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flame it, and by thinking to make atonement for their fins, they did in truth add to the number and heinoufnefs of them.

And let us likewife learn from this admirable pattern, to pity those that are in mifery, as Christ also hath pitied us; and to fave them that are ready to perish, for his fake who came to feek and to fave us that were loft.

Let us, upon all occafions, be ready to open our bowels of compaffion towards the poor; in a thankful imitation of his grace and goodness, who for our fakes chofe to be a beggar, that we for his fake might not defpife the poor, but might have a tender regard and compaffion to those whofe condition in this world does fo nearly resemble that in which the Son of God thought it fittest for him to appear when he was pleased to be

come man.

In a word, let us, in the whole courfe, and in all the actions of our lives, fhew forth the virtues of him who hath called us out of darkness into his marvellous light; and hath raifed up a mighty falvation for us, that, being delivered from all our fpiritual enemies, from fin, and all the powers of darkness, we might ferve him who hath faved us; walking in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our lives.

Now, to him that fitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb that was flain: to God even our Father, and to our Lord Jefus Chrift, the first begotten from the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth: unto him who hath loved us, and washed us from our fins in his own blood; and, whilst we were enemies to him, loved us at fuch a rate, as never any man did his friend: to him who became man, that he might bring us to God; and affumed our frail and mortal nature, that he might clothe us with immortality and life: to him who was pleafed to dwell and live amongst us, that he might teach us how to live: to him who died for our fins, and rofe again for our justification, and lives for ever to make interceffion for us: to him be glory and dominion, thanksgiving and praife, to eternal ages. Amen.

VOL. III.

L

SER

122

SERMON

XLVIII.

Concerning the unity of the divine nature, and the bleffed Trinity, &c.

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I TIM. ii. 5.

For there is one God.

HE particle for leads us to the confideration of the context, and occafion of these words; which in fhort is this. The defign of this epiftle is, to direct Timothy, to whom St. Paul had committed the government of the church of Ephefus, how he ought to demean himself in that great and weighty charge. And, at the beginning of this chapter, he gives direction concerning publick prayers in the church; that prayers and thanksgivings be made for all men, and for all ranks and orders of men; efpecially for kings, and all that are in authority, that under them Chriftians might lead a quiet and peaceable life, in all godliness and honefty.

And this he tells us was very fuitable to the Chriftian religion, by which God defigned the falvation of mankind; and therefore it must needs be very acceptable to him, that we should offer up prayers and thanksgivings to him in behalf of all men: For this (faith the Apostle) is good and acceptable in the fight of God our Saviour; who will have all men to be faved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

And then it follows in the next words, For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Chrift Jefus, who gave himself a ransom for all as if he had faid, This univerfal charity of Chriftians, in praying for all men, muft needs be very acceptable to him to whom we put up our prayers, God the Father, who fent his Son for the falvation of all men; and to him likewife by whom we offer up our prayers to God, and is amongst us Chriftians the only Mediator between God and suen, in virtue of that price and ranfom which he paid

for

for the redemption of all mankind: I fay, for this reafon, it must needs be very acceptable to him, that we fhould pray for all men, because he died for all men; and now that he is in heaven at the right hand of God, interceeds with him for the falvation of thofe for whom he died. There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Chrift Jefus, who gave himself a ransom for all.

Which words, though they be brought in to prove more immediately, that it is acceptable to God our Saviour, that we should put up prayers to him for all men, because he defires the falvation of all men, and hath fent his Son to purchase the falvation of all men by the facrifice of himself, and, in virtue of that facrifice, to be the only Mediator between God and us: I fay, though this be the immediate fcape and defign of thefe words, yer they are likewise a direction to us, unto whom we ought to address our prayers, namely, to God; and by whofe mediation and interceffion we ought to put up our prayers to God the Father, namely, by his Son Jefus Chrift, who is conftituted the only Mediator between God and men.

