IV.

Father's right-hand, where he is preparing a place for us. The ART. meaning of all which is this, that as he is vefted with an unconceivably high degree of glory, even as man, fo the merit of his death is ftill fresh and entire; and in the virtue of that, the fins of all that come to God through him, claiming to his death as to their facrifice, and obeying his Gofpel, are pardoned, and they are fealed by his Spirit until the day of redemption. In conclufion, when all God's defign with this world is accomplished, it shall be set on fire, and all the great parts of which it is compofed, as of elements, fhall be melted and burnt down; and then when by that fire probably the portions of matter which was in the bodies of all who have lived upon earth, shall be fo far refined and fixed, as to become both incorruptible and immortal, then they fhall be made meet for the fouls that formerly animated them, to re-enter every one into his own body, which fhall be then fo moulded as to be a habitation fit to give it everlasting joy or everlasting torment.

Then fhall Chrift appear visibly in some very confpicuous place, in the clouds of heaven, where every eye shall see him: he fhall appear in his own glory, that is, in his human glorified Luke ix. 26. body: he fhall appear in the glory of his Angels, having vast numbers of these about him, attending on him: but which is above all, he shall appear in his Father's glory; that is, there fhall be then a most wonderful manifeftation of the eternal Godhead dwelling in him; and then shall he pass a final fentence upon all that ever lived upon earth, according to all that they have done in the body, whether it be good or bad. The righteous fhall afcend as he did, and fhall meet him in the clouds, and be for ever with him; and the wicked shall fink into a ftate of darkness and mifery, of unspeakable horror of mind, and everlafting pain and torment.

ARTICLE V.

Of the Holy Ghost.

The Holy Chalk proceeding from the Father and the Son, is of one Substance, Baiety, and Glory with the Father and the Son, verp and eternal God.

IN

N order to the explaining this Article, we muft confider, first, the importance of the term Spirit, or Holy Spirit: fecondly, his Proceffion from the Father and the Son and, thirdly, that he is truly God, of the fame fubftance with the Father and the Son. Spirit fignifies wind or breath, and in the Old Teftament it ftands frequently in that fenfe: the Spirit of God, or Wind of God, ftands fometimes for a high and strong wind; but more frequently it fignifies a fecret impreffion made by God on the mind of a prophet: fo that the Spirit of God, and the Spirit of Prophecy are fet in oppofition to the vain imaginations, the falfe pretences, or the diabolical illufions of thofe who affumed to theinfelves the name and the authority of a prophet, without a true miffion from God. But when God made reprefentations either in a dream, or in an ecftafy, to any perfon, or imprinted a fenfe of his will on their minds, together with fuch neceflary characters as gave it proof and authority, this was an illapfe from God, as a breathing from him on the foul of the prophet.

In the New Teftament this word Holy Ghost ftands moft commonly for that wonderful effufion of those miraculous virtues that was poured out at Pentecoft on the Apoftles; by which their spirits were not only exalted with extraordinary degrees of zeal and courage, of authority and utterance, but they were furnished with the gifts of tongues and of miracles. And befides that first and great effufion, feveral Chriftians received particular talents and infpirations, which are most commonly expreffed by the word Spirit or Infpiration. Thofe inward affiftances by which the frame and temper of men's minds are changed and renewed, are likewife called the Spirit, or the Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghot. So Chrift faid to Nicodemus, that except a man was born of Water and of the Spirit, he cannot fee the kingdom of God; and that his heavenly Father would the Holy Spirit to every one that afked him. By thefe it is plain, that extraordinary or miraculous infpirations are not meant, for thefe are not every Chriftian's portion; there is no queftion made of all this.

The

V.

The main question is, whether by Spirit, or Holy Spirit, AR T. we are to understand one perfon, that is the fountain of all thofe gifts, and operations; or whether by one Spirit is only to be meant the power of God flowing out and fhewing itself in many wonderful operations. The adverfaries of the Trinity will have the Spirit or Holy Spirit to fignify no perfon, but only the divine gifts or operations. But in oppofition to this Joh. xiv. it is plain, that in our Saviour's laft and long difcourse to his 16, 26. difciples, in which he promised to fend them his Spirit, he calls him another Comforter, to be sent in his ftead, or to supply his abfence; and the whole tenor of the difcourfe runs on him as a Perfon: He fhall abide with you: he shall guide you into all Joh. xvi. truth; and fhew you things to come. He shall bring all things ~,13. into your remembrance: he shall convince the world of fin, of righteoufnefs, and of judgment. In all these places he is fo plainly spoken of, not as a quality or operation, but as a Perfon; and that without any key or rule to understand the words otherwife, that this alone may ferve to determine the matter now in difpute. Chrift's commiffion to preach and baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, does plainly make him a Perfon, fince it cannot be faid that we are to be called by the name of a virtue or operation. St. Paul 1 Cor. xii. does alfo, in a long difcourfe upon the diverfity of gifs, ad- 4, 8, 9, 11, miniftrations, and operations, afcribe them all to one Spirit, as their author and fountain; of whom he speaks as of a Perfon, diftributing these in order to several ends, and in different measures. He speaks of the Spirit's fearching all things, of his 1 Cor. ii. interceding for us, of our grieving the Spirit, by which we are Rom. viii. fealed. This is the language ufed concerning a Perfon, not a 26. quality. All thefe, fays he, worketh that one and the felf-fame Eph. iv. 30. Spirit, dividing to every man feverally as he will. Now it is not to be conceived, how that both our Saviour and his Apoftles should use the phrafe of a Perfon fo conftantly in fpeaking of the Spirit, and fhould fo critically and in the way of argument pursue that strain, if he is not a Perfon: they not only infift on it, and repeat it frequently, but they draw an argument from it for union and love, and for mutual condefcention and fympathy. Upon all these grounds it is evident, that the Holy Spirit is in the Scripture propofed to us as a Perfon, under whose economy all the various gifts, adminiftrations, and operations that are in the Church, are put.

