Fourthly, the confe&taries, that flow from thefe diftin&tions of eternity. For the first, you must know, that to eternitie thefe five things are required: 4 I Five things ternity. It must not only have a simple,but a living and required in emoft perfe& being. For eternity is a transcendent property, and therefore can be in none,but in the most excellent and perfe&t being,and therefore it must be a living being. This we have expreffed in Ifai. 57.15. Thus faith the high and lofty one, that fai. 57.15. inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy, I dwell in the high and holy place, &c. As if he fhould fay; there is no houfe fit for him to dwell in, that is high and excellent, but onely the house of eternity. Where eternity is compared to an houfe or habitation, to which none can enter, but God himfelfe, because he only is high and excellent; all the creatures are excluded out of his habitation. It is required to eternity, that there be no beginning; as may easily be gathered out of Pfalme Pfal.go.. 90.2. LORD, thou hast beene our dwelling place in all generations, before the Mountaines were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth, or the world; even from everlasting to everlasting thou art GOD. And there alfo you have the third expreffion; and that is, to have no ending, he is not only from everlafting, but to everlasting. There is no fucceffion: as, fuppofe all the pleafures that are in a long banquet, were drawne together into one moment; fuppofe all the acts of mans understanding, and will, from the begin ning of his life to the end,could be found in him in one inftant, fuch is eternity. God poffeffeth all things all together, he hath all at once, roh.8.58. Verily, verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, 1 am: As if hee fhould fay, there is no time paft, prefent or to come with me; he doth not say,before Abraham was, I was, but I am, and therefore he is eternall. He is the difpenfer of all time to others; hee is Lord of all time, all times doe but iffue out from him,as rivers from the fea; he difpenfeth them as it pleaseth him: Pfal.90.compare verf. 2, and 3. together, Before the Mountaines were brought forth, &c. even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. Thou turneft man to deftruction, and fayeft, Returne yee children of men. Hee fets time to the fons of men; where wee fhall fee that this is the property of him, that is eternall, to fet times and feafons to men, &c. The reason why Ged must be eternall, is this, because he is what he is of him felfe, hee is without all caufe,and therfore can have no beginning or ending, and therefore he must of neceffity be without all motion, and without all fucceffion, for all fucceffion prefuppofeth motion, and all motion prefuppofeth a caufe and effect; for whatfoever is moved, is either moved from no being to a being, or from an imperfect, to a more perfeat being; that is, to be moved to an higher degree: now God that hath nothing in him to bee perfected, is not capable of a further and higher degree. The The third thing is the difference betweene the eternity of God,and the duration of all creatures; which confifts in thefe particulars: The creatures even the beft of them,have but an halfe eternity, they are not from everlasting, though they are to everlafting. That eternall duration that the creatures have is not intrinfecall to them, it is dependent, they receive it from another. The creatures cannot communicate it to another,nor extend it beyond the felves; the Angels though they be eternall,yet they cannot make other things to be eternall; God only can doe this. ; All the acts of the creatures, all their pleasures and thoughts, and what foever is in them,doe admit a fucceffion, a continuall flux and motion but in God it is notfo; he is as a rocke in the water that ftands faft,though the waves move about it; that is, though the creatures admit of a con. tinuall Aluxe and fucceffion about him, as the waves doe, yet there is none can move him. And thefe are the differences between the eternity of God, and the duration of all the creatures. Now followes the fourth thing; The confetaries that flow from hence, which are these two: III Foure diffe rences be tweene the e ternity of God, and the dura. tion of all creatures, I 3 IV Confett. 1. all things to If this be the eternity of God, then to him all time,that is to come, is (as it were) paft,Pfal.90. 4. A thousand yeeres in his fight are but as yester-gether; and all day, nhen it is paft: that is, a thoufand yeeres that afe to come, they are to him as paft, they are nothing to him. And againe,a thoufand yeeres that are! time is prefent and as it were paft with him. Pfal go4.. To God no time is either are past,are(as it were) present to him,as we heard before; Before Abraham was, I am: For hee poffeffeth all things together; by reafon of the vastneffe of his being, to him all things are present. As he that ftands upon an high Mountaine, and lookes downe (it is a fimile that the Schoole-men often use;) though to the paffenger that goes by, fome are before, fome behinde, yet to him they are all prefent. So though one generation paffeth, and another commeth; yet to God, that inhabits and stands upon eternity, they are the fame,they are all prefent, there is no difference. And then this followes from hence, that to God no time is either long or fhort, but all times are long or short. alike to him; therefore he is not fubje&t to any delayes or expectances; he is not fubject to any feares, for they are of things to come, nor to the paffion of griefe, or pleasure, or the loffe of any excellencie, that before hee had not, as all creatures are; therefore we should confider of the excellency of God,to give him the praise of it: this ufe is made of it, in 1 Tim. 1. 17. Now unto the King eternall, immortall, invifible, and the onely wife GOD, be honour, and glory for ever and ever, Amen. As if he should fay; this very confideration, that God is eternall,fhould cause us to give him praise, and so is that in Ifai. 57.15. 1 Tim. I. 17. Ifai. 57.15. Eternitie makes good things infi nitely good, evill things in Saitely evill. Eternity makes that which is good,to be infinitely more good than it is, and that which is evill to be much more evill; and that not onely in refpe&t of duration (that which is good for a weeke, is better for a yeere; and an evill, when it con continues an infinite time, it is infinitely more evill,) but also in regard of that collection into one,which is found in those things that continue to eternitie: as when all joyes are collected into one heape, and all griefe into one centre, so that you fhall joy as much in one inftant, as ever hereafter; fo that though the thing be still but the fame, yet the continuance makes it infinitely more good. . Vse 1. Tomind more which are cternall. those things Seeing eternitie is a property of God; wee fhould learne hence, to minde most the things that are eternall, for they are, of all other things, of the greatest moment, because they doe moft participate of this tranfcendent property of the almightie. God is eternall, the foule is eternall, heaven and hell are eternall; therefore they are more to be regarded of us. You fhall fee this in 1 lob.2.17.as a reason why we should not mindé the things of the world; because the world va nilbeth, it passeth away, and the luffs thereof (faith the Apoftle,) that is, looke upon all the things below, and both the things paffe, and your affections and defires paffe, that which you love to day, to morrow you will not love; therefore love them not, regard them not, for they are of a flitting and paffing nature, but he that doth the will of the LORD abides for ever, and therefore wee are to minde fuch things most fuch as the King is, fuch are his fubjects, and such are the rewards and punishments that he gives. Now God, hee is eternall, 1 Tim, 1,17. To the King eternall, immer tall, invifible, and onely wife GOD, bee honour and Tim. 1.37. M glory I |