There are feveral propofitions contained in this and the following verfe. But I fhall at prefent confine myfelf to the first, namely, That there is one God; that is, but one; as St. Paul elsewhere expreffeth it, There is none other God but one, 1 Cor. viii. 4. And Mofes lays this as the foundation of the natural law, as well as of the Jewish religion, The Lord he is one God; there is none else befides him, Deut. iv. 35.; that is, befides Jehovalı, · whom the people of Ifrael did worship as the only true God. And this the Prophet Ifaiah perpetually declares, in oppofition to the Polytheism and variety of gods among the Heathen, If. xliv. 6. I am the first, and I am the laft, and befides me there is no God. And again, y 8. Is there a God befides me? yea, there is no God, I know not any. He, who hath an infinite knowledge, and knows all things, knows no other God. And our bleffed Saviour makes this the fundamental article of all religion, and the knowledge of it neceffary to every man's falvation: This (fays he) is life eternal, to know thee the only true God.

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The unity of the divine nature is a notion wherein the greatest and the wifeft part of mankind did always agree; and therefore may reafonably be prefumed to be either natural, or to have fprung from fome original tradition delivered down to us from the first parents of mankind: I mean, that there is one fupreme being, the author and caufe of all things, whom the moft ancient of the Heathen poets commonly called the father of gods and men. And thus Ariftotle, in his metaphyficks, defines God," the eternal, and moft excellent, or beft, of "all living beings." And this notion of one fupreme being agrees very well with that 'exact harmony which appears in the frame and government of the world; in which we fee all things confpiring to one end, and continuing in one uniform order and courfe; which cannot reafonably be afcribed to any other but a conftant and uniform caufe; and which to a confidering man does plainly fhew, that all things are made and governed by that one powerful principle, and great and wife mind, which we call God.

But although the generality of mankind had a notion of one fupreme God, yet the idolatry of the Heathen plainly fhews, that this notion, in procefs of time, was greatly degenerated, and corrupted into an apprehenfion of a plurality of gods; though in reafon it is evident enough that there can be no more gods than one; and that one, who is of infinite perfection, is as fufficient to all purposes whatfoever, as ten thousand deities, if they were poffible, could poflibly be; as I fhall fhew in the following difcourfe.

Now, this multitude of deities, which the fond fuperftition and vain imagination of men had formed to themfelves, were by the wifer fort, who, being forced to comply with the follies of the people, endeavoured to make the best of them, fuppofed to be either parts of the univerfe; which the Egyptians, as Plutarch tells us, thought to be the fame with God; but then the more confiderable parts of the universe they parcelled out into feveral deities and as the ocean hath feveral names, according to the feveral coafts and countries by which it paffeth; fo they gave feveral names to this one Deity, according

to

to the feveral parts of the world which several nations made the objects of their worship:

Or elfe they adored the feveral perfections and powers of the one fupreme God, under feveral names and titles, with regard to the various blessings and benefits which they thought they received from him.

Thus the Indian philofophers, the Brachmans, are faid to have worshipped the fun as the fupreme Deity: and he certainly is the most worshipful of all fenfible beings, and bids faireft for a Deity; efpecially if he was, as they fuppofed, animated by a spirit endued with knowledge and understanding. And if a man, who had been bred in a dark cave, fhould all on the fudden be brought out at noon-day to behold this vifible world; after he had viewed and confidered it a while, he would in all probability pitch upon the fun as the moft likely, of all the things he had feen, to be a Deity. For if fuch a man ́had any notion of a God, and were to chufe one upon fight, he would without difpute fix upon the fun, and fall down before him and worship him.

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And Macrobius manageth this as his main plea for the idolatry of the Heathen, that under all the feveral names of their gods they worshipped the fun and this diverfity of names was but a more diftinct conception and acknowledgment of the many bleflings and advantages which mankind received from him, and a more particular and exprefs adoration of the feveral powers and perfections which were in him. And this was the very best defence, and all the tolerable fenfe which the wifeft among the Heathen could make of the multitude of their deities.

And yet whilst they generally owned one fupreme being that was the principle and original of all things, they worshipped several fubordinate deities, as really diftinct from one another. Some of thefe they fancied to be fuperior to the reft, and to have their refidence in heaven; by which Marfilius Ficinus fuppofes Plato to mean no more but the chief of the angels. These were called Oso, dii fuperi, and dii cæleftes; "fuperior and hea"venly gods. The fcripture terms them the host of heaven, meaning the fun, moon, and ftars; which they

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fuppofed

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