ Ag~in, God refembleth Light nml Truth. In another Place, God !Jimfe!f mhab1ts the Lowejl, and Highefl •nd tb~ .Midd!emo/l ; tbcre is no Being nor Place witlJout God. ' . (g) 9 od_is One: He is not, atfoJ~e conceive out of tbe World, but en-tire wuh111 brmfelf, o.r in If compltm Crrdc, furvcying all Generation.r. He juft:. Mart. i~ tbe S~/t ?{ a/J .Ager, the Agent of his Of»R Power.r~ and Works; the Prin-crp~ c of aU 1bmgs: On~ Heavenly Luminary or Light, and Father of all Tbmg~; Only Wife, lnvijihlc, yet Inulligiblc. \Vhtch very PJthedcal Account of the Divine Being, fo correfpondent with Scr_ipture, yet he a Stranger to it, (I mean the Words only, for the Matter, m this Point, he weightily hits) deferves very Serious ConfideratiQn and Acknowledgment from all, efpecially thofe who would not Narrow God's Mercies to their own Time or PJrty. VI. To the fame Purpofe fpe:~ks Hcraditllf, that fenfibly .A.flliOcd Philo· fopbe;, for the World'~ Impieties lnd Idolatries; whofe very forrowful, yet found and fmart Exprefftons, !how they cJme frorh a Mind deeply touch'd. lA bne of his Epiftles to Hennotlorm, his Frien4, he ·thusfeemeth lfrer a While, to add refs himfelf to Eutidu, and the reft of his Enemies thH impeacht him for being an Enemy to their Stony Gods: (b) Tbu1 i jhnll be condemned of lmpiny by tbe lmpio/1:!. What thinkejl thou? ShalL I f ee"! Impiotts to them f or Dij[ctzting from rbcir Gods? If Blind Men were 10 Jlld;:r (If Sight, They would. fay ~lindnefs were Sight: But 0 ye ignorant .Melt, tearb UJ .firft, what Go~ u, that wben ye ~el/arc uJ to he lmpjotu~ you .mny be be!tevcd. Wher.e IS God? Shut up 111 Templu? 0 Piau!; Men ! W.ho P.lace God ih the Dark; 10u ignormzt People ! Know you not that God IS not made with Hands. This is 1 moft clear and atnple Teftimony againft their i~ols; mixt with a Re!it)ou$ Dcrifion ; yet qli:~lified by a kind of Lamentation : Surely He· rnclirus believed in God, yea, and that he was Light too, and fuch an one Clem. Ales:. 3ii fhould never fet ! by whom he elfewhere fays, He bod overcome the Eire· Stra-~.1. 2. mies of biJ SMI. vn. Atl.IX(tgorttJ, eficemed Noble by Birth, bur more Noble for his t.aa. Falf. Knowledge Jnd Yircue. who was Maft:er to Socrare.r, taught thus concern· ~~'"'d ~N ing_ ~ad; ( i) _TIMr Go.! _iJ an lnji11i~e Sel{m~ving ftlind, tkat thiJ Divine. ~~r. ~.A:~ lnfimte Mrnd u the Effic1ent C:ut]e oj all i'hmg.r; every Thmg being titaJe de Civ. Dei. . lib. 8. |
