Reafon 3. He is fimple without quantity and qualityo Reafon 4. place where hee is; neither can hee receive any other being for quality, no new habits, no new powers can be added to him; for if there could bee, hee should not bee full of being, but there fhould bee fome defect in him, if there were any poffibility in him of having any more: but feeing hee is full of being, and conftantly full, it cannot be that hee should bee fubject to any change; fome other being muft bee added to him, or else taken from him; which feeing it cannot be, therefore he must needs be unchangeable. GOD is fimple; and because there is nothing in him but what is himselfe, but what is his ef fence, therefore unleffe his effence should be annihilated (which is impoffible) he is not fubje&t to change. Now all the creatures, befides their effence, have quantity in them, and that may be greater or leffe in the creature; and befides, they have quality; and therefore they may be better or worse:but God is great without quantity, and good without quality; and therefore in regard of his fimplicity, feeing there is nothing in him, but what is himselfe, he cannot admit of any shadow of turning. GOD is infinite; and you know, an infinite thing is that which extends it felfe, which fills all things, to which nothing can be added; and therefore fecing hee is infinite at the utmost extent, hee cannot extend himfelfe any further. Againe, nothing can bee taken from him, whereby hee should be changed; ged; for, Infinitum eft,cui nec addi,nec adimi poteft : and therefore feeing hee is most infinite, hee is allo unchangeable; for whatsoever is infinite cannot be greater or leffer, nothing can be added or taken from it; and therefore hee muft needs bee unchangeable. Reafon 5. Change in the creature whence it ari. If you obferve it among the creatures, you fhall finde, that all change arifeth from one of these two things; either from fomething with out, or elfe from fome difpofition within thefeth, creature: But in God there can be no change in either of thefe refpects. Not from any thing without him, because he is the firft and fupreme being, and therefore there is no being before him,that he fhould borrow any thing of; neither is there any being above him, or ftronger than hee, that fhould make any impreffion upon him. Againe, not from any thing within him; for when there is in any creature any change, that arifeth from a principle within, there muft needes bee fomething to move, and to be moved; fomething to act and to fuffer in the creature, elle there can bee no change: as mans bodie is fubject to change, because there be divers principles within, of which fome doe act, and fome doe fuffer, and fo the body is fubje& to change, and moulders away; but in GoD there are not two things; there is not in him something to act, and fomething to fuffer; therefore hee is not made up of fuch principles, as can admit any change within him. So then the conclufion ftands fure, that hee can admit and of! of no change or variation within or without him, and therefore needs must be unchangeable. The objections against this are but two. The firft is, That which is taken from those places of Scripture, where God is faid to repent, as that, Hee repented that he made Saul King, 1 Sam. 15.11. and Gen. 6. 6. It grieved him to the heart that he had made man: now those that repent,feem to change their mind. This is attributed to God, as many other fpeeches are,onely after the manner of men ; as man, when hee alters any thing that he did before, is faid to repent, fo that it is but a figurative fpeech,and a Metaphor,ufed when he doth make any change in the world: as he made Saul King, and put him downe againe : he puts men in high eftates,and puls them downe againe, this is only in regard of the actions done; as when he thewes favour to any man, and takes it away againe. So that it is but a figurative kind of fpeech; not that there is any change in him felfe,but becaufe what he did before, he undoes it now; in regard of his actions he is faid to change, not in regard of himselfe. What is the reason that hee is faid to draw. neere to us at one time, and at another time to depart from us? why doth the Holy Ghost come into one mans heart, and fan&tifie him, when before hee was an unregenerate man? what is the reason that Chrift which was in Heaven, came downe and tooke our nature upon him, and lived amongst us? I fay, what is the reason of of all this, if there be no change in the LORD? GOD is faid to doe all this, to come to us, and to goe from us, and to fanctifie them that were voide of fanctification, even as you fay of the Sunne; that it comes into the house, when it fills it with light; but when the windowes are fhut, you fay, the Sunne is gone, when as indeed the Sun alters not, but the change is in regard of the house, for it is faid to come into the house, because of the light that comes into it, which before did not, but the Sunne it felfe is not altered: So in this cafe, the Holy Ghost fanctifies a man, Goo drawes neere to him in his comfortable prefence, because there are some workes wrought in the heart, that before were not: GOD is not changed, but it is the man that fuffers the change; hee fees light now, that before was in darkeneffe and in the fhadow of death, hee is faid to be changed by reafon of thofe operations that now are there, which before were not. So is it in Chrifts comming; there was a change in the humane nature that was affumed, which before was not; there was a worke done on the earth, which was not before; hee put foorth his power in his humiliation and exaltation, which before bee did not: but yet hee was the fame, the change was in the creature, and not in him. Now wee come to the confequences; which are likewife two. God comes and Answ. goes in his favour, how. Simile. Hence wee may learne then how to under- Confeit. 1. stand all those places which wee meet with in Scripture, How to underftand feverall Scripturce. Confect. 2. That all his love, hatred, joy, &c. were in him from eternitie. Scripture,wherein the LORD expreffeth fuch a follicitude for the death of finners: as, why will you die, O houfe of Ifrael? why will yce not hearken, and obey? And, As I live, faith the Lord, I defire not the death of a finner. And, How am I prest under your abominations, even as a Cart is preẞed with heaves? And it is said, Gen. 6. 6. That the Lord was grieved at the heart, or it pained him at the heart, that bee had made man.” All these kind of expreffions (as it is evident from hence) are but attributed to GoD after the manner of men; not that he is moved, for it cannot be, feeing he is unchangeable: whatsoever new accidents fall out in the World, he is not stirred with them, he is not moved with any new affection; for if he were, he should be, as a man is, changeable. But the meaning of thofe places is, to fhew the infinite goodneffe of his nature, and the greatneffe of our finnes: For as men grieve much, when their wills are craffed, and when their worke is brought to nothing; how wearie are they, when they strive long, and doe no good? So the LORD would expreffe it to us thus, that wee might take notice, what the great provocations are, what the finnes and faults are, wherewith wee offend him from day to day, that wee may know what they be, and what price to fet upon thofe finnes, whereby wee wearie him from time to time. That all the love and hatred that hee hath now fince the World was made, all the complacencie and difplicencie, all the happineffe and joy |