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Show ~46- 1673· C/""v"V Chap. vn. LaerL Lacrt. delrl Dei6.Jo. Plut. Antip. de Mund. J. 7• The Chiiftian Q~aker, and bis Vot. f. XIV. Zeno, a Grave and Wife Pbilofopber, who inftituted the Way of the Stoich, but not of Vinue: For both 't_he Cynrcks and S1ou_lu~ moftly reaching fuch Doctrine as rend~d ro good L1fe, mily we!l t._e f:ud to hare been "rhe Followers of SocrtiUs, the Excellent M:1n of hts Ttme, Only they a lirde differenced themfehes by fome plrticular Severities, too affe8:ed, to which rhe Mild, Serious, and Unaffeaed Piety of Socror_es~ gave _them no Encouugemenr, though none of them trod in a f!IOrc_ S~lf-denymg P:nh, than Hiftory tells us he walkt in. This Zeno and hts D1fc_1ples, w~re Vigo-rous A!fenors of One Infinjte and Eternal God, as by thetr DoEtrmes m:~y ap~:;~ tells us, ( '1) Tbat GOD is on l~n'_Jiortal ~cing, R11tional, Pe,fe{f, qr lnJcUtOua/ in Beatitlldt, void of o/J Evli, proVtdtnt over tbe fVor/J, and Things in rbe World; Xor af Human Form, MAKER OF ALL, AS lT WERE FATHER OF JILL Again, God, m.d rbe Power of God ir /t~tb, os t hat it Goverm, but is not Governed: lr Governeth all fhmgs; jo t1Jat if there true any Thing more Excellent, He could n?t poffibly be God. This was Zeno's Faith of God, and I cannot beheve, that the ':4-'orft of our Ant:tgonifts h:ts fo far .abandon'd all Reafon,. as to call it Fo!f~ or JJ~. latro!ls. That he taught 1t as well as thought H, let us hear foote of h1s Followers. XV. Chryjippu< alfo avers, as his Belief of a God, that the World was made by Him; confequenrly he believed there was one: ( r) For if (fairh he) tbere be any Thing which can procreate Juch Beings, tU .Aian end11ed reirb Rettfon is unablt to produce, tbat (doubtleft) muff nttds he Stra'!'ger,. ond Greater, and Wifer than M~n; b11t tJ JUan Ctmnot make the Ctt!tj1Jal Tlunt,J, therefore that mbicb made them, tranJcendeJ JUan in Art, Co1mfcl, PrNdtnce and Pou-tr; And robat can thor he bur God? . Thus far Cbryjippus, the Stoick, in reference to God •. Bu_t a~am,. XVI. Antipoter, a Famous, Serious, and Acute Stouk, m h1s D1fcourfe of God Jnd the World, declares himfelf to us after this Manner, (f) We tmdujland that which we call G 0 D, A Spirit ji~lJ of Intelligence _Dr Wif· dom; a Livi'!l{ Nature, or Divint Subjiance; 8/r:.ffed 11nd lncorr~~p~lbk, dtr int Good ro Mankind, PRESEI\"T tbrou:b the whole World, rrceromg pve· rat Denominations from rbe Diverfity of his ~ppeoranus, and the vnnout OperatWns and F.fff'8s of his Divine Power fhev.:n therein. Which Kind of F.v:mgelic:Jl Definition, may very well induce us to believe Hjm to have been, at leafi of thofe who knew God; but we b~e, not of·rhofe-, who when they knew Him, Glorified Hi1n nor tU GO D. Indeed, what we have hitherto produc'd of them all, m:Jy worthily~ :1ccounred Divinity; and not the worfe for being Gentile, fince .G 0 D ts alfo therein to be admired: So Forcible, fo True, and fo Confp1cuousare thd r Alfertions, and their Reafons for them, that who will yet bel~e~·e, there was not a A1rafure of the Eternal FuhteJs of all Divi»e Li~J_hl Jhtnlllg in the Hearts of tbeJt: Heathens, to £ive them fome Knon:ledgt :'] tbe Glor_l of the On I] True attd lnvijible God, rnuft not think it firange, if upon the!t ( 'I ) Now to the King Eternal, Immortal, Invifible, the Only Wife God, be Honour and Glory for eyer, ~Tim. 1. 17 •• · ·The Rich and Poor meet to~ether, the lord is the M~k~:r are c;;~~:i. ~~~i ~~~ 'to~d ~O~~Q~~o;~e~o~:.RLe:[r~ t~o~~~4e,r,_ ~a!t~~~eJ~~~{f~ch'c:!f all, of whom are all things, Eph. 4· 6. 1 Ctr. 6. 