and the person of the Father, is not here to be repeated, but supposed; for Christ is set down at the right hand of that God and of that Father, whom we understand when we say, I believe in God the Father. But because there is a difference in the language of the Greeks between that word which is rendered almighty in the first article, and that which is so rendered in the sixth; because that peculiarly signifieth authority of dominion, this more properly power in operation; therefore we have reserved this notion of omnipotency now to be explained.

In which two things are observable; the propriety and the universality; the propriety in the potency, the universality in the omnipotency; first, that he is a God of power; secondly, that he is a God of infinite power. The potency consisteth in a proper, innate, and natural force or activity, by which we are assured that God is able to act, work, and produce true and real effects, which do require a true and real power to their production; and in respect of this he is often described unto us under the notion of a mighty God. The omnipotency or infinity of this power consisteth in an ability to act, perform, and produce, whatsoever can be acted or produced, without any possibility of impediment or resistance: and in this respect he is represented to us as an almighty God. And therefore such an omnipotency we ascribe unto him which is sufficiently delivered in the scriptures, first by the testimony of an angel," For with God nothing shall be impossible;" secondly, by the testimony of Christ himself, who said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible. Now he to whom all things are possible, and to whom nothing is impossible, is truly and properly omnipotent. Thus whatsoever doth not in itself imply a repugnancy of being or subsisting, hath in reference to the power of God a possibility of production; and whatsoever in respect of the power of God hath an impossibility of production, must involve in itself a repugnaney or contradiction.

This truth, though confessed by the heathens, hath yet been denied by some of them; but with such poor and insufficient arguments, that we shall need no more

than an explication of the doctrine to refute their objections.

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First, then, we must say God is omnipotent, because all power whatsoever is in any creature is derived from him; and well may he be termed almighty, who is the fountain of all might. There is no activity in any agent, no influence of any cause, but what dependeth and proceedeth from the principal Agent, or the first of causes. There is nothing in the whole circumference of the universe but hath some kind of activity, and consequently some power to act, for nothing can be done without a power to do it: and as all their entities flow from the first of beings, so all their several and various powers flow from the first of powers: and as all their beings cannot be conceived to depend of any but an infinite essence, so all those

er Powers cannot proceed from any but an infinite

power.

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Secondly; God may be called omnipotent, because there can be no resistance made to his power, no opposi tion to his will, no rescue from his hands. "The Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?" "He doth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?" Isa. xiv. 27; Dan. iv. 35. According to the degrees of power in the agent and the resistent, is an action performed or hindered if there be more degrees of power in the resistent than the agent, the action is prevented; if fewer, it may be retarded or debilitated, but not wholly hindered or suppressed. But if there be no degree of power in the resistent in reference to the agent, then is the action totally vigorous; and if in all the powers, beside that of God, there be not the least degree of any resistance, we must acknowledge that power of his, being above all opposition, to be infinite. As Jehosaphat said, "In thine hand, O God, is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee ?" 2 Chron. xx. 6. From hence there is no difficulty with God to perform any thing; no greater endeavour or activity to produce the greatest than the least of creatures; but an equal facility in reference

unto all things; which cannot be imagined but by an infinite excess of power above and beyond all resistance.

Thirdly; God is yet more properly called omnipotent, because his own active power extendeth itself to all things; neither is there any thing imaginably possible which he cannot do. Thus when God several ways had declared his power unto Job, Job answered the Lord, and said, “I know that thou canst do every thing," Job xlii. 1. Now that must needs be infinite activity which answereth to all kinds of possibility. Thus the power of God is infinite extensively, in respect of its object, which is all things; for whatsoever effects there be of his power, yet still there can be more produced; intensively, in respect of the action or perfection of the effect produced for whatsoever addition of perfection is possible, is within the sphere of God's omnipotency. The object then of the power of God is whatsoever is simply and absolutely possible, whatsoever is in itself such as that it may be; and so possible every thing is which doth not imply a contradiction. Again; whatsoever implieth a contradiction is impossible, and therefore is not within the object of the power of God, because impossibility is the contradiction of all power. For that is said to imply a contradiction, which if it were, it would necessarily follow that the same thing would be and not be. But it is impossible for the same thing both to be and not to be at the same time, and in the same respect: and therefore whatsoever implieth a contradiction is impossible. From whence it followeth, that it may be truly said, God cannot effect that which involveth a contradiction, but with no derogation from his power; and it may be as truly said, God can effect whatsoever involveth nota contradiction, which is the expression of an infinite power.

