A09977:266
Life eternalLife eternall
Life eternal or, A treatise of the knowledge of the divine essence and attributes Delivered in XVIII. sermons. By the late faithful and worthy minister of Jesus Christ, John Preston, D. in Divinity, chaplain in ordinary to his Majesty, master of Emmanuel College in Cambridge, and sometimes preacher of Lincolns Inn.Life eternall or, A treatise of the knowledge of the divine essence and attributes Delivered in XVIII. sermons. By the late faithfull and worthy minister of Iesus Christ, Iohn Preston, D. in Divinity, chaplaine in ordinary to his Majestie, master of Emmanuel Colledge in Cambridge, and sometimes preacher of Lincolns Inne.
London: printed by Richard, 1631
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
Use 1 That there is something of the Essence of God, that may not be inquired into,1 but to be content with that which is revealed. Rom. 1.18.2 For that which may be known of GOD, is manifest in them; for GOD hath shown it unto them: there is something that may be known, and something there is that may not be known: therefore, Beloved, look not for a full knowledge of him, but only for a small degree of it; as Exo. 33.3 My face (saith God to Moses) thou canst not see; which place compared with that, Ro. 1.20. the meaning is this; that it is very little of God, that we can know: even as when a great train, or glorious show, shall pass before us, and all is gone, we only see the latter end of it. So God passed by Moses, and he saw but a little of him: even as when you hear the latter end of a sentence, only that which the echo resounds; the main we cannot know. Therefore we should learn from hence, not to be searching and prying into the counsels of God; as, why so many are damned, and so few saved; to ask, how the infallibility of Gods will, and the liberty of mans will can stand together; to ask the reason, why he suffered the Gentiles to walk in the vanity of their own minds so long a time; why he suffers the Church to lye, as it doth at this time: for we might say as Gideon did, If the LORD be with us, why are we thus and thus? Why the Church of the Grecians, those famous Churches; why the golden Candlesticks were removed ⟨p. 101⟩from them? These, and all other such, we must be content to be ignorant of; he doth not reveal himself fully in this life. Thou canst not see me, and live, saith God to Moses: the meaning is this, the vale of mortality doth hide us, it covers God from us: when that shall be laid aside, we shall know all these things; and therefore we must be content to stay the time; and till then, we are as narrow-mouthed vessels, we are not able to receive much knowledge, but a great deal will fall beside; and God will do nothing in vain; as Christ said to his Disciples, There are many things that I should reveal unto you, but you are not able to bear them: and therefore it should content us rather; as a weak eye is not able to behold the Sun, as the School-men well say, we cannot see it in rotâ; we cannot see the circle wherein the Sun doth run, but only the beams of it; no more can you see God in his Essence;