2. According to the common Senfe and Notion, we have of created Beings, whatever is made may be unmade. Can the Son of God be annihilated? If this be too harsh Blafphemy to be afferted, as furely it is, then there is a Creature, (who tho' P. 23. you fay, he is govern'd by God as his God, yet) is in this refpect Matth. too hard for his Creator, who by giving all Power in Heaven and xxviii. 18. in Earth to the Son, muft confequently remain himself not omnipotent: Or, if he does, the Son is omnipotent too; and then if the Son be a diftinct Being, there are Two Omnipotents, which is abfurd and contradictious: For you fay in your Quo- P. 15. tation out of Clemens Alexandrinus, The Son cannot be ever obftructed, as being Lord of all. The Addition of, especially while •he minifters to the Will of his good and heavenly Father, (which moft certainly he always does, tho' especially feems to imply that fometimes he does not fo) is not given as the Reason of this his Irrefiftibility; but the Foundation of it is, as being Lord of all; that is, God, and as fuch he does always do the Will of his Father, for they have but one and the fame Will.

But I must not let pafs, without obferving, how unfairly you have tranflated this Paffage in Clemens Alexandrinus, as will appear by the true rendring of it; viz.

(a) Neither can He (the Son) ever be obftructed by any other, being Lord of all, and chiefly, or most of all, most perfectly miniftring to the Will of the good and heavenly Father.

And in the very next Line, he is faid to be (*) begotten without a Beginning; which fully denotes his intimate Union with the Father, and confequently that he will not, cannot ever be obftructed by him; for, as I said, they have one and the same Will.

3. In another of the Quotations 'tis faid, That the Son is de P. 17. • riv'd from the Subftance of the Father; and yet there is added, that he is a made God, created by the Father. How are thefe confiftent? For if the Subftance of the Father be uncreated, whatever is of that Subftance must be fo too; but to be created, and yet to be of an uncreated Substance, a created uncreated is a Contradiction.

4. I prefume you do agree, that our Lord Jefus was a true, proper, and meritorious, expiatory Sacrifice, and made full Satisfaction to the Juftice of his Father for the Sins of Mankind, according to this new Covenant of Grace. I ask then, How can a Creature (as you affert him to be) have fuch a Degree of Merit, as to deferve the Pardon of other Men's Sins? Can any

(α) ἐθ ̓ ὑφ ἑτέρα κωλυθείη πό] ̓ ἂν ὁ πάντων κύριΘ καὶ μάλιςα Εξυπηρετω τω τὸ ἀγαθῶ καὶ παντοκρατΘ θελήματι παρὸς (ε) Ανάρχως νόμΘ.

Crea

Creature do more than what is his Duty to do? And the greater the Perfections are, with which any Creature is endued, in the fame Proportion the greater is his Duty too, fo that he can have no Merit: And it may be truly faid of the highest I uke xvii. created Beings, as our Saviour teaches us to say, that we are unprofitable Servants, and add nothing to the effential Glory of God, who was infinitely happy before there were any created Beings, and needed not the Service of any Creatures.

10.

I Cor. xv.

17.

P. 35.

If you will fay, that Almighty God was pleafed neverthelefs to accept this Sacrifice, you may better fay, that infinite Goodness might have pardon'd us without any Sacrifice to his Juftice for our Sins, and with the Socinians deny the Merit and Satisfaction of Chrift; and then, I am afraid, I may say, (as St. Paul fays, if Christ be not risen) our Faith is vain, we are yet in our Sins.

But again; if he be a Creature, the Socinians feem to be in the right: For 'tis hard to reconcile to the Juftice of God the Jaying upon an innocent Perfon, an only begotten Son, in whom he was well pleas'd, the Sins and the Iniquities of us all, and the Punishment of them too; nay, tho' his voluntary Undertaking of this for us, and his coming into the World for this Purpofe, may, in fome Sort, anfwer the Objection to the Juftice of God, yet it may be too great a Prefumption in a Creature, to offer himself as a Satisfaction to the Juftice of God against us Sinners, because it implies fuch an Opinion of his own Merit, as would not become a Creature, who (as I faid before) can have none.

5. By your Quotation out of Irenæus you agree, that Gen. i. 26. Let us make Man after our Image, was spoken to the Son and Holy Ghoft, which is one of the Texts which have been urg'd for the Proof of the Trinity: But if the Son be a Creature, and the Holy Ghoft the Creature of that Creature, how ftrange would it be, and unbecoming the Majefty of the Pfal. 1. 1. Mighty God, (who hath poken and called the World from the rifing of the Sun unto the going down thereof) to take Counsel, as you exprefs it out of Hermas, of his Creatures, in the glorious Work of the Creation; which was a full Evidence to the Heathen of his eternal Power and Godhead. Who hath been his Counfellor, faith St. Paul? Or being his Counsellor, hath taught him, Ifa.xl. 13. faith Ifaiah?