Now an action may imply a contradiction two ways, either in respect of the object, or in respect of the agent. In respect of the object it may imply a contradiction immediately or consequentially. That doth imply a contradiction immediately, which plainly and in terms doth signify a repugnancy, and so destroys itself, as for the same thing to be and not to be, to have been and not to have been. And therefore it must be acknowledged.

that it is not in the power of God to make that not to have been, which hath already been; but that is no derogation to God's power, because not within the object of any power. And he may certainly have all power, who hath not that which belongeth to no power. Again; that doth imply a contradiction consequentially, which in appearance seemeth not to be impossible, but by necessary consequence, if admitted, leadeth infallibly to a contradiction; as that one body should be at the same time in two distinct places, speaks no repugnancy in terms; but yet by consequence it leads to that which is repugnant in itself; which is, that the same body is but one body, and not but one. Seeing then a covert and consequential contradiction is as much and as truly a contradiction as that which is open and immediate, it followeth that it is as impossible to be effected, and therefore comes not under the power of God.

That doth imply a contradiction in respect of the agent, which is repugnant to his essential perfection; for seeing every action floweth from the essence of the agent, whatsoever is totally repugnant to that essence, must involve a contradiction as to the agent. Thus we may say, God cannot sleep, God cannot want, God cannot die; he cannot sleep, whose being is spiritual; he cannot want, whose nature is all-sufficient; he cannot die, who is essentially and necessarily existent. Nor can that be a diminution of his omnipotency, the contrary whereof would be a proof of his impotency, a demonstration of his infirmity. Thus "it is impossible for God to lie," to whom we say nothing is impossible; and he who can do all things," cannot deny himself." Because a lie is repugnant to the perfection of veracity, which is essential unto God, as necessarily following from his infinite knowledge and infinite sanctity. We who are ignorant may be deceived; we who are sinful may deceive; but it is repugnant to that nature to be deceived which is no way subject unto ignorance; it is contradictory to that essence to deceive, which is no way capable of sin. For as it is a plain contradiction to know all things, and to be ignorant of any thing, so is it to know all things, and to be deceived: as it is an evident contradiction to be infinitely holy, and to be sinful; so

is it to be infinitely holy, and deceive. But it is impossible for any one to lie, who can neither deceive nor be deceived. Therefore it is a manifest contradiction to say that God can lie, and consequently it is no derogation from his omnipotency, that he cannot. Whatsoever then

God cannot do, whatsoever is impossible to him, doth not any way prove that he is not almighty, but only shows that the rest of his attributes and perfections are as essential to him as his power; and as his power suffereth no resistance, so the rest of his perfections admit no repugnance. Well therefore may we conclude him absolutely omnipotent, who by being able to effect all things consis tent with his perfections, showeth infinite ability; and by not being able to do any thing repugnant to the same perfections, demonstrateth himself subject to no infirmity or imbecility. And in this manner we maintain God's omnipotency, with the best and eldest, against the worst and latest of the heathen authors.

Thus God is omnipotent, and God only; for if the power of all things beside God be the power of God, as derived from him, and subordinate unto him, and his own power from whence that is derived can be subordinate to none, then none can be omnipotent but God.

Again; we say, that God the Father is almighty; but then we cannot say, that the Father only is almighty; for the reason why we say the Father is almighty, is be cause he is God; and therefore we cannot say that he only is almighty, because it is not true that he only is God. Whosoever then is God, hath the same reason and foundation of omnipotency which the Father hath, and consequently is to be acknowledged properly and truly omnipotent as the Father is. But we have already showed that the Son of God is truly God; and shall hereafter show that the Holy Ghost is also God, and that by the same nature by which the Father is God. The Father therefore is almighty, because the Father is God; the Son almighty, because the Son is God; and the Holy Ghost almighty because the Holy Ghost is God. The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, are God by the same divinity; therefore, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, are omnipotent by the same omnipotency. The Father then is not called almighty by