Object in these immanent Actions, which do tellectu, not paffe out of God towards, and there- voluntafore have no relation at all to, or denomi- te, & po tentiâ anation from, any k external,Object. God auola, doth know and will all things within him- Deus nofelf naturally, and neceflarily; it's his nature vit feipfu to love himself; here is no diftinction ima- ut primum ginable. & infinitū fum neceffariò, neceffitate naturæ, fed abfque coactione, quia non poteft nolle gloriam fuam,aut feipfum negare. kActus immanentes nullum dicunt refpe&um ad, quia non tranfeunt in obje&um externum. III. Perfonales 3. Perfonal Acts (fuch as the begetting Personal of the Son, and breathing forth of the Spi- Acts: rit) are not arbitrary, but neceffary and natural Acts, and therefore eternal; now acts that are abfolutely neceffary 1 fine potentia! Aaus ad oppofitum, as we ufe to fay, being natu- funt æterral and æternal, are nothing elfe but God ni, & pro acting in, and by fome one or more of the inde horu three Divine Subfiftences. Nothing that is eft abfolu eternal can be out of God, and there is no- tas abfque thing in God that is not God, and therefore potentiâ I need fay no more of thofe Perfonal Acts ad oppoin this place, because I am to treat of them fitum. at large in the very next Chapter. ta neceДi IV. ? Intrinfecal 4. The Intrinfecal Acts of God which do connote fome habitude and refpect to Acts confifome thing that is out of the Godhead,are dered with the will of God, or the Effence of God reference confidered after the manner of an Act of to extrinfehis cal Objects K ་ connotan tia Dei quidem ad m Actus his will, Effentiâ ex fe actuofa (as the intrinfeci Schooles fpeak) concepta per modum actus in Deo volendi. If this Act be confidered in it tes refpe- felf, it is nothing else but the will or Ef&um ad fence of God, because it is an intrinfecal extra funt m and vitall Act. But now if this Act be ipfa Effen- confidered as Relative, and as related to concepta fome thing that is out of God; we say this per modum Act is not neceflary, but free in respect of actus, fed all thofe things which God decrees to prorelativi,& duce or permit in the World; for God doth Arbitrarily decree to permit or proOmnia e- duce this, and not that, according to the nim novit Counsel of his own will, it being as truly Deus quæ and fully in his power to permit or profunt extra duce that, as this: both were alike poffible, fe,fubftantias, & ac- but this is made future, and will in the fullcidentia. nefle of time be prefent in A&t by virtue of Gen. 1.31. the free decree of God; for all Creatures Lin verla. are produced and do exist by the will of lia,& finGod. It is moft evident that the will of Pfal.33 13 God is the fame whether it act upon himself 14. Jobci or fomething that is out of the Godhead. & cap. 2. extra. gularia, Magna & parva. Matth,6. 25. bona & mala. Pfal.33.15. Genef.6. 5. interna & externa. Matth. 6.4. præterita.Ifa. 38. 3. futura. Ifa.41.23. præfentia: poffibilia denique 1, Sam. 23. 11. & impoffibilia.Tit. 1.2. Omnia etiam liberè vult extra le, quæcunque nimirum ftatuit vel permittere vel producere; non enim quicquid poteft facit. V. 5. The Relation which is between the Extrinfecal will of God, and the Creature, whe Relations. ther ther in futurition, or existence, is extrin.fecal. VI. 6. The Denominations grounded upon the termination, or relation of the will of Extrinfe God towards the Creatures, is extrinfecal minations; alfo. n cal Deno 7. Thefe Actions of God which are VII. faid to be rather from God,then in " God, Extrinfeas to create, govern, redeeme or the like, calations. are called extrinfecal; and therefore, the Actus Denomination of God from them must funt aDed needs be extrinfecal. extrinfeci effectivè, non funt in Deo Subje&ive 8. We have no ground to conceive that VIII. the Effence of God is compounded with The finge extrinfecal Terminations, Relations, or Effence. Denominations. and Liber tie. 9. Though the Objects which God doth IX. will are very different, and their produ- Neceffitie tion is fucceffive, yet the will of God is the felf fame, and is one fingle and pure To natuAct; the Power of willing and the Act of rale&7b li willing are not diftinct in God; nay God berum no doth will his own happineffe neceffarily diverfas and the happineffe of men and Angels potentias freely by the fame will; neceffity and li- in Deo. berry do not make diftinct Powers or wills in God. conftituut X. Io. There is no Potentia Executiva in No PotchGod, and therefore all thofe conceits of tia Execu Forftius concerning any Change or Com K 2 pofition tiva in God. pofition in God by feveral Acts or decrees are but meer dreames, and vain conceits, though they be now published to the World, not with lefs blafphemie then im pudence in this licentious age. It is evident by what hath been faid that the eminent Virtue of God (notwithftanding its feveral Objects, Egreffes Terminations, Relations, Denominations and Effects) is one fingle and infinite Perfection. This will be the conftant refult and Conclufion of all fober debates and Christian difcuffions. For if the Per fection of God be not fingle, then it must be compounded: but it cannot be compounded either of things that are finite, or the Perfeof things that are infinite ; ction of God cannot be compounded of finite things, because it is infinite; for many nay all finite things cannot make up one infinite; and God cannot be compounded of many infinite things, because there can be but one thing thats infinite, and that is God. And therefore fince Gods Perfection is his Effence, and his Effence is fingle,uncompounded, undivided, indivifible, it must needs follow that whatfoever is in God, is God, and God is (as hath been often fhewen) one fingle infinite Perfection. This is our firft Principle, and laft Conclufion into which all our debates, and by which all our doubts about this Argument Argument may and ought to be refolved. X. The Distinction between the Di- TheDiftin. vine Nature and Perfons may be confi- tion bedered, tween the DivineNa 1. In refpect of predication; the Di- ture and vine Effence is predicated of every Person, Perfons because every one of the three Subfiftences is God, nay is the Divine Nature confidered with this or that Personal Propriety and Relation respectively. But one Perfon is not predicated of another, the Father is not the Son, nor is the Son the Father, or the holy Ghost. 2. In refpect of Communication, the Divine Nature is not onely communicable but communicated to all three Perfons; but it is of the Formal Reason of a Perfon to be incommunicable. &io in tur ex re 3. In refpect of Relation. The Divine Nature doth indeed eminently containe all abfolute and relative Perfection; but the Formal Relations whereby the DiftinPerfons are not onely distinguished from, Deo nafcibut opposed to one another,cannot be Effential under that confideration, because lationibus they are peculiar to the several Persons, propriis and not common to all three Perfons, as five perfothe Effence and Nature is, Peculiar and nalibus quales diftinctive Relations are not effential, be- funt pacaufe the Perfons who are relatively di- ternitas, Atinguished, are not effentially diftin- filiatio,spi K 3 guished, |