P. II.

Rom.i. 20. Rom. xi. 34.

Somewhere I have read of a Philofopher, who, reading the firft Chapter of Genefis, was in Admiration of it, faying, It was the nobleft and most proper Account, and beft fuited to the Majefty and Omnipotence of the Supreme God; that (to ufe the Pfalmift's Expreffion) could form the Heavens by his Pf. xxxiii. Word, and all the Hoft of them by the Breath of his Mouth. Thus much the Light of Nature and common Senfe could teach: And has Revelation extinguish'd this Light? No fure; for

6.

whom

whom they not knowing worshipp'd, this has declar'd to us: We or avourdo not doubt but that all Things were made by the Word; but TES then we fay too, that therefore the Word was God: For, He, that Acts xvii. built all Things, is God. This Doctrine answers all Difficulties, 23. and 'tis much easier to believe a Myftery, which has been re- John i. veal'd by the Spirit of Truth, tho' it furpaffes our Comprehen- v. 1, 2. fion, than to reconcile to our Understanding, common Senfe, Heb. iii. 4. and the Light of Nature, how a Creature can be omnipotent, P. 13, 14, or be made a God, or was made God, (as you and your Authors, 16, 17 36. as You Cite them, affert) by that God, who fays, Is there a God Ifa. xliv.8. befides me? Tea, there is no God, I know not any.

xlv. 22.

6. If the Holy Ghoft be the Creature of Jefus Chrift, as you affert; and if Jefus Chrift took the Manhood into God, as we fay, or into that excellent Being made by God, as you fay; for I prefume we both agree he was truly Man, and that all together he was upon Earth One Perfon; how is it reconcilable to common Senfe, that the Creature fhould form any Part of him, by whom he himself was created? For the Holy Ghoft over hadow'd the Bleffed Virgin, and that which was conceiv'd in her, was of the Holy Ghoft. Did he, who at first made Man, and could raise his own Body from the Dead, want the Help of his Creature to form a Body for himself in the Virgin's Womb? Again it is faid, God giveth not the Spirit by Mea- John iii. Jure to him; Did he want his own Creature to affift him in his 34. miraculous Works here on Earth? Could he make him, and

Luk. 1.35.

Matt. 1.20.

yet not have him without the special Gift of God? Could he fend John xvi. him to his Difciples (as he fays, I will send him to you) and could 7. he not take him to himfelf. But the Belief of Three Perfons in the Godhead (tho' the Scriptures mention them as the Creator, the Redeemer, and the Sanctifier of Mankind) frees us from the inconfiftent Difficulties of your Scheme, because they concur as one God, in the Creation of the World, and the Redemption of Mankind.

Thefe Things may be fufficient to fhew, how much better, Pf. cxxxi. and fafer it is for us not to exercise our felves in Things too . high and wonderful for us, nor to feek Things too hard for us, Eccl.xxx. leaning to our own Understanding, left we be wife in our own Con- 21, C. ceits, and incur the Centure, which one Man after God's own Rom. xi. Heart, and another the wifeft Man, have fix'd upon fuch bold 25. Attempts.

Pf. cxxxi. And this will appear to be the more our Duty, by confider- 1. ing the Confequences which fuch Doctrines have had, and may Prov.xxvi. ftill have upon the Minds of Men. For,

1. I am confident that the Doctrine of Arius, which spread it felf fo largely and chiefly in Afia and Africa, may be truly faid to have laid the Foundation of Mahometanism, which that Impoftor built upon it : : For when that Heretick Arius had afferred the Unity of the Godhead in fuch Terms as to exclude

12.

L

the Son and Holy Ghoft, making our Lord Jefus Chrift to be no more than a Creature, which any Prophet is, tho' one be fuppos'd the older and more excellent Creature of the Two ; it became eafy for Mahomet to perfuade the Minds of Men, fo prepar'd to receive his Doctrine, (which in a great Measure agreed with that of Arius) and himself as a Prophet, who fhew'd them ftill a more excellent Way: And it was a juft JudgThef. ii. ment from Heaven to send them a strong Delufion, that they should 11, 12. believe a Lye, because they received not the Love of the Truth or rather, when they had receiv'd it, put from them the Word of God, and by fo doing had judg'd themselves unworthy of everlasting Life.

