who was never feen by any one, nor did ever by himself speak to any one, whom we understand to be the Maker and Father of the Universe, &c. very largely. See alfo p. 300. 301, 340, 341, 342, 348. Καὶ ἱκανῶς εἰρῆπαί μοι · ὑπολαμβάνω, ὅτι ὅταν με i Deàs λéyņ, även Θεὸς ἀπὸ ̓Αβραὰμ, ἢ ἐλφλησε κύειθ πρὸς Μωσήν, x natin xúρ & Top20 isev, da wxosdung ud ἢ ἀνθρώπων, ἢ ὅτε ἔκλες σεν ὁ Θεὸς ἢ κιβωτὸν Νâ Ewder, un näole auri τὸν ἀγέννητον Θεὸν καταβεCnxéru, dvaceCnniva ZÓDev. 28 äppn] @ wa TA's, xxveC TWY τὴς, καὶ κύειΘ τῶν πάν TWY YTE TO çîx), TE των ἔτε ποι ὠφικλ, ἔτε ειπατε, ἴτε καθένδε, Νεε ક AUTY HP OOK TOT 14, Béup, g છે εν, ἐκ ὀφθαλμοῖς, ἔτε σίν, ἀλλὰ δυνάμει ἀλέκῳ, ný závla spopa, xỳ la γινώσκς, καὶ ἐδεῖς ἡμῶν λέ· ληθεν αὐτόν. ἔτε κινάμι νῦ ὁ τόπῳλε ἀχώρητος, και Ty nóquç örw, öoyev Weir Tov xóoμov yer. πῶς ἂν ἔν ἔτος ἢ λαλήσειε we's niva, ĥ igbein, irinaxis μipt yйs pavain;TE 'ACe Idμ, Te 'loadx, re 'Ia I have, I suppose, suf- p. 356, For the effable Father κώβ, . κως, ἔτε ἄλλῃ ἀνθρώπων before the World was made. How then can He fpeak to any one, or be feen by any one, or appear in any little corner of the Earth ?Neither therefore has Abraham, nor Ifaac, nor Jacob, nor any one of Mankind'feen the Father, who is the ineffable Lord abfolutely of all things, and even of Chrift himfelf. But they faw him who according to his Will, was God and his Son, who was alfo called an Angel, on account of his Ministring to his good Pleasure; whom alfo he was pleas'd fhould become Man, by the Virgin; who once also became Fire, when he fpake to Mofes out of the Bush. For unless we fo understand the Scriptures it will appear that the Father and Lord of the Univerfe was not at that time in the Heavens. See p. 355.-358. Ἐρεῖς ἄν μοι, σὺ φῆς Theoph τὸν Θεὸν ἐν τόπῳ μὴ δεῖν ad Auto lyc. L. II. P. 100. Thou wilt then say to me, Thou affirmeft that God ought not to be confind in a Place; and how doft thou now fay, That he walked in Paradife? Hearken to what I fay. The God and Father of the Universe indeed is not to be confin'd, and is never fo found in a Place, For there is no Place of εία φία αὐτό, ἀναλαμβάνων his Reft. But his Word, νΘ ὑπ ̓ ευρίσκεται. ever the Father of the both heard, and feen, as fent by him, and fo N. B. These two last Testimonies are fo plainly contrary to the Modern Notions concerning the Nature of our Saviours Divinity; and indeed Sfo fo unanswerably fo, that Bishop Bull chooses Defens. rather to refer to them in General, than to pro- Fid. Niduce the Words themselves; left they fhould too can. Sect. IV. C. 3. plainly appear to be beyond his Solution. Nay, 5.2. when afterwards his Lordship proceeds to give fome account of the thing in general, and promises to produce Paffages out of each of the Authors he had quoted, to confront to them, and to clear them. withal, He has none of any consequence out of Juftin Martyr's Genuin Works at all; and does not fo much as pretend to have any in Theophilus Antiochenus: And yet is not fo fair as to tell us fo much, but paffes this last eminent Quotation from him over in a perfect Silence; as if he had quite forgot his Promife of Examining them Singillatim, which his Lordship had made us just §. 4. before. But as to the point it felf before us, thofe thofe who read fuch primitive Testimonies, and yet can believe that the Ancients own'd the Nature of our Saviour either Specifically or numerically the same with that of the Supreme God; and efteem'd him the fame, or an equally infinite, invifible and immenfe Being, muft tell us how 'tis pof. fible for Authors to express themfelves more clearly, if they had been of another Opinion. As to my felf, I can little more doubt of their Opini on in this Matter, after fo plain Declarations of it, than I can doubt of the meaning of any modern Authors, when they declare their Minds with the utmost distinctness and perfpicuity. And that the Reader may not think me too confident in my Confequences here, I will produce an unexceptionable witness to the force of them; I mean the very Learned and Right Reverend Bishop Bull himfelf, in these remarkable Words; Nodus, fi bene memini, unicus jam reftat expediendus, ifque vindice digniffimus, cujus folutionem ideo buc ufque refervavimus, quod is non in uno tantum altero fcriptore veteri occurrat, fed primavorum patrum poene omnium Monumenta percurrat. Fateor me ad iftum lapidem olim offendiffe: Quem proinde ut ab aliis amovere adnitar, officii mei effe arbitror. Veteres igitur Catholici pene omnes, qui Arium præceffere, Filii Dei Invifibi There is now, as far as I remember, but one Difficulty remaining; but that fuch as is worthy of a moft careful Consideration. The Solution whereof I have referv'd for this place, because it occurs not in one or two of the ancient Writers only, but runs through almost all the Monuments of the most Primitive Fathers. I own this was formerly a stone of flumbling to my felf; which therefore, as it is my Duty, I fhall endeavour to remove out of the way of others. Almost all the ancient Catholick Writers, lem atque Immenfam naturam ignoraffe videntur. Scilicet de Filio Dei ita aliquoties loquuntur, quafi is, etiam fecundum divinam ipfius naturam, finitus effet, vifibilis, & certo in loco inclufus, ac veluti cancellis quibufdam circumfcriptus. Nam cum probare volunt eum qui Patriarcbis viris fanctis fub veteri teftamento olim apparuit, ac locutus eft, Febova nomine infignitus, ipfum Dei Filium fuiffe, boc fere utuntur disjunctivo argumento: quod vel Dei Filius fuerit, qui conSpectus eft, vel Angelus creatus vel Deus Pa "; ter. Creatum non fuiffe Angelum inde colligunt, quod Jehova ac Deus a fpiritu fancto dicatur. Patrem vero non fuiffe, ex eo probant, quod is fit immenfus, loca replens omnia, nullo inclufus ac proinde certo aliquo in loco, atque exiguo terra angulo apparuiffe, vel cogitatu nefas fit: quafi fcilicet id ipfum de Filio Dei, then earlier than Arius, feem to have been ignorant of the Invisibility and Immenfity of the Son of God. For they feveral times do fpeak of him in fuch a manner as if he were, even as to his Divine Nature, finite, visible, and included in a certain place; or, as it were, circumfcrib'd by certain bounds. For when they have a mind to prove, that he who anciently appeared, and fpake to the Patriarchs, and Holy Men, under the Old Teftament, by the Name Jehovah, was the Son of God and no other, they ufually infift on this disjunctive Argument, viz. He was either the Son of God that was feen, or a created Angel, or God the Father. And that he was not a created Angel, they collect from hence, that he is by the Holy Spirit called Jehovah, and God. That he was not the Father they prove, becaufe the Father is Infinite, filling all places, but included in none: So that 'tis impious once to fuppofe that he has appear'd in any certain place, or a jure |