The divine will considered in its eternal decrees, and holy execution of them. By…

3. If these had no beginning, then what shall we say of the Years, Days and Minutes past? Are they finite or infinite? If finite, then numerable, and there was a beginning; if infinite, then how past? Infinity cannot be passed over; but and if it could, then there are infinite numbers of Minutes past, infinite numbers of Days past, and infinite numbers of Years past, and (because there cannot be infinito infinitius) by most necessary consequence, there are as many Years past as Days, and as many Days past as Minutes, which is utterly impossible; therefore these things must needs have a beginning.

2. The beginning of all these was from God. The Scripture speaks evidently; In the beginning God created the heaven and ⟨p. 136⟩the earth, Gen. 1. 1. Of him and through him and to him are all things, Rom. 11. 36. He that built all things is God, Heb. 3. 4. When we look upon the stately Palace of the World, roofed with the glorious Heavens, floored with the fruitful Earth, chambered with the cloudy Air, watered with the stupendous Sea, and furnished with all variety of Creatures; we cannot dream of any other Architect but God alone. And (because Job bids us speak to the earth, Job 12. 8. and the Psalmist tells us that there is a language in the heavens, Psal. 19. 1, 2, 3. and the Apostle asserts that there is a witness of God in the rain, Acts 14. 17.) therefore suffer me to parley their Original out of their own mouths, Creatures, whence came you? Ex nihilo. What, ex nihilo? How then came you over that vast infinite Gulf which lies between Nothing and Being? Infinite Power filled it up to make our passage. But since you came over, where do you stand? In a Being betwixt two Nothings, Nothing negative and Nothing privative. And who set you there at first? The first and chief Being, who is ipsum Esse, suum Esse, infinitum Esse, infinitè elongatum à non Esse. But whence had you all that truth and goodness which