A&ts xiii. 46.

I Cor. i. 23.

John xii.

34.

P. 30.

John viii.

53.

John ix.

28, 29.

2. It must also have as ill an Effect upon the Jews, by hardening them in their Infidelity and Blafphemy: For as the Crucifixion of Chrift was at first a Stumbling-Block to them, who had heard out of their Law, and expected that their Meffiah fhould abide for ever; fo it must be no lefs a Stumblingblock to be told, that their Meffiah is a mere Creature, if they have an Opinion that he is to be the Son of God, God equal to God; as, I fhall fhew by and by, was the Notion and Eelief of their Forefathers; and therefore, not This Doctrine, as you fay, but Yours will appear a ftrange Doctrine to the Jews; and if Chrift be no more than a Prophet, they will hardly be induced to believe that he was greater than their Father Abraham, or than Mofes, whofe Difciples they are, and who know that God (pake to him.

3. Confider what Advantage you give to the Scepticks of this Age, who deny all reveal'd Religion: For they will think they have as much Right to the Light of Nature and common Senfe as your felf; for this is the most equally divided of any Thing in the World, because every Man thinks he has enough of it; tho' that very Thought is a full Proof that he has not fo. Now very probably you may confirm them, by the Authorities you have fo confidently cited, in the Disbelief of the Religion into which they were baptized; becaufe all Men are apt to believe thofe in the Right who favour their own Opinions or Wishes; but I cannot think they will be convinced by thofe Authorities to embrace your Scheme of Religion; and then they will recur to the Sufficiency of their own common Senfe; and I hope I have fhewn, that your Scheme is not to be fupported by common Senfe; and I hope to fhew, that it is not to be fupported by Scripture, neither; which is wrested by you to a Senfe very different from the plain Meaning of the Texts themselves, which you quote, and of many other Places I Cor. xv. both of the Old and New Teftament, exprefly afferting the Doctrine, which St. Paul and the Apoftles fo preach'd, and so we believe; being affur'd that the World by Wifdom cannot know God; that is, fo know as he is reveal'd to us by the

II.
I Cor. i.

21.

I

Gofpel

Gospel, not in the Words which Man's Wisdom teacheth, but which I Cor. ii. the Holy Ghost teacheth. For the natural Man receiveth not the 13. Things of the Spirit of God, for they are Foolishness to him; neither Ver. 14. can he know them, because they are fpiritually difcern'd.

I come now to your Texts and Teftimonies, of which I have

fome few Things to observe :

1. You fay; Thefe, which you have cited, are the principal P. 24. • Original Texts and Teftimonies, which concern the important subjed before us, viz. The voluntary Generation and Creation of the P. 29. Son of God, and against his Ceeternity with the Father.

And yet you have quoted but Six Texts out of the Bible, and Two of them are out of the Apocrypha, which is indeed allow'd by the Papifts, but not by Proteftants, as a fufficient Ground for establishing any Article of Faith. But however, 6th Aric. thefe and the others I fhall examine by and by.

1

of the 39.

2. As for your Teftimonies; I cannot pretend to fo much Learning, as to difcufs them with you, as I ought. But I am aftonish'd that you have dared to appeal to so many great P. 40. Men of our Church, as you have named, for the Truth and Fairnefs of your Quotations and Affertions: For I make no Doubt, but I my felf thall be able to fhew that they are neither fair nor

true.

And when you have made good your Claim to the Antenicene Fathers, by confuting what the Reverend Bifhop Bull has publish'd of their Senfe, and when you or any Man else has given a juft Answer to the excellent Tracts writ by Dr. Waterland, in Vindication of Chrift's Divinity; then, and not till then, will it be proper or decent to triumph as you do," That the Teftimonies for our Doctrine are few and uncertain; and then also there will be no need of those very many and pregnant ones, which, you fay, are against it :' Befides, should they prove to be fuch as you have cited in your Letter to me, which it seems are the best you can produce, they will be like Arrows shot up towards Heaven, they will fall upon your own Head, but do your Adversary no Harm.

Among your Teftimonies, I find Two taken from Jews, who furely are very improper Evidences against the Divinity of our Saviour, tho' they may be very good Witneffes to prove the Divinity of the Meffiah, when they exprefly affert it, or fay what neceffarily tends to it, as I hope to fhew.

But as you fum up your Evidence, fo you also give me a Summary of your Faith, as before-mention'd; but I am furpriz'd to find it deduced from Authors, who in the Places you

P. 38

d Archbishop Wake, Bishop Hooper, Bishop Smalridge, Bishop P.40. Potter, &c.

cife