Discourses upon the Existence and Attributes of God

1. If his Essence were mutable. God would not truly be; It could not be truly said by himself, I am that I am, ^*if he were such a Thing or Being at this time, and a different Being at another time. Whatsoever is changed, properly is not, because it doth not remain to be what it was: That which is changed was something, is something, and will be something; a Being remains to that thing which is changed; yet though it may be said such a thing is, yet it may be also said such a thing is not, because it is not what it was in its first being; 'tis not now what it was, 'tis now what it was not; 'tis another thing than it was, it was another thing than it is; it will be another thing than what it is or was: 'Tis indeed a Being, but a different Being from what it was before. But if God were changed, it could not be said of him that he is, but it might also be said of him that he is not; or if he were changeable or could be changed, it might be said of him he is, but he will not be what he is; or he may not be what he is, but there will be or may be some difference in his Being, and so God would not be I am that I am; for though he would not cease utterly to be, yet he would cease to be what he was before.

1. *Exod. 3.14.

2. Again, If his Essence were mutable, he could not be perfectly blessed, and fully rejoice in himself. If he changed for the better, he could not have an infinite pleasure in what he was before the change, because he was not infinitely blessed; and the pleasure of that state could not be of a higher kind than the state it self, or at least the apprehension of a happiness in it: If he changed for the worse, he could not have a pleasure in it after the change; for according to the diminution of his state, would be the decrease of his pleasure: His pleasure could not be infinite before the change, if he changed for the better; it could not be infinite after the change, if he changed for the worse: If he changed for the better, he would not have had an infinite Goodness of being before; and not having an infinite Goodness of Being, he would have a finite Goodness of Being; for there is no medium between finite and infinite: Then though the change were for the better, yet being finite before, something would be still wanting to make him infinitely blessed; because being finite, he could not change to that which is infinite; for finite and infinite are extremes so distant, that they can never pass into one another; that is, that that which is finite should become infinite, or that which is infinite should become finite: So that supposing him mutable, his Essence in no state of change, could furnish him with an infinite peace and blessedness.