The fecond particular relating to this Article, is the Procef fion of this Spirit from the Father and the Son. The word Proceffion, or, as the fchoolinen term it, Spiration, is only made use of in order to the naming this relation of the Spirit to the Father and Son, in fuch a manner as may best answer the fenfe of the word Spirit: for it must be confefled that we

13.

10.

AN EXPOSITION OF

ART. can frame no explicit idea of this matter: and therefore we V. muft fpeak of it either strictly in Scripture-words, or in fuch words as arife out of them, and that have the fame fignification with them. It is therefore a vain attempt of the schoolmen, to undertake to give a reason why the second perfon is faid to be generated, and fo is called Son, and the third to proceed, and fo is called Spirit. All these fubtilties can have no foundation, and fignify nothing towards the clearing this matter, which is rather darkened than cleared by a pretended illuftration. In a word, as we should never have believed this mystery if the Scripture had not revealed it to us, fo we understand nothing concerning it, befides what is contained in the Scriptures: and therefore, if in any thing, we must think foberly upon those subjects. The Scriptures call the fecond, Son, and the third, Spirit; lo generation and proceffion are words that may well be used, but they are words concerning which we can form no diftinct conception. We only ufe them because they belong to the words. Son and Spirit. The Spirit, in things that we do understand, is fomewhat that proceeds, and the Son is a perfon begotten; we therefore believing that the Holy Ghoft is a Perfon, apply the word Proceffion to the manner of his emanation from the Father; though at the fame time we must acknowledge that we have no diftinct thought concerning it. So much in general concerning Proceffion. It has been much controverted whether the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father only, or from the Father and the Son.

In the first difputes concerning the divinity of the Holy Ghost with the Macedonians, who denied it, there was no other contest, but whether he was truly God, or not. When that was fettled by the council of Conftantinople, it was made a part of the Creed; but it was only faid that he proceeded from the Father and the council of Ephefus foon after that fixed on that Creed, decreeing that no additions fhould be made to it: yet about the end of the fixth century, in the Western Church an addition was made to the Article, by which the Holy Ghost was affirmed to proceed from the Son, as well as from the Father. And when the Eaftern and Western Churches in the ninth century fell into an humour of quarrelling upon the account of jurifdiction, after fome time of anger, in which they seem to be fearching for matter to reproach one another with, they found out this difference: the Greeks reproached the Latins for thus adding to the faith, and corrupting the ancient fymbol, and that contrary to the decree of a general council. The Latins, on the other hand, charged them for detracting from the dignity of the Son: and this became the chief point in controversy between them.

Here was certainly a very unhappy difpute; inconfiderable

26.

V.

in its original, but fatal in its confequences. We of this Church, AR T. though we abhor the cruelty of condemning the Eastern Churches for fuch a difference, yet do receive the Creed according to the ufage of the Western Churches: and therefore, though we do not pretend to explain what Proceffion is, we believe according to the Article, that the Holy Ghoft proceeds both from the Father and the Son: because in that difcourfe of our Saviour's that contains the promise of the Spirit, and that long description of him as a Perfon, Chrift not only fays, that the Father will Joh. xiv. fend the Spirit in his name, but adds, that he will fend the Spirit; and though he fays next, who proceedeth from the Father, Joh. xv. 26. yet fince he fends him, and that he was to fupply his room, and to act in his name, this implies a relation, and a sort of subordination in the Spirit to the Son. This may ferve to justify our adhering to the Ĉreeds, as they had been for many ages received in the Western Church: but we are far from thinking that this proof is fo full and explicit, as to juftify our feparating from any Church, or condemning it, that should stick exactly to the first Creeds, and reject this addition.

The third branch of the Article is, that this Holy Ghoft or Person thus proceeding, is truly God, of the fame fubftance with the Father and the Son. That he is God, was formerly proved by thofe paffages in which the whole Trinity in all the three Perfons is affirmed: but befides that, the lying to the Acts v. 34Holy Ghoft by Ananias and Sapphira, is faid to be a lying not unto men, but to God: his being called another Comforter; his teaching all things; his guiding into all truth; his telling things to come; his fearching all things, even the deep things of God; bis being called the Spirit of the Lord, in oppofition to the Spirit of a man; his making interceffion for us; his changing us into the fame image with Chrift, are all such plain characters of his being God, that those who deny that, are well aware of this, that if it is once proved that he is a Perfon, it will follow that he must be God; therefore all that was said to prove him a Perfon, is here to be remembered as a proof that he is truly God. So that though there is not fuch a variety of proofs for this, as there was for the Divinity of the Son, yet the proof of it is plain and clear. And from what was faid upon the first Article concerning the Unity of God, it is alfo certain, that if he is God, he must be of one Substance, Majesty, and Glory, with the Father and the Son.