8, 6 • ••• Who is a God lilr:e unto mee? Exd. t ; . ''' · · · The Almighty is Es:ccllent in Powc" :fob 17• 23. ··.,And his Kingdom soles overall, Pfd. 10]1 19· . A~; 4: ,~r~,~hth~~~a~e~~ ~~cr~d~~,.t~~ 2~~~I~a~f!;:r~t~,"~~~~l~ ~~~t~!"a = ~ t'f1 ~"G~tis~n~p~~ft~;Zb~f~~ez~1~~~c~~ !~~~0·a~J·hid all the Treafures of WHilom and Y..nowledge, Ctl. 2. 1· of the incorruptible God, ~m. ' · 23 .• • • 'fhe Lord is Good to all, and his tender Mercies are over all his VVor~, P[ll. t4~· 9• • •• G~ is not far a war from everyone of us, Alls 17,27: · · Example VoL; I. Tell:imoiiy Stated tend-Pindicated. E)ample ofincrudeliiY, after all their Prote!lations for and p 6 IIi f ' 54? the Chrift.ian Religion, any fhould believe them to be .kr 1 Pbo ~tons o Ch~p. vu. that .they are over·caft.with the d~rkeft Clouds of Envy a~d Uo~ha~f:~hl~~ ~ nefs. For my Part, I am of the M1nd, that many Thoufands of Chri(tians 73 atleaft fo reputed, I m~n not of the R.abble neither, believe not God r~ clearly, nor arc: a.ble t? gt~e better Reafons fo.r wh~t they do believe of hi th:ta thefe exhtbtted lQ.. thts firft Part of the Gentlle·Divinity m, p,~v~d~nr:!.~ch toncerning God, with Refpe[t to Himfeif, his.Creation, and CHAP. VIII. Tbe]tcond Fundamental of Gentile-Divinity, vi:. That God hath im rin .. ted the Knowledge ofb1mfelf on the Minds of all Mankind. Proved Jrom Imelve. Pref.nllllt !efl1m~ues, tU weD of who/' Societies, tU pttrti&lllar PerJons. Compared wub Scnptur~. I T ~ill be now requifite,. that I give a~1 Account of their Belief in God WJ.th Ref pelt to that D1fcovery, he JS pleafed to give of himfelf unt~ Mankmd, ~ow and where, which amounts to what is laid down, in my fe· coryd Afi'eruon, 'flZ, Tbar God imprintetb the K,zowledge of himfolf, in the ~mds of M~nkmd; or, t~nt ~od's r~ay_ of m~nifefling himfe!f tD .hun kind, :s by enbgbtmng the So11/ wub hw own dtvme Lrgbr which hting Dbeued Jead.r to .BiejJednefs. • J ' That this was their Doarin~, and the G.round of their KnoWledge, they ha~ of God, be pleafed to we1gh thefe thm following very plain yet very Chap.Vnr. ~ we:ghty Expteffions. ' I. (a) The Mind, Jairb Pythagoras, ond his Dijciplu, only fceth the e- ')';m. de A' ternal God, the Ruler and Father of aU Things- What greater Plenfure n1m. Mu~d~ thtJn to hthold the. Serene .Afpefl of God ?--Wbat Things are tJgreahit 10 Jambllch. God, cannot be known, unlefs a lVbn hear God himfelf. They f*lltu4'7J ex-horted one llnotber, n1t to divide a] under th& Jt. G 0 D T H A T ,¥'AS * Jambl. I !'J THEM' for. that it o11ght to he their Care., to priftrve t htir Union urth God, and one vmb another.- .A~ain faith, Jt..Tima:us, one of the exaOefi * De "Animl of that School_; The.mof! excellent TbmJ the ~o11hs ~wakened to, is her Guide Mwtd. or Goo~ Gemu.s (~hat_u, a Meafuu of the Jzvine Ltgbt and Spirit)but if foe be rebellroru to.rt, 11 WfU prove her D.£mon or. Tormentor. B111 having over-come tbefe Tbzngs, Jauh P-ythagoras, {to wit, Evils) tholljhtJ!t llnow x · u the Co-Habitation ordwellingtogether o[tbel MM 0 R TAL G 0 Dnn'J M 0 R TAL .MEN; wbofe Work ;.· Life, rbe Work af God ir lmmorta-l! t~ Eternal L1fe. . bus far the Pythago~eans, and. certainly far enough to prove the Afl'ertt~ n; ~or next to Hearzng andftezng God himfelf his dwtllmg ami tabcrnacb11g wuh MLn, what is there of greater Spiritual lntimJcy or Union > 0 the Folly and great Unchuitablenefs of thofe Profell'ors ofChriftian.ity that exc!u~e both f~ch M~n, and fuch Knowledge the Kingdom of God: becaufe tt IS not dehv~red 1n abfolute SctiJ?C~re--Phrafe, whilft it importS much of t~e ver{ S~bje8: of t,hem, as to Dtvme Vijion, Union witb God, attd Eternal Life! wtlb they don't take llllagination for Knowledge and Prej11mption for Enjoyment. But to go on, ' |